Sadeq Jalal Al Azem

One of the most prominent Syrian intellectuals, Sadeq Jalal Al Azem comes from a well known family of Damascus, Syria. He is currently a professor emeritus of the history of modern European philosophy, University of Damascus, and currently a visiting professor in the department of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University. Al-Azm is known for his critique of Edward Said’s “Orientalism,” as well as his 1969 “Critique of Religious Thought (Naqd al-Fikr al-Dīnī).” He is one of the Arab world’s leading intellectuals, and has written and spoken on the topics of Orientalism, Reverse Orientalism, and Islamic fundamentalism.