Abstract

This study addresses the concept of cultural conflict in Al-Mutanabbi’s poetry, and rather than picturing it based on the point of view of Arab and Shu’ubiyya conflicts, it will be picturing it as a conflict based on the Arab and Persian cultures. As it has a deep-rooted cultural dimension that isn’t limited to the 4th century AH nor the beginning of Islam only, and has a strong role in establishing the Islamic culture. To analyze this hypothesis, the study will focus on the following: First the historical background for this conflict, the reason for this is to explain how the Shu’biyya movement revolves around this subject in general, on a cultural level. Second, compares between the “poem of Memyah” in which Al-Mutanabbi praised Saif Al-Dawlah through his importance in the hope of creating the strong Arab country in Al-Mutanabbi’s eyes, and the “poem of Nonyah” in which he praised Adud AlDawlah, who represents the attempt of canceling the Arabic authority in Islamic culture. And Third, the study aims to point out Al-Mutanabbi’s awareness regarding this rooted conflict between the two cultures by comparing between the two poems, alongside the importance of the historical conditions which announced the deterioration of the Abbasid Caliphate in the 4th century AH, which affected the formation of this awareness and the way it shows both in poetry and politics.