The Fallacious Argumentation in Abdelhamid Al-Kaatib Letters "A Letter in Chess" As a Model

Abstract

This study tackles the topic of argumentative fallacies as an authentic branch of the argumentation theory and discourse analysis theory. This study aims to identify the fallacies that are employed by Abdelhamid Al-Katib in his work “A letter about Chess”, in which he has forbidden playing chess and considered it as a major sin. He has also included major cruel penalties that have been imposed by the Umayyad Caliph for those who do not refrain from playing it. This study reveals a series of argumentative fallacies in this letter such as the fallacy of authority, the issue of citation, fake simile, the forfeiture of what is required, the fallacy of power, and the fallacy of contradiction. These fallacies are hidden behind his implicit intent of distracting people from clubs and council meetings so that they would not have the opportunity to discuss and criticize the matters of the Umayyad state.