Jamal ad Din al Afghani Death Fact Check
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Jamal ad Din al Afghani - Biography
his followers he was a great scholar of Islam, the leader against imperialism, the one who awakened the East, while to his opposers he was a charlatan who deceived Muslims by concealing his real identity, a thrill-seeker, a British spy, a heretic, Not much is known about Jamal ad-Din al-Afghani (1838-1897), who was highly influential on the Muslim world in the last century with the slogan that a powerful Islamic civilization can be restored against the dominance of Europe. And what little information available is filled with contradictions.He comes from a Shiite Azerbaijani family from the Asadabad village of Iran. There is a another village with the same name in Afghanistan. He used the name al-Afghani to hide his Iranian and Shiite origin as he was generally active within predominantly Sunni areas. He usually traveled with his Iranian passport. The Sayyidi lineage as well as the name Muhammad were appended later to prove he is Mahdi. From time to time his nationality too would change – like his headgear – depending on the time and place. (In Islam, it is believed that close to the Day of Judgment, a religious leader named "Mahdi" will come from the lineage of Prophet Muhammad.)Al-Afghani has taken his first lessons from the Shiite scholars in Iraq. He then went to Kabul, where at the time a fight for the throne was ongoing. When Prince Azam Khan, whose cause al-Afghani supported, won, he became the prince's most trusted vizier. A foreigner reaching this position in such a short matter of time is striking. It is claimed that he was a Russian spy who could obtain money and political support from the Russians against the British who weren't on good terms with Azam Khan – or at least he presented himself that way. However, as soon as the prince's brother Sher Ali ousted Azam, al-Afghani was deported (1868).After deportation he came to Istanbul. The Education Minister of the time, a positivist, assigned him to a respected position. In a lecture he gave at Istanbul University, he called prophecy an art (i.e. it could be attained through effort) and said religion prevented scientific progress. This led to reaction. The university was shut down and al-Afghani, accused of being a heretic, was deported (1871).
