Shibli Shamil Books

Shibli Shamil: A Lebanese physician and thinker, he is considered one of the first to adopt the theory of evolution and development in the Arab East, and he used his pen to advocate for it, and to link it to life and social issues. Shibli bin Ibrahim Shamil was born in 1850 AD, in Kafr Shima, south of Beirut, and grew up in a religious establishment in a house of knowledge and literature, but he later rebelled against the Church and the teachings of its men, claiming that it contradicted open minds and free understandings. He received his primary education at the American Missionaries School in Beirut, and deepened the study of Arabic literature, Islamic culture and philosophy, until his colleagues called him “The Philosopher Professor.” In 1866 CE, he joined the Syrian Evangelical College in Beirut (currently the American University) to study medicine, and graduated in 1871 CE, after he presented a thesis entitled: “The Difference of Animals and Man with regard to Territory, Food and Education,” in which he stated much of what he found in support of Darwin’s doctrine. In 1875, he went to Paris and stayed there for a whole year, during which he deepened in medical sciences, got acquainted with many philosophical schools, and saw that he had found evidence of the theory of evolution and reassured his mind and conscience of their correctness. A movement active in the late nineteenth century held that the natural sciences alone were the key to understanding the secrets of the universe. Shamil moved from France to Egypt, worked in medicine, and was considered one of the most famous Arab doctors. He saw that medicine should be free and purely to serve people and relieve their pain. In 1886 AD, he issued a monthly medical journal called “Al-Shifa”, edited by senior doctors in Egypt. But his main battle was intellectual of the first order; He took it upon himself to defend his views, speaking out what he saw as mere truth, and his endorsement of Darwin's doctrine of evolution was met with sharp attack. Shibli Shamil was afflicted with asthma in his last years, and his health fell ill, and he passed away in Cairo in 1917 AD, as a result of a severe asthma attack. He left two large volumes that included a group of his most important books, namely: “Buchner’s Commentary on Darwin’s Doctrine,” “The Truth,” “Scientific and Social Investigations,” and “The Views of Dr. Shibli Shamil.”