خواطر الحداد

Following the publication of his book documenting the history of the labour movement in Tunisia and his staunch defence of women’s rights in the press, which he later compiled into a book in 1930, Al-Haddad wrote Khawatir (Reflections), which was first published by the Arab Book House in 1975 and was edited and introduced by Professor Mohamed Anouar Bousnina. Consisting of 63 reflections on various themes, the book is characterised by contemplation and criticism of prevailing social and intellectual norms. Through these reflections, Al-Haddad emerges as a rebel, whose spirit had been broken, expressing the essence of his thoughts in concise yet profound judgements and ideas. While it is difficult to categorise Al-Haddad within a particular intellectual school based on these reflections, he clearly emerges as an advocate of emancipatory social thought. Nowhere is this more evident than in his definition of freedom in one of the reflections. Considering his entire body of work and positions, including these reflections, which can be viewed as his philosophical meditations, Tahar al-Haddad can be regarded as one of the most notable reformist and emancipatory thinkers in twentieth-century Tunisia.