No Exit No Exit Arab Existentialism, Jean- Paul Sartre, and Decolonization YOAV DI- CAPUA The University of Chicago Press Chicago and London The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637 The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London © 2018 by The University of Chicago All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations in critical articles and reviews. For more information, contact the University of Chicago Press, 1427 East 60th Street, Chicago, IL 60637. Published 2018 Printed in the United States of America 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 1 2 3 4 5 ISBN-1 3: 978- 0-2 26- 49974- 1 (cloth) ISBN-1 3: 978- 0-2 26-5 0350-9 (paper) ISBN-1 3: 978- 0-2 26- 49988- 8 (e- book) DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226499888.001.0001 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Di-Capua, Yoav, 1970– author. Title: No exit : Arab existentialism, Jean-Paul Sartre, and decolonization / Yoav Di-Capua. Description: Chicago : The University of Chicago Press, 2018. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifi ers: LCCN 2017043645 | ISBN 9780226499741 (cloth : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780226503509 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780226499888 (e-book) Subjects: LCSH: Existentialism. | Philosophy—Arab countries— 20th century. | Sartre, Jean-Paul, 1905–1980—Appreciation—Arab countries. | Sartre, Jean-Paul, 1905–1980—Infl uence. | Badawˉı, ʿAbd al-Rah.maˉn. | Decolonization—Arab countries. Classifi cation: LCC B5295 .D54 2018 | DDC 181—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017043645 This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48- 1992 (Permanence of Paper). To my family Contents Note on Transliteration ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction 1 1 The Visit 26 2 Why Existentialism? 47 3 Commitment 77 4 Meet the State 108 5 Unfreedom’s Counterculture 131 6 A Beachhead in the Sixties 152 7 Toward Universal Emancipation 170 8 High Hopes 197 9 Fiasco 229 Epilogue: A Cosmic No Exit 250 Notes 261 Selected Translations 317 Bibliography 321 Index 341 Note on Transliteration In the interest of simplifying the reading, I have used a modifi ed version of the transliteration system of the Inter- national Journal of Middle East Studies, excluding diacritical marks except for the ʿayn ( ʿ ) and the hamza ( ʾ ). For names and terms that have a common transliteration in English (e.g., Gamal ʿAbd al-N asser), I have used that spelling. ix