Chapter LXXIVJAMAL AL-DIN AL-AFGHANI

AINTRODUCTION

While Europe was disengaging herself from the spiritual hold of Rome and embarking upon the hazardous yet challenging road of freedom, the Arab world was being isolated from and insulated against almost all outside influences and changes. This process of isolation and insulation continued unabated till it came to an abrupt end at the time of the Napoleonic expedition against Egypt in 1213/1798. This was indeed the first serious external stimulus that the Arab and the Muslim world had received since the Ottoman conquest in 922/1516. The episode of French occupation of Egypt was quite significant as it ushered a new era for the Muslim world-an era in which the Western nations began to penetrate into the lands of the Muslims at a breakneck speed. The story of this penetration is very painful to narrate but it proved to be a blessing in disguise since it awakened the Muslims from their slumber. The Muslim society, which was a medieval and ossified society, when it faced a relentless and superior power which subjected its people and exploited its wealth, fully realized the enormity of the danger. The method by which the policy of the Western imperialists was executed and the resistance crushed, and the way in which the culture of the conquerors was imposed, did not foster either understanding or friendship, but rather created doubts and promoted fears with regard to the intentions of the rulers. The Muslims were alarmed at the situation that not only their political freedom was in peril, but their institutions, culture, and even their faith-the bedrock of their lifewere also being threatened.The advent of the modern Christian missionary movement at

about the same time confirmed this belief. Islam as a result became a rallying call for existence and an instrument of protest against foreigners. The foreigners in turn arrived at the conclusion that unless this potent instrument was dubbed,their position in Muslim lands would not become stable. They, therefore, besides tightening their political control, tried to change the outlook of the younger generations of the Muslims by encouraging Christian missionary activity and foreign educational efforts."Throughout the Muslim world in general and the Arab world in

particular this relentless political penetration galvanized Muslims

into a reaction consonant with Islam's politico-religious structure. This structure being both a religion and a State at the same time, weakness in one was deemed by the Muslims weakness in the other and vice versa" (Nabih Amin Faris). This feeling culminated in a form of movement which aroused the Muslims on the one hand to defend their lands against the inroads of Western imperialism and on the other to save their faith against the aggression of the Christian missionary. That is how the Muslims came to realize that they could not, even if they wanted to continue to live as they had hitherto lived, be complacently secure in the illusion that the pattern of life accepted as valid in the past must for ever remain valid, for that complacency, that security of convictions and illusions, was shattered to pieces by what had happened to them in the last few decades. It was the realization of this time-lag between the demands of a new situation and their traditional ways of thinking and living which inspired them with a strong desire to cast off their fatal inertia. The Muslims were, thus, awakened to the need of taking stock of their cultural holdings. They observed that only paying lip-service to their ideology could not help them to solve the problems which had cropped up as a result of the penetration of Western Powers in their respective lands. If they really wanted to defend their freedom without obliterating Islam as a basis of their civilization, they must make a fresh start in terms of Islamic programme and thus resurrect their society from the old ashes of convention and decay. In case they did not realize the gravity of the situation and simply clung to old notions and conventions in their entirety, they would be playing the game of the proverbial ostrich that buries its head in the sand in order to escape the necessity of making a decision.If Muhammad bin 'Abd al-Wahhab of Arabia (Chap. LXXII) and

Shah Wali Allah of the Indo-Pakistan sub-continent (Chap. LXXIX) be considered to be precursors of the modern awakening in Islam and their movements the signs of the coming dawn, Jamal al-Din al-Af haani (1254/1838-1314/ 1897) must be taken to be the foremost leader of this awakening and his movement the first glow of the dawn. He was the greatest Oriental thinker of the thirteenth/nineteenth century. It has rightly been said that the message of al-Afghani burst through the reigning obscurantism as a splendid lightning. He was a thinker and at the same time a man of action, endowed with a penetrating intelligence and a great heart. His rare intellectual gifts and his high moral qualities gave to his personality the magnetism peculiar to all great leaders and drew to him many followers. Al-Afghani was for the Muslim world a comprehensive personality, being at the same time a great

thinker,1482

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a religious reformer, and a political leader. Among his contemporaries he was regarded as a remarkable writer, a charming and eloquent speaker, and a dialectician endowed with great powers of persuasion. According to Mubammad 'Abduh, be was also a man of heart and strong will, ever ready to undertake actions requiring the greatest courage and generosity, and devoted to the things of the spirit. This "wild man of genius," as Blunt called him, always refused to consider money or honours, and preferred, without doubt, to preserve his liberty of action in order to serve better the ideal to which he devoted his whole life, namely, the rebirth of the Muslim world.During his stay in Paris in 1301/1883, al-Afghani met Ernest

Renan on whom he made such an impression that the illustrious French writer could not but express his enthusiasm in these terms: "The freedom of his thought, his noble and loyal character made me believe during our conversation that I bad before me, brought to life again, one of my old acquaintances, Avicenna, Averroes, or another of those great infidels who represented during five centuries the tradition of the human spirit."

B

LIFEProblems touching the origin of Jamil al-Din are far from having

been solved. The biographers of diverse Islamic lands-Turks, Persians, Indians, and Afghans-still claim the honour of being his compatriots. In reality, although he was named al-Afghani, i. e., coming from Afghanistan, his activities and influence were widespread; every Islamic land was home to him; and, besides, he was no stranger to the capitals of Europe. He made the acquaintance of scholars, theologians, and politicians both from the East and the West.His early studies were pursued in Persia and Afghanistan where,

by the age of eighteen, he had acquired an exceptionally thorough mastery of Islamic studies, philosophy, and science. The next year and a half, spent in India, introduced him to European teachings. He then made a pilgrimage to Mecca.On his return to Afghanistan, there followed for him a decade of

political career, interrupted by the vicissitudes of civil war. His liberal ideas and his popularity with the people led to the covert hostility of the English who were supporting Amir Shir'Ali. On this Amir's accession in 1286/1869, Jamal al-Din left the country.For a short period, he visited India again. The Indian Government

honoured him, but also imposed restrictions on his activities. So he proceeded to Constantinople by way of Egypt where he made his mark at al-Azhar. In Constantinople he was well received but eventually his advanced views brought him the disfavour of the Shaikh al-Islam, and the resulting controversy was so heated that he was asked to leave the country in 1288/1871.This was the prelude to an important period of his life, his stay in

Egypt, where the warm reception given him by intellectual circles induced him to prolong his visit. There he spread his new ideas-notably influencing thefuture reformer Muhammad 'Abduh-and did much to awaken the young Egyptians to the dangers of foreign domination. Finally, however, his advanced religious views offended the conservative theologians and his political opponents, the British, and he was expelled from Egypt in 1297/1879.

Repairing to India, he wrote "The Refutation of the Materialists," a defence of Islam against modern attacks. While he was in India, the 'Arabi Rebellion broke out in Egypt, whereupon the British detained him until the defeat of 'Arabi.

Then followed a period of three years in Paris, fruitful for the publication of his ideas. In 1301/1883, he carried on a controversy with Ernest Renan on "Islam and Science," and in 1302/1884, published with his disciple Muitammad 'Abduh-exiled from Egypt for his complicity in the 'Arabi uprising-an Arabic weekly al-'Urwat al- Wu_tkga (The Indissoluble Link) aiming at arousing the Muslims against Western exploitation. The British soon banned the paper in Egypt and India; nevertheless, in its short life it did exercise some influence in these countries.

From Paris, al-Afghani went to London to discuss the Mahdi uprising in the Sudan but was unable to obtain an agreement with the British. Thence, interrupted by a four years' stay in Russia, followed a period of service under the Shah of Persia, ending in his expulsion in 1308/1890 or 1309/1891 when his reforming zeal antagonized the Shah.

Then followed another brief visit to England where Jamal al-Din started his campaign against the Shah and published his "Splendour of the Two Hemispheres" (Did' al-Khafgain) ending in his ill-fated acceptance of the Sultan of Turkey's invitation to be his guest at Constantinople for there he had to remain in "gilded

captivity" till his death in 1315/1897.C

PHILOSOPHYThe life of al-Afghani corresponded exactly with his thought; in

him theory and practice were closely linked. In this respect one might compare his mission in the modern Muslim world with that of Socrates in Hellenic antiquity. His life and thought were both marked by three characteristic traits: a subtle spirituality, a profound religious sense, and a high moral sense which influenced very strongly all his actions.1. Spirituality.-This trait manifested itself clearly in his

detachment from physical pleasures, in his pursuit of spiritual things, and in his devotion to the ideals to which he had dedicated himself.As 'Abbas al-'Aggad has said, Jamal al-Din was opposed to the

propaganda made among the Muslims in favour of materialism; with his natural perspicacity he exposed the characteristic traits of materialism. He published a book entitled "The Refutation of the Materialists" (al-Radd'ala al-Dahriyyin). "Sometimes the materialists," says al-Afghani, "proclaim their concern to purify our minds from superstition and to illuminate our intelligence with

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true knowledge; sometimes they present themselves to us as friends of the poor, protectors of the weak, and defenders of the oppressed.... Whatever the group to which they belong, their action constitutes a formidable shock which will not fail to shake the very foundations of society and destroy the fruits of its labour.... Their words would suppress the noble motives of our hearts; their ideas would poison our souls; and their tentacles would be a continual source of disturbance for the established order." Jamal al-Din had denounced the sophism and practices of the partisans of the materialistic interpretation of history before it became well known in Europe.2. Religious Sense.-This trait found its expression in almost all of

alAfghani's writings and is notably manifest in his views about the function of religion in society. "Religion," he wrote, "is the very substance of nations and the real source of the happiness of man."Moreover, true civilization, he held, is that which is based on

learning, morality, and religion, and not on material progress such

as the building of great cities, the accumulation of great riches, or the perfection of the engines of murder and destruction.3. Moral Sense.-His acute moral sense subjected him to the

famous accusation that he addressed himself against the imperialistic colonial policy of the Western powers, a policy based upon their intention to exploit the weak. He was of the view that what the Occidentals designate as "colonization" is in reality no other than what is its opposite in meaning, "decolonization," "de-population," and "destruction." It was this view that made al-Afghani

make a distinction between "the Holy Wars" of Islam, which aimed at the propagation of faith, and the economic wars of Europe, which always ended in the subjugation and enslavement of the vanquished peoples.

He clearly distinguished between "Muslim socialism," which, according to him, is based on love, reason, and freedom, and material communism," which is erected on hatred, selfishness, and tyranny.Al-Afghani was a true Muslim and a rationalist. He appealed to the

Muslims of all sects to make use of the principle of rationalism which is a special privilege of Islam. "Of all religions," he says, "Islam is almost the only one that blames those who believe without having proofs, and rebukes those who follow opinions without having any certainty.... In whatever Islam teaches, it appeals to reason ... and the holy texts proclaim that happiness consists in the right use of reason." In the same spirit, al-Afghani advocated the Mu'tazilite doctrine of free-will against fatalism; this latter is an attitude commonly but wrongly attributed to the Muslims by the Western people. According tb Jamal al-Din, there is a great difference between the Muslim belief in al-gold' w-al-qadar (predestination) and that in al-jabr (fatalism). Algadd' w-al-qadar is a belief which strengthens the faculty of resolution in man, builds up his moral stamina, and inculcates in him courage and endurance. Al-jabr, on the other hand, is nothing but an evil innovation (bid'ah) which was introduced maliciously into the Muslim world for political purposes.

Jamal al-Din al-AfghaniD

POLITICAL THOUGHTAl-Afghani made himself the champion of what Western writers

call political "Pan-Islamism," preaching the union of all Islamic peoples under the same Caliphate for the purpose of emancipating themselves from foreign domination. He used to say that "the European States justify the attacks and humiliations inflicted by them upon the countries of the East on the pretext of the latter's

backwardness. Nevertheless, the same States try to prevent by all means in their power, even by war, all attempts at reform or renaissance of the Islamic peoples. From all this arises the necessity for the Muslim world to unite in a great defensive alliance, in order to preserve itself against annihilation; to achieve this it must acquire the technique of Western progress and learn the secrets of European power."He propounded these ideas in al-' Urwat al- Wuthga, under the

title "Islamic Unity." He maintained that Muslims were once united under one glorious empire, and that their achievements in learning and philosophy and all the sciences are still the boast of all Muslims. It is a duty incumbent upon all Muslims to aid in maintaining the authority of Islam and Islamic rule over all Muslim lands, and they are not permitted under any circumstances to make peace with and be conciliatory towards anyone who contends their mastery over their lands, until they obtain complete authority without sharing it with anyone else.The bonds holding the Muslims together, al-Afghani maintained,

began to fall apart when the 'Abbasid Caliphs became contented with their titular powers ceased to encourage scholars and those trained in religious matters, and stopped the exercise of ijtihdd (free thinking). He said, "Today we see Muslim rulers giving a free hand too foreigners in managing the affairs of their States and even of their own houses and fastening the yoke of foreign rule upon their own necks. Europeans, greedy for Muslim lands, seek to destroy their religious unity and, thus, take advantage of the inner discords of Muslim countries."However, as it has been rightly pointed out, al-Afghani did not intend

to substitute religious zeal for national patriotism; he wished the efforts of the Muslim countries to converge independently of one another towards a common goal-political liberation. And it was in order to regenerate Turkey, Persia, India, and Egypt that he worked for the resuscitation of Islam, a religion which exercises such profound influence on the political and social life of those who profess it.In advocating the defence of one's own country, Jamal al-Din wrote

in the 'Urwat at- Wuthga: "To defend one's homeland is a law of nature and a precept of life bound up with the demands made by nature through the instinctive urges for food and drink." About traitors he says: "By the term 'traitor' we do not refer to the individual who sells his country for money

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and gives her over to an enemy for a price, whether it be great or smallno price for which one's country is sold can ever be great; the real traitor is one who is responsible for the enemy's taking one step on his land and who allows the enemy to plant his foot on his country's soil, while he is able to shake it loose. He indeed is the real traitor in whatever guise he may appear. Anyone who is capable of counteracting the enemy in thought or action, and then acquits himself poorly in this, is a traitor."He goes on to say: "There is no shame attached to any small and

weak nation, if she is vanquished by the armed might of a nation larger and stronger than she. But the disgrace which the passage of time will not erase ... is that the nation, or one of her individuals or a group, should run to put their necks under the enemy's yoke, whether through carelessness in the management of their affairs or out of desire for some temporary benefit, for they become thus the agents of their own destruction."The Occidentals, according to al-Afghani, adopt in the East strange

methods for suppressing the patriotic spirit, stifling national education, and destroying Oriental culture. Thus, they incite the Orientals to deny every virtue and every value in vogue in their respective countries. They persuade them that there is not, in the Arabic, Persian, or Indian languages, any literature worth mentioning, and that in their history there is not a single glory to report. They make them to believe that all merit for an Oriental consists in turning away from the understanding of his own language and in feeling proud of the fact that he cannot express himself well in his own language, and in maintaining that all he can attain in human culture resides in the jargon of some Occidental language.The Orientals, exhorted Jamal al-Din, must understand that there

cannot be a sense of being one community in a people who do not have their own language; that there cannot be a language for a people who have no literature of their own; that there can be no glory for a people who have no history of their own; that there cannot be history for a people who have no attachment to the heritage of their country or recognition of the great achievements of their men.

ECONCLUSION

Al Atgh_ani died in exile in Istanbul on the 9th of March 1897. His short life had been full of persecutions and vexations which were the

natural result either -of despotism or of ignorance, but it was a life of heroism, full of noble thoughts and lofty notions, a life which exercised on the succeeding generations of the Muslims a lasting influence which has not been surpassed.In fact, the secret of his personality and of all his activities was his

love of freedom and independence and his antagonism to any oppression whether internal or external.Self-dignity was the ideal of his life. The Muslims have to set up as

a maxim, as they did in the past, the fine principle so well expressed in the verse: "Live in dignity and die in dignity; among the blows of swords and the waving of flags."But, unfortunately, the Muslims have for long disregarded this

principle. Having accepted a life of submission and servitude, they have fallen so low that others who have adopted their maxim as an ideal of life have been able to attain higher degrees of perfection and glory.It is now necessary to proceed without delay on a new enterprise

aiming to inspire the Muslims with a new spirit and to create a new generation. It is necessary, finally, to form associations of "salvation," led by men of faith and sincerity who would swear never to seek favour from the holders of power, never to he deceived by promises, never to flinch before threats, and ever to continue their efforts till they obtain the removal, from positions of authority in their country, of all the timorous hypocrites and charlatans.More than sixty years have elapsed since the death of al-Afghani,

but his illustrious name will rest engraved in all memories and his attractive personality will remain dear to all Muslim hearts. As was pointed out by Mustafa 'Abd al-Raziq, al-Afghani was in the history of modern Orient the first defender of freedom as he was also its first martyr. Indeed, he is the father of modern renaissance in Islam.

BIBLIOGRAPHYA

Works of al-AfghaniAl-Radd 'ala al-Dahriyyin (Refutation of the Materialists), 1st edition,

Beirut, 1886; Magalat Jamdliyyah (in Persian) ed. Lutf Allah Asad Abadi, Teheran (n. d.); al-'Urwat al-Wulhga (with the collaboration of Mubammad 'Abduh), latest edition, Cairo, 1958; al-Qada' w-al-Qadar (On Predestination), al-Manor Printing Press, Cairo, 1923.

BWorks on al-Afghani

Georges Cotchy, Djamal-Eddine al-Afghani et les my8teres de Sa Majeste

Imperiale Abd al-Hamid II, Cairo (n.d.); Goldziher, "Djamal al-Din al-Afghani,"

Encyclopaedia of Islam, Vol. I; E. G. Browne, The Persian Revolution of 1905-1909,

Cambridge, 1910; Jurji Zaidan, Ma_shahir al- ,harq (Eastern Celebrities), Cairo, 1910;

W. S. Blunt, Gordon at Khartoum, London, 1911; 'Abd al-Qahir al-Qinawi, Tahrir

al-Umam min Kalb al-'Ajam (The Liberation of Nations from the Persian Dog,

a diatribe against al-Afghani), Cairo (n.d.); M. Sallam Madkour, Jamal al-Din

al-Afghani; Ba'iL al-Nahdah al-Fikhriyyah fi al-Bbarq (al-Afghani, Inspirer of theIntellectual Renaissance in the East), Cairo, 1937, (with a Preface by

Mustafa 'Abdal-Raziq); Muhammad al-Makhzoumi Pasha, Khatirat Jamal al-Din

(Thoughtsof Jamal al-Din), Beirut, 1931; Ahmad Amin, Zu'ama' al-Islah fi al-'ASr al-

Hadith(Leaders of Reform in Modern Times), Cairo, 1948; 'Abd al-Qadir al-

Mag6_ribi,1488

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Renaissance in Egypt: Muhammad 'Abduh and His School

Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, Cairo, 1948; 'Abbas al-'Aqqad, 'Ala al-Athir (On the Air), Cairo, 1947; Magam Jamal al-Din A/ghhani (in Urdu), Nafis Academy, Karachi, 1939; Ride' Hamdeni, Jamal al-Din Afghani (in Urdu), Lahore, 1951; Mustafid al-Ra1man, Jamal al-Din Afghani (in Bengali), Dacca, 1955.

Jamāḷ Al-Dīn Al-Afghāni, a Muslim Intellectual By Anwar MoazzamBismillah Walhamdulillah Was Salaatu Was Salaam 'ala Rasulillah

As-Salaam Alaikum Wa-Rahmatullahi Wa-Barakatuhu

19th Dhul Hijjah 1434 (24th October 2013)

Narrated 'Imran bin Husain (Radi-Allahu 'anhu):

The Prophet (Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wa Sallam) said, "I looked

into Paradiseand found that the majority of its dwellers were the poor people, and Ilooked into the (Hell) Fire and found that the majority of its dwellerswere women."

Bukhari Vol. 8 : No. 456

jurji zaidan al-afghani

Jurji Zaydan

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Jurji Zaydan (1861–1914, in Arabic script زيدان جورجي also transliterated Jorge Zaydân, Georgie Zeidan, or Jirjî Zaydan) was a prolific Lebanese novelist, journalist, editor and teacher most noted for his creation of the journal al-Hilal, which he used to serialize his 23 historical novels.

His primary goal as a writer and intellectual during the Nahda was to imbue the common Arabic population with knowledge of their own history through the entertaining medium of the novel and enjoyed a widespread popularity that remains today.

Contents

[hide]

1 Early life 2 Career 3 The Historical Novel 4 Death and Impact 5 Major Works

o 5.1 Works on History o 5.2 Autobiography o 5.3 Magazine o 5.4 Novels

6 Translations 7 References 8 Sources 9 Works

Early life[edit]

Zaydan was born December 14, 1861 in Beirut to an Orthodox Christian family of limited means. His father owned a restaurant and, being illiterate and uneducated himself, placed little importance on education. Because of this, Zaydan dropped out of school after completing an elementary education to help his father run the business.[1]

However he maintained a desire to educate himself by attending night classes in English until, in 1881, at the age of 20, he was admitted to the Syrian Protestant College as a medical student. Here, he developed an interest in concepts of individualism such as laissez-faire economics, the Freemason belief in a universal enlightenment, and social Darwinism.[1] He was particularly influenced by Samuel Smile’s book, Self-Help (published in 1859), which he felt he could relate to due to its emphasis on a rags-to-riches success story built upon hard work and perseverance.[2] Furthermore, the book’s focus on individualism and the self, a relatively new concept in Arab intellectual thought, would be a common theme in Zaydan’s later historical novels.

He attended the university around the same time as Ya’qub Sarrouf (1852–1927), who first translated Self-Help into Arabic and would later found the magazine al-Muqtataf (1876), with whom he shared ideals of modernizing the Arab world and emphasis on individual success through hard work.[3]

Cornelius Van Dyck (1818–1895), an American professor of pathology at the Syrian Protestant College known for his translation of the Bible into Arabic in 1847, first encouraged Sarrouf to translate Self-HelpA. He also influenced Zaydan’s worldview, leading him to adopt the idea that education was the most important factor for the progress and development of a people.[3] Such widespread education could only be reached by widespread internal reform and modernization of all aspects of Arab government and daily life. Zaydan therefore became critical of contemporaries such as Mustafa Kamal and Ahmed Orabi, who were concerned solely with

gaining independence from Western influence. Zaydan argued that reform must precede independence in order to ensure success.

In 1882, professor E. Lewis was fired from the Syrian Protestant College for lightly praising Charles Darwin in a speech he made to students of the college. Because the concept of Darwinism was highly controversial amongst the Protestant Church at the time, it had forbidden its inclusion in any curriculum. This led to mass protests amongst the students, many of whom left or were expelled for rebelling.[1] Additionally, many of the European priests running the college were beginning to favor English over Arabic as the language of education. Zaydan was among those who left Syria for Cairo, where many Lebanese intellectuals and members of the Nahda had already relocated as a reaction to increased Ottoman suppression.

After a short stint in the Medical School of ‘Ain ‘Sans and a military expedition with the British army to the Sudan, he turned his focus to developing his writing career.[1]

A. Ya’qub Sarrouf began publishing al-Muqtataf in 1876 with help from Cornelius Van Dyck and his Syrian Protestant College classmates Faris Namir and Shahin Makarius. The magazine was primarily concerned covering modern scientific advancements, the first to do so in the Arab world, and is particularly known for its controversial coverage of the theory of evolution and Darwinism in the early 1880s.

Career[edit]

After briefly serving as assistant editor for al-Muqtataf, Zaydan began producing scholarly works on various historical topics. This interest in history propelled him to travel to London to research Arabic history in the library of the British Museum.

His first book was published in 1889 with Ta’rikh al-Masuniya al-Amm, in which he aimed to correct misconceptions about the Freemasons, of which he was a member for a brief period of time. The Freemason belief that universal knowledge existed and should be available to every person appealed to intellectuals like Zaydan and their quest to tap into this knowledge.

In 1890, he published al-Ta’rikh al-'Alamm (History of the World), a rather thin history of Asia and Africa with a focus on the Middle East.

Still, it is cited as one of the first non-Islamic histories to be written in Arabic, marking a turning point in the development of modern Arab education. Before, the entirety of Arab history had been recorded by the ulama, the religious scholars of the Caliphate. This was the first attempt at recording a non-religious version of Middle Eastern history.

During this time, he taught Arabic and opened a publishing house he named Dar al-Hilal (The Crescent). His professional and personal life took a turn in 1891 with his marriage to Maryam Matar and the publication of his first historical novel, al-Mamluk al-Shariid (The Fleeing Mamluk).[2] The novel met with such broad success that he was able to quit his teaching job. He would continue to steadily produce roughly one novel a year until his death in 1914.[1]

He began publishing his most influential project, the journal al-Hilal (The Crescent) in 1892. It originally contained five sections—a history of the most famous men and events; articles by him or other writers; the serialization of his historical novels; monthly events and world news of Egypt and Syria; and eulogies and criticism, mostly involving contemporary literature.[1] With its focus on informing the public about Islamic history and new concepts within Western Civilization, the magazine often took on an encyclopedic tone.

His primary aim remained steady throughout his publication of al-Hilal and his historical novels. This was to provide the common Arabic people with an accurate sense of their own history in an accessible, entertaining way. Because of this, historical accuracy took firm precedence over plot and character development in each of his novels, and was often critical of Western writers who bent historical fact to fit their literature, claiming such liberties misled the general public.[2]

The Historical Novel[edit]

Zaydan would typically write his annual novel during the summer months when al-Hilal wasn’t published in order to begin its serialization in the fall. Every novel with the exception of one had an almost identical frame. He would begin each one by picking a historical topic—though his novels did not follow a logical timeline, they were all centered on some aspect of Islamic history. Next, he would read all available sources on the topic in order to gain the most thorough understanding possible. From this he would build a

skeleton outline based entirely on historical fact. Finally, he would dream up characters and a romance through which he would relate the history.[2]

The scholar’s accuracy with which he approached each novel is further demonstrated by his frequent inclusion of documented sources, frequent footnotes and introductory chapters that provided historic, cultural, and geographic context to the historic event of choice[4] The entertainment aspect came in with a love story between fictitious characters and a mystery of some sort to maintain reader interest. His plots were often weak, relying mostly on convenient coincidences between characters to drive the love story and mystery, with almost all of his novels ending in a happily ever after.[2]

His characters were often one-dimensional, with no insight given on their skills, background or their view of the time, institutions or society they were a part of. Because he would present all character traits and personalities within the first mention of each character, character development was never present. These static characters, coupled with his straightforward, journalistic style were ideal for relating an objective and accurate history in the clearest way possible to the broad Arab public.

Along with providing the general population with education, he also aimed to develop the “philosophy of language,” which has the explicit purpose of informing, educating and enlightening. He was critical of writing that was accessible to only a small group of people, especially the esoteric language in religious scholarship. Because of the 10% literacy rate among men and .05% among women of the time, such gilded language was largely inaccessible to the general public.[1] The introduction of the novel, especially one written in simple, clear language, is particularly noted for shifting the act of reading from the scholarly elite to the individual.

Death and Impact[edit]

In 1910, the newly opened Egyptian University offered Zaydan a professorship in Islamic History, which Zaydan was hesitant to accept due to his unpopularity amongst conservative Muslims. He did accept the position, but was dismissed before beginning in response to significant outcry from the Muslim public, who objected to his Christian origins and secular leanings. Zaydan’s secular take

on history was particularly controversial in Tarikh al-Tamaddun al-Islam (The History of the Islamic Civilization, 1901–1906), in which he offers a critical secular reading of Islamic history in no less than five volumes. The experience embittered him until his unexpected death in 1914.[1]

Leaving behind a legacy that includes 23 published novels, numerous scholarly works, and a magazine then circulated in Persia, India, Japan, Western Africa, Zanzibar, Australia, New Zealand, the West Indies, and North and South America, he was one of the most prolific and renowned Arab writers of the time. His impact left a lasting impression on the general Arab population as well as such literary giants as Taha Hussein, Najib Muhfuz and poet Fadwa Tuqan.[4]

Beyond the amount of work he produced in his lifetime though is the shift in thinking he brought to the Nahda and those who followed it. Because the Arabic novel was written in an accessible language, individualized education took a huge step away from the religious elite and towards the general population. His printing press greatly aided in this attempt to spread new knowledge and ideas to people of all backgrounds. With the creation of a population that is thinking and speaking for itself, came the creation of a dialogue, and with that, the desire of the population to point out what is unsatisfactory in society and to come up with an idea on how to change it.

Major Works[edit]

Works on History[edit]

1889: Ta’rih al-masuniya al-amm (History of the Freemasons) 1890: al-Ta’rih al-‘Amm (The History of the World) 1899: Ta’rih al-yunan wa A’r-ruman 1901-1906: Ta’rih al-Tamaddun al-Islamii 5 vols. (History of Islamic

Civilization) 1907: al-‘Arab qabla l-Islam 1910-1913: Ta’rih adab al-luga al-‘arabiya 4 vols. (The History of Arabic

Literature)

Autobiography[edit]

1966: Mudakkirat Gurgi Zaidan (The Life of Jurji Zaidan)

Magazine[edit]

1892-1914: al-Hilal vol. I-XXII

Novels[edit]

1891: al-Mamluk al-Sariid (The Fleeing Mamluk) 1892: Asir al-Mutamahdi (The Captive of the Mahdi Pretender) 1893: Istibad al-Mamalik (Despotism of the Mamluks) 1893: Gihad al-Muhibbin 1896: Armansura al-Misriyya (Egyptian Armanusa) 1897/98: Fatat Gassan 1899: ‘Adra Qurais 1900: 17 Ramadan 1901: Gadat Karbala 1902: al-Haggag ibn Yusuf 1903: Fath al-Andalus 1904: Sarl wa-‘abd al-Rahman 1905: Abu muslim al-Hurasani 1906: al-‘Abbasa ucht al-Rasid 1907: al-Amin wa ‘l-ma’mun 1908: ‘Arus fargana 1909: Ahmad ibn Tulun 1910: ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Nasir 1911: al-Inqilab al-‘uthmani 1912: Fatat al-Qairawan 1913: Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi 1914: Sagar al-Durr

Translations[edit]

Until recently, Zaydan's works were not available in English, although they have been translated in a dozen other languages.[5] The Zaidan Foundation, set up by his grandson Dr George Zaidan in order to promote Arab culture, has commissioned translations of five of his twenty-two historical novels. The work began in 2009 and the books are due to be released in 2011-12.[dated info] The books are:

The Conquest of Andalusia (Fath al-Andalus). Translation by Professor Roger Allen (UPenn). October 2011.

The Battle of Poitiers (or Charles Martel and 'Abd al- Rahman). Translated by Professor William Granara (Harvard). December 2011.

The Caliph's Sister — Harun al-Rashid and the Fall of the Persians (al-Abbasa Ukht al-Rashid). Translated by Professor Issa J. Boullata (McGill). February 2012.

The Caliph's Heirs — Brothers at War: the Fall of Baghdad (al-Amin wal-Ma'mun). Translated by Professor Michael Cooperson (UCLA). February 2012.

Saladin and the Assassins (Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi). Translated by Professor Paul Starkey (Durham University). April 2012.

Also in 2011, the translator Samah Selim translated Zaydan's novel Shajarat al-Durr into English. The book won the Arkansas Arabic Translation Award.

References[edit]

1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h Thomas Philipp (1979). Gurgi Zaidan His Life And Thought. Beirut: Orient Institut. ISBN 3-515-01842-5.

2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Matti Moosa (1983). The Origins of Modern Arabic Fiction. Washington, D.C.: Three Continents. ISBN 978-0-89410-684-2.

3. ^ Jump up to: a b Donald M. Reid (1970). "Syrian Christians, the Rags-to-Riches Story, and Free Enterprise". Cambridge University Press.

4. ^ Jump up to: a b Stephen Sheehi (1999). "Doubleness and Duality: Jurji Zaydan's Al-Mamluk Al-Sharid and Allegories of Becoming". Index Islamicus: Journal of Arabic Literature.

5. Jump up ̂ Zaidan Foundation

Sources[edit]

Cachia, Pierre. "Literature: Arabic." Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa. 2nd ed. Vol. 3. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2004. 1418-422. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Gale, Cengage Learning, 2004. Web.

Moosa, Matti. The Origins of Modern Arabic Fiction. Washington, D.C.: Three Continents, 1983. Print.

Philipp, Thomas, and Jirji Zaydan. Gurgi Zaidan: His Life and Thought. Beirut: Orient-Institut, 1979. Print.

Reid, Donald M. "Syrian Christians, the Rags-to-Riches Story, and Free Enterprise." International Journal of Middle East Studies 1.4 (1970): 358-67. JSTOR. Cambridge University Press. Web.

Sheehi, Stephen. "Doubleness and Duality: Jurji Zaydan's Al-Mamluk Al-Sharid and Allegories of Becoming." Journal of Arabic Literature 30.I (1999): 90-105. Index Islamicus. Academic Search Complete. Web.

Ware, L. B. "Women's Emancipation in the Middle East: Jurji Zaydan's View." Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies 2.Iv (1979): 38-55. Index Islamicus. Web.

Works[edit]

Yaʻqūb Ṣarrūf (1893). al-Muqta ṭ af, Volume 17 . Retrieved 2011-07-06.

The Pan‐Islamic appeal: Afghani and Abdülhamid II

Middle Eastern Studies

Volume 3, Issue 1, 1966

DOI:10.1080/00263206608700061

Nikki R. Keddie 

pages 46-67Shi'ism: A Religion of Protest By Hamid Dabashi

Arab reformers and nationalists

From: Encyclopedia of World History: Age of Revolution and Empire, 1750

to 1900, vol. 4.

During the 19th century a number of Arab intellectuals led the way for reforms and cultural changes in the Arab world. Rifa'a al-Tahtawi from Egypt was one of the first and foremost reformers. A graduate of esteemed Muslim university al-Azhar, Tahtawi was sent to France to study as part of Muhammad Ali's modernizing program. He returned to Egypt, where he served as director of the Royal School of Administration and School of Languages, was editor of the Official Gazette, and Director of Department of Translations.

Tahtawi published dozens of his own works as well as translations of French works into Arabic. In A Paris Profile, Tahtawi described his interactions as a Muslim Egyptian with French culture and society. His account was an open-minded and balanced one, offering praise as well as criticism for many aspects of Western civilization. For example, Tahtawi respected French originality in the arts but was offended by public displays of drunkenness.

Tahtawi urged the study of the modern world and stressed the need of education for both boys and girls; he believed citizens needed to take an active role in building a civilized society.

Khayr al-Din, an Ottoman official from Tunisia, echoed Tahtawi's emphasis on education while also addressing the problems of authoritarian rule. He advocated limiting the power of the sultan through law and consultation and wrote the first constitution in the Ottoman Empire.

The Egyptian writer Muhammad Abduh dealt with the ongoing question of how to become part of the modern world while remaining a Muslim. He was heavily influenced by the pan-Islamic thought of Jamal al-Din al-Afghani. Abduh taught in Lebanon, traveled to Paris, and held several government positions in Egypt. He became mufti of Egypt in 1899 and was responsible for religious law and issued fatwas (legal opinions on disputed points of religious law).

Abduh became one of the most highly respected and revered figures in Egypt, although some conservatives opposed his reforms and open-mindedness while some more radical nationalists berated him for not being liberal enough. In his publications, including Face to Face with Science and Civilizations and Memoirs, he urged the

spiritual revival of the Muslim and Arab world, arguing that Islam was not incompatible with modern science and technology. He also stressed the importance not only of law but of reason in Islamic society.

Originally from Syria, Muhammad Rashid Rida was a follower of Abduh. He moved to Egypt and founded the highly respected journal al-Manar. His writings had a wide influence on Islamic thought, and he became one of the foremost spokespersons for what has become known as political Islam. Rida also discussed socialism and Bolshevism and the role religion should play in contemporary political life.

Egyptian Abdullah al-Nadim edited several satirical journals and was a staunch supporter of the Urabi revolt of 1881–82. He also knew Jamal al-Afghani. Al-Nadim was exiled to Istanbul after his fiery nationalist stance earned him the enmity of the British.

Al-Nadim spoke openly about the growth of the nation (watan) and was one of the first modern Egyptian nationalists. In 1899 Anis al-Jalis started an Egyptian magazine that carried articles dealing with the role of women in society.

A new educated elite emerged as graduates of the many government and other schools that had been established as part of the reforming era of the Tanzimat entered public life. In the Sudan, the British founded Gordon College to educate male youth for government service. Other schools founded by missionaries included the Syrian Protestant College (American University of Beirut, AUB), the Jesuit University St. Joseph in Beirut, and various Russian Orthodox schools scattered throughout Greater Syria. The Alliance Israelite sponsored schools for Jewish students throughout the Ottoman Empire. Separate mission schools were also established for girls. A spirit of outward-looking, pro-Western thought prevailed, and many of the elites had extensive experience with the Western world. Many were bilingual in French or English.

Nineteenth-century Arab intellectuals, many of whom were Christians, fostered a literary renaissance with a revival of interest in the Arabic language. Some sought to modernize Arabic prose and poetic styles. Butrus Bustani was one of the era's foremost experts in the Arabic language. He also wrote a multivolume encyclopedia with thoughtful entries on science and literature as well as history. Numerous newspapers were published, especially in Cairo and

Beirut. Al-Muqtataf produced in Cairo by Yacoub Sarruf and Faris Nimr was one of the most famous. In 1875 the Taqla family founded al-Ahram, which became the premier newspaper in the Arab world. Many of these new journals were published in Egypt, where there was greater freedom of the press afforded by the British than in Ottoman-controlled provinces.

Nationalism spread around the world in the 19th century, and the Arab provinces were no exception. A generation of Arab nationalists began to talk and write about the relationship of the Arabs within the Ottoman Empire and the role religion should and did play in modern nationalism. These early nationalists did not deny the importance of religion but used nationalism as their point of reference.

The first group that dealt with the controversial issue of separation from the Ottoman Empire on the basis of national identity was formed at the Syrian Protestant College in Beirut in 1847. Its members, who met secretly to avoid prosecution from the Ottoman intelligence services, included Faris Nimr. They met under the guise of being a literary society; while the members did discuss literature they also delved into the important political questions facing the declining Ottoman Empire as well as the emergence of nascent Arab nationalism. Various groups continued to meet at the college from 1847 to 1868 when a Beirut society began. Its members discussed the key political issues of Arab identity. The so-called Darwin affair of 1882 caused a number of the leading figures of the movement to leave the college. In a public address, Dr. Edwin Lewis, a professor at the college, discussed Darwin's theory of evolution; his positive conclusions about Darwin's controversial theory roused the enmity of conservative American Christians on campus. They attacked Lewis in print and forced his resignation. Several of the liberal Arab junior faculty, including Nimr and Sarruf, resigned in outrage and moved to Cairo, where they became leading figures among Christian Arab secularists.

Abd al-Rahman al-Kawakibi was born in Syria, but after his writings about Arab identity roused the enmity of Khedive Abbas Hilmi, he left Syria and became a frequent contributor to al-Manar, the journal edited by Rashid Rida. In his writings, Kawakibi discussed the key role of the Arabs in Islam; he also described the decadence and weaknesses of the Ottoman Empire. He stressed the importance of Arab unity. Another Arab nationalist, Jurji Zaidan, wrote for the journal al-Hilal. Whereas pan-Islamists, such as al-Afghani, believed

in the supremacy and integrity of the Islamic legacy, pan-Arabists like Zaidan emphasized its uniquely Arab character and the importance of history, language, and culture over religion. The ideas of these early Arab nationalists would come to fruition with World War I and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century.

 

Abdel-Malek, Anouar, ed. Contemporary Arab Political Thought. London: Zed Books, 1970.

Hourani, Albert. Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age, 1798–1939. London: Oxford University Press, 1962.

———. A History of the Arab Peoples. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1991.

Philipp, Thomas, ed. The Autobiography of Jurji Zaidan. Boulder, CO: Three Continents Press, 1990.

Text Citation (Chicago Manual of Style format):

Terry, Janice J. "Arab reformers and nationalists." In Ackermann, Marsha E., Michael Schroeder, Janice J. Terry, Jiu-Hwa Lo Upshur, and Mark F. Whitters, eds. Encyclopedia of World History: Age of Revolution and Empire, 1750 to 1900, vol. 4. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Modern World History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE53&iPin=WHIV024&SingleRecord=True (accessed October 24, 2013).

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Arabs Face the Modern World: Religious, Cultural, and Political Responses to ...

 By Nissim Rejwan Chapter LXXIVJAMAL AL-DIN AL-AFGHANI

AINTRODUCTION

While Europe was disengaging herself from the spiritual hold of Rome and embarking upon the hazardous yet challenging road of freedom, the Arab world was being isolated from and insulated against almost all outside influences and changes. This process of isolation and insulation continued unabated till it came to an abrupt end at the time of the Napoleonic expedition against Egypt in 1213/1798. This was indeed the first serious external stimulus that the Arab and the Muslim world had received since the Ottoman conquest in 922/1516. The episode of French occupation of Egypt was quite significant as it ushered a new era for the Muslim world-an era in which the Western nations began to penetrate into the lands of the Muslims at a breakneck speed. The story of this penetration is very painful to narrate but it proved to be a blessing in disguise since it awakened the Muslims from their slumber. The Muslim society, which was a medieval and ossified society, when it faced a relentless and superior power which subjected its people and exploited its wealth, fully realized the enormity of the danger. The method by which the policy of the Western imperialists was executed and the resistance crushed, and the way in which the culture of the conquerors was imposed, did not foster either understanding or friendship, but rather created doubts and promoted fears with regard to the intentions of the rulers. The Muslims were alarmed at the situation that not only their political freedom was in peril, but their institutions, culture, and even their faith-the bedrock of their lifewere also being threatened.The advent of the modern Christian missionary movement at

about the same time confirmed this belief. Islam as a result became

a rallying call for existence and an instrument of protest against foreigners. The foreigners in turn arrived at the conclusion that unless this potent instrument was dubbed,their position in Muslim lands would not become stable. They, therefore, besides tightening their political control, tried to change the outlook of the younger generations of the Muslims by encouraging Christian missionary activity and foreign educational efforts."Throughout the Muslim world in general and the Arab world in

particular this relentless political penetration galvanized Muslims into a reaction consonant with Islam's politico-religious structure. This structure being both a religion and a State at the same time, weakness in one was deemed by the Muslims weakness in the other and vice versa" (Nabih Amin Faris). This feeling culminated in a form of movement which aroused the Muslims on the one hand to defend their lands against the inroads of Western imperialism and on the other to save their faith against the aggression of the Christian missionary. That is how the Muslims came to realize that they could not, even if they wanted to continue to live as they had hitherto lived, be complacently secure in the illusion that the pattern of life accepted as valid in the past must for ever remain valid, for that complacency, that security of convictions and illusions, was shattered to pieces by what had happened to them in the last few decades. It was the realization of this time-lag between the demands of a new situation and their traditional ways of thinking and living which inspired them with a strong desire to cast off their fatal inertia. The Muslims were, thus, awakened to the need of taking stock of their cultural holdings. They observed that only paying lip-service to their ideology could not help them to solve the problems which had cropped up as a result of the penetration of Western Powers in their respective lands. If they really wanted to defend their freedom without obliterating Islam as a basis of their civilization, they must make a fresh start in terms of Islamic programme and thus resurrect their society from the old ashes of convention and decay. In case they did not realize the gravity of the situation and simply clung to old notions and conventions in their entirety, they would be playing the game of the proverbial ostrich that buries its head in the sand in order to escape the necessity of making a decision.If Muhammad bin 'Abd al-Wahhab of Arabia (Chap. LXXII) and

Shah Wali Allah of the Indo-Pakistan sub-continent (Chap. LXXIX) be considered to be precursors of the modern awakening in Islam and their movements the signs of the coming dawn, Jamal al-Din al-Af haani (1254/1838-1314/ 1897) must be taken to be the

foremost leader of this awakening and his movement the first glow of the dawn. He was the greatest Oriental thinker of the thirteenth/nineteenth century. It has rightly been said that the message of al-Afghani burst through the reigning obscurantism as a splendid lightning. He was a thinker and at the same time a man of action, endowed with a penetrating intelligence and a great heart. His rare intellectual gifts and his high moral qualities gave to his personality the magnetism peculiar to all great leaders and drew to him many followers. Al-Afghani was for the Muslim world a comprehensive personality, being at the same time a great thinker,

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a religious reformer, and a political leader. Among his contemporaries he was regarded as a remarkable writer, a charming and eloquent speaker, and a dialectician endowed with great powers of persuasion. According to Mubammad 'Abduh, be was also a man of heart and strong will, ever ready to undertake actions requiring the greatest courage and generosity, and devoted to the things of the spirit. This "wild man of genius," as Blunt called him, always refused to consider money or honours, and preferred, without doubt, to preserve his liberty of action in order to serve better the ideal to which he devoted his whole life, namely, the rebirth of the Muslim world.During his stay in Paris in 1301/1883, al-Afghani met Ernest

Renan on whom he made such an impression that the illustrious French writer could not but express his enthusiasm in these terms: "The freedom of his thought, his noble and loyal character made me believe during our conversation that I bad before me, brought to life again, one of my old acquaintances, Avicenna, Averroes, or another of those great infidels who represented during five centuries the tradition of the human spirit."

B

LIFEProblems touching the origin of Jamil al-Din are far from having

been solved. The biographers of diverse Islamic lands-Turks, Persians, Indians, and Afghans-still claim the honour of being his compatriots. In reality, although he was named al-Afghani, i. e., coming from Afghanistan, his activities and influence were

widespread; every Islamic land was home to him; and, besides, he was no stranger to the capitals of Europe. He made the acquaintance of scholars, theologians, and politicians both from the East and the West.His early studies were pursued in Persia and Afghanistan where,

by the age of eighteen, he had acquired an exceptionally thorough mastery of Islamic studies, philosophy, and science. The next year and a half, spent in India, introduced him to European teachings. He then made a pilgrimage to Mecca.On his return to Afghanistan, there followed for him a decade of

political career, interrupted by the vicissitudes of civil war. His liberal ideas and his popularity with the people led to the covert hostility of the English who were supporting Amir Shir'Ali. On this Amir's accession in 1286/1869, Jamal al-Din left the country.For a short period, he visited India again. The Indian Government

honoured him, but also imposed restrictions on his activities. So he proceeded to Constantinople by way of Egypt where he made his mark at al-Azhar. In Constantinople he was well received but eventually his advanced views brought him the disfavour of the Shaikh al-Islam, and the resulting controversy was so heated that he was asked to leave the country in 1288/1871.This was the prelude to an important period of his life, his stay in

Egypt, where the warm reception given him by intellectual circles induced him to prolong his visit. There he spread his new ideas-notably influencing thefuture reformer Muhammad 'Abduh-and did much to awaken the young Egyptians to the dangers of foreign domination. Finally, however, his advanced religious views offended the conservative theologians and his political opponents, the British, and he was expelled from Egypt in 1297/1879.

Repairing to India, he wrote "The Refutation of the Materialists," a defence of Islam against modern attacks. While he was in India, the 'Arabi Rebellion broke out in Egypt, whereupon the British detained him until the defeat of 'Arabi.

Then followed a period of three years in Paris, fruitful for the publication of his ideas. In 1301/1883, he carried on a controversy with Ernest Renan on "Islam and Science," and in 1302/1884, published with his disciple Muitammad 'Abduh-exiled from Egypt for his complicity in the 'Arabi uprising-an Arabic weekly al-'Urwat al- Wu_tkga (The Indissoluble Link) aiming at arousing the Muslims against Western exploitation. The British soon banned the paper in Egypt and India; nevertheless, in its short life it did exercise some influence in these countries.

From Paris, al-Afghani went to London to discuss the Mahdi

uprising in the Sudan but was unable to obtain an agreement with the British. Thence, interrupted by a four years' stay in Russia, followed a period of service under the Shah of Persia, ending in his expulsion in 1308/1890 or 1309/1891 when his reforming zeal antagonized the Shah.

Then followed another brief visit to England where Jamal al-Din started his campaign against the Shah and published his "Splendour of the Two Hemispheres" (Did' al-Khafgain) ending in his ill-fated acceptance of the Sultan of Turkey's invitation to be his guest at Constantinople for there he had to remain in "gilded captivity" till his death in 1315/1897.

C

PHILOSOPHYThe life of al-Afghani corresponded exactly with his thought; in

him theory and practice were closely linked. In this respect one might compare his mission in the modern Muslim world with that of Socrates in Hellenic antiquity. His life and thought were both marked by three characteristic traits: a subtle spirituality, a profound religious sense, and a high moral sense which influenced very strongly all his actions.1. Spirituality.-This trait manifested itself clearly in his

detachment from physical pleasures, in his pursuit of spiritual things, and in his devotion to the ideals to which he had dedicated himself.As 'Abbas al-'Aggad has said, Jamal al-Din was opposed to the

propaganda made among the Muslims in favour of materialism; with his natural perspicacity he exposed the characteristic traits of materialism. He published a book entitled "The Refutation of the Materialists" (al-Radd'ala al-Dahriyyin). "Sometimes the materialists," says al-Afghani, "proclaim their concern to purify our minds from superstition and to illuminate our intelligence with

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true knowledge; sometimes they present themselves to us as friends of the poor, protectors of the weak, and defenders of the oppressed.... Whatever the group to which they belong, their action constitutes a formidable shock which will not fail to shake the very foundations of society and destroy the fruits of its labour.... Their words would suppress the noble motives of our hearts; their ideas would poison our souls; and their tentacles would be a continual

source of disturbance for the established order." Jamal al-Din had denounced the sophism and practices of the partisans of the materialistic interpretation of history before it became well known in Europe.2. Religious Sense.-This trait found its expression in almost all of

alAfghani's writings and is notably manifest in his views about the function of religion in society. "Religion," he wrote, "is the very substance of nations and the real source of the happiness of man."Moreover, true civilization, he held, is that which is based on

learning, morality, and religion, and not on material progress such as the building of great cities, the accumulation of great riches, or the perfection of the engines of murder and destruction.3. Moral Sense.-His acute moral sense subjected him to the

famous accusation that he addressed himself against the imperialistic colonial policy of the Western powers, a policy based upon their intention to exploit the weak. He was of the view that what the Occidentals designate as "colonization" is in reality no other than what is its opposite in meaning, "decolonization," "de-population," and "destruction." It was this view that made al-Afghani

make a distinction between "the Holy Wars" of Islam, which aimed at the propagation of faith, and the economic wars of Europe, which always ended in the subjugation and enslavement of the vanquished peoples.

He clearly distinguished between "Muslim socialism," which, according to him, is based on love, reason, and freedom, and material communism," which is erected on hatred, selfishness, and tyranny.Al-Afghani was a true Muslim and a rationalist. He appealed to the

Muslims of all sects to make use of the principle of rationalism which is a special privilege of Islam. "Of all religions," he says, "Islam is almost the only one that blames those who believe without having proofs, and rebukes those who follow opinions without having any certainty.... In whatever Islam teaches, it appeals to reason ... and the holy texts proclaim that happiness consists in the right use of reason." In the same spirit, al-Afghani advocated the Mu'tazilite doctrine of free-will against fatalism; this latter is an attitude commonly but wrongly attributed to the Muslims by the Western people. According tb Jamal al-Din, there is a great difference between the Muslim belief in al-gold' w-al-qadar (predestination) and that in al-jabr (fatalism). Algadd' w-al-qadar is a belief which strengthens the faculty of resolution in man, builds up his moral stamina, and inculcates in him courage and endurance. Al-jabr, on the other hand, is nothing but an evil innovation (bid'ah) which was introduced maliciously into the

Muslim world for political purposes.Jamal al-Din al-Afghani

DPOLITICAL THOUGHT

Al-Afghani made himself the champion of what Western writers call political "Pan-Islamism," preaching the union of all Islamic peoples under the same Caliphate for the purpose of emancipating themselves from foreign domination. He used to say that "the European States justify the attacks and humiliations inflicted by them upon the countries of the East on the pretext of the latter's backwardness. Nevertheless, the same States try to prevent by all means in their power, even by war, all attempts at reform or renaissance of the Islamic peoples. From all this arises the necessity for the Muslim world to unite in a great defensive alliance, in order to preserve itself against annihilation; to achieve this it must acquire the technique of Western progress and learn the secrets of European power."He propounded these ideas in al-' Urwat al- Wuthga, under the

title "Islamic Unity." He maintained that Muslims were once united under one glorious empire, and that their achievements in learning and philosophy and all the sciences are still the boast of all Muslims. It is a duty incumbent upon all Muslims to aid in maintaining the authority of Islam and Islamic rule over all Muslim lands, and they are not permitted under any circumstances to make peace with and be conciliatory towards anyone who contends their mastery over their lands, until they obtain complete authority without sharing it with anyone else.The bonds holding the Muslims together, al-Afghani maintained,

began to fall apart when the 'Abbasid Caliphs became contented with their titular powers ceased to encourage scholars and those trained in religious matters, and stopped the exercise of ijtihdd (free thinking). He said, "Today we see Muslim rulers giving a free hand too foreigners in managing the affairs of their States and even of their own houses and fastening the yoke of foreign rule upon their own necks. Europeans, greedy for Muslim lands, seek to destroy their religious unity and, thus, take advantage of the inner discords of Muslim countries."However, as it has been rightly pointed out, al-Afghani did not intend

to substitute religious zeal for national patriotism; he wished the efforts of the Muslim countries to converge independently of one another towards a common goal-political liberation. And it was in order to regenerate Turkey, Persia, India, and Egypt that he worked for the resuscitation of Islam, a religion which exercises such profound influence on the political and social life of those who

profess it.In advocating the defence of one's own country, Jamal al-Din wrote

in the 'Urwat at- Wuthga: "To defend one's homeland is a law of nature and a precept of life bound up with the demands made by nature through the instinctive urges for food and drink." About traitors he says: "By the term 'traitor' we do not refer to the individual who sells his country for money

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and gives her over to an enemy for a price, whether it be great or smallno price for which one's country is sold can ever be great; the real traitor is one who is responsible for the enemy's taking one step on his land and who allows the enemy to plant his foot on his country's soil, while he is able to shake it loose. He indeed is the real traitor in whatever guise he may appear. Anyone who is capable of counteracting the enemy in thought or action, and then acquits himself poorly in this, is a traitor."He goes on to say: "There is no shame attached to any small and

weak nation, if she is vanquished by the armed might of a nation larger and stronger than she. But the disgrace which the passage of time will not erase ... is that the nation, or one of her individuals or a group, should run to put their necks under the enemy's yoke, whether through carelessness in the management of their affairs or out of desire for some temporary benefit, for they become thus the agents of their own destruction."The Occidentals, according to al-Afghani, adopt in the East strange

methods for suppressing the patriotic spirit, stifling national education, and destroying Oriental culture. Thus, they incite the Orientals to deny every virtue and every value in vogue in their respective countries. They persuade them that there is not, in the Arabic, Persian, or Indian languages, any literature worth mentioning, and that in their history there is not a single glory to report. They make them to believe that all merit for an Oriental consists in turning away from the understanding of his own language and in feeling proud of the fact that he cannot express himself well in his own language, and in maintaining that all he can attain in human culture resides in the jargon of some Occidental language.The Orientals, exhorted Jamal al-Din, must understand that there

cannot be a sense of being one community in a people who do not have their own language; that there cannot be a language for a people who have no literature of their own; that there can be no glory for a people who have no history of their own; that there cannot be history for a people who have no attachment to the heritage of their country or recognition of the great achievements of their men.

ECONCLUSION

Al Atgh_ani died in exile in Istanbul on the 9th of March 1897. His short life had been full of persecutions and vexations which were the natural result either -of despotism or of ignorance, but it was a life of heroism, full of noble thoughts and lofty notions, a life which exercised on the succeeding generations of the Muslims a lasting influence which has not been surpassed.In fact, the secret of his personality and of all his activities was his

love of freedom and independence and his antagonism to any oppression whether internal or external.Self-dignity was the ideal of his life. The Muslims have to set up as

a maxim, as they did in the past, the fine principle so well expressed in the verse: "Live in dignity and die in dignity; among the blows of swords and the waving of flags."But, unfortunately, the Muslims have for long disregarded this

principle. Having accepted a life of submission and servitude, they have fallen so low that others who have adopted their maxim as an ideal of life have been able to attain higher degrees of perfection and glory.It is now necessary to proceed without delay on a new enterprise

aiming to inspire the Muslims with a new spirit and to create a new generation. It is necessary, finally, to form associations of "salvation," led by men of faith and sincerity who would swear never to seek favour from the holders of power, never to he deceived by promises, never to flinch before threats, and ever to continue their efforts till they obtain the removal, from positions of authority in their country, of all the timorous hypocrites and charlatans.More than sixty years have elapsed since the death of al-Afghani,

but his illustrious name will rest engraved in all memories and his attractive personality will remain dear to all Muslim hearts. As was pointed out by Mustafa 'Abd al-Raziq, al-Afghani was in the history of modern Orient the first defender of freedom as he was also its first martyr. Indeed, he is the father of modern renaissance in Islam.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

AWorks of al-Afghani

Al-Radd 'ala al-Dahriyyin (Refutation of the Materialists), 1st edition, Beirut, 1886; Magalat Jamdliyyah (in Persian) ed. Lutf Allah Asad Abadi, Teheran (n. d.); al-'Urwat al-Wulhga (with the collaboration of Mubammad 'Abduh), latest edition, Cairo, 1958; al-Qada' w-al-Qadar (On Predestination), al-Manor Printing Press, Cairo, 1923.

BWorks on al-Afghani

Georges Cotchy, Djamal-Eddine al-Afghani et les my8teres de Sa MajesteImperiale Abd al-Hamid II, Cairo (n.d.); Goldziher, "Djamal al-Din al-

Afghani,"Encyclopaedia of Islam, Vol. I; E. G. Browne, The Persian Revolution of 1905-

1909,Cambridge, 1910; Jurji Zaidan, Ma_shahir al- ,harq (Eastern Celebrities),

Cairo, 1910;W. S. Blunt, Gordon at Khartoum, London, 1911; 'Abd al-Qahir al-Qinawi,

Tahriral-Umam min Kalb al-'Ajam (The Liberation of Nations from the Persian

Dog,a diatribe against al-Afghani), Cairo (n.d.); M. Sallam Madkour, Jamal

al-Dinal-Afghani; Ba'iL al-Nahdah al-Fikhriyyah fi al-Bbarq (al-Afghani, Inspirer of theIntellectual Renaissance in the East), Cairo, 1937, (with a Preface by

Mustafa 'Abdal-Raziq); Muhammad al-Makhzoumi Pasha, Khatirat Jamal al-Din

(Thoughtsof Jamal al-Din), Beirut, 1931; Ahmad Amin, Zu'ama' al-Islah fi al-'ASr al-

Hadith(Leaders of Reform in Modern Times), Cairo, 1948; 'Abd al-Qadir al-

Mag6_ribi,1488

1489

A History of Muslim Philosophy

Renaissance in Egypt: Muhammad 'Abduh and His School

Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, Cairo, 1948; 'Abbas al-'Aqqad, 'Ala al-Athir (On the Air), Cairo, 1947; Magam Jamal al-Din A/ghhani (in Urdu), Nafis Academy, Karachi, 1939; Ride' Hamdeni, Jamal al-Din Afghani (in Urdu), Lahore, 1951; Mustafid al-Ra1man, Jamal al-Din Afghani (in Bengali), Dacca, 1955.

https://ia600805.us.archive.org/12/items/TheLifeOfSyedJamal-al-dinAl-afghani/

TheLifeOfSyedJamUlDinAl-afghani.pdf

http://ebooks.cambridge.org/chapter.jsf?bid=CBO9780511801990&cid=CBO9780511801990A011

V - JAMAL AL-DIN AL-AFGHANI  pp. 103-129 By Albert Hourani

 View chapter as PDF Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age 1798–1939

Albert Hourani

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print Publication Year: 1983

Online Publication Date:June 2012

Online ISBN:9780511801990

Hardback ISBN:9780521258371

Paperback ISBN:9780521274234

WHEN Tahtawi and Khayr al-Din looked at Europe, what they saw were its new

ideas and inventions rather than the irresistible power it derived from them. Khayr

al-Din indeed was aware of the dangers inherent in the growth of European

influence over the affairs of the empire, but thought they could be resisted with the

help of the liberal Powers themselves; they had not yet become so great as to

constitute the central problem of political life, and the main problem was still what

it had been for the Ottoman writers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries—

internal decline, how to explain and how to arrest it. The political ideas and

practical skill of Europe were necessary for the one and the other alike, and

Europe therefore was first of all a teacher and political ally for those who wished to

reform the life of the Ottoman community. Had Tahtawi and Khayr al-Din written

their books a few years later they would no doubt have written with a different

emphasis, for in the years between 1875 and 1882 there took place events which

were to give a new turn to the relationship between Europe and the Near East. The

eastern crisis of 1875–8 showed that the armies of a European Power could

penetrate to the heart of the empire, and could only be checked there by a threat

from another Power; and the Treaty of Berlin which ended it showed that the fate

of the empire and each of its provinces was no longer in its own hands.

Jamal ad-Din al-Afghani

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jamāl ad-Dīn al-Afghān

Religion born in to Shia Islam, later claimed to be born as a Sunni

School Pan-Islamism, Islamic Modernism

Pen name Al-Afghānī, Al-Kābulī, Al-Istanbūlī, Ar-Rūmī

Personal

Born 1838–1839

Asadabad, Iran.[1] Although, he claimed to be

from Asadabad,Afghanistan

Died March 9, 1897 (aged 57–59)

Constantinople, Ottoman Empire(present-day Turkey)

Resting

place

Kabul, Afghanistan

34°31 ′ 4 ″ N 69°7 ′ 41 ″ E

Religious career

Students Muhammad Abduh

Sayyid Jamāl ad-Dīn al-Afghānī [1][2][3][4] (Persian:  افغاني الدین جمال also known as Sayyid ,(سید

Jamāl ad-Dīn Asadābādī (Persian:  اسد آبادی الدین جمال -and commonly known as Al ,(سید

Afghani (1838/1839 – March 9, 1897), was a political activistand Islamic ideologist in the Muslim

world during the late 19th century, particularly in the Middle East, South Asia and Europe. One of

the founders of Islamic Modernism [4] [5]  and an advocate of Pan-Islamic unity,[6] he has been

described as "less interested in theology than he was in organizing a Muslim response

to Western pressure."[7]

Contents

  [hide] 

1   Early life and origin

2   Political activism

3   Political and religious views

4   Death and legacy

5   Works

6   References

7   Further reading

8   External links

Early life and origin[edit]

As indicated by his nisba, al-Afghani claimed to be of "Afghan" (meaning Pashtun) origin most of

his life and until recently there was some difference of opinion among scholars as to whether that

was the case. Although claimed by some older sources that al-Afghan was born in a district

of Kunar Province in Afghanistan which is also called Asadabad,[8][9] - a claim that was supported

by scholars like Ignaz Goldziher and J. Jomier who noted that he spent his childhood and

adolescence in Afghanistan, although asserted otherwise in some Shi'i writings[1][10][11] - evidence

analysed by Nikki Keddie shows that he was in fact born in Iran. Overwhelming documentation

(especially a collection of papers left in Iran upon his expulsion in 1891) now proves that he was

born in the village of Asadābād, near the city of Hamadān in western Iran into a family of Sayyids.[2][3][11] Records indicate that he spent his childhood in Iran and was brought up as a Shi'a Muslim.[2]

[3] According to evidence reviewed by Nikki Keddie, he was educated first at home then taken by

his father for further education to Qazvin, to Tehran, and finally, while he was still a youth, to the

Shi'a shrine cities in Iraq.[11] It is thought that followers of Shia revivalist Shaikh Ahmad Ahsa'i had

an influence on him.[12] An ethnic Persian, al-Afghani claimed to be an Afghan in order to present

himself as a Sunni Muslim[12][13] and escape oppression by the Iranian ruler Nā ṣ er ud-Dīn Shāh .[3] One of his main rivals, the sheikh Abū l-Hudā, called him Mutaʾafghin ("the one who claims to be

Afghan") and tried to expose his Shia roots.[14] Other names adopted by Al-Afghani were al-

Kābulī ("[the one] from Kabul") and al-Istānbulī ("[the one] fromIstanbul"). Especially in his writings

published in Afghanistan, he also used the pseudonym ar-Rūmī ("the Roman" or "the Anatolian").[11]

Political activism[edit]

At the age of 17 or 18 in 1855–56, Al-Afghani travelled to British India and spent a number of years

there studying religions. In 1859, a British spy reported that Al-Afghani was a

possible Russian agent. The British representatives reported that he wore traditional cloths of

Noghai Turks in Central Asia and spoke Dari, Arabic and Turkish language fluently.[15] After this

first Indian tour, he decided to perform Hajj or pilgrimage at Mecca. His first documents are dated

from Autumn of 1865, where he mentions leaving the "revered place" (makān-i musharraf) and

arriving in Tehran around mid-December of the same year. In the spring of 1866 he left Iran for

Afghanistan, passing through Mashad and Herat.

After the Indian stay, all sources have Afghānī next take a leisurely trip to Mecca, stopping at

several points along the way. Both the standard biography and Lutfallāh's account take Afghānī's

word that he entered Afghan government service before 1863, but since document from

Afghanistan show that he arrived there only in 1866, we are left with several years unaccounted

for. The most probably supposition seems to be that he may spent longer in India than he later

said, and that after going to Mecca he travelled elsewhere in the Ottoman Empire. When he

arrived in Afghanistan in 1866 he claimed to be from Constantinople, and he might not have made

this claim if he had never even seen the city, and could be caught in ignorance of it.[16]

—Nikki R. Keddie, 1983

He was spotted in Afghanistan in 1866 and spent time in Qandahar, Ghazni, and Kabul.[2] He

became a counsellor to the King Dost Mohammad Khan (who died, however, on June 9, 1863)

and later to Mohammad Azam. At that time he encouraged the king to oppose the British but turn

to the Russians. However, he did not encourage Mohammad Azam to any reformist ideologies that

later were attributed to Al-Afghani. Reports from the colonial British Indian and Afghan

government stated that he was a stranger in Afghanistan, and spoke the Dari language with

Iranian accent and followed European lifestyle more than that of Muslims, not

observing Ramadan or other Muslim rites.[15] In 1868, the throne of Kabul was occupied by Sher Ali

Khan, and Al-Afghani was forced to leave the country.[3]

He travelled to Constantinople, passing through Cairo on his way there. He stayed in Cairo long

enough to meet a young student who would become a devoted disciple of his, Muhammad 'Abduh.[17] He entered Star of East Masonic Lodge in 7 July 1868 during staying in Cairo.[18] His

membership number was 1355. He also founded the Masonic Lodge of Cairo and became first

Grand Master of it. He had been excluded from the Scottish Masonic Lodge due to accusations of

atheism and he joined the French Grand Orient and became Grand Master of it.

In 1871, Al-Afghani moved to Egypt and began preaching his ideas of political reform. His ideas

were considered radical, and he was exiled in 1879. He then travelled to different European and

non-European cities: Constantinople, London, Paris, Moscow, St. Petersburg and Munich.

In 1884, he began publishing an Arabic newspaper in Paris entitled al-Urwah al-Wuthqa ("The

Indissoluble Link"[2]) with Muhammad Abduh. The newspaper called for a return to the original

principles and ideals of Islam, and for greater unity among Islamic peoples. He argued that this

would allow the Islamic community to regain its former strength against European powers.[citation

needed]

Al-Afghani was invited by Shah Nasser ad-Din to come to Iran and advise on affairs of

government, but fell from favour quite quickly and had to take sanctuary in a shrine near Tehran.

After seven months of preaching to admirers from the shrine, he was arrested in 1891, transported

to the border with Ottoman Mesopotamia, and evicted from Iran. Although Al-Afghani quarrelled

with most of his patrons, it is said he "reserved his strongest hatred for the Shah," whom he

accused of weakening Islam by granting concessions to Europeans and squandering the money

earned thereby. His agitation against the Shah is thought to have been one of the "fountain-heads"

of the successful 1891 protest against the granting a tobacco monopoly to a British company, and

the later 1905 Constitutional Revolution.[19]

Political and religious views[edit]

Al-Afghani's ideology has been described as a welding of "traditional" religious antipathy toward

non-Muslims "to a modern critique of Western imperialism and an appeal for the unity of Islam",

urging the adoption of Western sciences and institutions that might strengthen Islam.[13]

Although called a liberal by the contemporary English admirer, Wilfrid Scawen Blunt,[20] Jamal ad-

Din did not advocate constitutional government. In the volumes of the newspaper he published in

Paris, "there is no word in the paper's theoretical articles favoring political democracy or

parliamentarianism," according to his biographer. Jamal ad-Din simply envisioned "the overthrow

of individual rulers who were lax or subservient to foreigners, and their replacement by strong and

patriotic men."[21]

According to another source Al-Afghani was greatly disappointed by the failure of the Indian

Mutiny and came to three principal conclusions from it:

that European imperialism, having conquered India, now threatened the Middle East

that Asia, including the Middle East, could prevent the onslaught of Western powers only by

immediately adopting the modern technology of the West

and that Islam, despite its traditionalism, was an effective creed for mobilizing the public

against the imperialists.[22]

He believed that Islam and its revealed law were compatible with rationality and, thus, Muslims

could become politically unified while still maintaining their faith based on a religious social

morality. These beliefs had a profound effect on Muhammad Abduh, who went on to expand on

the notion of using rationality in the human relations aspect of Islam (mu'amalat) .[23]

According to a report, from a man who must have been an Afghan with the local government,

Jamal ad-Din Afghani was: "…well versed in geography and history,

speaks Arabic and Turkish fluently, talks Dari like an Irani. Apparently, follows no particular

religion." [24]

In 1881 he published a collection of polemics titled Al-Radd 'ala al-Dahriyyi (Refutation of the

Materialists), agitating for pan-Islamic unity against Western Imperialism. It included one of the

earliest pieces of Islamic thought arguing against Darwin's then-recent On the Origin of Species;

however, his arguments allegedly incorrectly caricatured evolution, provoking criticism that he had

not read Darwin's writings.[25] In his later work Khatirat Jamal ad-Din al-Afghani ("the Ideas of Al-

Afghani"), he accepted the validity of evolution, asserting that the Islamic world had already known

and used it. Although he accepted abiogenesis and the evolution of animals, he rejected the theory

that the human species is the product of evolution, arguing that humans have souls.[25]

Among the reasons why Al-Afghani thought to have had a less than deep religious faith [26] was his

lack of interest in finding theologically common ground between Shia and Sunni (despite the fact

that he was very interested in political unity between the two groups),[27]

Death and legacy[edit]

"Asad Abadi square" in Tehran, Iran

He was invited by Abdulhamid II in 1892. He went to Constantinople and was granted a house and

salary. Abdulhamid II's aim was using Afghani for Panislamism propaganda. However, he was put

probation at a mansion in Nişantaşı, a borough in Constantinople, after assassination of Nasser al

Din, Shah of Iran due to he was accused of becoming British spy and instigating this assassination

in 1896. Al-Afghani died of throat cancer on March 9, 1897 in Constantinople and was buried

there. In late 1944, due to the request of the Afghan government, his remains were taken to

Afghanistan and laid in Kabul inside the Kabul University, a mausoleum was erected for him there.

Researchers like Mohammad Masoud Norouzi say that Seyed Jama was the founder of Religious

Enlightenment in the Islamic world. He thought Islam doesn't oppose Rationality and Freedom.

Seyed jamal commenced the modernisation of Islam, and after him Iqbal Lahouri and Dr.Ali

Shariati continued his way.[28]

In Tehran, the capital of Iran, there is a square and a street named after him (Asad Abadi

Square and "Asad Abadi Avenue" in Yusef Abad)

Works[edit]

Sayyid Jamāl-ad-Dīn al-Afghānī: ", Continued the statement in the history of Afghans Egypt,

original in Arabic: األفغان تاريخ في البيان Tatimmat al-bayan fi tarikh al-Afghan, 1901 تتمة

( Mesr, 1318 Islamic lunar jear (calendar)[29]

Sayyid Jamāl-ad-Dīn al-Afghānī: Brochure about Naturalism or materialism, original in Dari

language : نیچریه .translator of Muhammad Abduh in Arabic (Ressalah e Natscheria) رساله

References[edit]

1. ^ Jump up to: a  b c "Afghan, Jamal ad-Din al-". Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies. Oxford

University Press. Retrieved 2010-09-05.

2. ^ Jump up to: a  b c d e "Jamāl ad-Dīn al-Afghān". Elie Kedourie. The Online Encyclopædia

Britannica. Retrieved 2010-09-05.

3. ^ Jump up to: a  b c d e "Afghan, Jamal-ad-Din". N.R. Keddie. Encyclopædia Iranica. December

15, 1983. Retrieved 2010-09-05.

4. ^ Jump up to: a  b "Jamal ad-Din al-Afghan". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 2010-09-05.

5. Jump up ̂  "Sayyid Jamal ad-Din Muhammad b. Safdar al-Afghan (1838–1897)". Saudi

Aramco World. Center for Islam and Science. 2002. Retrieved 2010-09-05.

6. Jump up ̂  Ludwig W. Adamec, Historical Dictionary of Islam (Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press,

2001), p. 32

7. Jump up ̂  Vali Nasr, The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam Will Shape the Future (New

York: Norton, 2006), p. 103.

8. Jump up ̂  From Reform to Revolution, Louay Safi, Intellectual Discourse 1995, Vol. 3, No.

1 LINK

9. Jump up ̂  Historia, Le vent de la révolte souffle au Caire, Baudouin Eschapasse, LINK

10. Jump up ̂  Goldziher, Jomier. "D ̲ j ̲ amāl al-Dīn al-Afg ̲ h ̲ ānī" . Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second

Edition. Brill Online. Retrieved 5 May 2013.

11. ^ Jump up to: a  b c d Keddie, Nikki R (1983). An Islamic response to imperialism: political and

religious writings of Sayyid Jamāl ad-Dīn "al-Afghān". United States: University of California

Press. p. 4. ISBN 0-520-04774-5, 9780520047747 Check |isbn= value (help). Retrieved

2010-09-05.

12. ^ Jump up to: a  b Edward Mortimer, Faith and Power, Vintage, (1982)p.110

13. ^ Jump up to: a  b Arab awakening and Islamic revival By Martin S. Kramer. Books.google.com.

1996. ISBN 9781560002727. Retrieved 2012-06-08.

14. Jump up ̂  A. Hourani: Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age 1798–1939. London, Oxford

University Press, p. 103–129 (108)

15. ^ Jump up to: a  b Molefi K. Asante, Culture and customs of Egypt, Published by Greenwood

Publishing Group, 2002, ISBN 0-313-31740-2, ISBN 978-0-313-31740-8, Page 137

16. Jump up ̂  Keddie, Nikki R (1983). An Islamic response to imperialism: political and religious

writings of Sayyid Jamāl ad-Dīn "al-Afghānī". United States: University of California Press.

pp. 11–14. ISBN 0-520-04774-5, 9780520047747 Check |isbn= value (help). Retrieved

2010-09-05.

17. Jump up ̂  Albert Hourani, Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age (Cambridge: Cambride UP,

1983), pp. 131–2

18. Jump up ̂  Soner Yalçın, Beyaz Müslümanların Büyük Sırrı-Efendi 2, 2006, pp. 215-217

19. Jump up ̂  Roy Mottahedeh, The Mantle of the Prophet: Religion and Politics in Iran (Oxford:

One World, 2000), pp. 183–4

20. Jump up ̂  Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, Secret History of the English Occupation of Egypt (London:

Unwin, 1907), p. 100.

21. Jump up ̂  Nikki R. Keddie, Sayyid Jamal ad-Din “al-Afghani”: A Political Biography (Berkeley:

University of California Press, 1972), pp. 225–26.

22. Jump up ̂  Ervand Abrahamian, Iran Between Two Revolutions (Princeton: Princeton

University Press, 1982), pp. 62–3

23. Jump up ̂  Albert Hourani, Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age (Cambridge: Cambride UP,

1983), pp. 104–125

24. Jump up ̂  Livingstone, David Terrorism and the Illuminati - A Three Thousand Year

History (Charleston, SC, USA: 2007), p. 165.

25. ^ Jump up to: a  b The Comparative Reception of Darwinism, edited by Thomas Glick, ISBN 0-

226-29977-5

26. Jump up ̂  Kedourie, Elie Afghani and Abduh: An Essay on Religious Unbelief and Political

activism in Modern Islam (1966, New York, Humanities Press)

27. Jump up ̂  Nasr, The Shia Revival, p.103

28. Jump up ̂  Persian Book: The Instructor of the East:Seyed Jamaledin

Asadabadi,By:Mohammad Masoud Norouzi,Qasidehsara Publication.

29. Jump up ̂  "Tatimmat al-bayan fi tarikh al-Afghan". Archive.org. Retrieved 2012-06-08.

Further reading[edit]

Bashiri, Iraj , Bashiri Working Papers on Central Asia and Iran, 2000.

Black, Antony (2001). The History of Islamic Political Thought. New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-

415-93243-2.

Cleveland, William (2004). A History of the Modern Middle East. Boulder, CO: Westview

Press. ISBN 0-8133-4048-9.

Keddie, Nikki Ragozin . Sayyid Jamal ad-Din al-Afghani: A Political biography. Berkeley:

University of California Press, 1972. ISBN 978-0-520-01986-7

Pankaj Mishra  (2012). "Strange Odyssey of Jamal al-Din al-Afghani". From the Ruins of

Empire:The Intellectuals Who Remade Asia. New York: Farrar, Straus and

Giroux. ISBN 0374249598.

Watt, William Montgomery  (1985). Islamic Philosophy and Theology. Edinburgh: Edinburgh

University Press. ISBN 0-7486-0749-8.

Mehrdad Kia, Pan-Islamism in Late Nineteenth-Century Iran, Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 32,

No. 1, pp. 30–52 (1996).

“THE ELUSIVE JAMIL AL-DIN AL-AFGHANI” A COMMENT

1. Elie Kedourie

“THE ELUSIVE JAMIL AL-DIN AL-AFGHANI” A COMMENT

The Muslim World

Volume 59 ,   Issue 3-4 ,   pages 308–314, July 1969

OVERVIEW

Jamal al-Din al- Afghani(1839—1897)

http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095354592 OVERVIEW

Jamal al-Din al- Afghani

(1839—1897)

QUICK REFERENCE

(d. 1897)

Thinker and political activist. Born and raised in Iran, although claimed to be of Afghan origin.

Educated in Iran and Iraq. Traveled to India, where he came into contact with British colonialism.

Lived in Afghanistan, Istanbul, and Egypt but was expelled due to his anti-British stance and

supposedly heretical teachings. Returned to India, where he wrote his most famous works. With

Muhammad Abduh, published the influential journal Al-urwah al-wuthqa (The strongest bond),

emphasizing pan-Islamism and the need for active opposition to British rule in Muslim lands.

Advocated Sunni-Shii unity. Believed in reason and natural law, although he preached orthodox

religion for the masses. Stressed the need for internal reform and self-improvement, particularly

technical and scientific education. One of the first modern politically activist reformist Muslim figures

to use Islam to promote a primarily political program; his political activism included public speeches,

newspaper articles, use of the

Reference Entries

Afghani, Jamal al-Din al- (1897)

in The Oxford Dictionary of IslamLength: 212 words

Afghānī, Jamāl al-Dīn al-

in The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic WorldLength: 2989 words

Afghani, Jamal al ‐ Din al ‐ (1839–97)

in A Dictionary of World History (2 ed.)Length: 58 words

Afghani, Seyyed Jamaluddin (1838–96)

in The Biographical Encyclopaedia of Islamic PhilosophyLength: 1162 words

OVERVIEW

Jamal al-Din al- Afghani

(1839—1897)

QUICK REFERENCE

(d. 1897)

Thinker and political activist. Born and raised in Iran, although claimed to be of Afghan origin.

Educated in Iran and Iraq. Traveled to India, where he came into contact with British colonialism.

Lived in Afghanistan, Istanbul, and Egypt but was expelled due to his anti-British stance and

supposedly heretical teachings. Returned to India, where he wrote his most famous works. With

Muhammad Abduh, published the influential journal Al-urwah al-wuthqa (The strongest bond),

emphasizing pan-Islamism and the need for active opposition to British rule in Muslim lands.

Advocated Sunni-Shii unity. Believed in reason and natural law, although he preached orthodox

religion for the masses. Stressed the need for internal reform and self-improvement, particularly

technical and scientific education. One of the first modern politically activist reformist Muslim figures

to use Islam to promote a primarily political program; his political activism included public speeches,

newspaper articles, use of the Masonic lodge for political purposes, opposition to foreign

concessions, formation of secret opposition organizations, publication of leaflets, and participation in

the assassination of the Iranian king. Remains popular in the Muslim world today due to his political

activism, emphasis on Muslim solidarity against the Christian and imperial West, and modernist,

pragmatic, and anti-imperialist reinterpretation of Islam.

See also Osmania University Show Less