During the two decades that preceded the 2011 revolutions in Egypt and Syria, animated debates took place in Cairo and Damascus on political and social goals for the future. Egyptian and Syrian intellectuals argued over the meaning of tanwir, Arabic for “enlightenment,” and its significance for contemporary politics. They took up questions of human dignity, liberty, reason, tolerance, civil society, democracy, and violence. In Enlightenment on the Eve of Revolution, Elizabeth Suzanne Kassab offers a groundbreaking analysis of the tanwir debates and their import for the 2011 uprisings.

Kassab locates these debates in their local context as well as in broader contemporary political and intellectual Arab history. She argues that the enlightenment they advocated was a form of political humanism that demanded the right of free and public use of reason. By calling for the restoration of human dignity and seeking a moral compass in the wake of the destruction wrought by brutal regimes, they understood tanwir as a humanist ideal. Kassab connects their debates to the Arab uprisings, arguing that their demands bear a striking resemblance to what was voiced on the streets of Egypt and Syria in 2011. Enlightenment on the Eve of Revolution is the first book to document these debates for the Anglophone audience and to analyze their importance for contemporary Egyptian and Syrian intellectual life and politics.

"A valuable study of the intellectual history of contemporary Egypt and Syria, which documents for English-speaking readers the two decades before the Arab Spring. It is a must-read for scholars and students of history, Middle East studies, political science and cultural studies." - Arab Studies Quarterly

"Kassab's approach to the emergence of tanwir discourse is comparative and contextual." - The Middle East Journal

"An intellectually rich corpus of Arabic critiques of both Islamism and authoritarianism that are as philosophically adept as they are sociologically shrewd. Enlightenment on the Eve of Revolution: The Egyptian and Syrian Debates is a philosopher’s testament to intellectual courage and a persuasive reminder of the universality of reason." - Los Angeles Review of Books

"Studying these intellectual debates is a fascinating way to move beyond the day-to-day challenges that both countries have faced over recent decades...[the book] captures the essence of some of its fundamental questions." - International Affairs

"A useful addition to the literature about the Arab revolutions and the intellectual history of the region." - H-Socialism

"Enlightenment on the Eve of the Revolution: The Egyptian and Syrian Debates is a valuable study of the intellectual history of contemporary Egypt and Syria. It is a must-read for scholars and students of history, Middle East studies, political science and cultural studies." - Arab Studies Quarterly