“Beit El Hikma” publishes book by Tunisian 19th century reformer, Khereddine Pacha

Tunis, November 6, 2008- The Tunisian Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts, Beit El Hikma has just published “The Memoirs of Khereddine Pacha”, a book translated and annotated by the historian, Mohamed Larbi Senoussi.

Khereddine Pacha (1821-1889), is considered as one of Tunisia’s earliest reformists of the second half of the nineteenth century.

Khereddine whose thinking has influenced the Tunisian modern state, is the author of “Aqwim El Massalik” (the principles of good governance) , published in 1860 and in which the reformer held the view that the Arab Islamic world should seek inspiration from the West, in order to rise up to the level of development of advanced nations.

His pioneering ideas retained the attention of his contemporaries and earned him the position of Grand Vizir under Sultan Abdelhamid II, in Istanbul. During the 9 months he was appointed in Istanbul, Khereddine was entrusted with several international issues touching the Turkish empire at the time such as the Turkish- Russian war, the Bulgarian question, the issue of the borders with Greece, and the situation in the Balkans.

The book retraces this rather unknown episode of the life of the great Tunisian reformer.

The book also contains precious annotations that can act as tools for other historians working on the rich reformist thought of Khereddine Pacha.