The Idea
The claim indicates that the event of September 11 is not received in the same way in the West and in the Arab world. Meaning is not determined by the event alone, but by what each sphere carries of experiences, memories, fears, and narratives. The event thus becomes a revealer not of a single shock, but of a profound difference in reading, interpretation, and political and moral affect.
Concise Formulation
September 11 event: reveals: a profound difference in how it is received between the West and the Arab world
Its Place in the Book’s Argument
This statement is important to the construction of the argument because it shifts the discussion from the event itself to the ways it is received. The book does not merely describe the catastrophe or condemn it; it examines the meanings that were generated by it within different cultural fields. Here emerges Arkoun’s idea that understanding is inseparable from its historical and cultural conditions, and that meaning multiplies with the multiplication of sites.
Why It Matters
Its importance lies in preventing 11 September from being treated as an event with a single, obvious meaning for everyone. Differences in reception reveal the distance between experience and interpretation, and between the act and the reactions to it. This helps explain Arkoun when he links politics to mental representations, not to force alone. It also opens a question about the causes of mutual misunderstanding between the two worlds.
Brief Evidence
The text discusses September 11 as an event that reveals a profound difference in how it is received between the West and the Arab world. Meaning is not determined by the event alone, but by what each sphere carries of experiences, memories, fears, and narratives. The event thus becomes a revealer of difference in reading, interpretation, and political and moral affect.
Reading Questions
- Why does the text focus on differences in reception rather than on the event itself?
- What does this difference reveal about the relationship between politics, memory, and representation?
Degree of Documentation
High: the claim appears in a clear location within the book’s material.