the crisis of modernisation and islamicisation 321his teacher Jamal-al-Dìn al-Afghànì (1839–97) they were the chief
leaders of modernism in Islam in Egypt.
Abdou and al-Afghànì
As political Islam was seen humiliated by Western occupation, people
developed two ideas in their minds: first, a strong feeling of resent-
ment to the Western power and to all that came with it, and second,
expectation from the Ulama", as the protectors of the faith, to lead the
way forward and to take them into an appropriate course of action.
The Ulama"responded, but they, or at least some of them, had a
dilemma. The Western forces were aggressors and ought to be forced
to free the land, but the West had developed so much in science,
technology, and socio-political concepts and ideas that Muslim coun-
tries, as soon they found out, were lagging behind. Muslim countries
would have to adopt these Western technologies and may have to
accept Western socio-political ideals, if they are to advance and
develop. However, if this is to be done, Muslim countries should not
be seen as being amenable to Western occupying forces. That was the
dilemma to Mohammad Abdou (1849–1905) and his teacher, and
fellow struggler, Jamal al-Dìn al-Afghànì(1839–97).
Both, al-Afghànìand Abdou were anti British, and they associated
themselves with the unsuccessful revolt of the Egyptian army under
Ahmad Orabi, for which Abdou, in consequence, was exiled to Syria.
Both were Sunni and were highly respected in religious circles. In
addition, by being the mufti of Egypt, Mohammad Abdou was in the
highest religious position in the country. Both had been exposed to
the Western culture, traveling and lecturing in France, and together
edited an Arabic paper in Paris. But they differed in their approaches
to solving the problem of the undermined Islam and the occupied
land. Although al-Afghànìand Abdou agreed on the need to revive
Islam as a way of life and the desire to liberate the Muslim world
from the foreign occupation, they departed on the issue of the impor-
tation of western science and socio-political ideas.
Gamal al-Dìn al-Afghànì was of the view that the remedy to
Muslims’ problem should emerge from the religion itself: Islam. No
importation of Western culture, in his views, would serve as a panacea
to Muslims’ problems or to improving their conditions, and any
attempt at modernisation by importation would be fatal instead of
useful. The answer to the problem, he emphasized, should come
from within, the Sharì"ah. But he advocated that in order for the