Plain Talk

By Mursi Saad El-Din

---

What was it about Gamaleddin El-Afghani that gave him such prominence in the movement of Enlightenment? What were his thoughts and ideas that have influenced such an array of ulema, politicians and intellectuals? How did he acquire that revolutionary stand under a rule known for its tyranny.

To find out we must go back to the formative years of this revolutionary genius. From his biography, written by Mohamed Abdou, we know that he came from a noble family in Afghanistan and, showing signs of intelligence and skill he was given the opportunity of learning. He studied Arabic, history, logic, philosophy and mathematics, and at the age of 18, became an accomplished young scholar. He then went to India and lived there for just over a year, during which he acquired the knowledge of modern science as taught in Europe.

We need not go into details of his early life and problems encountered in his homeland. The long and short of it is that he eventually had to leave to India, in 1869. Known for his opposition to British colonialism, he was soon put on a ship that took him to Suez, hence his first encounter with Egypt.

Now I go back to El-Afghani's thoughts and philosophy. As mentioned in my previous column, El-Afghani went to Paris in 1883, and with his disciple, Mohamed Abdou, began to publish Al-'Urwa Al-Wothqa, the organ of a society of the same name that called on Islamic countries to unite and wake up from their slumbre and embrace the principles of a renaissance. It called on all Muslims to fight imperialism, particularly to liberate Egypt and the Sudan from British occupation. The paper's articles reflected, in the words of El-Rafei, "the spirit of El-Afghani's and the style of the Imam Mohamed Abdou".

The Urwa society and its organ became a kind of a bugle call drawing the nations of the East together in the face of colonialism -- to achieve national liberation and independence. El-Afghani was, in many ways, the chief protagonist of liberation movements in Africa and Asia. During his three-year stay in Paris, he had the opportunity to hold talks with the famous French thinker Renan, who said of him, "When I talked to him, I could imagine such characters as Averroes or one of the leaders of oriental wisdom."

The best and most authentic description of El-Afghani is that of his disciple Mohamed Abdou. In his biography -- which I believe is an example of what biographies should be -- he describes his physical appearance in a way that gives a certain intimacy and a feeling that you are reading about someone you really know: El-Afghani was, in the words of Abdou, "kind and fatherly, but a lion when it comes to honour. He never saved what life brought him. He was honest, politically ambitious, fast to make use of an opportunity, and he nurtured no arrogance, caring only for great deeds, totally uninterested in trivialities."

A great deal has been written about this great reformer -- though I often wonder if the word reformer applies to him. He was, certainly, more than that. He did not simply want to reform, but to change things in a radical way. Some describe him as arrogant, but I would say he was proud, and pride can, sometimes, be interpreted as such.

While El-Afghani advocated the reform of Islam, he was also a great believer. According to Mohamed Abdou, he even "leaned towards sufism". Abdou goes on to say "His position, in knowledge and wisdom, I'm afraid my pen cannot express. This man has the power over meaning, and the ability to solve whatever problems encountered. He was like a sultan with a strong domain." Mohamed Abdou adds that "El-Afghani talked about the arts as if he was an artist, and that he spoke about poetry as if he himself was a most innovative poet."

What made El-Afghani a legend is his great intelligence which enabled him to learn French in less than three months. According to Adib Ishaq, "he learnt it without a teacher, except one who taught him the alphabet. After that he was able to follow the development of European knowledge and modern discoveries. It was as if he studied in the modern schools of Europe."