Arab reason under the Veil of Orientalism

This article, grounded in the framework of postcolonial studies, seeks to demonstrate how the dominant Orientalist perspective in medieval and modern Europe contributed to obscuring or even distorting Arab knowledge, relegating it to a subordinate role in relation to the classical Greek tradition. Drawing on a literature review informed by this perspective, the study examines the emergence of falsafa as a rich philosophical corpus that developed as an expression of the Arab reception of Greek philosophy, particularly in the context of the House of Wisdom. Special attention is given to the distinct features of Andalusian reason as an autonomous philosophy within Western Islam and to the thought of the Tunisian polymath and scholar Ibn Khaldun (1332–1406), with emphasis on his scientific approach to history. The paper demonstrates the originality of Arab-Islamic thought, underscoring its autonomous rationality, its influence on the Latin Christian West, and its contribution to philosophy and universal history. The methodology adopted is qualitative, analytical, and historical, based on both primary and secondary sources.