抄録
The purpose of this article is to examine the concept of “Just despot”, which was mentioned in 1899 by an Egyptian thinker Muhammad ‘Abduh. Although he was said to be an Islamic idealist, he was deeply aware of the harsh realities of the Egyptian society. Therefore, he emphasized the importance of a national leadership, whereas he understood the people who have internalized the oppression under the hierarchical system of despotism. In fact, his ideas were, to a great extent, influenced by the preceding ideas. First, the terminology of istibdād signified literally “decisiveness” it only began to be used in the sense of “despotism” in the mid-19th century. Second, the first generation of Nahda considered the despotism as a problem of the abuse of power until the 1860s. Third, in the late 1870s, Afghānī emphasized the necessity of a leader’s ability, whereas Isḥāq began to describe the despotism as a mechanism of reproduction of power. In short, the concept of “Just despot”, employed by ‘Abduh, was, in general, a product of his adaptation and development of these two points of view. He reached the meaning of a modern political concept following the efforts of their predecessors.
