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Jamal Ad-Din Afghani: A Pioneer of Islamic Modernism Malik Mohammad Tariq Abstract The increasingly menacing encroachments by Western powers against the peripheral Muslim states for a century and more, the feeling of Islamic solidarity was certainly in the air during the closing decades of nineteenth century. 1 The person who accomplished and transformed into a dynamic force i n the world of the Islam was Sayyid Jamal ad-Din Afghani. Afghani is considered to be the founding father and origina tor of Islamic Modernism. He was one of the first importan t leaders to try to reinterpret traditional Islamic ideas so as to meet the agonizing problems brought by the increasing incurs ions by the West into the Middle East. Rejecting either pur e traditionalism or uncritical imitation of the West, he began what has become a continuing trend among Muslim modernists emphasizing pragmatic values needed for life in modern world. These included political activism, th e freer use of reason, and efforts to build up the political an d military power of Islamic states. 2 He was one of the early Muslim political reformers during the latter half of the 1 9th century, and has undoubtedly been one of the most influentia l Muslim political thinkers. 3 He was a religious leader, philosopher, reformist, writer, journalist and on top of all a p olitician and liberator of Muslim world and the East. Keywords: Jamal ad-Din Afghani, Islamic Modernism, Muslim Umm ah Jamal al-Din Al-Afghani as-Sayyid Mohammad Ibn Safd ar Al-Husayn (b. 1838, Asadabad, Persia (now Iran) – d. March 9, 1897, Istanbul), Muslim politician, political campaigner and journal ist whose belief in the potency of revived Islamic civilization in the face of European domination significantly influenced the development of the Muslim thought in the 19 th and early 20 th century.” 4 Actually the political activism made Jamal al-Din a great hero of the east and an enemy of colonialism, whose influence and effects spread out side the borders of his own country Afghanistan, and spread Bengal to t he Atlantic shores of Dr. Malik Mohammad Tariq, Chairman, Department of Philosophy, University of Balochistan, Quetta, Pakistan Jamal Ad-Din Afghani as Founder of Islamic Modernism Malik Mohammad Tariq The Dialogue Volume VI Number 4 341 Africa. Afghani’s basic concern was revitalizing th e Islamic world. Addressing the Indian Ulama, he says:

“Why do you not raise your eyes from those defectiv e books and why do you not cast your glance on this w ide world? Why do you not employ your reflection and thought on events and their causes without the veil s of those works? Why do you always utilize those exalte d minds on trifling problems?. Yet you spend no thoug ht on this question of great importance, incumbent on every intelligent man, which is: What is the cause of pov erty, indigence, helplessness, and distress of the Muslim s, and is there a cure for this important phenomenon and g reat misfortune or not? ... 5 In general, Afghani’s primary goal was to rebuild a strong Islamic state capable of withstanding Western encroachments. Undo ubtedly, Afghani was an ideologist of pan-Islam and Islamic reform, and it was his vision and determination that Islamic history shall again be splendid. Afghani said at the opening ceremony of new University in I stanbul, which reveals him as a man, dedicated to Westernization f or self-strengthening ends, he went on:

“My brothers: Open the eyes of perception, and look in order to learn a lesson. Arise from sleep of neglec t.

Know that the Islamic people (milla) were (once) th e strongest in rank, the most valuable in worth. They were very high in intelligence, comprehension, and prude nce.

They faced up to the most difficult things with res pect to work and endeavor. Later this people sank into ease and laziness.” 6 My brothers, are we not going to take an example fr om the civilized nations? Let us cast a glance at the achievements of others. By efforts they have achiev ed the final degree of knowledge and peak of elevation. Fo r us too all the means are ready, and there remains no obstacle to our progress. Only laziness, stupidity, and ignorance are obstacles to advance. Theses things I say openly . 7 Jamal ad-Din Afghani was “the advocate of Muslim un ity and was less interested in theology than in organizing a Muslim response of Western pressure.” 8 Afghani was one of the most noteworthy and outstan ding Jamal Ad-Din Afghani as Founder of Islamic Modernism Malik Mohammad Tariq The Dialogue Volume VI Number 4 342 personality in the Muslim world, he stirred the sou l of Islam as no one else did, and the developments that had disturbed v iolently the Islamic world during the next four decades are unthinkable without him. Jamal ad-Din was the most dedicated and unselfish politic ian and the leader of the East- that while the whole Asia and the Muslim world were in a deep sleep of ignorance during the 19 th century he was fighting with a power of his pen and the strength of his spirit to emanci pate his people from the European yoke. He continued his fight by every mean s, in every city and country, even in the heart of colonial centers such as London, Paris, Berlin, and Petersburg until he died. Since Jamal ad-Din said that Islam should be based on the Qur’an alone, and also said that the Qur’an could n ot be in contradiction with modern science, economics, and political theor y, it seems clear that Jamal ad-Din’s famous and externally traditionalist principle of a return to the Qur’an and to the ways of the early Muslims meant in fact radically modernist interpretation of Islam. Essent ially Jamal ad-Din was calling for an end to all traditional religious the ories and interpretations that might stand in the way of Muslim unity and sel f-strengthening and for a modern interpretation of Islam that would inc ulcate the virtues of national cohesion, anti-imperialism, and modern sci ence and technology. 9 In the twentieth century, as the defensive and anti -imperialist mood of the Muslim world grew and as more and more Muslim intellectuals, particularly in the Arab world, bega n to build up an Islamic modernist system based on special interpretations o f the Koran and early Islam, the words of Jamal ad-Din began to enjoy a n ew popularity. His anti-British and nationalist pronouncements and his reported words to his followers favoring popular or constitutional govern ment also met certain twentieth-century needs. Thus it was that Jamal ad- Din, who had few political successes and only a sporadic influence i n his own lifetime became, like many other men whose ideas are in some ways ahead of their times, the inspiration for many later movemen ts. 10 Geographically, his activities encompassed the majo r portion of the Muslim world – Afghanistan, Iran, India, the Ar ab world, and Turkey – as well as Western Europe and Russia. He founded the famous Urwal- ul-Wathq (1884), 11 and wrote in others to propagate his cause. Afghani was primarily a religious reformer, deeply concerne d with setting the house of Islam in order. In a word, he stood for a liberal Islam. 12 Afghani taught the need of reconsidering the whole Islamic position and called for a reconciliation of the historic, theological a nd philosophical positions of Islam with the attainments of modern s cientific thought, through interpretation and reformulation of Islamic doctrines. “Religious Jamal Ad-Din Afghani as Founder of Islamic Modernism Malik Mohammad Tariq The Dialogue Volume VI Number 4 343 reform, he thought, had been the key to subsequent European progress and power, and such a reformation was also needed f or the Islamic world to achieve the same goals.” 13 He denounced taqlid bila kayf in unmitigated terms, and advocated a revival of the s pirit of Islam. In favour of Ijtihad, Jamal ad-Din said that the great legists and schola rs of the past broadened their understanding of the Qur’a n’s meaning, but they could not fully grasp all Qur’an’s secrets. With al l their brilliant knowledge, scholarship, and effort what these schol ars understood of the Qur’an was like a drop in the ocean compared with a ll the wisdom in the Qur’an. In one of his Persian article, Jamal ad-Din here adapted the Sufi idea of infinity of meanings in the Qur’an to the m odern need for a free reinterpretation of the Qur’an in order to prove it s consonance with modern values. 14 Afghani called for the enthronement of the philosop hic spirit i.e., a spirit of research and inquiry. “Whilst expounding the virtues and indispensability of science, Afghani was also at pa ins to stress that science needed another ‘science’ which is more comp rehensive which would enable man to know how to apply each field in its proper place.

This field of knowledge is falsifa (philosophy) or hikam (wisdom) and only it can show man the human prerequisites (value s such as what is more important, fairer, more just etc.) He believed that the decline of Islamic civilization was caused by the death of phi losophical spirit and the absence of knowledge in the Muslim community.” 15 He felt that the study of philosophy should be made compulsory in th e Muslim societies as it was the spirit behind all the empirical scien ces. It was likewise necessary that Muslim societies should be re-establ ished on the foundations of constitutional democracy and rule of law.

16 He says: “Philosophy is the escape from the narrow sensation s of animality into the wide arena of human feelings. It is the removal of the darkness of bestial superstitions wi th the light of natural intelligence; the transformation o f blindness and lack of insight into clear-sightednes s and insight. It is salvation from savagery and barbaris m, ignorance and foolishness, by entry into the virtuo us city of knowledge and skillfulness. In general, it is ma n’s becoming man and living the life of sacred rational ity.

Its aim is human perfection in reason, mind, soul, and way of life. Perfection in one’s way of life and we lfare in livelihood are the chief preconditions for the perf ection of mind and soul. [Philosophy] is the first cause o f man’s intellectual activity and emergence from the sphere of animals, and it is the greatest reason fo r the Jamal Ad-Din Afghani as Founder of Islamic Modernism Malik Mohammad Tariq The Dialogue Volume VI Number 4 344 transfer of tribes and peoples from a state of noma dism and savagery to culture and civilization. It is the foremost cause of the production of knowledge, the creation of sciences, the invention of industries, and initiation of crafts . 17 According to Afghani it is philosophy that shows th e man the proper road and makes man understandable to man. The highe st crafts are those of the prophet, philosopher, caliph, doctor, and ju riconsultant. Not all epochs have needed of a prophet, for a single relig ion and law can nourish many ages and peoples. But each age has nee d of an especially experienced and learned man, without whom human ord er and survival will be deranged. This learned man could dominate h is period. The philosopher’s mission is equal to that of prophet, 18 such as follows:

“Firstly, whereas for the prophet, the truth of thi ngs is attained by the paths of inspiration and revelation , for the philosopher it is attained by means of argument s and proofs. Secondly, whereas the prophet cannot commit errors, the philosopher can. Thirdly, the teaching of philosopher are universal and do not take into acco unt the particularities of a given epoch, whereas those of a prophet are conditioned by latter. That is why the prescriptions of prophets vary: they prescribe one order for one time and establish another in a different circumstance in conformity with what circumstances permit, whereas the teachings promulgated by the philosopher do not change in situations or of men, because of passage of time”. 19 Afghani, unlike many of the revivalist thinkers of his generation, was well versed in traditional Islamic philosophy ( hikmah), and considered philosophy essential for the revival of Islamic civ ilization. This is clearly reflected in his various lectures and particularly in The Refutation of the Materialists . In fact, Afghani’s philosophical arguments agains t the naturalists and materialists derive their force fro m his philosophical training. As we see in his lecture “The Benefits of Philosophy”, Afghani’s vision of a ‘modern Islamic philosophy’ w as closely tied to his confidence in the recent advancements made in the f ields of science and technology. Unlike traditional theology ( kalam), philosophy should articulate a cosmology based on the findings of mod ern science. These and similar ideas expressed by Afghani have been us ed by his critics and enemies to label him as a heretic. His role in the revival of the study of Jamal Ad-Din Afghani as Founder of Islamic Modernism Malik Mohammad Tariq The Dialogue Volume VI Number 4 345 Islamic philosophy in the Arab and Indian worlds, h owever, remains unmistakable. How very strange is that the Muslims study those sc iences that are ascribed to Aristotle with the greatest delight , as if Aristotle were one of the pillars of the Muslims. However, if the disc ussion relates to Galileo, Newton, and Kepler, they consider them inf idels. The father and mother of science is proof, and proof is neither Ar istotle nor Galileo. The truth is where there is proof, and those who forbid science and knowledge in the belief that they are safeguarding the Islamic religion are really the enemies of that religion. The Islami c religion is the closest of religions to science and knowledge, and there is no incompatibility between science and knowledge and foundation of the Islamic faith. 20 Looking at Afghani’s activities and carrier as a thinker, there had a great impact on Muslim world and great source of inspiration, however, some people disagree with him. Afghani’s p lan for the development of Islamic Modernism was based on the i dea to make an arrangement or compromise between traditional cultu re and the philosophical and scientific challenges of the mode rn Western world.

The method and way opted by Afghani was not complet e rejection of traditional Ulama nor to follow the West blindly. He took the middle path. He stresses the need of modern science and te chnology of the West which the Islamic world should acquire without unav oidably accepting the philosophical and theological consequences comi ng out from their use in the Western perspective. One should know Afg hani’s view on science in his renewal and reform program. As he sa ys: “The Muslims must not turn to pure imitation of Europeans, as this will open their countries to the acceptance of Europeans rule. Instead, they should find the inspiration for reform and science in their own religious texts, especially the Koran. The latter, if properly interpreted, will be found to be compatibl e with modern values and even to predict them.” 21 These ideas obviously led him to propose liberal re forms in politics since he fervently believed that religious reforms could not be affected in a backward society. He stood for constitutional refor ms, justice, popular rights, and for the supremacy of Law. 22 Afghani was not in favor of negative reaction again st the West.

He was in favor of revival of Islam which could abs orb the modern science. In his migrant life, Afghani, continuously struggled for the broad based tradition of Islamic intellectuals, whi ch urged him to move from Iran to Afghanistan, India and to another plac es. When the rulers Jamal Ad-Din Afghani as Founder of Islamic Modernism Malik Mohammad Tariq The Dialogue Volume VI Number 4 346 failed to heed his advice, he became a revolutionar y. To any length he would go to rid the Muslim countries of corruption and tyranny. He said that the evils of autocracy and tyranny, and the re st lying corrupted by the Western colonial powers corroded a part of the Muslim world. He tried to find constitutionalist movements in the fo rmer, and liberationist in the latter. 23 Through his tireless preaching, audacious propagan da and dynamic activism, he first awakened the listless ma sses of the Muslim East to a new sense of their political weakness, an d then prepared them for revolt and energetic reconstruction. The idea that science and Islam are compatible is p ut forward in one form or another in the construction of all Musl im ideologues of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Jamal ad-Din al -Afghani, the pioneer of pan-Islamism, was convinced that nothing but sci ence and technology could eliminate economic and cultural backwardness. Afghani objected to dividing science into European and Muslim. He sa id modern science is universal, transcending nations, cultures and relig ion. He argued that modern science were not popular among the Muslims, because in the past centuries the Ulama had divided sciences into ‘Islamic’ and ‘non- Islamic’. This false division had not only created a prejudice among the Muslims against modern sciences but had presented “ knowledge” as an “adversary” of Islam in the Muslim societies.” 24 Afghani criticized the Ulama. According to him:

“These days who have divided science into two parts .

One they call Muslim science, and one European science. Because of this they forbid others to teac h some of the useful sciences. Afghani was indignant that natural science was left out of the curriculum of M uslim educational establishments. He said: ‘Those who imagine that they are saving religion by imposing a ban on some sciences and knowledge are enemies of religion.’ In an article, ‘The Benefits of Study a nd Education’, Afghani said that the misery in the Eas tern countries was due to their ignoring ‘the noble and important role of the scientists’. Afghani himself set a very high value on the public mission of the scient ist. In December 1870, speaking at a conference on the progress of science and the crafts held in the New Istanbul University, Dar ul-Funun, he described the scientist's work as missionary. He compared the sci entist with a prophet, saying that prophecy is a craft (sa nat) like medicine, philosophy, mathematics, and so on. The sole difference was that the prophet's verity was t he fruit Jamal Ad-Din Afghani as Founder of Islamic Modernism Malik Mohammad Tariq The Dialogue Volume VI Number 4 347 of inspiration, whereas scientific verity was the f ruit of reason.” 25 Jamal ad-Din al-Afghani’s aim was the revitalizatio n of Islamic world.

He was keenly interested in (Western) science altho ugh he has slight knowledge of it. He knows that it was science which made the West superior in knowledge and power and dominating the world. He argues for science and says: “If Afghani says nothing of the industrial and tech nical revolution, that does not mean he was not aware of it.

He knew that the successes of Europe were due to knowledge and its proper application, and the weakn ess of the Muslim states to ignorance, and he knew also that the orient must learn the useful arts of Europe. Bu t for him the urgent question was, how could they be lear nt?

They could not be acquired by imitation; behind the m lay a whole way of thought and –more important stil l –a system of social morality.” 26 Afghani argues that originally science came from th e Islamic world and it is the cause of Western development and supremac y. He urges the Muslim to reclaim it and become powerful and progre ssive. According to Afghani: “One might say that in all this period the sciences made astonishing progress among the Arabs and in all the countries under their domination. Rome and Byzantiu m were then the seats of theological and philosophica l sciences as well as the shining center and burning heart of all human knowledge. Having followed for several centuries the path of civilization, the Greeks and Romans walked with assurance over vast field of science an d philosophy. There came, however, a time when their researches were abandoned and their studies interpreted. The monuments they had built to scienc e collapsed and their most precious books were relega ted to oblivion. The Arabs, ignorant and barbaric as th ey were in origin, took up what had been abandoned by the civilized nations, rekindled the extinguished scien ces, developed them, and gave them brilliance they had n ever had. Is not this the index and proof of their natur al love for sciences?” 27 Jamal Ad-Din Afghani as Founder of Islamic Modernism Malik Mohammad Tariq The Dialogue Volume VI Number 4 348 Afghani was fully committed to modernity and human reason. Renan (1883) in exchange with Afghani criticized early Ar abs and Islam for being unreceptive and hostile to philosophical and scientific inquiry. 28Afghani criticized Renan as racially prejudiced, be cause, he said, by nature, Arabs are hostile to science. Afgh ani argued that all peoples and nation are unable to distinguish good f rom evil in the early stage. They need prophet, and teachers to guide the m. 29 And, since humanity, at its origin, did not know th e causes of events that passed under its eyes and the secrets o f things, it was perforce led to follow the advice of its teachers and the or ders they gave. This obedience was imposed in the name of the Supreme Be ing to whom the educators attributed all events, without permitting men to discuss its utility or its disadvantages. This is no doubt for men one of the heaviest and most humiliating yokes, as I recognizes; but on e can not deny that it is by this religious education, whether it be Musli m, Christian or pagan, that all nations have emerged from barbarism and ma rched toward a more advanced civilization. 30 Jamal al-Din Afghani refuting the European thinkers with great vigour, argued that Islam promoted knowledge and fa voured the study of sciences. It never supported static attitude. Abu R ayyah narrated that Jamal al-Din was known for his extreme hatred for taqlid and stagnation: 31 “Once someone narrated Qadi ‘Iyad’s statement as an authority during discussion and insisted so much on his authority as if it was a revealed text. Jamal al-Di n Afghani said, “Glory be to God. Whatever Qadi ‘Iyad said was based on his limited wisdom and its releva nce was confined to his time. Had no one other than Qad i ‘Iyad the right to convey the clearer and more corr ect opinion which was closer to truth than his opinion or that of the other jurist? Why was it necessary to c onfine to the statements of humans and to fall into a stat ic attitude whereas these people never felt restricted by the statements of their ancestors? They used their own intellect; they drew inferences from the original s ources and made statements on that authority. They dived d eep into the ocean of knowledge and brought forth pearl s befitting the needs of their time, familiar to the intellects of their generation. The rules did change with the change of time.” 32 Jamal Ad-Din Afghani as Founder of Islamic Modernism Malik Mohammad Tariq The Dialogue Volume VI Number 4 349 Afghani used to say:

“The gate of ijtehad is not closed at all – It is n ot only a duty but also a right to implement the principles o f the Qur’an on the problems of our time continuously. It s refutation is tantamount to taqlid and stagnation. Both these attitudes are as inimical to true Islam as materialism is to it.” 33 Defining taqlid as stagnation, Afghani developed the concept of ijtihad as a principle of dynamism. However, his involvemen t with contemporary politics led him to think in the Europ ean framework in such a way that in his thought, ijtihad becomes equivalent to the European notion of the “reformation of religion”. I n the early period of the reformation of religion in Europe two fundament al trends had emerged, viz. those of regionalism and rationalism. According to Aziz Ahmed, Afghani recommended that “ Ulama’ should establish regional centres in various countries where Ijtihad could be exercised for the guidance of the common man. These regional centres should then be connected with the global centre which may be estab lished in any one of the holy places. The representatives of various cen tres may gather to exercise Ijtihad for the whole of Ummah. This will reinvigorate the Ummah and will prepare it to withstand foreign challenge s. 34 To Afghani, the only remedy lay in the unity and co nsolidation of the existing Muslim states and in improving the means of their national defense. Thus was conceived the pan-Islami c ideology that has since been associated with his name. It was at best a defensive strategy; in fact, a last-ditch attempt to roll back the tide of Western encroachments. 35 To support this approach, Islam itself had ordained such attitude. However, he did not believe that all Muslims ought to unify under one ruler, or Caliph. Rather, cooperati on amongst Muslims world was his answer to the weakness that had allow ed Muslims to be colonized by the Europeans (namely Britain and Fran ce). He believed that, in fact, Islam (and its revealed law) was com patible with rationality and, thus, Muslims could become politically unified whilst 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 relati ons aspect of Islam ( mu'amalat ). 36 “The appeal for unity is indeed the theme, which ru ns all through al-Afghani’s work. Both the common danger, and the values which all Muslims shared, should outweigh differences of doctrine and traditions of Jamal Ad-Din Afghani as Founder of Islamic Modernism Malik Mohammad Tariq The Dialogue Volume VI Number 4 350 enmity. Differences of sect need not be a political barrier, and the Muslims should profit from the exa mple of Germany, which lost its national unity through g iving too much importance to differences of religion. Eve n the deepest gulfs, between Sunnis and Shi’is, could be bridged.” 37 The most distinguished idea of Afghani was his vow and dedication for pan-Islamic civilization. He was of the view that M uslim world could make progress and regain the vanished glory of the past. That can be achieved by going back to the fundamental teaching, that is, to unite. His political plan of pan-Islamism was to assemble Musl im nations to struggle and fight against Western domination and a cquire the military supremacy and power through modern science and tech nology.

Afghani’s mission for Islamic nationalism was the i ndependence of individual Muslim nations. His aim of pan-Islamism was not a religious one but a political one. Afghani believes that the Islamic world could regain its glory by unity instead of division in gr oups. “When he talked of Muslims unity, he did not mean o nly co-operation of religious or political leaders; he meant the solidarity of the umma, the sense of responsibi lity which each member of it should have towards the oth ers and the whole, the desire to live together in the community and work together for its welfare. Solida rity (ta’assub) was the force, which held society togeth er, and without it would dissolve. Like all human attri butes, it could be perverted; it was not a law unto itself , it is subject to the principle of moderation or justice, the organizing principle of human societies. Solidarity , which did not recognize this principle and was not willing to do justice turned into fanaticism.” 38 Afghani believed that to live in the modern world d emanded changes in Muslim ways of organizing society, and that it must try to make those changes while remaining true to it. Islam, Afghani believed, was not only compatible with reason, progress and social solidar ity, the bases of modern civilization, but if properly interpreted it positively enjoined them. However, he felt that this would be possible only if Islam was interpreted to make it compatible with survival, st rength and progress in the world. Afghani felt that a united Islamic civil ization was one answer to this problem. He felt that if all Islamic sects were united, they could balance the threat from the West better than they c ould in their current Jamal Ad-Din Afghani as Founder of Islamic Modernism Malik Mohammad Tariq The Dialogue Volume VI Number 4 351 divided state. He desired to unite all branches of the Islamic community in a program of self-strengthening that required th eological distinctions to be played down -- including the Sunni/ Shii split -- in favor of a vague belief in the superiority of Islam that could appea l to everyone. Keddie argues that pan-Islam and the reform of Islam could seem to him two sides of a program for strengthening the Muslim wor ld and defeating imperialism. 39 “O, sons of the East, don’t you know that the power of the Westerners and their domination over you came about through their advance in learning and educati on, and your decline in these domains?....Are you satis fied after your past achievements, after you had reached the acme of honor through learning and education, to remain in that wretched state into which you were plunged by ignorance and error. …Make the effort to obtain knowledge and become enlightened with the li ght of truth so as to recoup glory and obtain true independence.” 40 The pan-Islam, however, did not gain popularity til l it first appeared in a French periodical in 1881. Afghani called the socie ty he had founded in Makkah with the object of creating one Caliph over the entire Muslim world, the Unum-ul-Quran. 41 This society was, however, suppressed by Sultan Abdul Hamid (1876-1909) within a year of its founding. Afghani developed highly pragmatic and political views rega rding the possible panaceas to the predicament confronting the Muslim world. He opposed outright importation of ideas or values from the We st, and instead sought to reconcile what he saw as the fundamental precept s of the Islamic faith with the intellectual and social values, which have made sudden upheaval progress possible in the West. 42 Like other Islamic modernists, his general line for defending Islam, nationalism, and modernism at the same time was to try to show that modern virtues originated with Islam, and that the Muslims who rejected them were acting against the principles of their religion. Like the early modernists of many cultures, Afghani apparent ly hoped that the rational attitudes and scientific innovations neces sary to self- strengthening could be adopted without the foreigne rs’ cultural and linguistic baggage, whose acquisition could disrupt national and religious unity and encourage passive admiration for foreign conquerors. 43 It can be concluded that viewing the strength of th e West as imbedded in the superior knowledge of science and t echnology, al- Afghani nevertheless argued that Islam, despite its outward decadence Jamal Ad-Din Afghani as Founder of Islamic Modernism Malik Mohammad Tariq The Dialogue Volume VI Number 4 352 and decline, still possessed strong spiritual and m oral values, such values if combined with Western scientific and technologic al power could raise the Muslim world out of its state of decadence. 44 Al-Afghani’s ideas, however, are faced with serious limitations. In the first place as a politician and activist, he was able to satisfactor ily address the philosophical issues, which came to the fore as a c onsequence of the encounter of cultures and religions. What he advoca ted was not assimilation, but mixture and amalgamation. Secondl y, he never structured his ideas in a distinct formula for acti on, with the aid of which the Muslims could encounter the West. Al-Afghani’s importance, instead, lay in the precedent, which he set and the students whom he trained, mainly through his attempts to bridge the gap, which existed between the traditional Muslims and the Westernizin g modernists. 45 The task of formulating a modernist body of Islamic tho ught was then left to al-Afghani’s disciples. The most noteworthy of whom were Mohammad Abduh, Rasid Rida and Qasim Amin. Expanding upon th e trend of thought first initiated by al-Afghani, these discip les addressed an array of issues such as, concepts of liberty, reform, politi cal participation and even women rights in the context of Islam. The most prolific and therefore, famous propagator of modernism in Egypt during this period was Mohammad Abduh. Unlike his mentor, al-Afghani, Abduh was not concerned with imperialism or political action, but rather with religious reform. Jamal Ad-Din Afghani as Founder of Islamic Modernism Malik Mohammad Tariq The Dialogue Volume VI Number 4 353 Notes & References 1 Ali Rehnuma (ed.) Pioneers of Islamic Revival, Tra ns. by M. Yahya Khan, (Lahore 1999) 39.

2 Nikki Keddie, Sayyid Jamal al-Din Afghani: A Polit ical Biography, (Berkeley:

University of California Press, 1972) 1. 3 Ali Rehnuma (ed.) Pioneers of Islamic Revival, op. cit. 29. 4 The New Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 6, Robert Me tteny Ed. in Chief, (Chicago, 1993) 479. 5 Nikki Keddie, An Islamic Response to Imperialism: Political and R eligious Writings of Sayyid Jamal al-Din “al-Afghani” , (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983) 120-122 6 Nikki Keddie, Sayyid Jamal al-Din Afghani: A Political Biography (Berkeley:

University of California Press, 1972) 63 7 Ibid., 64 8 Nasr, Vali, The Shia Revival , (W.W. Norton & Company, 2006) 103. 9 Nikki Keddie, Sayyid Jamal ad-Din Afghani: A Political Biography , op.cit., 395-396 10 Ibid., 422-423. 11 Encyclopedia Britannica , 480 12 M.M. Sharif, A History of Muslim Philosophy , Vol-II, (Royal Book Company Karachi, 1981) 1487.

13 Nikki Keddie, Sayyid Jamal al-Din Afghani: A Political Biography , op.cit., 141.

14 Ibid., 396 15 Dr. Javid Iqbal, Islam and Pakistan Identity , (Iqbal Academy Pakistan, Lahore, 2003) 211. 16 Ibid. 211. 17 Nikki Keddie, Sayyid Jamal ad-Din “al-Afghani” A Political Biogra phy, op.cit., 163-164.

18 Ibid., 69 19 Ibid., 69 20 Ibid. 162-163 21 Ibid., 392 22 Ali Rehnuma ed. Pioneers of Islamic Revival , op.cit., 44-46. 23 Ibid., 30 24 Dr Javid Iqbal, Islam and Pakistan Identity , op.cit. 211 25 The New Encyclopedia Britannica , Vol. 6, Robert Metteny Ed. in Chief, (Chicago, 1993) 479. 26 Hourani, Albert, Arabic thought in the Liberal Age 1798 –1939 , (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1983) 114.

27 “Religion Versus Science, S. Jamal al-Din al-Afgha ni”, Mansoor Moaddel & Kamran Talatt (Ed) Modernist and Fundamentalist Debates in Islam , (Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 1999) 25-26 Jamal Ad-Din Afghani as Founder of Islamic Modernism Malik Mohammad Tariq The Dialogue Volume VI Number 4 354 28 Nikki Keddie, Sayyid Jamal ad-Din “al-Afghani” A Political Biogra phy, op.cit., 85.

29 Mansoor Moaddel & Kamran Talatt (Ed) Modernist and Fundamentalist Debates in Islam , op.cit.,13 30 Nikki Keddie, Sayyid Jamal ad-Din Afghani: A Political Biograph y, op.cit., 191.

31 Mas’ud, M. Khalid, Iqbal Reconstruction of Ijtihad , (Iqbal Academy Pakistan, Islamic Research Institute, Islamabad, 1995) 68.

32 Ibid., 68-69 33 Ibid., 69 34 Ibid., 69 35 M.M Sharif, A History of Muslim Philosophy , Vol.-II, op.cit., 1486. 36 Albert Hourani, Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age 1798-1939 , op.cit., 104- 125.

37 Ibid., 115 38 Ibid., 117 39 Nikki Keddie, An Islamic Response to Imperialism 40 Nikki Keddie, Sayyid Jamal al-Din Afghani: A Political Biography , op.cit.

107.

41 Ibid., 1487 42 Nasr, S. Vali Reza, “Reflections on Myth and Reali ty of Islamic Modernism”, Hamdard Islamicus , Vol. XIII/ No.1, (Spring 1990) 73.

43 Nikki Keddie, Sayyid Jamal ad-Din Afghani: A Political Biograph y, op.cit.

165-166.

44 Nasr, S. Vali Reza, “Reflections on Myth and Reali ty of Islamic Modernism”, op.cit., 73 45 Ibid.