Youssef Seddik (philosopher)

Youssef Seddik (يوسف الصديق) (born in 1943 in Tozeur) is a noted Tunisian philosopher and anthropologist specializing in Ancient Greece and the anthropology of the Qur'an. In 1966, he obtained a master's degree in philosophy and a degree in French literature and civilization. During the next four years, he taught at the French school in Compiègne in 1967 and obtained a DES (fr, roughly equivalent to an MA) in Philosophy and a degree in Ancient Greece. From 1971 to 1977 he taught philosophy in secondary schools in Tunisia and at the University of Paris III: Sorbonne Nouvelle, before becoming director of a publishing company specializing in books for young people between 1984 and 1987. He was also a reporter of the journal La Presse de Tunisie between 1975 and 1983. Based in Paris in 1988, he obtained a DEA in the Greek language and civilization from the University of Paris III: Sorbonne Nouvelle (1988) and a doctorate at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales (1995). He lectured there and also in modern Islamic philosophy at the Sorbonne from 1995 to 1996. Seddik has published many books and translations based on Ancient Greece and Islamic heritage, including works related to the Prophet Muhammad, Imam Ali, and the Qur'an. He also attempted to publish a Qur'an in the form of seven volumes of comics, but was halted after objections from the Tunisian religious authorities in 1992. In 1999 he published a book entitled Brins de chicane. La vie quotidienne à Bagdad au Xe siècle about daily life in Baghdad in the tenth century. His book, Nous n'avons jamais lu le Coran, released in September 2004 explores the language and symbols that are present in the Koran. In the book the author begins with the questioning of the politics of Islam and the role of God. He also directed documentaries including a series of five episodes on Muhammad. Éloge du commerce (editing and translation of Ibn 'Alî al-Dimashqî's book), ed. MédiaCom, Tunis, 1994 Penser l'économique, éd. MédiaCom, Tunis, 1995 L’Abaissé.