Mohamed 'Abduh was among the pillars of the late 19th-century renaissance in Egypt. Nevine El-Aref attends a seminar held last week at Al-Azhar marking his death centenary, while Amina Elbendary comments on the place he occupies in present-day intellectual life. Accompanying the coverage is an extract from the Imam's seminal Theology of Unity At Al-Azhar University campus in Al-Darassa, despite the discontent his progressive thought has often induced among the institution's predominantly traditionalist scholars, one lecture hall is named after the grand imam of Al-Azhar, Sheikh Mohamed 'Abduh. There the current grand Imam, Sheikh Mohamed Sayed Tantawi, together with the Minister of Awqaf (religious endowments) Hamdi Zaqzouq, inaugurated a two-day seminar marking 100 years since 'Abduh's death. Opening on Wednesday with a speech by Tantawi on Abduh's Quranic exegesis -- an unprecedented, rationalist methodology -- the seminar drew a small number of Al-Azhar students and a handful of professors, Islamic Research Academy members and journalists. Even speakers failed to show up, sending in their papers with a representative: in one session, the Islamic writer and 'Abduh scholar Mohamed Emara was the only one present among three scholars. A disgruntled Tantawi had to reiterate the importance of 'Abduh's contribution and urge Al-Azhar students to bring along colleagues. In the four sessions comprising the seminar, 12 papers were submitted; they dealt with various aspects of the Imam's life and work: his childhood, his involvement in the anti-colonial struggle, his exile, work with Jamaluddin Al-Afghani and contribution to reform. The picture that emerged was not only that of a versatile intellectual who occupied a range of positions: professor, mufti and editor, but that of a pioneer who managed to introduce a new approach in each of these fields. As mufti, for example, he was the first to consider, and approve, interest on bank deposits. His progressive outlook was assessed and reassessed in relation to the figures who influenced him, especially Afghani, yet what emerged most prominently was his talent as a social critic and political analyst. His tendency to subordinate convention to reason was rightly placed in the context of the sovereign Arab-Islamic nation he envisaged, extending the scope of the battle he waged to society and politics. A pillar of his own In the pantheon of Egyptian enlightenment figures, Mohamed 'Abduh takes up a pillar of his own -- one can imagine him leaning against a Roman column. Born in 1849, the Egyptian religious reformer died exactly a century ago, in July 1905, having made invaluable contributions not only to religious teaching but to nationalist politics and the Egyptian intellect. Nor was he alone in this process. 'Abduh belongs in a generation of late 19th-century reformers and enlightenment figures whose thought continued to influence generations of intellectuals. His protégés include Rashid Reda, Mustafa Abdel-Razek, Qasim Amin and even Taha Husayn -- major figures operating both in and out of the religious establishment. 'Abduh grew up in the province of Beheira and pursued a traditional (religious) elementary and preparatory education, before joining Al-Azhar. There seem to be two principal formative influences on his early life: an uncle who renewed his interest in learning and introduced him to Sufism; and the thought of his mentor and friend, the enigmatic reformer and activist Shaykh Jamaluddin Al-Afghani. 'Abduh thus grew up to be a traditional 'alim (religious scholar), but he did not limit himself to that role. His meditative inclinations, the (often political) influence of Afghani and eventually his interest in European thought left an indelible mark on this Azharite, so much so that a number of contemporaries deemed him a philosopher. 'Abduh went beyond academia. From the early days of his career, thanks partly to the influence and connections of Afghani, he contributed to newspapers and journals of the day, including the earliest issues of Al-Ahram, in which he wrote essays on social and political reform. He went on contributing to the press throughout his career, editing Al-Waqai' Al-Misriyya and, later, in collaboration with Afghani, the Paris-based Al-'Urwa Al-Wuthqa. His journalism reflected the range of his interests. 'Abduh was no ivory-tower intellectual, elitist though some of his ideas may be. His dedication to reform and the notion of freedom necessitated a critique of despotism in every form. Being Afghani's disciple, he was also involved in some of the political intrigues of the latter through the 1870s and well into the 1880s -- the Constitutionalist movement and the 'Urabi revolution even though, in later reminiscences, the imam was eager to distance himself from officers and stress his opposition to force as a means to change. Yet many saw him as the ideologue of the revolution. In the face of impending foreign occupation, he could not but set aside his differences with the army and join the ranks of the revolution to oppose despotism and foreign intervention. 'Abduh was tried and imprisoned along with the other leaders following the defeat of 'Urabi and the British occupation in 1882. This experience, and his subsequent exile had a profound effect on his political thought, prompting him to favour gradual reform over quick and violent change -- a position markedly different from that of his mentor, Afghani. While the latter favoured revolutionary, even violent, change, 'Abduh came to espouse gradual reform and modernisation, stressing the role of education in the enlightenment of Muslim nations and their renaissance. It is also a nuanced intellectual stance whereby he continued to oppose despotism and champion freedom, both national and intellectual, while maintaining working relations with the dominant powers: the Khedieves, the Ottoman court, and the British. 'Abduh was finally allowed back in Egypt in 1889, reportedly with Lord Cromer's intercession. Appointed to several judicial posts, he was proclaimed Grand Mufti of Egypt in 1899, a position he occupied till his death in 1805, at the age of 56, and the one for which he is best remembered. Indeed, his various legal posts also inspired him to formulate a legal approach to reforming the administration of the Shari'a courts and the publication in 1900 of his Taqrir fi islah al-mahakim al-shar'iyya (A report on the reform of Shari'a courts). The fatwas (religious verdicts) he issued as Grand Mufti continue to exert wide-ranging influence and are frequently invoked in contemporary jurisprudence. A recent centenary edition, published by Al-Gam'iyya Al-Khayriyya Al-Islamiyya (The Muslim Benevolent Society, of which the 'Abduh was a founding member) and edited by the current Grand Mufti, Sheikh Ali Gom'a, includes only a "selection" from his much contribution to a seldom inspired part of Muslim thought. In his religious thought, Mohamed 'Abduh advocated reform and rationality. Like many philosophers before him, he sought a reconciliation of faith and reason, arguing that religion and knowledge were not essentially contradictory and prioritising reason over tradition. In many ways he sought to protect and defend Islam from a Western onslaught by modernising and purifying it to its fundamental values. Yet the system of thought he espoused was not primitive, historical or fundamentalist, but rather thoroughly contemporary. On the age-old question of free will and predestination, for example, he opted for indeterminism, thereby opening the way for vigorous activity on the part of individuals and supportive community interaction, and excluding fatalism. By arguing for a renewed ijtihad (literally "effort", that aspect of religious scholarship in which the Muslims of every age are expected to think and arrive at answers for themselves), 'Abduh was paving the way for a new consensus ( ijma' ) that would put an end to political and intellectual dependency on the West. Among the imam's most famous works is the treatise Risalat al-tawhid (translated to English as The Theology of Unity, 1966). More of a popular tract commending the faith to the contemporary Muslim community, it answered to the scepticism of the age. The book also expounds on the theme of unity: the unity of God, of the Muslim community and of the human soul. While many commentators question whether 'Abduh managed -- here or elsewhere -- to achieve a true synthesis between two irreconcilable worldviews, the rationalist and the theological, the main tenets of his thought nonetheless formed the groundwork for the modernist school of Sunni theology, whose followers are the leading theologians today. Since his earliest years 'Abduh had taught, whether at Dar Al-'Ulum, the modern religious studies school, Al-Azhar or during his exile in Beirut. In 1894 he was appointed as a member of the governing body of Al-Azhar, and in later years of his life was fervently involved in a project to reform education there, a project met with tremendous resistance from traditionalists, who have always constituted the vast majority of Al-Azhar scholars by far. It is therefore not without irony that the imam's first centenary was quietly -- perhaps even reluctantly -- celebrated by the intellectual descendants of his fiercest opponents. Unlike other enlightenment figures who are periodically fêted at the Supreme Council for Culture (indeed the SCC's mandate is the promotion of Arab and Egyptian enlightenment ideals), the imam was claimed by the Azhar. This in part testifies to the tremendous changes that have occurred within the "traditional religious institution", often harangued for being static and reactionary. But the general low-key note of the centenary, the almost shy manner in which 'Abduh is being reclaimed, testifies to the discomfort his contribution continue to evoke. Whatever contemporary Egyptians -- scholars and laymen alike -- might think of his thought, 'Abduh has at least satisfied this requirement of a leading intellectual: he continues to challenge and provoke. For that if nothing else Muslims should feel indebted to him.
