Jamal ad-Din al-Afghani

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Jamaluddin Afghani
Sayyid Dschamāl ad-Dīn al-Afghānī.jpg
Religion Islam
School Pan-Islamism, Islamic Modernism
Pen name Al-Afghānī, Afghani, Al-Kābulī, Kabuli, Al-Istanbūlī, Ar-Rūmī
Born 1838–1839
Asadabad, Afghanistan, although some claim he was from Asadabad, Iran
Died March 9, 1897(1897-03-09) (aged 57–59)
Istanbul, Ottoman Empire (present-day Turkey)
Resting place Kabul, Afghanistan
34°31′4″N 69°7′41″E﻿ / ﻿34.51778°N 69.12806°E﻿ / 34.51778; 69.12806
Religious career
Students Muhammad Abduh

Sayyid Jamāl ad-Dīn al-Afghānī [1][2][3][4] (Persian: سید جمال‌‌ الدین افغاني‎), also known as Sayyid Jamāl ad-Dīn Asadābādī (Persian: سید جمال‌‌ الدین اسد‌آبادی‎), and commonly known as Al-Afghani (1838/1839 – March 9, 1897), was a political activist and 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]

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 scholars such as Ignaz Goldziher and J. Jomier[8] that al-Afghan was born in Asadabad, a district of Kunar Province in Afghanistan[9][10][11] - evidence shows that he was in fact born in Iran, in a village also called Asadābād, near the city of Hamadān.[1][3][12][13] Overwhelming documentation (especially a collection of papers left in Iran upon his expulsion in 1891) now proves that he was born into a family of Sayyids[2][3][11] and that he spent his childhood in Iran and was brought up as a Shi'a Muslim.[2][3] He was educated first at home and 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.[14] An ethnic Persian, al-Afghani claimed to be an Afghan in order to present himself as a Sunni Muslim[14][15] and escape oppression by the Iranian ruler Nāṣer 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.[16] Other names adopted by Al-Afghani were al-Kābulī ("[the one] from Kabul") and al-Istānbulī ("[the one] from Istanbul"). Especially in his writings published in Afghanistan, he also used the pseudonym ar-Rūmī ("the Roman" or "the Anatolian").[11]

Political activism[edit]



Nikki R. Keddie1983

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.[17] 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.[19] He entered Star of East Masonic Lodge in 7 July 1868 during staying in Cairo.[20] 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]


Political and religious views[edit]




  • that Asia, including the Middle East, could prevent the onslaught of Western powers only by immediately adopting the modern technology of the West


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, speaks Persian with an Irani accent. Apparently, follows no particular religion." [26]


Among the reasons why Al-Afghani thought to have had a less than deep religious faith [28] 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),[29] For example, when he moved to Istanbul he disguised his Shi'i background by labeling himself "the Afghan".[30]

Death and legacy[edit]

"Asad Abadi square" in Tehran, Iran

He was invited by Abdulhamid II in 1892. He went to Istanbul and was granted a house and salary. Abdulhamid II's aim was using Afghani for Panislamism propaganda. Al-Afghani died of throat cancer on March 9, 1897 in Istanbul 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.

In Afghanistan, a university is named after him (Sayed Jamaluddin Afghan University) in Kabul. There is also street in the center of Kabul which is called by the name Afghani. In other parts of Afghanistan, there are many places like hospitals, schools, Madrasas, Parks, and roads named Jamaluddin Afghan.




See also[edit]


  1. ^ a b "Afghan, Jamal ad-Din al-". Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2010-09-05. 
  2. ^ a b c d e "Jamāl ad-Dīn al-Afghān". Elie Kedourie. The Online Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2010-09-05. 
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Afghan, Jamal-ad-Din". N.R. Keddie. Encyclopædia Iranica. December 15, 1983. Retrieved 2010-09-05. 
  4. ^ a b "Jamal ad-Din al-Afghan". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 2010-09-05. 
  5. ^ "Sayyid Jamal ad-Din Muhammad b. Safdar al-Afghan (1838–1897)". Saudi Aramco World. Center for Islam and Science. 2002. Retrieved 2010-09-05. 
  8. ^ Goldziher, Jomier. "D̲j̲amāl al-Dīn al-Afg̲h̲ānī". Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Brill Online. Retrieved 5 May 2013. 
  12. ^ http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/299778/Jamal-al-Din-al-Afghani
  13. ^ N. R. Keddie, «Sayyid Jamal ad-Din “al-Afghani”: A Political Biography», Berkeley, 1972
  15. ^ a b Arab awakening and Islamic revival By Martin S. Kramer. Books.google.com. 1996. ISBN 9781560002727. Retrieved 2012-06-08. 
  19. ^ Albert Hourani, Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age (Cambridge: Cambride UP, 1983), pp. 131–2
  20. ^ Soner Yalçın, Beyaz Müslümanların Büyük Sırrı-Efendi 2, 2006, pp. 215-217
  25. ^ Albert Hourani, Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age (Cambridge: Cambride UP, 1983), pp. 104–125
  26. ^ Livingstone, David Terrorism and the Illuminati - A Three Thousand Year History (Charleston, SC, USA: 2007), p. 165.
  29. ^ Nasr, The Shia Revival, p.103
  31. ^ "Tatimmat al-bayan fi tarikh al-Afghan". Archive.org. Retrieved 2012-06-08. 

Further reading[edit]

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