'ABD AL-RAHMĀN AL-KAWĀKIBĪ

Abstract

Syrian reformist al-Kawākibī, has left behind both oral and written trails of numerous activities in his relatively short life. He launched numerous magazines, was the director of the government’s paper and wrote for several other papers and magazines. He is the author of a number of works of which two are published namely “True nature of despotism” and “Mekka”. In this article we give a short review of the last two. He is along with Afghani and Abduhu, one of those great figures whose names have marked the heroic period in the movement for the reform of the Islamic thought. He was one of the most prominent critics of the Ottoman rule. For the severity of his criticism he was arrested and had spent some time imprisoned. In his book about the despotism we find such criticism against governments that have abandoned fundamental religious values and are still ruling only due to the ignorance of their subjects. The Muslim world was to experience such despotism only after the death of this author. Through his social engagement as a Meier of Aleppo, he tried to bring about changes to the government in an agony. In his writings he points out to the causes of this agony and the ways to overcome such difficulties. In his work titled Mekka, al- Kawākibī discusses imaginary assembly in the Muslim capital where the intellectual authorities are invited from all Muslim countries to offer an outline plan for the reestablishment of the khilafat. He suggests an option that would underline the distribution of power among the member countries of the khilafet, discusses duties and responsibilities of khalifa, limited mandate, time and place of meeting of the member countries etc. The most acceptable model of government would be the one that upholds the greatest number of the Islamic values. Reading his books one finds it difficult to believe that the author is not our contemporary and that these ideas were written hundred years ago.