Abdul Rahman al-Kawakibi: Biography
Born: July 1854, Aleppo, Syria.
Died: June 1902, Cairo, Egypt.
Abdul Rahman al-Kawakibi was born in 1855 in the city of Aleppo. He is considered a Syrian Islamic reformist thinker. He lost his mother at a young age, and his aunt took care of him and enrolled him in private schools, where he learned Arabic, Turkish, and Persian, and studied religious sciences at his family’s school. In addition to his interest in mathematics, natural sciences, logic, and politics.
Abdul Rahman al-Kawakibi was influenced by the religious and political reform ideas presented by Jamal al-Din al-Afghani and Rashid Rida. After studying jurisprudence and Sharia, he expanded his knowledge in literature, natural sciences, and mathematics. He began his journalistic career as an editor for the official newspaper Al-Furat. He then co-founded the newspaper Al-Shahba with his colleague Hisham al-Attar, but it was closed after 15 issues due to its sharp criticism of the Ottoman authorities. He held several official positions in Aleppo, including mayor and member of the commercial court. He traveled to India, China, and the coasts of Africa, and settled in Egypt, where his reputation spread, and many students learned from him. He devoted his life to reform and fighting Ottoman despotism, which made him a target for Sultan Abdulhamid II, who is said to have ordered his poisoning in 1902.
Al-Kawakibi is considered one of the pioneers of the Arab Renaissance and one of the founders of nationalist thought. He became famous for his book The Nature of Despotism and the Downfall of Slavery, which is considered one of the most prominent studies on political despotism. Al-Kawakibi believed that despotism is the root of all corruption, and that there can be no renaissance for the nation without addressing it. He considered the despotism of ignorance over knowledge and the despotism of the soul over reason to be some of its most prominent forms. He believed that man was created free, and that his leader should be reason, but he often chose ignorance as his leader. He also considered the despot to be an incompetent person who has no power except through the help of his supporters who sustain the injustice. He added that the accumulation of wealth strengthens despotism and harms the morals of individuals. The solution he proposed was constitutional consultation (Shura) as a remedy to this problem.
The translator Imad Ali worked on spreading al-Kawakibi’s thought in Europe, affirming that the despotism suffered by Arab peoples does not represent the essence of Islamic culture, but is rather an obstacle to authentic renaissance thought. He also explained that al-Kawakibi’s thought cannot be classified into a specific ideology, but was a call for political and social liberation.
Abdul Rahman al-Kawakibi was part of the Arab Renaissance movement that emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, during the decline of the Ottoman Empire and the growing European influence in the Middle East. Al-Kawakibi sought to bring about reform within society, focusing on the relationship between religion and politics, and the connection between despotism and power. He presented his ideas in his books Umm al-Qura and The Nature of Despotism, where he opposed Ottoman colonialism and wished to transfer power to the Arab world. He believed that the decline of the Arab nation was due to religious, political, and social causes. While he was influenced by some Western thinkers, his views were original and reflected his deep concern with political and social issues.
Al-Kawakibi believed that the deterioration of the Arab nation was due to what he called the “general languor,” a social disease resulting from three main causes: religious ignorance, political despotism, and moral issues. He believed that ignorance and the use of religion for political purposes were the cause of the corruption in society. He attributed the political deterioration to the despotism of the state, which controls resources and power, leading to the absence of freedoms and the spread of injustice. Al-Kawakibi called for reform through the achievement of social justice and the correct religious education, while emphasizing the freedom of expression. He saw the solution as building an Islamic state with its spiritual center in Mecca, free from sectarianism and dictatorship, with the goal of reviving the nation and renewing its strength.
In May 2002, a number of Arab scholars gathered in a French institution in Aleppo to celebrate the centenary of Abdul Rahman al-Kawakibi’s death, where they discussed issues of Islamic and social reform, identity, and the quest to revive selfhood. As Maher Sharif, one of the speakers, pointed out, these discussions did not have a significant impact due to the lack of popular support, as intellectuals were distanced from governmental and educational institutions. Ten years later, in May 2012, Aleppo, the birthplace of al-Kawakibi, became a bloody battlefield during the Arab Spring, with Islamic militias, revolutionary youth, and government forces, each holding different interpretations of reform and freedom.
After 120 years since his death, Syrians still face issues related to the ideas proposed by al-Kawakibi, which calls for revisiting them to understand the present reality in Syria and the Middle East. Al-Kawakibi pointed out the connection between religious and political despotism, which hinders progressive change, and suggested an internal reform that includes social, political, and cultural aspects. While separating religion from the state has become more challenging today, he considered the solution to be building a civil state with multi-layered identities.
Al-Kawakibi believed that resistance to despotism should be peaceful and gradual, which aligns with the peaceful movements that have appeared in recent years. However, this approach may face challenges under military interventions. He also emphasized that reform should come from within, away from external influences, while asserting that resistance to despotism requires gradual development within society and not through revolution alone.
