'Abd al-Rahman al-Kawakibi (, -c.1902) was a Syrian author and Pan-Arab solidarity supporter. He was one of the most prominent intellectuals of his time; however, his thoughts and writings continue to be relevant to the issues of Islamic identity and Pan-Arabism. His criticisms of the Ottoman Empire eventually led to Arabs calling for the sovereignty of the Arab Nations, setting the basis for Pan-Arab nationalism. Al-Kawakibi articulated his ideas in two influential books, Tabai al-Istibdad wa-Masari al-Isti’bad (طبائع الإستبداد ومصارع الإستعباد)(The Nature of Despotism) and Umm Al-Qura (Mother of All Villages). He died in 1902 of “mysterious” causes. His family alleged that he was poisoned by Turkish agents.
Early life
Al-Kawakibi was born in Aleppo to an influential Syrian family. He received a thorough education in the Islamic sciences and the languages of the region including Arabic, Turkish and Persian. As a young man, Al-Kawakibi was very interested in literature and politics, having edited Furat, the official paper of Aleppo from 1875 to 1880. at the age of twenty-two al-Kawakibi had been appointed as editor of Aleppo's official newspaper. He also edited the highly influential reformist journal, al-Manar, which was started by Rashid Rida, another influential Islamic scholar.
Career
After working at Furat and al-Manar, Al-Kawakibi started his own literary journal called the al-Sahba. The journal vehemently criticized the despots and dictators of his time, and alluded to the tyranny of the Ottoman Empire. He especially focused his criticism on the new Vali of Aleppo, Jamil Pasha. Due to Al-Kawakibi's political outspokenness, the journal was shut down by the local Ottoman Government after only 15 issues. After his work as editor, Al-Kawakibi entered politics more directly, and worked for various positions in the Ottoman civil service in Aleppo. Despite his opposition to the Ottoman Empire, Al-Kawakibi wanted to serve Arabs. During this point in his career, he became an honorary member of the board of lawyer examinations. Al-Kawakibi, along with other Aleppans, complained about the Vali to the central government in Istanbul. These criticisms fell on deaf ears until Istanbul sent a representative to Aleppo to investigate, and immediately threw Kawakibi and his followers into prison for false complaints. Once released from prison, Al-Kawakibi's popularity rose and he became the mayor of Aleppo in 1892. Later on Al-Kawakibi went to Istanbul to study the Ottoman Empire's despotism and problematic leadership more extensively. With his newfound knowledge, he returned to Aleppo and began working for the Ottoman government again. Because of his opinions, he was subject to harassment and intimidated on a regular basis. He decided to publish his book Umm al-Qura (The Mother of Cities:Mecca) in Egypt, rather than in Syria, and finally left his home country in 1899, moving to Egypt where he was welcomed by other Islamic intellectuals residing there.
Al-Kawakibi was influenced by the teachings of Jamal al-Din al-Afghani as well his disciple Muhammad Abduh. Al-Afghani preached Pan-Islamic identity – with this as his basis, Al-Kawakibi went one step further, incorporating Al-Afghani's theories into Pan-Islamic Arabic solidarity. Another contemporary of Al-Kawakibi was the Islamic scholar and advocate for Arab independence, Sayyid Rashid Rida who was based in Egypt at the same time. Rida and Al-Kawakibi discussed ideas of Pan-Arabism as well as Quranic interpretations. Al-Kawakibi believed that Arabs should be representatives of Islam, not the Ottomans. Rida believed that blind-following(taqlid) was the reason for downfall of Muslims. They both advocated the revival of independent Islamic thinking(ijtihad).