The Problem of Underdevelopment and the Conditions for Development in the Thought of Malik Bennabi: An Analytical Reading of His Civilizational Project

Abstract

The issue of underdevelopment and the problem of development are among the most prominent subjects that have attracted the attention of thinkers in the Islamic world. This study examines the problem of underdevelopment and the conditions for achieving civilization in the thought of Malik Bennabi. It seeks to explain the causes and manifestations of underdevelopment and to propose the foundations for renaissance and development. Bennabi viewed underdevelopment as a comprehensive civilizational crisis associated with several internal and external factors. He also developed an integrated vision of the process of civilizational construction as a means of overcoming the state of underdevelopment. This study aims to analyze the problem of underdevelopment and the conditions for development in Malik Bennabi’s thought by examining the theoretical foundations underlying his civilizational project, highlighting the intellectual value of his civilizational approach, demonstrating its contemporary relevance to the interpretation of underdevelopment-related problems, and identifying the foundations of development in Arab and Islamic societies.