Bahai Salafiyya

Reconciling Religious Dissidence
in the Baha'i Faith and in the Salafiyya:

A Comparative Study of
Àbdul-Baba Àbbas (1844-1921)
and Muhammad Àbduh (1849-1905)
Oliver Paul Scharbrodt
A dissertation submitted to the University of London, in accordance with the
requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
Department of the Study of Religions

School of Oriental and African Studies
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Abstract
The thesis places Àbdul-Baha Àbbas (1844-1921) and Muhammad Àbduh

(1849-1905) in the context of the 19thcentury Middle East. It comprises a comparative
intellectual biography of these two figures and follows their intellectual and religious
developments from their formative years until their deaths. It investigates how they
responded to political events in the Middle East and participated in debates on the
reform of Islam and the modernisation of Muslim societies.
Àbdul-Baha was the son of Mirza Husayn Àli Nuri Baha'ullah (1817-1892),
the founder of the Baha'i Faith. Àbdul-Baha followed his father into exile from Iran to
the Ottoman Empire and later became head of the nascent Baha'i movement,
supervising its spread to Europe and North America. Muhammad Àbduh was one of
the most prominent Muslim reformers in the 19`h century. He received a traditional
religious education at al-Azhar in Cairo and under the tutelage of his mentor Jamalud-
Din al-Afghani (1838-1897) turned into a political activist. At the end of his life, he
undertook a modernist reinterpretation of the Islamic tradition and became one of the
initiators of the Salafiyya movement.
The thesis argues against the assumption that these two figures represent two
extremely opposite expressions of Islamic religiosity. While one would classify Àbdul-
Baha, leader of a messianic movement which claims to depart from Islam, as an
exponent of religious heresy in Islam, Àbduh is perceived as an orthodox Sunni
reformer. However, a comparative study reveals that they share a common intellectual
and religious background in traditions of religious dissidence in Islam. This shared

background allowed them to oppose the religious and political establishment of their
time and to undertake a reinterpretation of Islam. But once they reached the zenith of
their respective careers, they had to reconsider their origins in heretical and dissident
traditions of Islam. Whereas Àbduh dissociated himself from this background and
modelled himself as a Sunni reformer, Àbdul-Baha radicalised the heretical nature of

his father's movement and initiated the complete departure of the Baha'i movement
from Islam.
2
Le Printemps adorable a perdu son odeur!
Baudelaire
To my mother
Acknowledgements
Although any thesis appears to be the result of an individual's effort, many
people have certainly contributed to the realisation of this one. First and foremost, I
would like to thank my supervisor, Prof Christopher Shackle, who has been a source of
guidance and inspiration over the past four years. I feel extremely fortunate to have
worked with him. I would also like to thank Prof Paul Gifford, the departmental
research tutor, for his support and encouragement.

During one of our many evening discussions over a cup of Turkish coffee, Dr
Necati Alkan made me aware of the historical link that exists between Àbdul-Baba and
Muhammad Àbduh. This initiated my interest in these two figures which resulted in
this thesis. Dr Franklin Lewis was the first who suggested a comparative study of both
figures -a piece of advice which I have followed and for which I am very grateful. Dr
Fiona Missaghian-Moghaddam convinced me many years ago of the importance of
pursuing the academic study of religions and became my mentor in my early years as a
student. She has always reminded me of the ultimate purpose of scholarship.

I wish to express my gratitude to the Haj Mehdi Arjmand Memorial Fund and
Dr Iraj Ayman for the financial support without which I could have never undertaken
this research. The University of London Central Research Fund and the SOAS
Additional Award for Fieldwork funded my research trip to Egypt and Lebanon in 2003.
During my stay in Beirut, Dr Vahid Behmardi of the American University took
great care of me and provided useful help and support. The staff at the archives of al-
Abram and of the IDEO in Cairo were very helpful and patient with my requests. I
would also like to thank the friends in Egypt for their warm reception and hospitality.
During the course of this research, a number of people made useful suggestions
and contributed with various ideas to this thesis. I would like to thank Dr Necati Alkan,
Dr Behrooz Bahrami, Prof William Clarence-Smith, Dr Kamran Ekbal, Dr Armin
Eschraghi, Dr Khazeh Fananapazir, Adil Khan, William McCants, Dr Moojan Momen,
Dr Susan Stiles-Maneck, Dr Katja Triplett and Dr Barbara Zollner. Betsy Omidvaran
did the final proofreading of the entire thesis, making me aware of many details that
have escaped my attention.
Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to my mother and my stepfather,

Dagmar and Karl-Heinz Körner. Although never sharing my fascination with the study
4
of Islam, their support and their sacrifices allowed me in the first place to write this
thesis. As a humble token of my gratitude, I dedicate this thesis to my mother.
Table of Contents
Abstract 2
.................................................................................................................
Acknowledgements 4
...............................................................................................
Note on Transliteration and Translations 8
...........................................................
1. Introduction 9
..................................................................................................
1.1. Background: Messianism and Religious Revival 9
.......................................
1.1.1. Beinet 1887: Meeting Point of Two Careers 9
........................................................ ..
1.1.2. Reform in the 19`x'Century Middle East 10
..............................................................
1.1.3. Origins of Religio-political Dissent in Islamic Messianism 13
................................
1.1.4. Shii Messianic Movements and Sufism 16
...............................................................
1.1.5. Typology of Islamic Messianism 19
.........................................................................
1.1.6. Messianism and Religious Revival in the 19thCentury 20
.......................................
1.2. Method and Structure of the Thesis 23
..........................................................
1.2.1. Max Weber: Charisma and Its Routinisation 23
.......................................................
1.2.2. General Remarks on the Nature of Muslim Biographical Writing 28
......................
1.2.3. Sources on Àbdul-Baha 31
......................................................................................
1.2.4. Sources on Muhammad Àbduh 36
..........................................................................
1.2.5. Chapter Outline 40
....................................................................................................
2. Formative Years: Mystic sin ai: d Milleizarianisin 44
....................................
2.1. i iysticism and Millenarianism in 19th century Shiism 44
............................
2.1.1. The Revival of Charismatic Authority in Iranian Sufism 44
....................................
2.1.2. Charismatic Authority and Religious Dissidence: The Shaykhi School 48
..............
2.1.3. The Messianic Realisation of Religio-Political Dissent: The Babi Movement.... 51
2.2. Àbdul-Baba and Shii Millenarianism ......................................................

54
2.2.1. Baha'ullah: From Sufi Dissidence to Babi Millenarianism 54
.............................. ...
2.2.2. Àbdul-Baha: Charismatic Authority and Religious Dissidence 56
...................... ...
2.2.3. Dissidence and Persecution 57
............................................................................... ...
2.2.4. Dissidence and Innate Knowledge 60
.................................................................... ...
2.3. Muhammad Àbduh and Islamic Mysticism 62
............................................
2.3.1. Jamalud-Din al-Afghani: Sufi, Philosopher, Dissident 62
..................................... ...
2.3.2. Crisis and Resolution: Muhammad Àbduh's Conversion to Sufism 65
............... ...
2.3.3. The Sage from the East 69
..................................................................................... ...
2.4. Conclusion 73
...................................................................................................
3. Into 111oderr11itl' 76
.......................................................................................... ..
3.1. Àbdul-Baba: From Millenarianism to Reformism 77
............................... ..
3.1.1. The Emergence of the Baha'i Movement 77
......................................................... ...
3.1.2. Millenarianism and Democratic Thought 79
......................................................... ...
3.1.3. Àbdul-Baba and Ottoman Dissidents 82
.............................................................. ...
3.2. Muhammad Àbduh: From Mysticism to Political Activism 87
................ ..
3.2.1. From Mosque to Coffee-house 87
............................................................................
3.2.2. From Dissidence to Revolution: The Ùrabi Revolt (1881-1882) 89
.......................
3.2.3. The Firmest Bond 91
................................................................................................
3.3. Mythical Past and the Re-construction of Authentic Islam 95
.................. ..
3.3.1. The Two Contexts: Failed Reforms and Colonialism 95
..........................................
3.3.2. Ancient Glories and Present Austerities 97
..............................................................
3.4. Conclusion 104
.................................................................................................
4. Succession and Renewal 108
..........................................................................
4.1. Àbdul-Balia: From Dissidence to Apostasy 109
...........................................
4.1.1. Charismatic Succession in the Early Baha'i Movement 109
....................................
6
4.1.2. Designation and Covenant 111
.................................................................................
4.1.3. Charismatic Authority Contested 113
.......................................................................
4.1.4. The Establishment of the Baha'i Movement in the Vest 118
...................................
4.2. Muhammad 'Abduh: From Dissidence to Renewal 123
...............................
4.2.1. Alienation from Afghani 123
....................................................................................
4.2.2. Colonialism as a Tool to Modernisation 127
............................................................
4.2.3. The mujaddid Tradition in Sunni Islam 131
.............................................................
4.2.4. The Making of a Salafi mujaddid 134
......................................................................
4.3. Conclusion 138
.................................................................................................
5. Charisma Routinised 142
................................................................................
5.1. Àbdul-Baba: Frone Charisma to Bureaucracy 143
.....................................
5.1.1. From Charisma to Consultation 143
.........................................................................
5.1.2. From Clerical to Lay Authority 144
.........................................................................
5.1.3. Moulding an Apolitical Community 148
..................................................................
5.2. Muhammad Àbduh: The Salafi Model of the Neo-`älim 154
.....................
5.2.1. Reforming Religious Authority within Islam 154
....................................................
5.2.2. Apologetics and Fatwas: The Salafi Àlim in Praxis 157
.........................................
5.2.3. The Neo-'Alim and the State 161
.............................................................................
5.3. Conclusion 165
.................................................................................................
6. The View of Posterity: From Heresy to Neo-Orthodoxy 168
........................
6.1. Shoghi Effendi and the Creation of a New Religion 169
..............................
6.1.1. From Movement to Community 169
........................................................................
6.1.2. Furthering Bureaucracy 172
.....................................................................................
6.1.3. Reinterpreting Baha'i Millenarianism: The World Order of Baha'ullah........... 176
6.2. Rashid Rida and the Rise of Political Islam in the 20'h Century 180
..........
6.2.1. Àbduh's Legacy: Between Secularism and the Salafiyya 180
................................
6.2.2. Creating an Islamic Order: Rashid Rida and the Muslim Brotherhood 183
.............
6.2.3. The Return of Political Dissidence: Sayyid Qutb and the Islamic Revolution.. 189
6.3. Conclusion 193

.................................................................................................
7. Conclusion 196
................................................................................................
8. Bibliography 206
.............................................................................................
Note on Transliteration and Translations
This thesis follows the transliteration system of the International Journal of

Middle East Studies. Only technical terms and quoted passages in Arabic and Persian
have been completely transliterated. For the sake of simplicity, I have refrained from
fully transliterating names (personal, geographical, etc.) and have chosen a very
straightforward way of writing names consisting of genitive constructions (e.g. Àbdul-
Baha, Jamalud-Din, Àbdur-Raziq).
Quotations from the Koran are taken from the recent translation by M. A. S.
Àbdel-Haleem (The Qur'an: A New Translation, Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2004). All other translations in this thesis are my own.
8
1. Introduction
1.1. Background: Messianism and Religious Revival

1.1.1. Beirut 1887: Meeting Point of Tivo Careers
In early August 1887, several Beirut newspapers announced the departure of `the
famous Àbbas Effendi al-Irani, " who left the city heading towards Àkka, the former
crusader fortress in Palestine. During his stay in Beirut, Àbbas Effendi met ùlantä',
notables and government officials `who flocked to visit him spending the whole night
talking with him under the moonlight. 'Z The newspaper announcements are not short of
his praise. They describe the impact he had on the people he met during his visit, people
who were impressed by both his immense knowledge and his extraordinary personality,
`for he had such good character traits that he had won over the hearts immediately and
niade friendship to him an absolute priority. '3 Àbbas Effendi, more commonly known
as Àbdul-Baha, had arrived in Beirut in late June 1887.4 Not much is known of the
purpose of this visit to Beirut apart from the constant stream of visitors to him
consisting of `the great men of the city. '5 Among the many men he riet, one name,
however, is known: Muhammad Àbduh.
Muhammad Àbduh (1849-1905), the Egyptian-born Muslim reformer exiled to

Beirut at that time, had been famed for his opposition to the British occupation of his
country in 1882. Together with his mentor and teacher Jamalud-Din al-Afghani (1838-
1897), he published the anti-British journal Al- Ùrwa al-Wuthgä (The Firmest Bond) in
Paris, before he settled in Beirut in 1885. One of his students in Beirut, Shakib Arslan
(1869-1946), who later became famous as an Ottoman politician and Arab nationalist,
briefly mentions in his account of Àbduh's stay in Beirut the encounter between his
teacher and Àbdul-Baha which must have taken place some time between late June and
early August 1887:
None of the notables or his acquaintances journeyed to Beirut without coming to greet him.
He honoured and exalted each one and, even if he conflicted with him in belief, he did not
cease to respect him. Foremost among those he honoured was Àbbas Effendi al-Baha, the
leader of Babism (al-bnbi}}ya), even though the Babi creed (al-tm-iga al-bnbiJ5, a) is
different from what the Shaykh believes and is the creed (tnrºga) that al-Sayyid Jamalud-
1Bayriit, 19 Dhi
al-Qa'da 1304 [9 August 1887], p. 3; see also Lisa,: al-Hal, 22 Dhi al-Qa'da 1304 [11
August 1887], p. 1.
2 Bayrüt, 19 Dhl al-Qa`da 1304 [9 August 1887],
p. 3.
3 Ibid.
4 Ba}girt, 6 Shawwäl 1304 [28 June 1887],
p. 3.
5 Lisan
al-Hal, 22 Dhi al-Qa'da 1304 [11 August 1887], p. 1.
9
Din refuted so strongly. But he revered Àbbas Effendi's knowledge, refinement,
distinction, and high moral standards and Àbbas Effendi similarly honoured Àbduh. 6
Àbdul-Baha Àbbas Effendi (1844-1921) was an Ottoman prisoner at the time
of his visit to Beirut. He was the son of the founder of the Baha'i Faith, Mirza Husayn
Àli Nuri Baha'ullah (1817-1892) who claimed to be the recipient of divine revelations
and was exiled from Iran to the Ottoman Empire.

Shakib Arslan notes the differences between Àbduh and Àbdul-Baha in terms
of their religious beliefs. Àbduh, the Sunni scholar and reformer, appears to be miles
away theologically frone Àbdul-Baba, leader of a heretical movement whose founder
claims to be a new prophet after Muhammad. Nevertheless, according to Arslan, the two
men held each other in high esteem. But was their encounter in Beirut just accidental?
Was their good rapport solely based on the mutual appreciation of their knowledge and
characters? Was Àbduh aware at all of Àbdul-Baha's affiliation with the Babis? Or
did the two men meet in Beirut because they shared more with each other than their
common mutual admiration? It will be shown that Àbduh met the famous Iranian from
Àkka at a time when their paths not only crossed accidentally, but when their lives and
careers were at an important crossroad which connected both for a moment but led to
the parting of their ways in the future.
1.1.2. Reform in the 191x'Century Middle East

Àbdul-Bahn and Muhammad Àbduh belonged to the same generation of
Middle Easterners who witnessed the demise of the traditional socio-political order
within the region and the questioning of traditional Muslim religiosity as preserved by
its guardians, the ùlamd '. The two men were not only passive observers of unfolding
events but responded to these changes and tried to influence developments with their
own efforts. They lived in a time when the intrusion of Western modernity into the
Middle East gained unprecedented momentum. An increasing awareness of the
scientific, military, economic and political dominance of Europe initially triggered
responses from Middle Eastern rulers to modernise their countries.

The first state which responded to the supremacy of Europe and initiated a
modernisation process was the Ottoman Empire. The period of the Tanziinät reforms
(1839-1876), a series of governmental and legal reforms aiming at modernising the
Ottoman Empire, constituted the beginning of the modernisation of the Middle East. As
6 Rida, M. R., Ta'rikh al-Ustndh al-Imam al-ShaykhMuhammad 'Abduh, Vol. I, Cairo: Al-Manär 1931,
p. 407.
10
the ideological and administrative backbone to this modernisation policy, the Ottoman
sultans sent young diplomats to Europe to build a new Western-educated elite,
spearheading and formulating the reforms. The Tanzimnt reforms gave the impetus for
the modernisation of Middle Eastern societies and created the intellectual climate for the
acceptance of European ideas and values. The government officials who had been sent
to Europe not only returned with the necessary skills to ensure the administrative
centralisation of the Ottoman Empire but also carried with them the ideas of European
liberalism with notions of popular sovereignty, constitutionalism and parliamentary

democracy. 7 Egypt followed the example of the Ottoman Empire and sent young bright
men on educational missions to Europe and support the creation of Western-style
educational institutions in order to yield a new Western-educated elite for the
modernisation of the Middle East.

The ùlama' experienced the new modernisation drive of the secular rulers as a
disruptive force interfering in their traditional domains of education and law and
depriving them of both the economic and the intellectual sources of their authority in
the long term. In the Ottoman Empire the ùlamk' constituted a kind of aristocratic class
closely connected with the bureaucratic apparatus of the government. They provided
judges, scribes and other government officials and the graduates of their educational
institutions had provided the educated elite, governing the country. In the past, secular
rulers turned to them for advice and guidance. Now under the new direction of state
administration, they lent their ears to foreign advisors and bureaucrats with secular
training. The conservative intellectual climate of the madrasas, which were completely
ignored in the drive to modernise educational institutions, generated ùlamä'
increasingly hostile to the modernisation of their societies. The ù1a,nd ' became an
endangered elite and had to realise that their education was rendered useless in the new
modern state bureaucracy. Whereas the state and the new class of modern bureaucrats
constituted a group open to change and the adoption of Western ideas and concepts, the
intellectual orientation of the ùlantd ' was characterised by conservatism and preserving
7 Vol,, J. 0., Islam: Continuity'

and Change in the Modern World, Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press,
1982, pp. 90-3; see also Hodgson, M. G. S., The Venture of /slam: Conscience and History in a World
Civilisation, Vol. 3: The Gunpowder Empires and Modem Times, Chicago and London: The University
of Chicago Press, 1977, pp. 230-3; Hourani, A., Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age: 1798-1939,
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983, pp. 43-9; Fortna, B. C., Èducation and Autobiography at
the End of the Ottoman Empire', Die Welt des Islams 41 (2001), pp. 1-31.
11
the status quo. 8 Ideologically, were branded as un-Islamic and foreign in origin.
reforms
However, from a non-ideological perspective, the `zrlamä"s opposition to such reforms
stemmed from their legitimate fear of losing their traditional authority in the new socio-
political orders Middle Eastern rulers were so keen to establish.

Criticism of the nature of the reforms came also from the agents of those
reforms themselves. An increasing number of Middle Eastern intellectuals who came in
contact with European thought grew dissatisfied with the direction of the reforms
undertaken by the ruling elites. For them, military and administrative reforms alone
were not sufficient but wider reaching reforms needed to be accomplished. The rulers
were interested in creating a powerful centralised state. Their reform initiatives were
often intended to consolidate their autocratic rule. Economic prosperity was sought by
establishing commercial links with Europe and inviting European advisors to the
country. Both the apparent autocracy of Middle Eastern rulers and their increasing
foreign dependence alienated a number of intellectuals and members of the state
bureaucracy who more and more demanded the introduction of democratic reforms and
the independence from foreign influence. As the foreign domination of the Middle East
gained further momentum in the latter half of the 19`h century, many intellectuals and
bureaucrats assumed a dissident stance towards the regimes in the Middle East opposing
their collaboration with European powers and their utter absolutism. Political
liberalisation was seen as means to gain independence from both foreign influence and
indigenous autocratic rule.
Intellectually, these reformers had to formulate a position of dissidence against
the Middle Eastern sovereigns who increasingly turned into local agents of European
colonialism and against conservative forces within the religious establishment which
denounced any engagement with the modern world as contrary to the basic tenets of the
Islamic tradition. Accusing Middle Eastern regimes of blindly imitating European ideas
and concepts, these reformers felt the need for an intellectual reconciliation of such
ideas with the Islamic tradition. By tracing modern ideas back to Islam, they could
argue against the conservative opposition to them and against the over-reliance of
Middle Eastern regimes on the West. The intellectual reconciliation of Islam with
8 Chambers,R. L., `The Ottoman Ulema and the Tanzimat', Keddie, N. R. (ed.), Scholars, Saints,
and
Sifs: A4uslinr Religious Institutions in the Middle East since 1500, Berkeley: University of California
Press, 1972, pp. 33-46.
9 Crecelius, D., `Nonideological Responses the Egyptian Ulama to Modernization', Keddie, Scholars,
of
Saints, and Stfs, pp. 167-209.
12
modernity would show that neither was it necessary to collaborate with European power
for the implementation of such reforms nor were they in contradiction to Islam.
Who had the intellectual resources for a thorough reconsideration of the Islamic
tradition? The mainstream of the ùlamä' was conservative in attitude and opposed the
adoption of Western ideas as part of the modernisation process for ideological and non-
ideological reasons. As most of the ùlamä' were rather unwilling to engage
intellectually with the modern world, their monopoly on religious discourse was
challenged by a new class of intellectuals which, often coming from a traditional
religious background, adopted a religious tone to justify the introduction of reforms.
Many reformers began with a self-reflective analysis of the state of the Muslim world
and the reasons for its weakness. This self-diagnosis implied a critique of traditional
religious authority. The ùlamn' were blamed for the demise of Islam in the modern
world because their strict adherence to a medieval and outdated scholarly tradition had
led to the intellectual stagnation of Muslims. The nature of religious authority was put
under scrutiny due to the perceived demise of Islam attributed to the shortcomings of
the religious and political establishment. Reformers therefore became both political and
religious dissidents and positioned themselves in opposition to the establishment, asking

such questions as: What intellectual traditions of political and religious dissent does
Islam offer? Which alternative models of religious authority allow a creative re-
interpretation of the Islamic tradition?
1.1.3. Origins of Religio political Dissent in Islamic Messia, iism

Throughout the history of Islam, dissident movements have opposed religious
orthodoxy and the political establishment. In the same manner as religious dissidents
had challenged the authority of the ùlamk' in the past, 19`h century reformers
considered traditional Islam as represented by the ùlaind' to have fallen short of

responding adequately to the challenges of the modem world. As intellectuals and
bureaucrats in the 19`h century who fought against absolutist rule and European
colonialism in the Middle East, revolutionary movements in Islamic history have

combated political regimes which were perceived as being corrupt, autocratic and
immoral. Very often such movements attached themselves to notions of religo-political
authority felt to be more authentically Islamic.

Since the revolt of Mukhtar al-Thaga6 (685-86) in the name of Muhammad ibn
al-Hanafiyya àl-Mahdi' ('the rightly-guided one'), religious and political dissent in
13
Islam has found one expression in movements around the Mahdi, the saviour who
would restore Islam and bring true guidance for the Muslim community. The Mahdi as
the divinely appointed charismatic leader of the community would initiate a return to
the perfection of the prophetic age and revive pure and authentic Islam as it existed at
the time of the Prophet Muhammad. From the time that Mukhtar revolted against the
Umayyad caliph and chose a son of Àli ibn Abi Talib as the right leader of the Muslim
community, Mahdis and their messianic movements would appear in Islamic history as
forces of opposition and dissent against the religious and political establishment of their
times.
Originally, àl-Mahdi' was a political title designating the rightly guided leader
of the Muslim community who would restore justice and oppose the illegitimate
usurpers to the caliphate as embodied by the Umayyad dynasty. The hope for the arrival
of such a leader was particularly strong among the early Shia which was in its infancy a
political movement in support of the leadership claims of a member of the Hashimid

clan, the clan of the Prophet Muhammad. It was believed that the Mahdi by virtue of
being part of the ahl al-bayt, the family of the Prophet, partakes of his charisma and
therefore would rule in a similar fashion as the Prophet did. Mukhtar's revolt in the
name of Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya initiated a series of Hashimid revolts in the name
of or led by a member of the clan of the Prophet. The revolt which would eventually be
successful and overthrow the Umayyad dynasty resulted in the Àbbasid Revolution of
750. Being descendents of Muhammad's paternal uncle Àbbas and therefore members
of the Hashimid clan, the Àbbasids appealed to the Shia sentiments of religio-political
leadership by a member of the family of the Prophet and exploited the notion of a return
((Iaivla) to the prophetic age in their propaganda. 1° Once the Àbbasids assumed power,
they adopted messianic names like al-Saffah, al-Mansur or al-Mahdi as part of their
caliphal titles in ' I

order to express their charismatic authority.
Once in power, however, the Àbbasids launched severe persecutions against the
Shiis, seeing in them potential sources for political dissent, as they might challenge the
Àbbasid rule by putting forward a claimant to leadership who is closer related to the
Prophet or even one of his direct descendants. The Àbbasids turned to the àlarm ' and
'° On the
notion of dawla in the pre-'Abbasid period see Sharon, M., Black Banners from the East: The
Establishment of the 'Abbdsid State Incubation of a Revolt, Jerusalem: Magness Press, 1983, pp. 19-27.
-
On early Islamic messianism as an expression of religio-political dissent see Crone, P., God's Rule:
Government and Islam, New York: Columbia University Press, 2004, pp. 70-86. See also Crone, P., 'On
the Meaning of the Àbbasid Call al-Rida', in Bosworth, C. E. et al. (eds. ), The Islamic World from
Classical to Modern Times: Essays in Honor of Bernard Lewis, Princeton 1989, pp. 95-111.
14
patronised the formation and consolidation of Sunni Islam which took shape with the
compilation of canonical traditions attributed to the Prophet, the emergence of Islamic
jurisprudence and Islamic theology. The `Mama' would prove to be a conservative force
rejecting political and religious dissent and accepting Àbbasid supremacy as necessary
for the unity and stability of the Islamic community. 12
The radicalism of the Shiis was also softened after the Àbbasid revolution. As
previous Hashimid revolts had failed and the apparent vindication of the Shia with the
success of the Àbbasid revolution proved to be disastrous for them, more quietist and
accommodative models of leadership became more attractive. The descendents of
Husayn, the grandson of the Prophet who was killed by the Umayyads in Karbala in
680, abstained from political actions and remained quietist. The Husaynid branch of the
Hashimid clan, led by Muhammad al-Baqir and Ja`far al-Sadiq, and its purely religious
and apolitical understanding of authority transformed the early Shia from a political to a
sectarian movement. For Ja'far al-Sadiq, being Imam does not require the actual
possession of political power but rather signifies the access to a repository of hidden
knowledge which the Imam receives via divine inspiration in order to act as a channel
of divine guidance for his followers. 13
Although the members of the Husaynid branch who would provide the line of
Imams of the later Twelver Shia refrained from political activism, the initial hope for
the rule of the Malidi was also expressed around them. When Muhammad ibn al-
Hanafiyya died, some of his followers refused to believe that he died but assumed that
he went into occultation (ghayba) and would return in the immediate future as the
Mahdi and rule over the Islamic community. Similar speculations arose after the death
of Ja'far al-Sadiq and of his son Musa 14

al-Kazim. Some of their followers likewise
upheld the belief that they merely went into occultation and would return soon to
reverse the existing political order. This notion of occultation would prove useful after
the death of the 111hImam Hasan al-'Askari and the ensuing confusion about his
succession. Most Shiis believed that his son went into occultation and would return in
the future as the Mahdi. The adoption of the notion of occultation by the Twelver Shia
had three effects. It ultimately suppressed the tradition of religio-political dissent of the
early Shia by postponing the return of the Mahdi and the establishment of a just and
1'-Crone, God's Rule,

pp. 125-41.
13Hodgson, M. G. S., `How did the Early Shia become Sectarian? ', Journal
of the American Oriental
Society 75 (1955), 1-13.
1; Momen, M., An Introduction to Shi'i Islam: The History
and Doctrines of Twelver Shi'ism, New Haven
and London: Yale University Press, 1985, pp. 54-7.
15
legitimate Islamic government to the distant future. The eschatological connotations of
the Mahdi also became more pronounced as he would appear shortly before the Day of
Judgement. Finally, with the end of the line of the Imams, the ùlamä' assumed
religious authority and, as their Sunni counterparts had done before, formed the Twelver
Shia as religious sect by compiling traditions attributed to the Imams and developing
Shii jurisprudence and theology. The dissident nature of the early Shia was finally
forsaken, hence allowing Shiis to accommodate to the Muslim mainstream.
1.1.4. Sltü Messianic Movements and Sufism

Certain groups -within the Shia upheld a dissident stance towards mainstream
Islam and offered alternative models of religious authority which challenged the
religious monopoly of the 'ulamä' and were more inclined towards individualised and
charismatic forms of leadership as existent in the early Shia. A more radical offshoot of
the Shia which believed in the transfer of the Imamate from Ja`far al-Sadiq to his eldest
son Ismail preserved early Shii religio-political dissidence. While initially believing in
the occultation and eventual return of Ismail's son Muhammad as Mahdi, leaders of the
Ismailis would later claim descent from Muhammad ibn Ismail and announce
themselves to be the promised Mahdi. The messianic claims of Said ibn Husayn who
took the name Ùbaydullah al-Mahdi in 909 led to the foundation of the Fatimid
dynasty which would challenge the claims of the Àbbasids to the caliphate for almost
two centuries. The messianic claims of the leaders of the Nizari branch of the Ismailis
with their headquarters in Àlamut in northern Iran in the 11`h and 12`hcenturies were
likewise utilised to oppose the existing political order in a militant struggle led by the
Imam-Mahdi. Unlike the mainstream Shia which considers the line of the Imams as
having tenninated with the 12`hImam, the Ismailis believed in the continuation of their
charismatic authority and thereby preserved the tradition of religio-political dissent of
the early Shia. For the Ismailis, there always has to be a single living personification of
divine guidance, a proof (lu jja) of God on earth. 15
Although politically less radical, another group also offered an alternative notion
of religious authority -a model of religious authority that was also charismatic and akin
to the religious authority of the Shii Imams. Mystical Islam or Sufism challenged the
authority of the ùlain ' and their rather literalist and legalist approach to the Koran
offering more esoteric readings of scripture that aimed at revealing its hidden meanings.
15Daftary, F., A Short History of the Ismailis: Traditions of a Muslim Community,Edinburgh: Edinburgh
University Press,1998,pp. 63-158.
16
The Sufis invested authority in the friends of God (awliyn' alldh), people who were
considered to be close to God, and put the Perfect Man (al-insän al-kiintil) on top of a
hierarchy of saints. The Perfect Man as the Sufi saint closest to God would, in imitation
of the Prophet and similar to the Shii Imams, act as a mediator between God and
humanity and would provide divine guidance, hence be rightly guided in a spiritual and
intellectual sense.16
Sufism as a religious movement within Islam transcended sectarian boundaries
and introduced charismatic authority as an alternative to the scholarly authority of the

ùlamä' to both Shiis and Sunnis. Sufi notions of charismatic authority could be used to
express disillusionment with the religious establishment as embodied by the ùlanld '
and implicitly contain `the messianic expectation of the human leader, divinely or
rationally guided, who would restore order and justice and establish the ideal rule of the
Sage.' 17
The amalgamation of Sufism, Ismaili political activism and Shii messianism led
to a proliferation of messianic movements in the 14`hand 15`hcenturies during and after

the frail rule of the Ilkhanid dynasty in Iran (1256-1353). One of the earliest was
initiated by Fazlullah Astarabadi (d. 1394) who claimed not only to be the Mahdi but
also an agent of divine revelation. While he was initially concerned about extracting the
hidden spiritual message from the Koran by employing esoteric interpretative
techniques based on the letters of the Koranic text, the persecution of the members of
the heretical Hunifi sect - as they were called - led to their politicisation and militant
activism. The messianic claims of Sayyid Muhammad Nurbakhsh (d. 1463) were of a
similar nature. Stemming from the environment of Shii Sufism like Fazlullah,
Nurbakhsh's claims to be the Mahdi were combined with his spiritual identification
with prophetic figures of the past like Jesus and Muhammad. Like the Hurufi sect,
Nurbakhsh was not primarily interested in seizing political power as part of his
messianic mission but devoted much of his time to teaching about the mystical path
towards God. A consciously political and militant expression of Shii messianism was
the movement initiated by his contemporary Sayyid Muhammad b. Falah al-Musha'sha'
16Chodkiewicz, M., Seal

of the Saints: Prophethood and Sainthood in the Doctrine of Ibn 'Arabi,
Cambridge: The Islamic Texts Society, 1993, pp. 17-59.
I7 Bayat, M., Mysticism and Dissent: Socioreligious Thought in Qajar h"an, Syracuse: Syracuse
University Press, 1982, p. 14.
17
('the radiant') (d. 1461 or 1465) who managed to rally the Arab tribes of Southern Iraq
local Qaraqoyunlu ' 8
in a revolt against the rule of the Turcoman tribe.
The mystical-cum-messianic movements combining heretical claims to
charismatic authority with political activism provide the background out of which the
Safavid Order under the leadership of Ismail managed to conquer Iran and to establish
the Safavid dynasty. ' Once the Safavids captured power in Iran, the heretical claims to
charismatic authority of Ismail and the later shahs of the Safavid dynasty had to be de-
emphasised. The Safavids' turn to orthodox Twelver Shiism can be understood as a
move to routinise their charismatic authority in the transformation of the Safavid Order
from a messianic movement to the ruling dynasty. The early Safavid Shahs realised that
the messianic nature of their religio-political authority was useful in initiating a
revolution but could not provide a stable ideological foundation for the organisation of a
20
state.
Despite the suppression of Sufi messianism under the institutionalised religion
of the `zrlamä', mystical and esoteric strands of Shii Islam could survive in Safavid Iran
and found exponents in the School of Isfahan. The yearning for alternative modes of
religio-political authority found expression in the representatives of this theosophical
school like Mulla Sadra (1572-1641). Similar to the Sufis, Mulla Sadra upheld the
divine guidance of the Perfect Man who has been embodied by the Prophets and Imams
in the past and can be embodied by anyone who reaches the final stages of the mystical
journey towards God. Although always placed in the margins of Shii religiosity, the
esotericism of the School of Isfahan and its orientation towards charismatic authority
would survive in Iran until the 19`x'century. Although theosophists like Mulla Sadra
refrained from political activism, their esoteric inclinations kept the Shii tradition of
religious dissent alive -a dissent that was articulated only intellectually by Mulla Sadra
his followers but had in
the potential to erupt open political dissidence. 21
and
1$Arjomand, S. A., The Shadow of God and the Hidden Imam: Religion, Political Order and Societal
Change in Shiite Iran from the Beginning to 1890, Chicago and London: The University of Chicago
Press, 1984, pp. 66-84. See also Bashir, S., `The Imam's Return: Messianic Leadership in Late Medieval
Shiìsm', in Walbridge. L. (ed. ), Most Learned Shia: The Institution of the Marja' Taqlid, Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 2001, pp. 21-33.
19Arjomand, Shadow
of God, pp. 105-2 1.
20Amanat, A., Resurrection and Renewal: The Making of the Babi Movement in Iran, 1844-1850, Ithaca
and London: Cornell University Press, 1989, p. 14.
21Bayat, Mysticism
and Dissent, pp. 28-35.
18
1.1.5. Typology of lslaiiiic Messianism
Throughout Islamic history, messianic aspirations challenged the representatives
of religious orthodoxy and offered alternative loci of religio-political authority.

Messianic hopes may lie dormant in mystical and esoteric traditions and then suddenly
erupt after periods of millenarian anticipation and eschatological speculations. Many

messianic movements would be militant and launch a jihad to overthrow the existing
political order as the Àbbasids, Fatimids or Safavids did, other claimants to the
Mahdiship would see their mission as apolitical and non-militant and restricted to
spiritual guidance. For the Hurufis and the Nurbakhshis, the Mahdi was the supreme
22
mystical guide, devoid of any political pretensions.
As part of a general typology of Islamic messianism, one can discern not only
different attitudes towards militant struggle but also different objectives and mandates,
in particular between the Sunni and Shii understanding of the role of the Mahdi.
Generally, the Mahdi has always been a rather marginal figure in Sunni Islam. Despite
the traditions on his eschatological role that found their way into the canonical liadith
collections of Sunni Islam, the belief in the Mahdi never played a central role in Sunni
23
creed.
Central to the messianic mandate of the Sunni Mahdi is his call to a return to
pristine Islam as it existed at the time of the Prophet and his followers. The Sunni
Mahdi accepts the finality of Islam and the completeness of the religious law (shar"i à)
and advocates a stricter adherence to Islam in times of a perceived demise of Islamic

religiosity and of an assumed rise in moral laxity. While the Sunni Mahdi agrees with
religious orthodoxy as pronounced by the ùlamä' in theory, he disagrees with the
performance of the religious establishment which has failed to protect the Islamic
24
tradition. His messianic mission is very often connected with the notion of the renewal
or the restoration (tajdia) of Islam and the figure of the centennial `renewer' (nn jaddid
whom, following a prophetic tradition, God sends to the Muslim community at the
beginning of each century. As a consequence, the Sunni Mahdi is often super-orthodox
because he demands from his followers a stricter observance of Islamic law so that they
may distinguish themselves from the religious mainstream which has failed to live up to
25
religious standards.
22Bashir, `Messianic Leadership',

pp. 21-33.
23EI',
S.V. àl-Mahdi'.
24Amanat, Resurrection
and Renewal, p. 5.
25Voll, J. 0., `\Vahhabism and Mahdism: Alternative Styles
of Islamic Renewals', Arab Studies
Quarterly 4 (1982), pp. 110-126.
19
Shii messianism entails a different dynamic. For the Shii Mahdi as for his Sunni
counterpart, the role model of the early community is still valid and the messianic age
he inaugurates re-creates the time of the Prophet. But the return to the prophetic age has
different implications. Following the Shii understanding of continuous divine guidance
under the Imams and the cumulative nature of this guidance which increases religious
knowledge over time, according to esoteric strands of Shiism in particular, the mandate
of the Shii Mahdi is less restricted:
His return to the prophetic age of Islam is a return to the age of religious creativity, a return
to the prophetic paradigm and the model of the Imams with the aim of constructing a new
dispensation. 'G
religious
The understanding of the mission of the Mahdi as being similar to that of the
Prophet Muhammad is very often taken to the radical conclusion that, like the Prophet,
the Mahdi initiates a new religious dispensation. Whereas Twelver Shiism follows the
Sunni conception of the Mahdi as the enforcer of the sharià, Ismailis have taken
traditions attributed to the Imams stating that the Mahdi will come with a new cause as
meaning that lie will abrogate Islam and the shay à and bring a new religion in its
stead. Ismaili claimants to the Mahdihood gained notoriety for their abrogation of the
shari'a like Hasan àld dhikr"ihi al-salnm, leader of the Nizari-Ismailis in Àlamut, who
in 1164 announced the advent of the Day of Judgement and declared Islamic law in
consequence as no longer binding. 27But also outside Ismailism, the potential claim to a
new religious dispensation was very often realised by leaders of Shii messianic
movements, as the examples of the Hurufi and Nurbakhshi sects show.
1.1.6. Messianism and Religious Revival in the 191x'Century

The different types of Islamic messianism re-occurred in the 19`" century. The
political, economic, social and cultural dislocation the Middle East experienced, the
occupation of Muslim lands by foreign powers and the general feeling that something
had gone wrong in Islamic history created a variety of messianic movements in the
Middle East and the wider Muslim world. The Mahdi uprisings in Sudan of 1881-5 are
an example of a militant messianic movement in a Sunni context. At the time when

Egyptian control over Sudan was weakened, Muhammad Ahmad ibn Àbdullah claimed
to be the promised Mahdi in 1881. In the person of Muhammad Ahmad and in the
and Renewal, p. 6.
27Daftary, History of the Ismailis,
pp. 138-50.
20
movement he began several of the Sunni features of Islamic messianism became
manifest. The dormant messianism of Sufism can be well exemplified by him, as

Muhammad Ahmad was a Sufi saint who enjoyed the veneration of the local tribal
population and then turned into the Mahdi. Following the Sunni mandate of the Mahdi,
he saw himself as the restorer or renewer (nn jaddicO of authentic Islam which had been
perverted in his time. His identification with the in jaddicl was also facilitated, as he
began to raise his spiritual claims shortly before the beginning of the 14`hcentury A. H.
(which started 12 November 1882). As the mission of the Mahdi entails a militant
uprising against any illegitimate government, Muhammad Ahmad instigated a jihäd
against the Egyptians as the embodiment of illegitimate and unjust vile in Sudan at that
time. The troops of the Mahdi managed to conquer Sudan and could even resist the
combined efforts of Egyptian and British armies to suppress them. Shortly before his
death in 1885, the Mahdi managed to establish an independent in Sudan. 28

state
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835-1908) is an example of a messianic figure
stemming from the environment of South Asian Sufi Islam with an explicitly non-
militant and apolitical understanding of his mission. Born in the village of Qadiyan in
the province of Punjab, he first established himself locally as a well-respected religious
scholar before making claims to be the mtjaddid or renewer of Islam on the eve of the
14`hcentury A. H.. Ghulam Ahmad felt that he was the one to assume this role in his time
when the ùlattta' had failed to preserve the integrity and authenticity of Islam, when the
Islamic community had reached an unprecedented level of corruption, and Muslim lands
were occupied by Christians whose missionaries threatened the very survival of the
Islamic community. For Ghulam Ahmad, being the centennial renewer of Islam implied
holding a special spiritual status. Not only was he the promised Mahdi but he also was a
new prophet who received divine revelations to purify Islam and return to the model of
29
the early community. The notion of return to pristine Islam as part of its centennial
renewal and the perception of the Mahdi re-enacting the mission of the Prophet were
radicalised by Ghulam Ahmad in his claims to be a minor prophet after Muhammad.
The controversial nature of such a claim is obvious, given the fundamental Muslim
belief in the finality of Muhammad's prophethood. Ghulani Ahmad's claims show that
28Holt, P. M., Daly, M. W., A Histo,

y of Sudan: From the Coming of Islam to the Present Day, 5"' ed.,
Edinburgh: Pearson, 2000, pp. 75-85. See also Holt, P. M., The Mahdist State in the Sudan, 1881-1898: A
Study of Its Origins, Development and Overthrotiv, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1958, pp. 24-57.
29Friedmann, Y., Prophecy Continuous: Aspects of Ahnnnrt Religious Thought and Its Medieval
Back-ground, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2003, pp. 105-46.
21
messianic authority can arise out of opposition to the perceived failure of the traditional
holders of religious authority and is implicitly if not explicitly of a heretical nature.
The Babi and Baha'i movements are examples of two historically linked
messianic movements with a Shii background. Their origins and evolutions will be
described in greater detail later. Muhammad Ahmad in Sudan, Ghulam Ahmad in India,
the Bab and Baha'ullah in Iran are each 19`h century manifestations of the different
types of Islamic messianism. While Muhammad Ahmad and the Bab conceived their
mission as being of a militant nature, Ghulam Ahmad and Baha'ullah considered

themselves to be merely spiritual Malidis providing religious guidance for their
followers. More importantly, they all also give evidence of the different dynamics of
messianism in Shii and Sunni Islam. While the Sudanese Mahdi and Ghulam Ahmad
intended to restore pristine Islam and Sunni orthodoxy, for the Bab and Baha'ullah their
messianic mission meant the abrogation of Islam and the beginning of a new religious
dispensation.
Hence, traditions of religio-political dissent in esoteric, mystical and millenarian
strands of Islam also re-emerged in the 19`hcentury. The Babi and Baha'i movements in
Iran and the Ottoman Empire, the Mahdi uprisings in Sudan and the Ahmadiyya in
South Asia are just some examples of how dissident traditions preserved in Sufism and
Shiism can suddenly lead to messianic eruptions. But how and why are these modern
expressions of religious dissidence in Islam relevant for those government officials,

bureaucrats, intellectuals and modernist religious scholars who laboured for the reform
of Islam and the modernisation of Middle Eastern societies? Bureaucrats and

intellectuals on the one side, Malidis and prophets on the other side responded in their
own ways to the emergence of Western modernity in the 19tß'century Middle East. What
they all shared is a dissident stance towards the religious and political establishment and
a yearning for an alternative vision of Islam created by new forms of religious authority.
Muslim reformers shared with contemporary messianic movements origins in heterodox
traditions of Islam which provided them with the intellectual means to position
themselves, like the Malidis and their followers, in opposition to political regimes in the
Middle East and the upholders of the Islamic tradition, the ùlamä'. It has been shown
that many of the most prominent reformers in the 19`h century Middle East were
associated with heretical 30

movements.
30 The
religious background of Jamalud-Din al-Afghani in heretical traditions of Islam has been discussed
in the following publications: Kedourie, E., Afghani and 'Abduh: An Essay on Religious Unbelief and
Political Activism in A4odern ! slant, London and Portland: Frank Cass, 1966; Pakdaman, H., Djamal-El-
22
1.2. n'Iethod and Structure of the Thesis
Charisma and Its Routinisation
1.2.1. Max WWeber":
The thesis is an exercise in the analysis of religious change focusing particularly
on transformations of religious authority in the context of 19`x'century Middle Eastern
reform movements. In their opposition to the religious establishment, Àbdul-Baba and

Muhammad Àbduh embodied or attached themselves to alternative loci of religious
authority endowed with charismata as represented by mystical and millenarian strands

of Muslim thought. However, later they had to reconcile their origins in religious
dissidence in order to perpetuate their legacies for posterity.
Max Weber's studies on the nature of charismatic authority and its routinization
are used to describe the way Àbdul-Baba and Àbduh reconciled themselves with their
heretical origins. One starting point in Weber's sociology of religion is the ideal-typical
contrast between priest and prophet. Weber assumes the inherent ritualism and
traditionalism of religion: `das Heilige ist das Unveränderliche' 31(the sacred
spezifisch
is the specifically unchangeable). The pastness of the sacred is illustrated by the
scrupulous repetition of rituals and the canonisation and dogmatisation of religious

beliefs that occur during the establishment of religious institutions. For Weber, clearly
defined rituals, a canonical set of sacred scriptures, and a hierarchy of institutions
overseeing the adherence to both are part of the stereotyping tendencies of religions
which act to prevent change and to preserve the tradition. The church is the institutional
embodiment of this attitude and the priest the holder of authority within the church due
to his association with a sacred tradition. As a religious functionary of the church, the
priest officiates at its rituals and ensures that their proper performance is effective in
Din Assad Abadi dit Afghani, Paris: Maisonneuve, 1969; Keddie, N. R., Sayyid Jamäl ad-Din 'al-
Afghnni': A Political Biograph},, Berkeley : University of California Press, 1972. A discussion of the
origins of most Iranian reformers in mystical and millenarian traditions of Shiism is provided by Bayat,
M., Af}sticisn: and Dissent: Socioreligious Thought in Qtjai- h-an, Syracuse: Syracuse University Press,
1982. Bayat also discusses the religious background of the leaders of the Constitutional Revolution in
Bayat, M., Iran's First Revolution: Shi'ism and the Constitutional Revolution of 1905-1909, New York:
Oxford University Press, 1991, pp. 53-75. The relationship between Baha'is and Ottoman and Iranian
reformers has been explored by Momen, Cole and Alkan. See Momen, M., `The Bahä'i Influence on the
Reform Movements of the Islamic World in the 1860s and 1870s', Bahd 'i Studies Bulletin 2: 2 (1983), 47-
65; Cole, J. R. I., Ìranian Millenarianism and Democratic Thought in the 19thCentury', International
Journal of Middle East Studies 24 (1992), 1-26; Cole, J. R. I., Modernity and the Millennium: The
Genesis of the Baha'i Faith in the Nineteenth-Century Middle East, New York: Columbia University
Press, 1998; Alkan, N., `The Babis and Baha'is in the Ottoman Empire and Turkey (1844-1920s)',
unpublished Ph. D., University of Bochum, 2004. For a general survey of the role of Sufism in modern
Islam and the Sufi background of Muslim reformers in the 19thand 20`1'centuries see Sirriyeh. E., Sufis
and Anti-Sirfis: The Defence, Rethinking and Rejection of Sufism in the Modern World, Richmond:
Curzon, 1999.
31Weber, M., {I'irtschaft
und Gesellschaft, Vol. 1, Tübingen: Mohr, 1925, p. 231.
23
connecting lay followers with the sacred. The priest is socialised within an educational
tradition ensuring his proper instruction into the canonical beliefs of the church and
him 32
to preserve their authenticity. The church thereby offers its lay followers
enabling
`permanence' 33as an institution that has become `daily routine. '34
Weber positions the ideal type of the prophet as opposite to the priest. The
prophet is understood as à purely individual bearer of charisma, who by virtue of his

doctrine divine ' 35
mission proclaims a religious or commandment.
The personal call is the decisive element distinguishing the prophet from the priest. The
latter lays claim to authority by virtue of his service in a sacred tradition, while the
is based 36
prophet's claim on personal revelation and charisma.
Charismatic authority stands outside daily routine, is of an extraordinary nature
and is strongly personalised. The person endowed with charismatic authority displays
qualities which deviate from ordinary behaviour and provide him with a special status
distinguishing him from ordinary people. In the case of the prophet, his proximity to
God and his election as transmitter of divine revelations constitute his supra-natural, not
commonly accessible authority. Weber realises not only the predominance of
charismatic authority in times of social, economic, political or religious crisis37 but also
its revolutionary character. The legalistic order of the church personified by the priest
establishes rules and norms to preserve tradition and the sacredness of the past. It is
inclined towards permanence and routine. Charisma disrupts the rules and norms of
tradition, turns everything that is held sacred upside down, and demands the submission
to the absolute novel and innovative. For Weber, charismatic authority is `die spezifisch
"schöpferische" revolutionäre Macht der Geschichte' 38 (the specifically `creative'
revolutionary force of history). Weber has a much broader understanding of charismatic

authority outside the religious sphere. Charisma can become manifest in an artist who in
defiance of artistic conventions introduces a new understanding of art; a scientist who
questions hitherto accepted assumptions in his scientific field and develops new theories
which revolutionise it; a revolutionary leader who overthrows a political system and
establishes a new one in its stead. The prophet exhibits religious charisma and stands
32Ibid.,
pp. 257-61.
33Eisenstadt, S. N. (ed. ), Max Weber
on Charisma and Institution Building: Selected Papers, Chicago
and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1989, p. 18.
3; Ibid.
's Ibid., p. 253.
36Ibid.,
p. 254.
37Weber, [Vrrtschaft
und Gesellschaft, Vol. II, Tübingen: Mohr, 1925, p. 753.
38Ibid., p. 759.
24
outside the church tradition. Charisma religiously speaking is heretical: ìt makes a
sovereign break with all traditional or rational norms: "It is written, but I say unto
39
you.,,,
Weber acknowledges not only the revolutionary character of charismatic

authority but also its inherent instability. The holder of charismatic authority constantly
needs to prove his legitimacy by revealing proofs of his charismatic election. A prophet
needs to provide a constant stream of revelations so as to manifest his special
relationship with God, and a heroic military leader needs to achieve victories in order to
the loyalty his followers 40The instability becomes
ensure of . of charismatic authority
particularly manifest when its holder dies. If the sectarian community which has
emerged as the result of the charisma of its founder wishes to continue its communal
bond, it needs to enter a process that Weber calls the routinization of charisma. The
charismatic authority of the founder needs to be traditionalised and rationalised in the

formation of a religious organisation like a church. While initially the religious
movement was sectarian in character, as it seceded from the church, it, now, turns itself
into a new church organisation. In the new church the exceptional charismatic authority
of its founding figure becomes routinised with the establishment of an organisational

hierarchy, the rules and norms of a religious tradition and a conceptualisation of
authority based on membership in the hierarchy and adherence to the rules and norms of
the tradition 41The originally revolutionary and innovative and hence heretical nature of
.
charismatic authority and of the sectarian movement it initiated thereby becomes
orthodox.
One of the problems of Weber's typology is its obvious ideal-typical character
based on dichotomies like priest and prophet, church and sect, orthodox and heterodox,
tradition and charisma. Weber's distinction between charisma and its routinisation
assumes a dichotomy between church and sect but also links them to each other in an
organic development, according to Peter L. Berger. Whereas a sect stresses charismatic
leadership and the immediacy of the spirit, this charisma is secularised in the process of
its routinisation when the sect assumes a systematic structure and becomes a church.
Then, the spirit becomes profane and the sacred is encapsulated in a secular
organisation. As the transformation of a sect into a church illustrates, the dichotomy

between orthodoxy and heterodoxy is not absolute. It rather manifests itself in different
39Eisenstadt, Weber
on Charisma, p. 24.
'° 'Veber,{Virtschaftund GesellschaftII, p. 755.
41 'Veber,Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft1,pp. 142-8.
25
degrees and facets which characterise the relationship between the great tradition and a
charismatic eruption within itself from confrontational to symbiotic. Orthodoxies were

able to embrace heterodox movements with variable success in order to alleviate the
latter's opposition to the religious establishment. 42The Christian concept of ecclesiola
in ecclesia and the Islamic notion of iklitilaf al-madhdhib intend to define orthodoxy in
broadest in dissidents. 43
the possible sense order to appease and to embrace possible
The relationship between Sufism and Sunni Islam reveals the spectrum of reactions
which representatives of religious orthodoxy can adopt towards members of their

community with inclinations towards charismatic authority.
The need of orthodoxy to redefine itself particularly arises when its established
institutions become vulnerable and fail to provide identity and security for the members
of its community. In such a crisis milieu - although not only then - charismatic
movements challenge the authority of orthodoxy. However, such heterodox movements,

which secede from the religious establishment by addressing its failure to provide
identity and security, do not necessarily constitute a counter-model of the religious
mainstream but rather cherish the very values which orthodoxy is supposed to uphold.
Charismatic movements attempt to realise values which the orthodox mainstream
aspires to achieve but due to its high degree of routinisation is unable to actualise. The
proximity of the spirit is again felt after orthodoxy has become oblivious of it, a
proximity intend 44
to perpetuate. Despite the origin of
which charismatic movements
heterodox movements in the concealed and obvious aspirations of the orthodox
mainstream, its further development triggered by internal and external factors might
lead to a complete separation, particularly when the charismatic movement undergoes
its own process of routinisation. If the orthodox mainstream is not able to accommodate
its heresy then becomes 45
charismatic movements within own ranks, apostasy.
Another problem of Weber's approach lies in his Christiano-centric perspective.
His dichotomies between church and sect, priesthood and prophecy, tradition and
charisma are not only ideal-typical but also result from his studies of Christian
Protestantism. How can Weber's concepts moulded by Protestant theology be applied to
the study of Islam? In Islam, a church organisation and a sacerdotal priesthood do not
42Eisenstadt, Weber on Charisma, xx-xxii.

43Berger, P. L., `The Sociological Study
of Sectarianism', Social Research 21 (1954), pp. 474-77.
4' Berger, P. L., `Sectarianism
and Religious Sociation', The American Journal of Sociology 64 (1958), p.
44.
45MacEoin, D., Òrthodoxy and Heterodoxy in Nineteenth-Century Shi'ism: The Cases Shaykhism
of
and Babism', Journal of the American Oriental Society 110 (1990), 323-9.
26
exist. The authority of the 'ulanlä', the closest group in Islam to a genuine clergy, is not
derived from membership in a church organisation but in a social group whose religious
authority is based on knowledge - knowledge of the Koran and the summaof the Prophet,
of the sources and methods of jurisprudence and of the scholarly tradition which has
46 In contrast to the 'ulamc', other groups favoured
emerged over the centuries.
charismatic models of religious authority, most notably Shii Islam with its line of
Imams from amongst the descendents of the Prophet and Sufism with its notion that
certain individuals entertain a closer relationship with God. In contrast to the acquired
knowledge ('ihm) of the 'ulanzd', these individuals possess intuitive knowledge (ma'rifa)
received from God by illumination (ishraq), disclosure (kashj), inspiration (ilhdm) if not
revelation (tajallr/tivahi) itself. Very often one can find the two modes of knowledge -
traditional and charismatic - conflated in 'itlamd' who are Sufis at the same time.
Despite the problems of translating Weber's concepts into other cultures and
religions, the tension between some form of institutionalised tradition as embodied and
preserved by the ùlama' on the one side and holders of charismatic authority and the
other also exists in Islam. Weber's insight into the creativity and instability of
charismatic authority and the subsequent need to routinise it for its preservation will be
used to explain Àbdul-Baha's journey from heresy to apostasy and Muhammad
Àbduh's from heresy to orthodoxy.

Routinisation of charisma is understood in a broad sense. This thesis does not
conceive itself as a sociological study of the institutionalisation of two different

religious movements in the 19th century. Although the Baha'i Faith would offer a
textbook example of the Weberian transition from sect to church in the process of the
routinisation of charisma, the thesis is not primarily interested in the transformation of

47
social and organisational structures. The thesis rather follows one of Weber's major
concerns, as Eisenstadt it, the nature of `cultural ' 48 It explores the
puts creativity.
heretical environment out of which religious and political dissent was articulated in the
19`h century Middle East and the role of charismatic authority therein. By attaching
themselves to charismatic leaders like Baha'ullah and Afghani and traditions of

religious dissidence, Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh were able to oppose creatively religious
traditionalism. At the same time, they had to experience the instability of charismatic
'6 Turner, B. S., Weber and Islam, 2d ed., London: Routledge, 1998,
viii.
" For
an application of the sect-church dichotomy on the early Baha'i movement see Berger, P. L., `Motif
messianique et processus social dans le BahaIsme', Archives de Sociologie As Religions 2 (1957), pp. 93-
107.
" Eisenstadt, Weber
on Charisma, xvi.
27
authority and realised the need to routinise it. In the case of Àbduh, it was his
alienation from Afghani's heretical ideas and his fruitless political activism that made
him revert to orthodoxy, albeit in a new guise. Àbdul-Baha radicalised heresy into
apostasy and initiated the formation of the Baha'i community as a distinct and new
religious movement. They used very different strategies of routinisation, sharing
however an awareness that charismatic authority needs to be disciplined and ordered in
order to ensure that the creative output it has produced can survive in a new orthodox
framework.
1.2.2. General Remarks on the Nature of Muslim Biographical Writing

The thesis uses a variety of original sources on the lives, activities and teachings
of Àbdul-Baba and Muhammad Àbduh. Some remarks on the nature of these sources
need to be provided. The discussion will start with some general comments on the
nature of biographical writing in the Muslim context -a discussion which will leave
aside the general debate on whether there is a tradition of Muslim (auto)biographical
49 Discussing the
writing or not. representation of religious scholars in biographical
works, Dale F. Eickelmann makes a useful distinction between ìndividual' and `person'.
The ìndividual' denotes the self-reflective human being with his desires, inner thoughts,
hopes and beliefs, while `person' describes the social status attributed to the individual
comprising the expectations, roles and the overall significance that society credits to the
individual. Traditional societies tend to ignore the individuality of a person and just
consider his social duties and responsibilities. Hence, a traditional biographical account
of a Muslim scholar would contain information on his formal education, the age when
he memorised the entire Koran, the names of his teachers and the books he studied as
well his own contributions in the field of religious scholarship. Everything outside the
scope of what would define a religious scholar, like other political or commercial
activities, would usually be ignored. so
More importantly, biographies lack speculations on the inner thoughts and
motives of the individual described. An esoteric tendency within traditional biographies

has been noted. Very often, biographers practise taqiyya, the deliberate dissimulation
49For a discussion of this question see Reynolds, D. F. (ed. ), Interpreting the Self Autobiography in the
Arabic Literal)' Tradition, Berkely: University of California Press, 2001, pp. 17-35.
soEickelman, D. F., `Traditional Islamic Learning
and Ideas of the Person in the Twentieth Century', in
Kramer, M. (ed. ), Middle Eastern Lives: The Practice of Biography and Sef Narrative, Syracuse:
Syracuse University Press, 1991, pp. 39f.. On the tendency to downplay individuality in biographical
dictionaries see Reynolds, Interpreting the Se/f, pp. 40-3.
28
and concealment of the tnie feelings and beliefs of the portrayed figure. When the
religious and political context in which the author is writing night prove unfavourable
for such feelings and beliefs and their revelation might harm the reputation of a person,
51
they remain undisclosed. Modem biographies in contrast are interested not only in
revealing and investigating such hidden intentions of the individual but also in tracing
developments and evolutions within his or her lifespan. The individual is seen as
evolving over time and changing his identity in response to events in his life.
Traditional biographies, however, often attribute `fixed qualities' 52to the individual
without any interest or awareness of possible developments in his personality. The

individual is presented as having had for his entire life all the qualities that conform to
the social expectations regarding the role he fulfilled in society. Stressing the social
person and his conformity with his role in society provides one of the main motivations
for writing a biography. There is a certain apologetic drive behind biographical writing.
Biographies serve the purpose of showing the merits and achievements of the portrayed
figure, be he a scholar, saint or political leader, and to create an inspirational image of
him for the targeted audience, a source of guidance and emulation for those wishing to
follow in his footsteps. 53 Hence, biographies of eminent religious figures are not
dispassionate sources of historical data but rather hagiographical depictions. Their
interest is not in `what actually happened?' but `what must have happened?' in the life
of a scholar or saint so that it corresponds to the social and religious expectations of the
audience.
Another important feature to bear in mind in dealing with Muslim biographical
works is what has been called the tradition of imitative writing in Middle Eastern
historiographies. Studies of Persian chronicles have shown how later authors
reproduced an earlier model text and used it as a standard narrative for their own
rendering of the chronicle. From a modem historiographical perspective, such incidents
would be classified as cases of plagiarism. However, such a judgement misperceives the
actual nature of Middle Eastern historiographical writing. Imitating the works of
precursor chroniclers acknowledges and preserves their works and also expresses the
commitment of later authors to conventions of historical and biographical writings
51Waldman, M. R., Toward Theory

a of Historical Narrative: A Case Study in Perso-Islamicate
Historiography, Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1980, pp. 10-2.
52Eickelman, `Traditional Islamic Learning',
p. 41.
53Lewis, B., `First-Person Narrative in the Middle East, in Kramer, Middle Eastern Lives,
p. 34; see also
Reynolds, Interpreting the Self, pp. 38-40.
29
had been 54However, the imitation of earlier works does not
which established earlier.
merely imply their complete verbatim reproduction. While earlier narratives are
accepted as a template, very often changes to the original text are added and certain
informationis omitted. The alteration of the model text is often motivated by the
later his 55
target audience. For example,
concerns and agendas of the author and
changes in early Safavid chronicles were an important instrument to provide legitimacy
for the dynasty. The Sunni origin of the Safavid Sufi order had to be reinterpreted and
its founders to be presented as orthodox Shii Muslims, because the Sunni origin of the
later Shii dynasty 56
order and the commitment of the contradicted each other.
The biographical sources used for the reconstruction of the lives of Àbdul-Baha
and Muhammad Àbduh although all written in the 201" century include the
- -
aforementioned characteristics of Middle Eastern historiographical and biographical
writing. Rather than being interested in Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh as individuals with
their undisclosed desires and hidden intentions, their biographies provide depictions
which conform to the expectations one would have of a saintly leader of a religious
community like Àbdul-Baha or a religious scholar like Àbduh. Disinterested in
developments and changes in their careers and possible tensions in their ideas, the
biographies present Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh as personalities with fixed qualities who
throughout their lives laboured for the same objectives and held the same ideas.
Moreover, the biographies serve apologetic and didactic purposes. They underline their
respective credentials as a charismatic leader of a religious community and as an

orthodox religious scholar and also present them as sources of inspiration and emulation.
The biographies have to be seen within the tradition of imitative writing as well, as they
repeat conventions of traditional Middle Eastern biographies. In addition, there exist

several biographies of Àbdul-Baba and Àbduh which use standard narratives written
earlier as templates, imitating and altering them at the same time.
The nature of the sources creates one of the methodological problems of the
thesis. While the thesis is very much interested in disclosing contradictions,

developments and tensions in the lives of Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh, the biographical
data available does not share this interest. The thesis intends to place both figures in
unfamiliar territories. Àbdul-Baha is positioned within the context of other Middle
$' Waldman, Historical Narrative,

p. 15.
55Reynolds, Interpreting the Self,
p. 242.
56Quinn, S., Historical JVriting during the Reign
of Shah 'Abbas: Ideology, Imitation, and Legitimacy in
Safavid Chronicles, Salt Lake City: The University of Utah Press, 2000, pp. 141f..
30
Eastern reform movements while Àbduh is brought into connection with religious
heresy. Their biographers were either not interested in these connections or wrote their
biographies with the intention of denying them. If one is fortunate, one can find
statements from their own hands contained in written correspondence, for example,
which counter the narratives of their official biographers. Very often one has to resort to
other sources like memoirs or observations of their contemporaries which put the
official accounts into a new light. The thesis will apply a critical reading and analysis of
the source material in order to counter fixed representations of Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh
in the quasi-official biographies and to highlight their gradual evolution as religious
reformers.
1.2.3. Sources on 'Abdul-Baba

Àbdul-Baha did not write a complete autobiography himself. Biographies and
memoirs which provide information on his life have all been produced by Baha'is.
However, there are numerous autobiographical statements, references and remarks
spread throughout his writings and speeches. Particularly in talks he gave either to
pilgrims visiting him in Haifa or to audiences in Europe and North America whom he
addressed in various public meetings, he made references to events and episodes in his
life. His Baha'i biographers consider these remarks and statements scattered in the
-
various collections of his talks and letters - as the primary and most reliable sources on
his life.
One of the earliest historiographies published under the title A1-Kaweikib al-
Dui"riyya ft Ma'dthir a1-Bahd'iyya57 was written in Persian by Mirza Àbdul-Husayn

Tafti Ayati (1873-1953), an Iranian religious scholar who became a Baha'i.
Commissioned by Àbdul-Baha himself prior to his death, Ayati published a two-
volume comprehensive history of the new religious movement with the second volume
being dedicated to the life of Àbdul-Baha and the development in the Baha'i
community during his lifetime. 58This volume on Àbdul-Baha contains the first full
biographical treatment of his life. Ayati, being at the time of Àbdul-Balla one of the
most prominent Iranian Baha'is, defected after clashes with Àbdul-Baha's successor as
head of the Baha'i community Shoghi Effendi Rabbani (1897-1957). In the aftermath,
57Ayati, H., Al-Kawäkib

al-Dur, -i}}'a fi Ma'äthir al-Bahn'iyya, 2 Vols., Cairo: Matba'a al-Sa`äda, 1923-
4.
58A Concise Encyclopedia
of the Bahd 'i Faith, s.v. Àvärih, Mirzä Àbdu'l-Husayn Tafti'.
31
Ayati's publications on the Baha'i Faith discrediting the new religion. 59
were aimed at
Despite this negative bias, these works counter the hagiographical tone of Ayati's own
works before his defection and of other biographies and historiographies written by
Baha'i authors.
As Ayati's historiography was discredited in the eyes of the Baha'is as a reliable
source on the history of their religion - not due to problems with its contents but
because of his later hostility towards the religion - alternative accounts on the lives of
the founding figures of the Baha'i movement had to be produced. Shoghi Effendi
commissioned one of the leading missionaries of the religious movement Muhammad

Àli Fayzi to write biographies of the Bab, Baha'ullah and Àbdul-Baba. His Haynt-i
Hadrat-i 'Abd al-Bahd'60 is the standard Persian biography on the life of Àbdul-Baha.
In line with the tradition of imitative writing in Middle Eastern historiographies, Fayzi
reproduces the biography of Ayati in many respects with some changes. The
modifications are quite significant and reflect in many ways the changes the Baha'i
community underwent under the leadership of Shoghi Effendi. For example, while
Ayati includes a chapter on the attitudes of Àbdul-Baha and the Baha'is in Iran towards
the Constitutional Revolution, this episode is completely omitted in Fayzi's biography,
reflecting the purely apolitical orientation to which Shoghi Effendi committed the
Baha'is during his ministry.
The standard English biography of Àbdul-Baha was written by Hasan M.
Balyuzi (1908-1980). After his education at the American University in Beirut and the
London School of Economics, Balyuzi settled in Britain and worked for the BBC
Persian Service. In addition, he was one of the Baha'is laying the foundation for the
institutionalisation of the Baha'i community in Britain, being a member of the national
body Baha'is British Isles. 6' Like Fayzi in Persian, he wrote

governing of the on the
biographies of the three central figures of the Baha'i Faith in English. His Abdu'1-
Bahä': The Centre of the covenant of Bahä'u'11äh6' follows versions of Àbdul-Baha's
life as provided by Ayati and Fayzi but contains additional information on his journeys
to Europe and North America, using accounts of European and American Baha'is to
which Ayati and Fayzi had not had access.
59Ayati, H., Kashf

al-Hiyal, 3 Vols., Tetuan: Kitäbfurüshi-yi Ìlnü, 1947.
60Fayzi, A., Haydt-i Hndrat-i 'Abd
al-Bahä', Langenhain: Bahä'i-Verlag, 1994 [first edition: Tehran:
Mu'asasa-yi Milli-yi Matbü`ät-i Amri, 128 BE (1972)]
61Momen, M., `Hasan M. Balyuzi (1908-1980): A Bio-bibliographical Sketch', Momen, M., (ed. ),
Studies in Honor of the Late Hasan M. Balyuzi, Los Angeles: Kalimät Press, 1988, pp. xi-xx.
62Balyuzi. H. M., 'Abdu'1-Bahä': The Centre
of the Covenant of Bahd'u'Iläh, London: George Ronald,
1971.
32
What all three biographies have in common is that they are insider views of
Àbdul-Baha referring by preference to his own autobiographical accounts and
exhibiting a hagiographical tone. This, however, is not completely unexpected. The real
challenge lies in their shared presumption of historical continuity from the Babi
movement to the Baha'i community under the leadership of Shoghi Effendi. The
Baha'is as part of the institutionalised community created by Shoghi Effendi are seen as
being not really different from Baha'ullah's and Àbdul-Baha's earlier followers or
even from the early Babis. The lives of the Bab, Baha'ullah and Àbdul-Baha and their
respective followers are seen as part of a coherent historical process which led
inevitably to the establishment of a new religious community under Shoghi Effendi.
Possible tensions and contradictions between the different figures are ignored or
explained away. Hence, the biographers view Àbdul-Baha's life with historical
hindsight, from the perspective of a highly institutionalised religious organisation which
has departed from Islam. A critical reading of the biographies bears this bias in mind by
compounding the provided narratives with alternative sources and Àbdul-Baha's own
writings and statements.
This notion of historical continuity is also evidenced in the disproportionate
attention all biographies give to the different parts of Àbdul-Baha's life. While they
cover extensively his activities after he succeeded his father as head of the Baha'i
movement, his life prior to his ascension to authority is given little attention. For
instance, Fayzi dedicates 45 pages to the first 48 years of Àbdul-Baha's life, whereas
the rest of the 375 pages deal with the last 29 years of his life when he was head of the
Baha'i movement. Likewise, Balyuzi devotes only one chapter (pp. 9-46) to 'Abdul-
Baha's life before he succeeded his father, while the activities and achievements of
Àbdul-Baha's ministry occupy the vast majority of his biography (pp. 47-495). Àbdul-
Baha is perceived as a mere appendix to Baha'ullah before he succeeded him and only
becomes interesting in their eyes once he assumed leadership.
Another type of sources with information on the life of Àbdul-Baha is memoirs
written by Baha'is who spent a significant amount of time with him. The advantage of
such memoirs is that they are not subject to historical re-evaluations to the same extent
as the aforementioned biographies. Youness Afroukhteh lived in Haifa from 1900 to
1,909 and worked as Àbdul-Baha's translator, secretary and physician 63His Khdtirnt-i
.
63Afroukhteh, Y., Memories of Nine Years in 'Akku, tr. by Riaz Masrour, Oxford: George Ronald, 2003,
pp. xiii-xviii.
33
Nith Sala yi Àkkä 4 covers a period in Àbdul-Baha's life when he faced renewed
imprisonment by the Ottoman government and the challenges to his leadership by his
own family. Similar to Afroukhteh, Habib Moayyad visited Àbdul-Baha frequently in
Haifa after he had enrolled at the American University in Beirut in 1907. Later, he
worked as a physician for the Baha'is in Haifa until 1915. The first volume of his
Khmirät-i Habib65 contains memoirs of his years in Haifa, describing the life of Àbdul-
Baha and the Baha'is at that time and more importantly containing numerous statements
and talks by Àbdul-Baha on various topics, including his own life.
There is also quite a lot of unpublished material which is either held in private
hands or in the International Archives of the Baha'i World Centre in Haifa, Israel,
which is not open to the public and to which the author did not have access. 'Abdul-
Baha himself only published three books. The rest of his writings consists of his
correspondences with Baha'is or non-Baha'is during his life. In 1882, Àbdul-Baha

anonymously published his first book, the Risäla yi Madaniyyaon (Treatise
Civilisation). 66This treatise responds to reform attempts undertaken in Iran at that time.
Àbdul-Baha's second contribution to reformist literature in 19`hcentury Middle East is
the Risdla yi Siyasiyya (Treatise on Governance)67, written between 1892 and 1893 in
response to the Tobacco Revolt in Iran. His third book is a historical account of the Babi
movement, written in 1886 and anonymously published in 1890 under the title Magala-
Shakhsi Sa}ydli (A Traveller's Narrative). 68
yi
There are about 24,000 letters by Àbdul-Baha stored in the International
Archives of the Baha'i World Centre in Haifa, Israel. Most of them are either in Arabic
or Persian and some thousands are in Ottoman Turkish due to the fact that he spent most
of his life in the Ottoman Empire. According to Aniin Banani, the vast amount of
64Afrukhteh, Y., Khatirnt-i Nah Sellayi 'Akkn, Los Angeles: Kalimät Press, 1983 [first edition: Tehran:
Mu'asasa-yi Milli-yi Matbü' t-i Amri, 109 BE (1952)]; cf. English translation by Riaz Masrour,
Memories of Nine Years in 'Akkä.
65Moayyad, H., Khatirdt Habib, Vol. 1,2°`' Hoflieim: Bahä'i-Verlag, 1998 [first Tehran:
-i ed., edition:
Mu'asasa-yi Milli-yi Matbü'ät-i Amri, 125 BE (1969)]. For some biographical information on Habib
Moayyad see the introduction in the volume.
66Àbdul-Baha, Risdla yi Madani}y'a, Hoflreim: Bahä'i Verlag, 1984; cf. English translation by Marzieh
Gail Àbdul-Baha, The Secret of Divine Civilization, Wilmette, Ill.: US Bahä'i Publishing Trust, 1990.
67Àbdul-Baha, Ris«la
yi Si}nsi)ya, Tehran: Muhammad Labib, 1934 [originally published Bombay
1896]; cf. for English translations Cole, J. R. I. (tr. ), "Abdu'l-Baha's "Treatise in Leadership"',
Translations ofShaykhi, Babi and Baha'i Texts 2: 2 (1998) [available at: http: //www. h-
net.org/-bahai/trans/volt/absiyasi. htni (last access: 16/08/2005)] and McGlinn, S. (tr. ), À Sermon on the
Art of Governance by Àbdu'l-Baha', Translations ofShaykhi, Babi and Baha'i Texts 7: 1 (2003)
[available at: littp: //mvxv. h-net. org/-bahai/trans/voll/govern. litm (last access: 16/08/2005)].
"a E. G. Browne edited the Persian text and translated it into English; see Àbdul-Bahä, Magdla yi
Shakhsi Saypnlt ka dar Tafsil-i Qadi}}ya j, i Bnb nivishta ast [A Travellers Narrative], ed. and trans. E. G.
Browne, 2 Vols.: Persian Text Vol. 1, English Translation, Vol. 2, Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1891.
34
Àbdul-Baha's letters can be categorised in three groups: letters to individuals, to Baha'i
69
communities in the world and to international organisations and congresses. Àbdul-
Baha termed his letters laivli (tablet), a Koranic expression also used by his father to
label his correspondence. The tablets to individuals, either Baha'is or non-Baha'is who
approached Àbdul-Baha with specific questions are innumerable and some of them
have been published in several collections. 70However, the vast majority of his letters
have not even been catalogued - let alone collected or published.
In addition to his written works some of the conversations he had with pilgrims
and most of his talks he gave during his journeys to Europe and North America have
been transcribed and published both in Persian and in English. In these talks, Àbdul-
Baha addressed a variety of issues in his aim of presenting the Baha'i movement to a
Western audience.7' Transcriptions of his speeches in Europe and North America and
his conversations with pilgrims in Haifa do not hold the same authoritative status for
Baha'is as the books and letters he penned himself - at least in theory. The talks and
speeches cannot necessarily be considered to be verbatim reproductions of Àbdul-

Baha's words because they are based on notes taken during these talks. 72In actuality,
however, Baha'is often refer both to his books and letters and to his published talks
indistinguishably and without further qualifications. This thesis treats transcripts of
Àbdul-Baha's talks and conversations like the other source material. His own letters
and talks - preserved in various compilations and memoirs - often provide useful
insights into aspects of his activities which his later biographies omitted. Therefore,
69For an overview of the writings of Àbdul-Baba see Banani, A., `The Writings of Àbdu'l-Bahä',
Vorld Order 6 (1971), pp. 67-74.
7° Àbdul-Baba, Afakntrb-i Harlrat-i 'Abd al-Baba', 8 Vols., Vols. 1-2 Tehran: Mu'asasa-yi Milli-yi
Matbü'ät-i Amri, [n. y. ]; Vol. 3 `Cairo: Faraj Allah Zak! al-Kurdi, 1921; Vol. 4-8 Tehran: Mu'asasa-yi
Milli-yi Matbü'ät-i Amri, 121-134 BE [1965-1978].
71Some Answered Questions (AMifmtadnt-i 'Abd al-Baba) contains table talks of Àbdul-Baba in Haifa
in response to questions put to him by Laura Clifford Barney, an American Baha'i who could speak
Persian. ('Abdul-Baha, MMufäua(l«t-i 'Abd al-Bahl', Cairo: Faraj Allah Zaki al-Kurdi, 1920; cf. English
Answered
translation Àbdul-Baba, Some Questions, Wilmette, Ill.: US Bahä'i Publishing Trust, 1990).
For a compilation of his talks in Europe and North America see Àbdul-Baba, Khit«bät Ha /rat 'Abd al-
Bahd'Ji Awriibn wa-Ann- kd, 3 Vols., Vol. 1 Cairo: Faraj Allah Zaki al-Kurdi, 1921; Vols. 2-3, Tehran:
Mu'asasa-yi Milli-yi Matbü'ät-i Amri, 127 BE (1970-7 1); cf. English translations of these talks Paris
Talks, London: UK Bahä'i Publishing Trust, 1972; 'Abdu'1-Bal6' in London, London: UK Bahä'i
Publishing Trust, 1982; The Promulgation of Universal Peace, Wilmette, Ill.: US Bahä'i Publishing
Trust, 1982. A detailed record of Àbdul-Baba's journey to Europe and North America is provided in the
travel diaries of Zarqani, M., Badä'i'al-Athdu", 2 Vols., Bombay 1914-21; for English translation cf.
Afahnn d 's Diary: The Diary of Afirzä hlahnu d-i-Zargbni Chronicling 'Abdo 7-Bahd's Journey to
America, tr. by Mohi Sobhani, Oxford: George Ronald, 1998.
'2 See letter by the Universal House of Justice, the supreme body of the Baha'i Community, to an
individual, 22 October 1996 [available at: http: //bahai-library. com/? file=uhj_authenticity_some_texts
(last access: 12/05/05)]
35
they will be used as major sources in order to balance the standard narratives of official
Baha'i biographies
1.2.4. Sources on Muhanunad Àbdoh

Although Àbduh never produced an autobiography himself, shortly before his
death one of his disciples, Muhammad Rashid Rida (1865-1935), asked him a few
questions about his family origins and his educational background. These
autobiographical remarks by Àbduh are the only information available on his life by
himself and can be found in Rida's voluminous biography of his teacher Ta'rikh al-
Ustädh al-hnäin al-Shaykh Muhammad 'Abdhrh.73 Rida played a pivotal role in
preserving Àbduh's intellectual legacy. A native of Tripoli in the Lebanon, he moved

to Cairo in 1898 and became Àbduh's student. When Àbduh died, Rida published a
series of articles in his journal Al-Manar in 1905.74 These articles provide the first
comprehensive survey of Àbduh's life which would become the standard biographical
narrative afterwards, imitated by Rida himself and by later authors who wrote in the life
of Àbduh. These articles constitute the foundation of Rida's major biographical work
on Àbduh, the Ta'rikh, which consists of three volumes. Volume I contains the actual
biography. A selection of books, articles and letters penned by Àbduh can be found in
Volume II while Volume III contains a selection of newspaper articles, poems and
Àbduh. 75
eulogies on
Rida's biography is certainly the most important, valuable and comprehensive
source for gaining information on the life of Àbduh. It is not just a history of Àbduh
but constitutes a set of `histories' as it comprises a selection of memoirs and accounts of

his associates and disciples. However, Rida's work has to be treated with caution. In the
introduction, Rida claims to be the closest of Àbduh's disciples, a relationship which
entitled him to write the biography of his teacher. By implication, this constitutes Rida's
claim to intellectual succession as the heir of his teacher. Although Rida's claim has
been disputed, 76he managed to position himself as the almost undisputed authority on
73Rida, M. R., Ta'rikh al-Ustndb al-Imäm al-Shaykh Muhammad 'Abduh, Vol. 1, Cairo: Al-Manär, 1931,
pp. 8-19; pp. 20-5.
Rida, M. R., 'Mulakhklias Sira al-Ustädh al-Imäm', A1-MMannr8 (1905), part 10: 379-400; part 11: 401-
416; part 12: 453-465; part 13: 487-495; part 14: 534-552; part 15: 597-599.
75Rida, R., Ta'rikh
al-Ustddh al-Imäm al-Shaykh Alulramnrad 'Abduh, Vol. 2,2"d ed., Cairo: Al-Manär,
1925; Vol. 3, Cairo: al-Manär, 1906
76See Kedourie, Afghani
and 'Abduh; Shalash, A., Silsila al-A'ntnl al-Alajhiila A1ubamnnrad'Abduh,
London: Riad al-Rayyes Books, 1987, pp. 7-14; Haddad, M., `Les oeuvre de Àbduh: histoire d'une
manipulation', Institut des Belles-Lettres Arabe 180 (1997), pp. 197-222; Haddad, M., "Abduh et ses
lecteurs: pour tine histoire critique de "lectures" de Muhammad 'Abduh', Arabica 45 (1998), pp. 22-49.
36
the life and teachings of Àbduh. As evidence against a close relationship between them,
however, the rather short period Àbduh and Rida had worked together is cited. Rida
moved to Cairo in 1898, just seven years before the death of his teacher. When Àbduh
died, Rida was not asked to deliver a memorial speech at his funeral nor was he invited
as member of a committee of Àbduh's former associates and disciples whose task was
to collect Àbduh's writings for publication and to compile a biography. It was only
because of political circumstances and the death of most of Àbduh's associates that
Rida could fill a lacuna thereby created. That the first volume of Rida's biography was
published in 1931, after the publication of the second and third volumes, indicates that
Rida could only assume the position where he could write a complete biography after
the death of all other disciples and friends Àbduh. 77

of
The 1920s witnessed the rise of thinkers in Egyptian intellectual life proposing
very liberal and secular views on Islam. Rida reacted to this wave of Muslim liberalism
by associating himself with the Hanbalite tradition of Islam and its main representatives
like Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Ibn Taimiyya and Muhammad ibn Àbdul-Wahhab and their
rather scripturalist and legalistic approaches. In particular, the successful establishment
of the Saudi dynasty in the Arab peninsula in the 1920s increased his interest and
admiration for the Wahhabi movement and its religious puritanism. Rida stressed the
adherence to the scriptural sources of Islam, the Koran and hadith collections, and the
role-model of the early community (al-salaf al-salilt) as the ideal embodiment of Islam.
Although Àbduh is considered one of the founding figures of the Salafiyya
78it was
movement, rather born out of Rida's association with the Hanbali tradition and
its modern expression in Wahhabism. Rida's biography therefore gives Àbduh a Salafi
twist, presenting him as a champion of Sunni orthodoxy whose aim was to return to the
earliest sources and the example of the early community and to cleanse Islam from alien
in Sufism, Shiism Islamic 79This template of
elements as represented and philosophy.
Àbduh as a Sunni reformer has been adopted by all of his later biographers and also by
Western Orientalists Àbduh. 80
most writing about
Reservations as to Rida's Ta'rikh hence lie in its rather late publication, almost
thirty years after the death of Àbduh, and in its tendency to depict Àbduh as preceding
77Haddad, "Abduh
et ses lecteurs', pp. 24-9.
78E12, v. `Salafiyya'.
s.
79Haddad, "Abduh et seslecteurs', pp. BE
80See, for example, Adams, C. C., Islam and Modernism in Egypt: A Study of the Modern Reform
Movement Inaugurated by Muhammad 'Abdul,, London: Oxford University Press, 1933; Hourani, Arabic
Thought, pp. 130-60; El', s.v. "Abduh'.
37
Rida's own efforts for an Islamic revival in opposition to the increasing liberalisation
and secularisation of Muslim societies in the 1920s. Whereas before the publication of
Rida's book no one had written a biography of Àbduh, the 1940s suddenly witnessed
an increased interest in him. From the ascendancy to power of King Faruq in 1936,
renewed efforts were undertaken to reform and modernise al-Azhar in Cairo, the most
prestigious and oldest educational institution of Sunni religious scholarship. These
reforms needed to find a precursor in the past for their justification, and this figure was
eventually found in Àbduh. Hence biographies were written by disciples or followers
of Àbduh which lay particular stress on his attempts to introduce changes in this
institution during his own lifetime despite his rather marginal interest in such reforms
his his life. 8'

compared with other activities and objectives throughout
Three biographies written in this time were born out of the need to use Àbduh's
prestige in support of reforms at al-Azhar. Àbdul-Munìm Hamada's Al-Ustadb al-

InOln Muhammad Àbduh82is not only the second comprehensive biography on Àbduh
published after Rida's Ta'rikh but - as the title suggests - also imitates Rida's objective
in buttressing Àbduh's orthodoxy and using him as a precursor of the Salafi movement.
While Rida allows at least to a limited extent a more diverse presentation of Àbduh by
including accounts of different people and by dealing directly with accusations against
Àbduh's religious inclinations, Hamada reduces this diversity and ignores these
allegations against Àbduh completely in his Salafi portrayal of him. Ùthman Amin's
and Mustafa Àbdur-Raziq's biographies are not as complete as those of Rida and
Hamada and focus on Àbduh's endeavour to reform al-Azhar particularly. 83Amin and
Àbdur-Raziq highlight Àbduh's lifelong struggle against the intellectual culture at al-
Azhar creating a continuity between his disillusionment about al-Azhar as a young
student and his efforts for educational reforms at the end of his life. That Àbdur-Raziq
published his biography when he became rector of al-Azhar in 1945 shows how he used
Àbduh's fame for his own agenda.84All three biographies accept Rida's Ta'rikh as a
model text and often reproduce Rida's narrative verbatim, adding their own
observations and interpretations.
Looking at the earliest biographies on Àbduh published in Egypt in the 1930s
and 1940s, one can observe the tendency of the different authors to appropriate
81Haddad, 'Abduh
et ses lecteurs', p. 41.
8' Hamada,A., Al-Uslndh al-bnnm Muhammad 'Abdul,, Cairo: Al-Maktaba
al-Tijäriyya, 1945.
83Amin, 'U., Muhammad 'Abduh, Cairo: Dar Ajyä' 1944; 'Abdur-Raziq, M.,
al-Kutub al-'Arabiyya,
Afuhanunad 'Abduh, Cairo: Dar al-Ma'ärif, 1946.
84Haddad, "Abduh
et ses lecteurs', p. 41.
38
Àbduh's prominence for their own purposes. Either they depict him as the initiator of
an Islamic renaissance in opposition to the Western orientation of the intellectual elite in

Egypt as Rida and Hamada do, or they present him not so much as a Salafi reformer but
as one of the first promoters of a modernisation of al-Azhar. Hence, this bias of the
biographical sources needs to be kept in mind in their critical analysis
How can this presentation of Àbduh as Salafi or educational reformer be
compounded? The earlier articles in Al-Mannr, penned by Rida himself, sometimes

provide interesting information missing from his later Ta'rikh. For instance, one of
Àbduh's lodge 85
these articles mentions membership of the Masonic of Egypt. In the
Ta'rikh, one does not find any reference to it, as Àbduh's flirtation with Freemasonry
obviously does not quite fit into Rida's Salafi image of him. Other important sources of
information on the life of Àbduh are the memoirs of his friend Wilfrid Scawen Blunt
(1840-1922) and of the British consul-governor Evelyn Baring Earl of Cromer (1841-
1917). 86 Unlike Àbduh's Egyptian biographers, Blunt and Cromer, two British
diplomats of different kinds, belonged to the same age group as Àbduh and claimed to
have had a good rapport with him. The arabophile Blunt supported the Ùrabi revolt
against the khedive and opposed the British occupation of Egypt. Throughout his life,
he remained a champion of the independence of Egypt and other Middle Eastern
countries from foreign occupation. Cromer stands politically at the other end of the
spectrum from Blunt as supporter of British colonial interests in the Middle East and as
governor of Egypt but, like Blunt, lie entertained a good relationship with Àbduh.
Being disinterested in buttressing Àbduh's orthodoxy, Blunt and Cromer provide good
insights into Àbduh's political activities and his attitude to the khedive and his family
which his later Egyptian biographers either neglected or obscured.

The most comprehensive. collection of Muhammad Àbduh's works has been
by Muhammad Ìmara. 87Despite its comprehensiveness, it is far from being
undertaken
as complete as it claims to be. Àbduh's earliest works like, his mystical treatise Riseila
(Treatise Inspirations) 88
al-IVJridät on Mystical and his liberal and rationalistic
85Rida, 'Sara',
pp. 401-3.
8" Blunt, W. S., Secret History
of the English Occupation of Egypt: Being a Personal Narrative of Events,
2"d ed., London: Fisher Unwin, 1907; Baring, E. Earl of Cromer, Modern Egypt, 2 Vols., London:
Macmillan, 1908.
87Ìrrara, M. (ed. ), Al-A'inäl
al-Knmila lil-Imäun Alullanunad 'Abduh, 6 Vols., Beirut: al-Mu'assasa al-
'Arabiyya lil-Diräsät wal-Nashr, 1972-73.
83'Abduh, M., Risnla
al-lVnridrrt: JtNazariy}yüt al-rtlutakallimin wal-Si /i)yaJtl-Falsafa al-Ilnhiyy'a, 2nd
ed., Cairo: Al-Manär, 1925.
39
Islamic 89 included because they,
commentary on a medieval catechism are not
compromise Àbduh's depiction as a follower of Sunni orthodoxy. Ìrrara follows in
this respect the same line as Rida. Àli Shalash has published a couple of articles and
letters by Àbduh which are not included in other collections and reflect Àbduh's
leanings in the his life the influence Afghani. 90In
religious early period of under of
addition to the material that has been made available, there are certainly more personal
papers and manuscripts of Àbduh which are waiting to be discovered and published
and might shed light on new aspects of Àbduh's personality.
1.2.5. Chapter Outline

The Beirut encounter between Àbdul-Baha and Muhammad Àbduh is the
starting point of this thesis. The historical relationship between them will therefore be
naturally discussed below. But the thesis moves beyond the excavation of
correspondence and other material containing data about their relationship. Its interest is
rather in locating the activities and ideas of Àbdul-Baha and Muhammad Àbduh
within the matrix of the 19'" century Middle Eastern gedankenwelt. In undertaking such
an investigation, one option is to isolate certain issues like democracy, science, the role
of the ùlarnn', etc., and compare their respective views on them. However, such an
approach would not do justice to the development of their ideas and their evolution as
religious reformers. The thesis is therefore structured as a comparative intellectual
biography of Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh. This approach identifies different phases within
their careers and highlights, compares and contrasts motifs which predominate in their
intellectual discourse and activities at the different stages of their lives.
By comparing the lives and careers of Àbdul-Baha and Muhammad Àbduh
before and after their meeting in Beirut, the thesis follows a twofold agenda. It places
the genesis and early evolution of the Baha'i Faith within the context of the other
contemporary reform movements in the Middle East. Àbdul-Baha played a central role
in the interaction of the early Baha'is with other reformers as the chief communicator of
the teachings of his father to the outside world. When he succeeded his father as head of
the nascent Baha'i movement, he possessed the necessary authority to direct the
doctrinal and organisational orientation of the new religion. The second aim of the
thesis is to connect Àbduh with elements of religious heresy in Islam. By examining
89Dunya, S. (ed. ), Al-Sba}kh Muhammad 'Abduh bayna al-Faldsifa 2 Vols., Cairo: Ìsä
it'al-Kalnniivin,
a1-Bäbi al-Halabi, 1958.
90Shalash, Silsila, pp. 41-67.
40
his relationship to the religious environment out of which the Baha'i Faith emerged, his
depiction by his later followers as a beacon of Sunni orthodoxy in the 19`h century is
called into question.

Chapter Two, called `Formative Years: Mysticism and Millenarianism' places
Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh within heretical and dissident traditions of Islam with a strong
inclination towards charismatic authority as represented by the Sufi saint or the Shii
Imam. In particular, the role of Jamalud-Din al-Afghani is investigated as he originated
from the same religious environment as the Babi and Baha'i movements and exercised
an immense influence on the intellectual and spiritual formation of Àbduh as a young

man.
The third chapter Ìnto Modernity' begins with the argument that the respective
association of Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh with traditions of religious dissent allowed

them to voice their opposition towards the religious establishment and opened them to
new ideas as transmitted by Middle Eastern reformers in the Ottoman Empire. With
their publications, they participated in the reformist discourse of that time and became
part of the network of Middle Eastern reformers in the 1870s and 1880s. They shared
with other reformers a common opposition to the autocratic regimes in the region and to
European imperialism. Exile and imprisonment were amongst the central experiences of
Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh at this time resulting from their dissident stance in both
political and religious terms.

Chapter Four on `Succession and Renewal' deals with the time when Àbdul-
Baha and Àbduh moved out of the shadow of their actual or spiritual father figures and
assumed authority within their respective communities. When Baha'ullah died in 1892,
Àbdul-Baha succeeded his father as head of the Baha'i movement in a transfer of
charismatic authority similar to that in the Shii Imamate or in a Sufi order. Problems in
Àbdul-Baha's succession are discussed as well as how he used the scope of his
authority to re-direct the orientation of the movement and to enhance its departure from
Islam, once first adherents had been won in North-America and Europe. Àbduh's
gradual alienation from his early mentor and teacher Afghani and his dissociation from
both heterodox elements within the Islamic tradition and radical political activism
traditionally associated with it form part of the discussion about Àbduh's rise to
prominence as a religious reformer in Egypt during the latter part of his life. As part of
his dissociation from Afghani, his political u-turn will be discussed when he
41
transformed himself from an anti-colonialist activist and publicist to a supporter of
European colonial presence in the Middle East.
Chapter Five `Charisma Routinised' investigates how Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh
attempted to modernise patterns of religious authority in order to develop structures
within their respective communities that would not be stuck in traditionalism but open
to change and innovation. Responding to the apparent failure of various reform
movements in the Middle East of which they were part, they adopted a quietist attitude
and envisioned patterns of religious authority and organisation which stood aloof of
politics but would exercise influence on society at the same time.
The final chapter `The View of Posterity: From Heresy to Neo-Orthodoxy'
shows how Shoghi Effendi Rabbani and Muhammad Rashid Rida reinterpreted the
complex histories of Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh in the context of 19`hcentury religious
dissidence and modernism by projecting later developments and their own agendas onto
their early lives. Shoghi Effendi, grandson of Àbdul-Baha, became head of the Baha'i
movement in 1921. While in Àbdul-Baha's time the Baha'is were members of a

loosely defined religious movement, Shoghi Effendi initiated its institutionalisation,
thereby creating a distinct religious community with its own sectarian identity. Before
Shoghi Effendi, it is more appropriate to speak of a Baha'i movement. The terms
`Baha'i community' or `Baha'i Faith' denoting a new religious movement which claims
its independence from Islam are more fitting for the period and the aftermath of Shoghi
Effendi's ministry. Rashid Rida claimed to preserve the religious legacy of Àbduh. He
perpetuated the depiction of Àbduh and Afghani as orthodox Sunni reformers who
wanted to purify Islam from alien elements and to restate the socio-political relevance
of Islam in the modern world. Rida's interpretation of Àbduh's teachings laid the
foundation for the rise of political Islam in the 20`h century which will be discussed in
reference to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.

A critical analysis of the biographical material on Àbdul-Baha and Muhammad
Àbduh discloses their evolution as religious reformers and places them in unfamiliar
terrain. As part of the agenda of this thesis, the distinction created between orthodox
and heterodox in modern Islam is considered to be the result of a later dichotomous

projection. By placing two representatives of supposedly orthodox and heterodox
movements in the 19`x'century Middle East in relation with each other and in the wider
context of the Islamic tradition, the thesis intends to reveal the common grounds of
Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh and the processes that led to the parting of their ways.
42
Weber's insights into the creative and precarious nature of charismatic authority and the
need for its routinisation will be used as a tool to describe the transformations of
Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh. Stemming from heretical and dissident traditions of Islam,
Àbdul-Baha moved from heresy to apostasy while Àbduh reverted from heresy to
orthodoxy.
43
2. Formative Years: Mysticism and Millenarianism
Max Weber contends that innovation and change result from charismatic
authority which is inherently non-conformist and dissident, challenging institutionalised

forms of socio-political organisation. Transferred to the religious sphere, the holder of
charismata is from an orthodox point of view a heretic who offers an alternative model
of religious authority that questions the adherence to the religious tradition, criticises
the performance of the religious establishment and offers a different vision of authentic
religiosity. As part of the matrix of religious reform and revival in the 19`h century
Middle East, Àbdul-Baha and Muhammad Àbduh were dissidents. In their formative
years, they were exposed to traditions of religious dissent and various models of
charismatic authority. Their introduction to these traditions from their early youth
onwards allowed them to articulate their antagonism to the representatives of orthodoxy
and to formulate an alternative understanding of the Islamic tradition.
This chapter investigates their common origins in traditions of religio-political
dissidence. The discussion will begin with the revival of mystical and esoteric thought
in Iranian Shiism in the early 19`11
century as evidenced by the revival of Sufi orders and
the emergence of the Shaykhi School. Both groups reveal a strong inclination towards
charismatic authority and involuntarily provided the ground for Babism, the major
messianic movement in 19`hcentury Iran which realised the Shii yearning for the direct
divine guidance of the Mahdi-Imam implicit in Shii theology. Mysticism and
millenarianism as manifest in the Sufi orders, the Shaykhi School and the Babi
movement informed the intellectual and religious background of Mirza Husayn Àli
Nuri Baha'ullah and Jamalud-Din al-Afghani, the early mentors of Àbdul-Baha and of
Muhammad Àbduh. The discussion will conclude with an exploration of how motifs of
religious dissidence motivated by Islamic mysticism and millenarianism are evident in

the biographical/hagiographical narratives on Àbdul-Baha's and Àbduh's formative
years and how these motifs foreshadow later developments in their lives.
2.1. Mysticism and millenarianism in 19`x'century Shiism

2.1.1. The Revival of Clrar"ismatic Authority in Iranian Sufism
It is within Sufism and its notion of sainthood that one finds the most pervasive
conception of charismatic authority in Islam. It managed to manifest itself beyond
44
sectarian boundaries in both Sunni and Shii Islam. The most influential exposition of
Sufi sainthood has been provided by Ibn Àrabi (1165-1240), the prominent Andalusian
Sufi shaykh, who was one of the first major theorists of Sufi theology. In his Fusirs al-
Hikam, Ibn Àrabi describes a vision in which he saw all the prophets and all the saints
walking behind them in the footsteps of the prophets (àln agdöm al-anbiyä'). This
vision illustrates how the saints adopt the charisma of the prophets and by walking in
their footsteps assume a quasi-prophetic role. Sufi authors who endeavoured to develop
a typology of Sufi sainthood had to define its relationship to prophethood without

jeopardising the fundamental Islamic dogma that Muhammad is the seal of all prophets
last divine 91
and the conveyer of the revelation.
It was necessary to allude to how sainthood reflects prophetic qualities without
compromising the necessity of prophethood. Authors needed to define and distinguish

different fulfil different 92
the tasks prophets and saints and the qualities they embody.
Hakim al-Tirmidhi (d. 912) conceived prophethood (nubuwwa) and messengerhood
(Hsala) as the exoteric manifestations of sainthood (wiläya). For him, every prophet is
inherently a saint and his prophetic mission is the temporal expression of his sainthood.
Àbdul-Qadir al-Jilani (d. 1165) maintained the dependency of the saints on the
prophets by calling them the shadow of prophethood (: i11 al-nubinvwa). The saint
reflects prophecy on humanity just as the prophets reflect divinity. Ibn Àrabi
developed a rather ambivalent notion of sainthood. On the one hand, he stressed the
superiority of the prophets over the saints who merely walk in their footsteps, on the
other hand, he understood tivildya as a timeless concept which is embodied by both the
prophets and the saints. Whereas prophethood and messengerhood and their legislative
function have ceased with Muhammad, wilnya continues to exist in the saints. Ibn
Àrabi refers to the eternal wildya embodied by prophets and saints alike as the
Muhammadan Reality (a1-Iiagiqa al-m uliantmadiyya). 93
To acquire wilnya, the aspiring saint has to retreat from the world and perform
an ascent through the different heavens and spiritual realms for the encounter with the
divine. During this ascent, the saint emulates the Prophet's ascension to heaven (nti `r"j).
Through this journey, the adept is initiated in different mystical truths by prophets he
encounters in the different heavens. After the seeker has reached the ultimate point,
91Chodkiewicz, Saints, 74-88.

Seal ofthe pp.
92See, for example, Radtke, B., O'Kane, J., The Concept
of Sainthood in Early Islamic Mysticism: Two
Works by AI-Hnkinr fU-Tirmidhi, Richmond: Curzon Press, 1996, pp. 113-137.
93Chodkiewicz, Seal
of the Saints, pp. 26-73
45
either his individuality is annihilated in God (fanä) or he descends and returns to the
world without being separated from God (bagd ). Some saints do not return but remain
in the state of annihilation. However, the ultimate expression of sainthood comprises
the double-movement of ascent and descent. Saints who undertake the double
movement follow the example of the Prophet Muhammad who retreated from the world,
received divine revelations and returned to society to transmit them. On top of the
hierarchy of saints stands the Perfect Man (al-inseln al-kdmil) or pole (qutb) to whom
Hakim al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Àrabi also refer to as the `seal of saints' (khatm al-awliyä').
The saint who has achieved this highest stage of sainthood truly assumes a quasi-
prophetic role. As the most superior spiritual successor of the Prophet Muhammad, he
becomes like the prophets in the past the ultimate isthmus, connecting humanity with
God. 94
The concept of the Sufi saint as holder of post-prophetic charismatic authority is
shared by both Sunnis and Shiis with mystical inclinations and hence provides a link
between both sectarian groups -a link which would allow Jamalud-Din al-Afghani to
connect with his disciple Muhammad Àbduh later on. While originally Shiism and
Sufism shared a certain affinity with their common stress on divine guidance via
charismatic authority and their allegorical interpretation of scripture, the establishment
of the Safavid dynasty in Iran and the rise of the ùlamä' as sole sources of religious
authority in official Iranian Shiism led to the persecution of Sufis and their eventual
marginalisation. Whereas Sunni Islam has proved to be more accommodative towards
Sufism embracing it in an orthodox form, there was a certain rivalry between clerics and
mystics in Iranian Shiism. Although some Shii ùlamn' were also affiliated with Sufi
orders, they constituted a minority among the mainstream of clerics with an explicit
anti-Sufi stance like Muhammad Baqir Majlisi (1627-1700), the most important Safavid
cleric. Aqa Muhammad Àli Bihbahani spearheaded and legitimised the persecution and
execution of Sufis in the early 19`x' century so that he gained the epithet `Sufi-killer'
(SIf 95
-kuush).
While the Safavid shahs saw in Sufi saints and their orders a potential source of
political dissent given the Sufi background of the Safavid dynasty itself, the Shii
`Mania' considered Sufis to compete with the charismatic authority of the Imams by
9; Ibid., pp. 147-73; see also Radtke, O'Kane, Sainthood in Early Islamic Mysticism, pp. 101-111.
95Lewisohn, L., Àn Introduction to the History of Modem Persian Sufism, Part I: The Ni`matullähi
Order: Persecution, Revival and Schism', Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 61
(1998), pp. 439-49.
46
making claims to divine inspiration' and to challenge the religious monopoly of the
ùlmnnä' in defining orthodoxy. The rise of the usfrli school in the late 181hcentury
strengthened the authority of the ùlanza'. The usirli ùlamä' based their religious
authority on the concept of al-niynba a! - `ömina (general delegation) signifying that they
in their entirety were the general delegates of the Hidden Imam and should therefore
his his behalf. 96The usirli school divides the Shia community
execute prerogatives on
into nnjtahids who are entitled to pursue independent legal reasoning (ijtihnd) and
laymen who are obliged to follow one in jtahid and imitate their ruling (tagUa) and
hence provided the 'ulamd' with a superior position in society. 97In some sense, the
usirli ùlamd ' routinised the Imam's charisma and thereby weakened the millenarian and
mystical elements of Shiism. Because the ùlan:a' acted as the Imam's vicegerents on
earth, the parousia of the Hidden Imam could be indefinitely delayed. As they were
legal scholars, they replaced the stress on mystical knowledge with proper training in
jurisprudence.
As the Shii religious establishment was rather hostile towards Sufism, mystical
traditions in Iranian Shiism - unlike their Sunni counterparts - were more of a dissident
nature. The antagonism between Shii clerics and Sufis was counterproductive for an
eventual reconciliation and strengthened the appeal of Sufism as an alternative
expression of Islamic religiosity for those disillusioned or frustrated with the religious
establishment. Sufism experienced a revival at the end of 18`hand beginning of the 19`h
centuries with the arrival of Ma'sum Àli Shah from India in 1770 who re-established
the Ni'matullahi Order in Iran. Despite the hostility of most `zilamd' and the anti-Sufi
policies of the early Qajar rulers - Ma'sum Àli Shah and his successors were killed at
the instigation of the `Sufi-killer' Bihbahani - the order managed to spread around the
country and found particular appeal among the urban elite, the intelligentsia and
aristocratic circles. Members of the ruling dynasty itself were attracted to the
Ni`matullahis so that the order benefited from a period of state patronage with the
ascent of Muhammad Shah (r. 1834-1848) to the throne whose prime minister Hajji
96'The
principle functions of the Imam were considered to be:
a. Leading the Holy War (jihrd)
b. Division of the booty (gismat al fqy)
c. Leading the Friday prayer (saldt al jrmt'a)
d. Putting judicial decisions into effect (ta, ftdh al-ahkänt)
e. Imposing legal penalities (igäunat al-lnrdü()
f. Receiving the religious taxes of zaknt and khunts. ' Momen, M., An Introduction to Shi'i Islam:
The Histo, y and Doctrines of Tirelver Shi'ism, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, p.
189.
97Ibid.,
pp. 184-207.
47
Mirza Aqasi was his personal Sufi master and one of the leading 98
shaykhs of the order.
Apart from the Ni`matullahis, the Dhahabi order managed to establish itself in Iran,
although playing a less prominent role. Among one of the alleged members of the
Dhahabi order is Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsa'i, the founder of the Shaykhi School. His
has been disputed. 99
association with the order
Concurrent with the spread of Sufi convents in Iran, a Shiitisation of Sufi beliefs
occurred regarding the theory of sainthood in particular. In Kirman, Mirza Muhammad
Taqi (d. 1800), also known under his Sufi name Muzaffar Àli Shah, was the third
leader of the Ni'matullahi Order in Iran. For him, the Hidden Imam assumes the role of
the shaykh as the ultimate spiritual guide who empowers the Sufi adept on his mystical
journey. The Perfect Man or pole receives divine inspirations via the Hidden Imam with
whom he communicates. Thereby, the Sufi saint becomes the spokesperson and
the Hidden Imam between him the believers. 100

Sufi
representative of mediating and
and Shii wildya merge and the saint becomes the special representative (na'ib-i khdss)
of the Imam. This fusion of Sufi sainthood and Imamate in the pole of the Sufi order
can also have political implications and can become a source of political revolt, because
`the Persian Sufi murshid is considered not only an absolute monarch over his
disciples - quite in accordance with ordinary pir-nurridi tenets and teachings found in
other areas of the Islamic Sufi world - but also the only genuine ruler in the invisible
being. "01
and visible worlds of
2.1.2. Charismatic Author"it}yand Religious Dissidence: The Shaykhi School

Religious dissidence and alternative notions of religious authority not only
expressed themselves in the Sufi milieu but also within philosophical and esoteric
traditions of Iranian Shiism. In response to the consolidation of the usirli school and
their monopoly in defining orthodoxy, the esoteric strand of Shiism experienced a
revival at the end of the 181hcentury as well. Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsa'i (1753-1826), the
founder of the Shaykhi School, stands in the tradition of Mulla Sadra's theosophy as
Àrabi's 102
Born in the province of Ahsa on the Arabian
well as Ibn mystical theology.
93Lewisohn, `Modern Persian Sufism I', pp. 437-64.

99Lewisohn, L., Àn Introduction to the History of Modern Persian Sufism, Part II: A Socio-cultural
Profile, from the Dhahabi Revival to the Present Day', Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African
Studies 62 (1999), p. 36.
100Lewisohn, L., `Modern Persian Sufism I', pp. 444f..
101Lewisohn, `Modern Persian Sufism IF, pp. 51 [italics in the original]
102Corbin, H., En Islam iranien: Aspects spirituels et philosophiques, Vol. IV, Paris: Gallimard, 1972, pp.
205f..
48
peninsula, he revealed special spiritual yearnings in his youth and claimed to have had
visionary dreams of the Imams. After he had completed his training as a religious
scholar in Iraq, he travelled through Iran and attracted many followers among ùlan1d'
and notables with his charisma and eloquence. Many usüli ùlamd' opposed him and
declared him an apostate, because of his doctrinal deviations from Twelver Shiism and
his claim to direct intuition from the Imams. Shortly before his death, he decided to
retire to Iraq but due to the strong opposition he was exposed to he left for Mecca dying
on his way, close to Medina.
Shaykh Ahmad's successor Sayyid Kazim Rashti (1798-1843) also had
visionary dreams in his adolescence and met Shaykh Ahmad in Iran, after Muhammad's
daughter Fatima allegedly appeared in dream telling him Shaykh Ahmad. 103
a about
Similar to his teacher, Sayyid Kazim revealed a strong quasi-prophetic charisma, as one
of his admirers, the mufti in Baghdad Mahmud Alusi, expressed it:
Si le Seyyid avait vecu en un temps oü il fat possible qu'il ya eat un nabi envoye, j'aurais
ete le premier ä donner ma foi, car les conditions impliquant haute connaissance,
doctrine don lui. 104

comportement moral, et spirituel, tout cela est realise en
Like Ismailism and other heterodox Shii groups, Shaykh Ahmad tended to
elevate the Imams over the Prophet Muhammad, as they fulfil an important function in
relation to the prophetic revelation. Whereas the prophetic revelation brought exoteric
knowledge, namely the theological foundations of religion as well as religious laws, the
task of the Imams is to disclose the esoteric meaning behind revelation. The latter task
is implicitly superior to the former, because the Shii esoteric tradition prioritises the
inner meaning (bätin) of revelation over its outer meaning (zdhir). The elevation of the
Imams whose interpretations are equally if not more important than prophetic
revelations implies the constant renewal and expansion of revelation, as its esoteric
contents is discovered continuously. For Sayyid Kazim, the exoteric revelation matures
in the process of its esoteric interpretation by the Imams in accordance with the growing
maturity of humanity. Sayyid Kazim adopted Mulla Sadra's dynamic understanding of

creation. For Mulla Sadra, everything is moving to the status of perfection and only God
as the perfect creator does not change. For Sayyid Kazim, divine legislation must
respond to the particular needs of people in a particular time. Therefore, several
revelations were sent to humanity in accordance with the growing intellectual capacity
103Ibid.,
pp. 215-36; see also Bayat, Mysticism and Dissent, pp. 37-42
104
quoted in Corbin, Islam iranien IV, p. 234.
49
of the people. The Islamic revelation is final but still evolving. Sayyid Kazim compared
the initial Koranic revelation with a child which has to grow and whose nutrition has to
in his '05
change evolution.
Despite Shaykh Ahmad's criticism of the Sufi idea of the shaykh who
illegitimately competes with the Imam's authority, he borrowed Ibn Àrabi's concept of
the Perfect Man who mediates between the Prophet and humanity. Combined with the
Ismaili idea that there is always an intermediary between the Imam and the believers,
the proof (ht jja) of divine authority on earth, he developed the theory of the Perfect
Shia (al-shl à al-kä»: il). There has always been a Perfect Shia who is in contact with the
Hidden Imam and transmits his commandments. Although the identity of the Perfect
Shia might be unknown, he still has always existed. 106
Shaykh Ahmad and Sayyid Kazim intended to open the narrow legalistic and
literalist interpretations of Twelver Shia orthodoxy by appropriating Ismaili thought and
the theosophical tradition. Thus, they challenged the religious authority of the llgfili
ùlamn'. Both utilised the language and images of the orthodox mainstream but
enriched them with rather unorthodox esoteric ideas. The Shaykhi School attracted
underprivileged 'ula, ni ' who were unable to reach high-rank positions in the religious
hierarchy. Its allegorical approach appealed to intellectuals who were dissatisfied with
orthodox literalism and anti-intellectualism and understood the cyclical and

evolutionary scheme of religious history as a theological justification for change and
innovation. However, the Shaykhi leaders themselves were politically quiescent and did
not apply their evolutionary understanding of religion to the socio-political sphere.

Nevertheless, the Shaykhi teachings contain a hidden impetus for socio-political action
which has been part of the Ismaili Shia in contrast to the quietism of the Twelver Shia.
The idea of the gradual perfection of humanity counters the fatalistic acceptance of a
corrupt world in passive aspiration of the Hidden Imam and encourages a more active
stance to alter the state of society. ' 07Hence, the Shaykhi School provided the ground for
the articulation of religious and potentially political dissent with its quasi-messianic re-
assertion of charismatic authority in opposition to the religious mainstream.
105Bayat, Mysticism
and Dissent, p. 52-4.
'06 Ibid.,
p. 49-52; for a discussion of Shaykh Ahmad's conception of religious authority see also Cole, J.
R. I., `Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsa'i on the Sources of Religious Authority', in Walbridge, The Most Learned,
82-93.
107Bayat, Mysticism
and Dissent, pp. 54-8.
50
2.1.3. The Messianic Realisation of Religio-Political Dissent: The Babi Movement
When Sayyid Kazim Rashti died in 1843, none of his disciples was able to fill
the charismatic gap he left. An adventist group of Shaykhis hoped for the actual
appearance of the Mahdi himself. They did not search for an aspirant for this position
within their own ranks but turned to a young merchant from Shiraz who had spent some
time in Karbala and studied with them under Rashti. Some Shaykhis led by Mulla
Husayn Bushrui and Mulla Àli Barfurushi travelled to Shiraz to meet the young
merchant. When they niet Sayyid Àli Muhammad (1819-1850) in Shiraz in May 1844,
they not only accepted him as the new leader of the Shaykhi School but as the initiator
of a new religious movement. In the development of this movement, one can distinguish
two phases with different claims of Àli Muhammad, different strategies and a different
Islam. 108
attitude towards
In the early Shii-Islamic phase until 1848, Àli Muhammad's movement
appeared to be a sectarian group within the Shaykhi School. Among his adherents he
was known as the Bab, the gate to the Hidden Imam, who acted as his vicegerent and
prepared the Shii community for the approaching eschaton. But given the esoteric
nature of his writings, their features suggest a quasi-prophetic consciousness which
transcends the station of mere gatehood. The Bab wrote a commentary on the 12`hSura
Yusuf in the Koran called Qayyüin al-Asmä' (The Eternal of Nantes) for Mulla Husayn
Bushrui. This commentary is a pastiche Koran which clearly emulates its stylistic
features. Similar to the writings of messianic claimants before, the book is divided into
suras and many Koranic passages are imitated and slightly reformulated. Therefore, it
seems that the Bab developed a quasi-prophetic consciousness already in the early phase
of his career but withheld his actual claims from the wider public and only initiated his
closest followers. 109
In the first phase, the Bab initially hoped to win the political authorities for his
cause and sought a religio-political alliance with the shah. He sent Mulla Husayn to
Tehran to convey a message to him. Mulla Husayn did not manage to meet the shah
himself but was successful in gaining new adherents among ùlanui' and notables. The
increasing popularity of the movement in Iran and the subsequent opposition of the
ùlamä' led to the imprisonment of the Bab in Azerbaijan in the North-West of Iran. As
his aspirations for an alliance with the shah were disappointed, the Bab's opposition to
ios Smith, Peter, The Babi

and Baha'i Religions: From Messianic Shi'ism to a World Religion,
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987, pp. BE
109Ibid.,
pp. 14f..
51
the regime grew during his detention in Azerbaijan and the heterodox elements in his
his followers became ' 10
claims and the radical tendencies among stronger.
Doctrinally, the initial Islamic phase of the Babi movement does not contain
many innovations apart from the implicit prophetic claims in the writings of the Bab. In
the Qayyfun al-Asmä', the Bab confirmed the validity of the shari'a and ordered his
adherents to follow its provisions scrupulously as the arrival of the Mahdi is imminent.
The Bab adopted in his early writings the Islamic notion of jihad and as the vicegerent
of the Hidden Imam assumed the prerogative of declaring it. Many Babis manufactured
arms in order to be prepared when either the Bab or the returned Imam would declare
the final jihad. However, the attitude of the Bab towards the use of violence was
ambiguous. Although the Bab hoped for the support of the shah for his cause, he
declined the offer of the governor of Isfahan to provide military support for an uprising
Qajar 1 Taking these features together, the Babi movement
against the regime.
appeared in its early phase as a messianic pietistic sect within Twelver Shiism which
awaited the immediate appearance of the Mahdi.
The year 1848 marks a radical shift in the Babi movement and signifies the
beginning of the second phase. Not only did the claims of the Bab experience a further
radicalisation but so did the general attitude of the movement towards Islam. When the
Bab was summoned to face a tribunal of ùlamn' in Tabriz in July 1848, he claimed to
be not merely the deputy but the Hidden Imam himself and referred to himself as the
gä'im (the one who will arise), using one of the titles of the Shii Mahdi. His messianic
claims had strong prophetic connotations. In his theology he presents himself as a
prophet who inaugurates a new cycle in salvation history. From the Shaykhi School, he
adopted the concept of the evolutionary development of humanity and salvation history
accordingly with each prophet initiating a new cycle which reveals a higher degree of
divine truth. In line with Shaykhi theosophy, he conceives the prophets as
manifestations of divine will on earth and uses the terms zuhfir or inazhar
(manifestation) to characterise these individuals which manifest divine authority in
creation. 112With the claim to be a new prophet, the Bab actualised a latent potential of
Shii messianism and imitated the quasi-prophetic consciousness of previous messianic
claimants like Fazlullah Astarabadi or Nurbakhsh.
110Ibid., pp. 17-23.

and Renewal, p. 258.
112MacEoin, D., `Hierarchy, Authority and Eschatology in Early Bäbi Thought', in Smith, P., (ed. ), In
bran, Los Angeles: Kalimät Press, pp. 97-113.
52
In 1848, some 80 Babis met in the village Badasht to discuss the further strategy
of the movement. During this conference the abrogation of the shai"i à and the departure
from Islam was undertaken when the Babi poetess Qurratul-'Ayn appeared unveiled in
public among the participants to underpin the abrogation symbolically. The claims of
the Bab raised in Tabriz as well as the formal departure from Islam undertaken during
the Babi gathering in Badasht are reminiscent of the Àlamut episode of the Nizari
Ismailis in 1164 when their head Hasan àla dhikrihi al-salnm declared the arrival of the
resurrection (giyäma), installed himself initially as the deputy of the Hidden Imam and
abrogated the shar"i à.' 13
The meeting in Badasht was the initiation of militant uprisings of Babis

throughout the country. Mulla Husayn, for example, recruited armed believers in the
eastern province of Khurasan and marched with them westwards carrying black
in in ' 14 In order to suppress the
standards evocation of an tradition this respect.
uprisings, the central government decided to execute the Bab. It was hoped that devoid
of their charismatic leader, the Babi revolts would fade away. In 1850, the Bab was
publicly executed in Tabriz and the uprisings in various Iranian cities could be defeated.
After an assassination attempt on Nasirud-Din Shah by some Babis to avenge
the death of the Bab failed in 1852, the remaining leading Babis were imprisoned or
executed. As the Babi movement was not really oriented towards a specific doctrine but
towards the personal charisma of the Bab, the movement was left disillusioned,
discouraged and without leadership after the Bab and all of his first followers were dead.
In such a desperate condition, many Babis hoped for further eschatological events
which would undo the catastrophic destruction of the movement. In his writings, the
Bab introduced a Babi messiah designated by him as man yu-,hiruhfr alldh ('the one
whom God will make manifest'). Many Babis expected his immediate appearance in
response to the desolate situation of their community. Shii eschatology with its
contradictory latter day scenarios is open for a variety of interpretations. Some
prophecies suggest that after the death of the ga'im who will rule for seven or nine years,
Imam Husayn will reappear to lead the Shii community to its final victory. The
confusion of the Babi movement after the elimination of its leadership led to a rapid
increase of various claims to charismatic authority, as many Babis hoped for the return
Imam Husayn Babi 115Around Àbdul-Baha's
of or the appearance of the messiah.
113Daftary, History of the Ismailis,

pp. 138-45.
11' MacEoin, D., `The Babi Concept
of Holy War', Religion 12 (1982), pp. 109-21.
115MacEoin, `Hierarchy', pp. 123-35.
53
father, Mirza Husayn Àli Nuri, known as Baha'ullah, the messianic hopes of the Babis
would find a focal point.
2.2. Àbdul-Baha and Shii Millenarianism

2.2.1. Baha'ullah: From Sufi Dissidence to Babi Millenarianism
Mirza Husayn Àli Nuri Baha'ullah came from an influential aristocratic family
closely associated with the Qajar dynasty. His father Mirza Buzurg Nuri held several
high governmental positions under Fath Àli Shah but fell into disgrace with the rise of
Muhammad Shah and the subsequent reshuffling of the court hierarchy. Mirza Buzurg
died shortly after his expulsion in humiliation. Baha'ullah, his eldest son, assumed
responsibility at a very early age as the new head of the family. Due to the experience of
his father, Baha'ullah became disillusioned of court politics altogether and refused
several offers by the prime minister Hajji Mirza Aqasi to assume official positions
within the court. Baha'ullah's scepticism towards politics is expressed in a later letter to
an Ottoman minister in which he recounts a puppet-play which he watched as a child
and depicted the ceremonious life-style of the court and the concentrated power of the
monarch. But at the end of the play, all the puppets were put into a box"- for Baha'ullah,
for how is. 116
a metaphor vain the pursuit of political power
Like many other members of the Iranian aristocracy, Baha'ullah was exposed to
Sufism through the revived Ni`matullahi Order and Shayklli ideas. It unknown whether
Baha'ullah initiated in any order but members of his family were

was officially
associated with both the Ni`matullahi Order and the Shaykhi School. ' 17According to
the Baha'i renegade Ayati, Baha'ullah was initially educated by his father who was also
a renowned calligrapher and later studied under several ùlanid ', Shaykhi scholars and
Sufi shaykhs in Tehran. 118Baha'ullah's scepticism towards political power in general
and the Qajar dynasty in particular and his exposure to religiously dissident groups in
aristocratic circles must have made him receptive to the radical religio-political
dissidence expressed in the Babi movement. He and his younger half-brother Mirza
Yahya Nuri (1830-1912) became followers of the Bab when Mulla Husayn visited them
in 1844. Baha'ullah's house became one of the organisational centres of the movement
in the capital with a constant flow of Babi missionaries visiting his home and also
116Baha'ulla, `Lawn-i-Ra'is', The Summons to the Lord

ofHost. " Tablets ofBahd'u'ldh, Haifa: Bahä'i
World Centre, 2002, pp. 165-8.
117Encyclopaedia h"anica,
s.v. 'Bahä' A115h'.
18Ayati, Kasl f
al-Hiyal 1, pp. 16-8.
54
seeking refuge from the persecutions to which they were subjected. Baha'ullah was one
of the organisers of the Babi gathering in Badasht in 1848 and supported the break from
the Islamic tradition perpetuated by Qurratul-Àyn. 119
In the aftermath of the failed assassination attempt on Nasirud-Din Shah in 1852,

Baha'ullah was arrested and ordered to leave Iran within one month. Baha'ullah chose
to go to Baghdad, because its geographical proximity to Iran and the constant stream of
Shii pilgrims to the shrines of the Imams in Iraq niade it possible to maintain
communication with the Babis in Iran. Aller the execution of the Bab, many Babis
considered Baha'ullah's half-brother Mirza Yahya, called Subh-i Azal (morn of
eternity), to be the new leader of the movement, as the Bab showed a high veneration
for him in his writings and designated him as his deputy. However, Subh-i Azal was
unable to establish his legitimacy and faced many rival claims which he could not
oppose successfully. He joined Baha'ullah in Baghdad but lived in seclusion and
remained inaccessible for most Babis who wanted to meet him. Although Baha'ullah
defended Subh-i Azal's position as head of the Babi movement and rejected competing
claims by other Babis who considered themselves to be the Babi messiah mall
yuchiruhir allfrh or the return of Imam Husayn, he as one of the few who had personal
-
contacts with Subh-i Azal - criticised his seclusion and inability to establish his
authority among the Babis. As the tensions with his half-brother grew, Baha'ullah
decided to leave Baghdad and lived near a Sufi convent in Sulaymaniyyih in Kurdistan
disguised as a dervish for two years.
In Sulaymaniyyih, Baha'ullah lived an ascetic and solitary life-style until his
piety aroused the interest of a local Sufi shaykh of the Naqshbandiyya-Khalidiyya Order
who invited Baha'ullah to stay at his convent. To the other Sufis he was known as
Darwish Muhammad al-Irani. During Baha'ullah's stay at the convent, they became
aware of his prior exposure to Sufism and its literary manifestation in Persian poetry.
While they were studying Ibn Àrabi's Fiitirhät al-Makkiyya (The Meccas Revelations),
they asked him to comment on the doctrines in this seminal Sufi 120
expounded work.
During his sojourn in the company of other Sufis in Kurdistan, Baha'ullah produced
several literary Sufi themes and imagery. 12' These works not only
works replete with
119Encyclopaedia lranica, s.v. 'Bahä'-Alläh'.

120Cole, J. R., `Bahä'u'lläh and the Nagsbandi Sufis in Iraq, 1854-1856', in Cole, J. R., Momen, M.,
(eds.), Front h-an East and ! Vest, Los Angeles: Kalimät Press, 1984, pp. 1-22.
121Among the most famous Sufi
works penned by Baha'ullah is the mystical treatise Haft Midi (Seven
Valleys) which imitates the depiction of the mystical journey in Faridud-Din Àttar's Mantiq al-Tayr (The
Conference of the Birds). For a comprehensive list of the Baha'ullah's writings in this period see
55
give evidence of his familiarity with mystical themes and terminology but also of his
growing millenarian awareness that he had to play an important role in the reform and
reorganisation of the Babi movement and that he saw himself as the man yuzhiruhir
had in his 122
alläh, the messianic figure whose appearance the Bab predicted Writings.
After his return from Kurdistan in 1856, Baha'ullah implicitly challenged the leadership
of his half-brother Subh-i Azal and turned into the de facto head of the Babi movement.
2.2.2. Abdul-Baba: Cliar"isniatic Authority a, rd Religious Dissidence
Turning to Àbdul-Baha's childhood and youth, it is apparent that he grew up in
an environment oriented towards religio-political dissent. Born in 1844, the same year
when his father became a Babi, he not only witnessed the emergence and development
of the Babi movement from his childhood but also was socialised in a religious
environment favouring charismatic patterns of authority. When he reached maturity in
exile in Baghdad, he encountered the increasingly charismatic and messianic claims of

his father and rising sympathy towards his own personality by people who sought his
advice and comments on various religious issues.

The biographical narratives on the childhood and youth of Àbdul-Baha exhibit
two motifs which, on the one hand, reflect the Shii and Sufi conceptions of charismatic
authority and, on the other hand, foreshadow Àbdul-Baha's later role as the charismatic
successor of his father. First, they demonstrate the persecutions Àbdul-Baha, his father
and his family had to face as a result of their association with the Babi movement.
Sufferings, sacrifices and martyrdom form an integral part of the Imams' vitae.
According to Shii theology, the Imams had to suffer because of their dissident stand
against an illegitimate religious and political order whose establishment attempted to

silence and suppress any opposition which might stem from the Imams. The notion of
persecution and sacrifice became such a central element of Shii theology that anyone
claiming to walk in the footsteps of the Imams had to emulate their example and go
through a similar ordeal. The portrayal of Baha'ullah and Àbdul-Baha as enduring
similar hardships as the Shii Imams not only serves as a proof for their charismatic
authority but as an expression of their religious dissidence as well. Both were
Eschraghi, A., 'Die Frühesten Schiften Bahd'u'llähs Eine Übersicht (im Iran and Irak entstandene
-
Schriften)', Beiträge des 'lifän-Kolloquiums 2003, Hofheim: Bahä'i-Verlag, 2004, pp. 47-73; see also
Taherzadeh, A., The Revelation of Bahl 'a'Iläh, Vol. 1: Baghdad 1853-63, Oxford: George Ronald, 1974.
122Cole, `Bahä'u'lläh
and the Nagsbandi Sufis', pp. 1-22.
56
persecuted because they opposed the stagnation of religious traditionalism and were
chosen for a divine mission.
Secondly, the biographical narratives stress the innate knowledge Àbdul-Baha
possessed as a child and young man. Despite evidence that both Baha'ullah and Àbdul-
Baha received a more than cursory religious training, particularly in Sufi thought,
Baha'i sources stress the innate knowledge of both central figures. Innate knowledge
received via divine inspiration is very often a constituent element of post-prophetic

charismatic authority in Islam. This follows the example of the Prophet Muhammad
who was uruni, illiterate. 123
This interpretation gives the whole process of revelation a
miraculous nature and also serves as a proof for the authenticity of his prophethood. The
Koran expounds a form of knowledge which is part of the prophetic charisma and
cannot be compared with the ordinary acquisition of knowledge. This contrast between
the divine knowledge of the Prophet and acquired human knowledge is emulated by the
Shii Imams whose access to divine inspiration constitutes their charismatic authority. It
is also expressed in the notion of the shaykh unnni, the illiterate or unlettered Sufi
master, who in imitation of the Prophet does not possess the traditional knowledge of
the `trlanrd ' but receives divine inspirations. Stressing innate and inspirational
knowledge versus the acquired and traditional knowledge of the ìrlamd ' becomes
another vehicle to articulate dissident positions against the representatives of religious

traditionalism and is thus attributed to Àbdul-Baha as well.
2.2.3. Dissidence and Persecution

The notion of sacrifice is exemplified in the social decline of Àbdul-Baha's
family and the personal persecutions encountered as a result of his father's association
with the Babi movement. Àbdul-Baha spent his childhood in the affluent environment
of the urban aristocracy in Tehran and the family estates in the Nur district of the
central province of Mazandaran. He experienced at a very early age the persecutions to
which the Babis were exposed. One story tells of event in his childhood when shortly
before the detainment and exile of his father some opponents of the Babis threw stones
into the courtyard of his house in Tehran. Àbdul-Baha's parents decided that their
house was no longer secure for their son and took him to another place. One day,
Àbdul-Baha went to visit his aunt:
123 Koran 7: 157.
57
On my way back to the house of Mirza Hasan Kajj Domagh's son [where Àbdul-Baha
stayed], children recognised me and immediately shouted: `He is a Babi! ' while they were
running behind me. The house of Hajji Mulla Ja'far Astarabadi was close. So I arrived
there and remained outside at the entrance of the house. Hajji Mulla Ja`far's son saw me
but neither hindered me nor dispersed the children. I remained there until it was dark. As
soon as I went out on the street, the children, once again pursuing me, were shouting and
throwing stones at me until I approached the shop of Aqa Muhammad Hasan Sanduqdar.
Finally, the children left. When I reached home, I was completely exhausted. My mother
'What happened to ' But I could not reply and collapsed. '24
asked me: you?
The story - regardless of whether it describes an actual event - illustrates that
the prominent involvement of his father and many other members of his family with the
Babi movement resulted in acts of personal harassment as illustrated in this incident
which occurred to Àbdul-Baha at the age of nine. However, the situation was further
aggravated when Baha'ullah was imprisoned. His detainment caused the sudden social
decline of his family, as the family's property and wealth were confiscated by the state.
On many occasions, Àbdul-Baba described the abruptness of the deterioration of the
family's social conditions:
Once in Tehran, we had all kinds of means for a life of comfort, but from one day to the
other everything was Plundered to such a serious degree that one day my mother poured
some flour hands instead bread, I it just it ''S

onto my of and ate as was.
The autobiographical accounts stress the common sacrifices, hardships and
sufferings for the entire family. Not only Baha'ullah but his entire family had to endure
them and were affected by them. During the four months detainment of Baha'ullah in
Tehran's dungeon of Siyaih C/trrl (Black Pit) in 1852, Àbdul-Baha made one visit to his
father which he recalled as follows:
They sent me with a servant to his blessed presence in the prison. The guards indicated the
place of the blessed prison cell, and the servant carried me in on his shoulders. I saw a
steep and very dark place. After two steps down, we went into a narrow doorway, but one
could see nothing. In the middle of the stairway, one could suddenly hear his blessed voice:
`Do not bring him here. ' Therefore, they took me back and we sat outside, waiting for the
prisoners to be led out. Suddenly they brought the blessed beauty [Baha'ullah]. He was
chained to several other prisoners. What a chain! Because of its weight, they could only
move with difficulty. Sad heart-rendering it ' 26

and was.
124quoted in Fayzi, 'Abd

al-Bahr', p. 5.
125quoted in ibid., p. 6.
126quoted in ibid.,
pp. 6f..
58
Referring to the subsequent exile of Baha'ullah and his family, Àbdul-Baha
describes the long winter journey from Tehran to Baghdad which took about three
months as epitomising the sufferings of Baha'ullah and his family. Àbdul-Baha

implicitly draws a parallel between the emigration (h jra) of the Prophet Muhammad
from Mekka to Medina and Baha'ullah's banishment to Baghdad by calling the latter
nurheijarat-i mubärak:
As for the blessed emigration (nnthdjarat-i inubnrak) from Tehran to Baghdad, the cold
journey and the lack of means, there was so much snow and it was so cold that snow
feet toes feel the marks it left. 127
covered my and every winter my still
In a talk Àbdul-Baba gave in Haifa in 1914, he recalled the early sufferings his
father and his family had to overcome in Tehran and later in their exile in Baghdad.
When they arrived in Baghdad, they were without any means and faced humiliation by
the inhabitants of this city who knew that they were Babis. However, Àbdul-Baba
stressed that these sufferings were not meaningless but a necessary proof of the truth of
Baha'ullah's mission: `True faith and certainty become obvious in tines of distress and
difficulties. ' 128Statements like this which occur frequently in talks of Àbdul-Baha
spiritualize suffering and thereby evoke a Shii motif regarding the sacrifices of the
Imams. Shii theology positively reinterprets the murders of the Imams as proofs of their
rightfulness. Their martyrdoms give evidence of their spiritual superiority over their
enemies who could defeat them but likewise aided the Imams to prove their absolute
sincerity. S. H. M. Jafri, a modern Shii historian, writes about the motives behind the
doomed military campaign of Imam Husayn against the Umayyads and the impact his
martyrdom had on the Shii community and argues that Husayn was fully conscious of
the political and military failure of his expedition and was rather interested in giving the
Muslim community a moral lesson:
All of his actions show that he was aware of the fact that a victory achieved through
military strength and might is always temporal, because another stronger power can in
course of time bring it down in ruins. But a victory achieved through suffering and sacrifice
is everlasting and leaves permanent imprints on man's consciousness., 29
This motif of sacrifice is reiterated by Baha'ullah and his family as it has been
embodied by the Shii Imams before them. Suffering as constituent element of the
27
quoted in ibid., p. 9.
12Squoted in Moayyad, Khätirät-i Habib, p. 114.
129Jafri, S. H. M., Origins
and Early Development ofShi'a /slam, 2°d ed., Qum: Ansariyan Publications,
1989, p. 202.
59
charismatic authority of the Imams is repeated by Baha'ullah, Àbdul-Baha and their
family and thereby becomes the foundation for their own charismatic authority.
2.2.4. Dissidence and Innate Knowledge

Biographers on the life of Àbdul-Baha stress that he never visited a school in
order to receive any kind of formal education. According to his own account, Àbdul-
Baha taught himself Arabic and did not learn it at school:
I did not study Arabic when I was a child. I had a book with prayers by the Bab in the
handwriting of the blessed beauty [Baha'ullah] and I was very eager in reading it. At night
time, when I was awake, I used to getup and desire and longing took hold of me until I was
satisfied with my command of Arabic. My old friends know very well that I have not
studied Arabic. But still, I can speak and write it better than the most eloquent men among
the Arabs. 130
However, the claim that Àbdul-Baha did not receive any formal education in
his childhood and youth has been questioned. According to Ayati, Àbdul-Baha's first
instructors in Baghdad were his father and later his uncle Musa Kalim. After that,
Àbdul-Baha studied under a local `dlün during his in Baghdad 131

stay .
Nevertheless, Àbdul-Baha recounted several anecdotes which give evidence of
his innate knowledge. Baha'ullah used to frequent coffee-houses in Baghdad to meet
people and to enter discussion with them on both religious and topical political issues.
Àbdul-Baha accompanied his father and, according to the sources, both impressed the
people they met there with their knowledge, intelligence and eloquence. Many people
who went to the coffee-shops, including 'trlamii', intellectuals, government officials and
notables, apparently became admirers of Baha'ullah and Àbdul-Baha and began to
seek their opinions regularly. An anecdote narrated by Àbdul-Baha himself alludes to
the way these contacts were established. On one occasion - Àbdul-Baha does not state
where and when it happened - he was talking to a group of people when a prince
entered who was obviously not affected by his expositions. The story tells that 'Abdul-
Baha immediately changed the topic and without any introduction quoted the verse
from the Koran where Moses addressing God says: `My Lord, show Yourself to me: let
You. "32 In his interpretation, Àbdul-Baha resolves the apparent contradiction

me see
between Moses' statement that he wants see God and the theological position on divine
130quoted in Fayzi, 'Abd

at-Baba', p. 4.
131Ayati, Kas/rf
al-Hi}, nl /, pp. 16-9.
132Koran 7: 144.
60
transcendence asserting that encounter with and sight of God is impossible in this world.
Providing an allegorical interpretation, he concluded that those who are detached from
the world and filled with the love of God have already entered paradise and can behold
God in their hearts. The prince, according to the sources, utterly impressed by the
elucidation of this teenager, who cannot have been older than 19, invited him to his
house where Àbdul-Baba came in contact with other notables. '33
For the biographies of Àbdul-Baha, it was not only on religious questions that
he managed to impress his contemporaries but also in other fields of knowledge his
expertise is presented in the biographical sources as superior to that of others. Àbdul-
Baha allegedly gained a certain reputation so that Sunni ùlamä' regularly invited him
to their meetings particularly for the purpose of refuting theological positions of Shii
ùlamä'. During one meeting, they asked him about his opinion on the etymological
origin of the Persian word 'mast' (sour, coagulated milk/yoghurt) referring to the
opinion of the head of the Shaykhi School Karimkhan Kirmani who claims its Arabic
origin. Karimkhan Kinnani was a fierce opponent of the Babi movement leading the
faction of the Shaykhi School which refuted the messianic claims of the Bab. In
response to the ùlamd "s request, Àbdul-Baha admited that he and Karimkhan
fundamentally disagree on the authenticity of the claims of the Bab. However, Àbdul-
Baha did not seize this opportunity to embarrass one of the strongest adversaries of the
Babi movement who in the eyes of the gathered scholars made a rather ridiculous
assertion. On the contrary, Àbdul-Baha agreed with him on this particular linguistic
issue, emphasising that despite Karimkhan's hostility to the Babis one had to make an
impartial judgement on this question which would lead to the conclusion that he was
right. Completely astonished by Àbdul-Baha's response, the 'ulanta' consulted a

dictionary which approved Karimkhan's position. ' 34Obviously, with this anecdote his
biographers not only want illustrate the width and depth of Àbdul-Baha's knowledge at
a very young age but also the benevolence he even showed towards his greatest enemies.
Resulting from the reputation Àbdul-Baha appeared to have gained as
extremely knowledgeable for his youth, an Ottoman notable called Àli Shawkat Pasha
asked him to write a tafsir on the hadith quds7 Ì was a hidden treasure and I loved to be
known. Therefore, I created creation that I might be known'. yadith qudsi reports,
traditions in which God or Gabriel speak to Muhammad directly, were particularly
popular among Sufis. Hence, Shawkat Pasha's request of an exegesis on such a hadith
133Fayzi, 'Abd al-Baba', pp. IOf..

134Ibid., pp. 11
If..
61
and the contents of the commentary suggest the Sufi inclinations of the Ottoman Pasha.
The exact circumstances of this request - probably made around 1863 - remain
unknown, although it is very likely that Shawkat Pasha came across Àbdul-Baha in a
coffee-shop or through the various contacts Baha'ullah and his son had established in
Baghdad. 135
Anecdotes like these are reminiscent of the episode in the Gospel of Luke when
the infant Jesus impressed the scholars in the temple in Jerusalem with his knowledge
disputing them. 136
The apocryphal infancy Gospels contain hagiographical
while with
accounts of the miraculous childhood and youth of Jesus, telling anecdotes of his first
day at school, for example, when he exhibited a degree of knowledge that his teacher
admitted his own incompetence towards this miraculously gifted child. Such stories also
found their place in Muslim literature either in reference to Jesus, Muhammad or the
Shii Imams. In Shii traditions, the fifth Imam Muhammad al-Baqir narrated the episode
of Jesus' first day at school to his son, the later sixth Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq. Countless
events signifying the extraordinary knowledge of Imams from their early childhood are
recorded in the collections of Shii traditions. Within the Babi and Baha'i contexts such
stories are common as well. Both Babi and Baha'i historiographies depict the Bab's first
day at school in very similar lines to Jesus outdoing his first teacher as depicted in
Gospels Shii traditions. 137
apocryphal and
Hence, it is not surprising to find innate knowledge from a very early age
attributed to Àbdul-Baha. Innate and supra-natural knowledge has always been seen as
one of the constituent factors and necessary qualities of the Shii Imams and of Sufi
saints who outdo with their knowledge the conventional knowledge of the ùlamci'.
Therefore, to underpin Àbdul-Baha's charismatic authority, he himself and his
biographers depict him as possessing this important feature of superior spiritual
authority.
2.3. Muhammad Àbduh and Islamic Mysticism

2.3.1. Jamahrd-Din al-Afghani: Sitfi, Philosopher, Dissident
In the figure of Muhammad Àbduh's early mentor Sayyid Jamalud-Din at-

Afghani the possession of superior charismatic authority also became a vehicle to
135Ibid., pp. 20ff..

136Luke 2,46-7.
137Lambden, S., Àn Episode in the Childhood of the Bab', in Smith, In bran,
pp. 1-31.
62
express religious dissidence, allowing Afghani to challenge the holders of traditional
religious authority as the Babis did. Sayyid Jamalud-Din al-Afghani is one of the most
enigmatic figures in the 19`hcentury Middle East. There is much myth-making involved
around his personality which was initiated by himself and by his followers. His
nationality and religious affiliation are a cause of much confusion. The epithet he added
to his name himself suggests that he was from Afghanistan and consequently a Sunni
Muslim. By creating such a background, Afghani wanted to underpin his orthodox
credibility and to find acceptance in the Sunni world. However, ample evidence exists
proving his Iranian Shiite background.
He was born in the village Asadabad near Hamadan in 1838/9 into a family of
sayyids, descendents of the Prophet. His father worked as a cultivator but was quite
well-educated and enjoyed contacts with several ùlamä', Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsa'i
among them. Educating his son Afghani at his home initially, he soon realised his
extraordinary intelligence. Shaykh Hadi, a cousin and friend of Afghani who memorised
the Koran with him, describes the extraordinary quasi-innate knowledge of Afghani
who was able to explain the most abstruse Koranic verses as a child. First, Afghani was
taken to Qazvin to continue his religious studies and then settled in Tehran after a
cholera epidemic had forced him to leave the city. In an anecdote that Afghani told his
nephew Lutfullah, he describes how he attended a lecture by Sadiq Tabataba'i, the

leading Shii cleric in the capital, and challenged Tabataba'i's expositions on a book as
being insufficient. While the cleric was initially outraged by Afghani's intervention, he
became so impressed after Afghani provided a more informed and detailed explanation
book he bestowed 138Anecdotes about
of the that a turban on the young student.
Afghani's extraordinary knowledge might not be accurate and deliberately exaggerated
but they express the tendency of Shii hagiographical writing to attribute innate
knowledge to holders of charismatic authority as observed in the lives of two other
Iranian contemporaries, Baha'ullah and Àbdul-Baba.
In 1852, Afghani moved together with his father to Najaf in Iraq to complete his
education as a religious scholar. In the course of his studies, Afghani experienced the
opposition of the established 'u/amd ' who eventually forced him to leave Iraq. Several
accounts exist, explaining the antagonism between him and the 'ulamä'. It is attributed
to his keen interest in rather heterodox traditions of Islamic religiosity, rationalist
Islamic philosophy in particular, which was rebuked as unfitting for a young aspiring
138Keddie, 10-5; see also Pakdaman, Afghani, pp. 32-4.

al-Afg/iä,pp.
zi,
63
religious scholar. According to a fellow student in Najaf, Afghani was expelled because
several persons considered him to be the promised Mahdi. A more sober explanation is
a provided by a grandnephew of Afghani. According to him, the ùlamä' in Najaf
primarily had difficulties with Afghani's laxity in observing religious rituals. Whatever
the reasons for the ùlamn "s resentments against Afghani, they are all of a religious
dissidence. 139
nature and suggest Afghani's proneness towards religious
Afghani must have been exposed to several religious influences of a rather
heterodox nature which impacted on his later religious ideas and activities. The possible
Shaykhi contacts of his father and his own interest in Islamic philosophy might have led
him to the study of Shaykhi theology. Afghani possessed several Shaykhi treatises.
What might have attracted Afghani to the doctrines of the Shaykhi School was their
`combination of philosophy, mystical ideas, and religious innovation. ' 140Shaykh
Ahmad attempted to synthesise the different religious and intellectual strands of the
Islamic tradition into a holistic system which combines rationalist philosophy, Sufism,
Shii theology and jurisprudence. The orientation of the Shaykhi School towards
charismatic authority might have been attractive for Afghani as well. The notion of the
Perfect Shia, a single divinely-guided religious leader who is in contact with the Hidden
Imam and acts as a quasi-messianic renewer of Islam, is mirrored in Afghani's own
career as religious reformer and in the messianic expectations surrounding his person
throughout his life. 141
Attempts have been made to link Afghani with the Babi movement. That in the
course of his studies of Shaykhi ideas, he must have come across it, is quite likely given
the recent upheaval the movement had caused in Iran. Quite interestingly, Afghani
moved with his father to Iraq in 1852, the same year when Baha'ullah was exiled to
Baghdad and many Babis left Iran because of the persecutions against them in the
aftermath of the failed assassination attempt on Nasirud-Din Shah. Whether Afghani's

father moved with his son to Iraq due to his own association with Babi movement as
Babi is impossible but 142

part of the general exodus not entirely remains speculative.
Although Afghani denounced the Babis in several publications as heretics, '43 Babi links
139Keddie,
al-Afghani, pp. ME.
140Ibid., p. 38
141Pakdaman, Afghani,
pp. 357-61; Keddie, al-Afghani, p. 406; Bayat, Mysticism and Dissent, p. 145.
142Keddie,
al-AfShanF, pp. 21 f.; Pakdaman, Afghani, p. 35.
13 See, for example, his entry on `Babism' in Butnis Bustani's Arabic encyclopaedia (Bustani, B., Dä'ira
al-Ma`5rif, Vol. 5, Beinet: Dir al-Ma`5rif, n.y. [reprint of 1876 edition], pp. 26-8). He also criticises the
`Babi sect' in his anti-Neicheriyya treatise Refutation of the Materialists. See Keddie, N. R., An Islamic
64
repeatedly occur throughout his life. In his final years in Istanbul, Babis were amongst
his collaborators,amongst them two sons-in-law of Mirza Yahya Subh-i Azal,
Baha'ullah's younger half-brother. 144It has been suggested that the militant activism of
the early Babi movement influenced Afghani's own activist reinterpretation of the
Islamic tradition and that the Babi uprisings in Iran showed him the potential of
dissent. '45
religiously motivated political
Regardless of whether Afghani was a Babi or not, he certainly was socialised in
an environment of religious dissidence with a propensity towards charismatic authority

and therefore shared a very similar background with the Bab and Baha'ullah. He found
Islamic philosophy intellectually more satisfying than the literalism and legalism of the
religious establishment. The doctrines of the Shaykhi School appealed to him and
allowed him to articulate his disillusionment with the representatives of religious
orthodoxy within the framework of an alternative expression of Shii religiosity. The
opposition he encountered from the `Mania' also made him aware of the need to
dissimulate his true beliefs and to practise ragiyya. Childhood anecdotes about his
extraordinary intellectual abilities and rumours about possible messianic claims in Iraq
give evidence of his charismatic appeal on other people which could only be expressed
in terms of mystical and esoteric traditions of Islam. Àbduh would become one of
Afghani's students, most strongly attracted to his charismatic authority.
2.3.2. Crisis attd Resoltutiont:Mtthanuttad 'Abduh's Conversion to Sttftsnt
This malady was mysterious and it lasted for nearly two months. During that time I was a
skeptic in fact, but not in utterance and doctrine. At length God Most High cured me of that
sickness. My soul regained its health and equilibrium and once again I accepted the self-
evident data of reason and relied on them with safety and certainty. But it was not achieved
by constructing a proof or putting together an argument. On the contrary, it was the effect
of a light which God Most High cast into my breast. And that light is the key to most
knowledge. '46
A common motif found in Muslim biographies of great scholars and saints is
that of crisis and resolution. The young scholar or adept experiences a spiritual crisis
Response to Imperialism: Political and Religious Writings of Say}yid Jamal ad-Din 'al-Afgllcnº ', Berkeley
and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1968, p. 158.
"' Keddie, al-Afghänf, p. 380.
145Keddie, Response to Imnperialisin, p. 11.
146Al-Ghazäli, Freedom
and Fulfilment: An Annotated Translation ofAl-Ghaznli's al-Munqidh min al-
Dal5l and Other Relevant Works of al-Ghaznli, by Richard Joseph McCarthy, Boston: Twayne
Publishers, 1980, 66.
p.
65
being dissatisfied with the state of knowledge transmitted to him or his spiritual
constitution and is close to abandoning the scholarly or spiritual path he hoped to

follow. However, the accidental encounter with a charismatic figure or a key text
responds to the young adept's yearning for an alternative vision of knowledge or

religiosity and guides the initially disillusioned disciple to an approach which
constitutes his later fame and reputation. One of the most famous expressions of this
crisis-resolution motif is al-Ghazali (1058-1111) and his autobiographical AI-Mungidl1
(The Deliverer fi-onl Error). 147
min al-Daldl
It is not surprising that the crisis-resolution motif re-appears in Muhammad
Àbduh's own fragmentary autobiography which he wrote at the end of his life
responding to questions asked by his disciple Rashid Rida. Àbduh's own account of his
adolescent spiritual crisis might appear to be a projection onto his formative years
which questions the historicity of such a crisis. Nevertheless, Abduh's stylised reference
to it as the decisive event in his early years illustrates his attempt to create a
correspondence between himself and his predecessors by appealing to a convention of

Muslim biographical writing. '48
Muhammad Àbduh was born into a peasant family from Lower Egypt. Despite
Àbduh's humble background, his father was very keen on his children's education.
Àbduh was initially privately instructed at home and exposed rather late to the local
maktab at the age of ten. His parents became aware of their son's talent, as he
memorised the Koran at that age, and sent him to the mosque school in Tanta to study
the recitation of the Koran. Due to his parents' promotion, Àbduh was able to seize the
opportunity for the gifted sons of rural Egypt to leave their social background and use a
religious education as means for social mobility.
After two years of studying in Tanta, he began attending lectures on grammar
and Islamic law. At this stage Àbduh encountered for the first time the inefficiency of
traditional teaching methods. His description of the learning environment at the
ma(h"asa is quite similar to experiences of many of contemporaries who shared quite

149
similar experiences. Students were confronted with grammatical and legal treatises
and dubious technical terms while the teachers did not take into account their students'
147EI', s.v. 'al-Ghazäli'.

1'8 Sirriyeh, Sufis
and Anti-Sufi, p. 90. Charles Adams is probably the first who notes the parallel between
Àbduh's description of his intellectual and spiritual crisis and its resolution offered by Sufism with
similar accounts of other famous mystics in the Islamic tradition like al-Ghazali. See Adams, C. C., Islam
and Modernism in Eg}pt: A Study of the Modern Reform Movement Inaugurated by Muhammad 'Abduh,
London: Oxford University Press, 1933, pp. 25f., n. 2.
1a9Fortna, Èducation
and Autobiography', pp. 1-31.
66
intellectual capacity and refused to answer any questions. The only requirement for
passing exams consisted in memorising text books without any intrinsic understanding
of their contents. Àbduh who was incapable of understanding the texts and subjects
dealt with in the lectures and lacked anybody who could assist him in comprehending
them considered himself to be incompetent to pursue such studies and withdrew from
them:
I did not understand anything because of the deficient teaching methods. The teachers
confronted us with grammatical and legal technical terms which we did not understand.
They were not concerned with explaining their meanings to those who did not know them.
Therefore, resignation reached me. I fled the lessons and disappeared for three months. '5°
His father forced him to return to Tanta and to continue his studies. But Àbduh
fled again and retreated to a nearby village. While Àbduh was staying in the village,
Shaykh Danvish aI-Khadir, his paternal great-uncle, approached Àbduh and because of
his bad eye sight asked him to read some of the letters his Sufi shaykh wrote to him:
I rejected his request with vigour and cursed reading books. Whoever occupies himself
with it, I shun with great distaste. When he put the book in my hand, I threw it away. But
the shaykh smiled and showed the kindest forbearance. He did not cease insisting until I
took the book and read some lines from it. Then, he immediately explained the meaning of
what I just read in clear words which defeated my initial rejection. They conquered and
151
entered my soul.
For several days, Àbduh studied the letters with Shaykh Darwish and discussed
with him terms and subjects he did not understand. These letters were concerned with
the spiritual development of the soul, its moral education, its purification and
detachment from the superficialities of this world and introduced Àbduh to Sufism:
On the seventh day, I asked the shaykh: `What is your tariga? ' He replied: Ìslam is my
tariga. ' I asked: `But are not all these people Muslims? ' He said: Àlthough they are
Muslims, you see them contending over trivial matters and hear them swearing by God
while they are lying with or without a reason. ' These words were like fire which burned
away all that I held dear of the baggage from the past. 152
The words of his uncle made him aware of the backward state of Muslims and
their captivity in religious traditionalism and offered Sufism as an alternative mode of

Islamic religiosity which transcends the perceived limitations and superficialities of
traditional Islam.
150Rida, R., `Mulakhkhas Sira

a1-Ust5dh al-Imäm', Al-Mandr 8 (1905). p. 381.
151Ibid.,
p. 383.
152Ibid.,
pp. 384f..
67
Àbduh is keen to present Shaykh Danish as an orthodox Sufi, dissociating him
from Sufi folklore and charlatans prevalent in rural Egypt at that time. Shaykh Danish
had some preliminary training in religious sciences and despite his association with the
Shadhiliyya Order did not insist on his affiliation to it but rather revealed a pan-Islamic
Sufism. 153Instead of encouraging Àbduh to observe certain Sufi practices, Shaykh
Darwish urged him to read the Koran as both a devotional and a scholarly exercise and
to grasp its meaning gradually. Hence, Shaykh Danish is not depicted as a
conservative representative of Sufism, but as one who upheld the importance of

mystical experience, like al-Gliazali stressed an ethical and spiritual reading of Islam
but at the same time was open to new intellectual pursuits and intended to overcome the
constraints of tradition: `he is shown to be a pivotal figure in leading the young Àbduh
to a truer understanding of Islam as a progressive and reasonable religion compatible
with modern sciences and modern technologies. "54
Àbduh's account of Shaykh Darwish might not be entirely authentic, as it
might reflect the projection of his later ideas onto his uncle. But it is not unlikely that
Shaykh Darwish came under the influence of neo-Sufi tendencies which reached Egypt
in the early 19`x' century having their origins in North African Sufi orders like the
Sanusiyya and Tijaniyya. 155Part of the teachings of neo-Sufis like the Moroccan mystic
Ahmad ibn Idris (1760-1837) 156was the rejection of any false adherence to past
authorities (taglid) and the claim to direct prophetic illuminations of the saint from the
Prophet Muhammad. For the neo-Sufis, ýtihdd was not merely the individual effort of a
scholar to arrive at a legal ruling but the prerogative of the Sufi shaykh based on his
access to prophetic inspiration. 157Due to his possible background in Sufi reform
movements, Shaykh Dar-wish managed to resolve Àbduh's disillusionment with

traditional religious scholarship by providing him with an expression of Islamic
153Àbduh
was initiated in the Shadhiliyya Order and remained its member until the end of his life
(Imira, M. (ed. ), Al-A'mal al-Käntila li-al-Inürm Aluliannnad 'Abduh, Vol. III, Beirut: al-Mu'assasa al-
'Arabiyya li-al-Diräsit wa-al-Nashr, 1972, p. 526).
154Sirriyeh, Sufis
and Anti-Sufis, p. 90.
155Ziadeh, N. A., The Sanusiyah: A Study
of a Revivalist Movement in Islam, Leiden: Brill, 1958; Abun-
Nasr, J. M., The Tanij5-a: A Soll Order in the Modern World, London: Oxford University Press, 1965.
Fazlur Ralunan developed the term `Neo-Sufism'. For a critique of the term `Neo-Sufism' cf. O'Fahey, R.
S., Radtke, B., `Neo-Sufism Reconsidered', Der Islam 70 (1993), pp. 52-87.
15"O'Fahey, R. S., Enigmatic Saint: Ahmad Ibn 1dris
and the Idrisi Tradition, London: Hurst & Co.,
1990.
157Schulze, R., Islamischer Internationalismus im 20. Jahrhundert: Untersuchungen
zur Geschichte der
islamischer Weltliga, Leiden: Brill, 1990, pp. 25f.; pp. 35f.. Delanoue connects the neo-Sufi stress on
ijtihäd as expressed by Ahmad ibn Idris during his stay in Egypt in 1800 with Àbduh's later criticism of
traditional orthodoxy. See Delanoue, G., Moralistes et politiques musulmans daps I 'Egypte de XIA siecle
(1798-1882), Cairo: Institut Francais de I'Acheologie Orientale du Caire, 1982, pp. 210f..
68
religiosity which transcends the traditionalism of orthodoxy and is oriented towards
charismatic authority.
2.3.3. The Sagefrom the East

In 1866, Àbduh arrived in Cairo. During his studies at al-Azhar, Àbduh
developed a keen interest in rather marginalised and non-mainstream subjects like
Arabic literature, logic and Sufism. However, he still experienced the same frustrations
with the repetitive modes of instruction and the limitations of the traditionalist
curriculum. It needed someone like Jamalud-Din al-Afghani to give his career a new
direction. Afghani combined personal charisma with a fresh intellectual approach which
neither Shaykh Danish nor the 'ulamd ' at al-Azhar could have provided. When
Afghani settled in Egypt, he taught at al-Azhar until a dispute with some conservative
'ulamä' forced him to retire. Living in the Khan al-Khalili bazaar adjacent to the al-
Azhar mosque, he offered private lessons at night which not only attracted al-Azhar
students like Àbduh but also government officials and notables as well Christian and
Jewish intellectuals eager to meet the notorious free-thinker who antagonised the
representatives of traditionalism. The meetings had a rather secretive nature in order to

avoid the hostility and opposition of conservative 'ulamä'. These gatherings provided
Àbduh with a milieu which was in stark contrast to the conventional manner of
instruction at al-Azhar and attracted a mind like his.
When Àbduh met Afghani, he was 22 years old, a young mystic searching for a
charismatic guide and alternative modes of learning and religiosity. Afghani was able to
respond to the young mystic's expectations and both entered a murid-Inuishid
relationship which lasted for eight years and is documented in Àbduh's first writings
and in his letters to Afghani. Afghani embodied for his admirers like Àbduh a religious
charisma as represented in the quasi-prophetic status of the Sufi saint. Furthermore, the
survival of esoteric and philosophical traditions in Iranian Shiism endowed Afghani
with a kind of knowledge unknown to the young Sunni scholar. Aware of Àbduh's
mystical inclinations, Afghani enriched his mysticism with a philosophical
underpinning and thereby drew him to a more rationalist interpretation of Islam.

Afghani's lessons intellectualised his Sufism with the theosophic tradition of Iranian
Shiism. 158
153Keddie, al-A.fghanT,
pp. 8 1-92; see also Rida, `Sira', pp. 388-90; Rida, Ta rikh I, pp. 25-7; Amin >
'Abduh, pp. 23-7; Àbdur-Raziq, 'Abdidz, pp. 51. See also, Kedourie, Afghan/ and 'Abduh, pp. 1-12.
69
The close emotional attachment between Afghani andÀbduh which clearly
resembles the relationship between a shaykh and his adept is indicated in the foreword
of his mystical treatise Risnla al-Wäridc t (Treatise on Mystcial Inspriations) and in
letters Àbduh wrote to his mentor during his later exile in Beirut. In the introduction to
his first treatise, Àbduh mentions his doubts and disorientation when he first
discovered his interest in philosophy. His environment at al-Azhar considered the study
of philosophy to be prohibited (liaräm). Àbduh remained in this state of confusion torn

between his desire to study marginalized subjects and their rejection by the orthodox
mainstream until `the sun of truths rose (ishragat shams a1-1iaqj'iy) so that the most
subtle particularities became clear to us. With the arrival of the perfect sage and the
established truth our teacher Sayyid Jamalud-Din al-Afghani the fruits of knowledge
- -
did not cease.' 159
The language Àbduh employs to describe Afghani's impact on him is couched

in a Sufi framework and alludes to the symbolism of Ishraqi philosophy. Afghani's
identification with the sun of truth which has risen to enlighten Àbduh mirrors the light
symbolism of the Ishragi philosophy of Shihabud-Din Suhrawardi, `The Executed' (al-

it in his 160
inagtirl), (1153-1191) who uses cosmology and emanation theology. The
contents of Afghani's instructions are characterised as mystical inspirations (wvdr"idat)

and revelations (tajalliyät). These two terms frequently occur in Sufi literature. The
term tajalliynt is used in the context of emanation theologies as Suhrawardi and Ibn
Àrabi developed them. Tajalliyät denote the process of divine creation when the divine
become in the different 161The personified
attributes manifest cosmological realms.
embodiment of the creative manifestation of divine attributes is the Perfect Man
represented in this world by the prophets and the saints who are the perfect mirrors of
all divine attributes to creation. As the divine attributes manifest themselves in creation
through them, they connect creation with the divine as personifications of the axis
mundi (qutb). Àbduh's use of a terminology which has its origin in mystical and
esoteric emanation theologies to describe the role of Afghani suggests that he considers
him to be the Perfect Man.
159Àbduh, Risdla
al-JVäridnt, p. 2.
160Corbin, H., En Islam h"anien: Aspects spirituels et
philosophiques, Vol: II: Sohrativardi et les
Platoniciens de Perse, Paris: Gallimard, 1971, pp. 81-140.
161For the similarities and differences between Suhrawardi's and Ibn 'Arabi's emanation theologies see
Netton, I. R., All1th Transcendent: Studies in the Stromure and Semiotics of Islmnic Philosophy, Theology
and Cosmology, Richmond, Curzon, 1989, pp. 256-320.
70
Àbduh's letters written to Afghani give clearer evidence of this suggestion.
These letters written in 1883 in Beirut bear witness to Àbduh's strong attachment to
Afghani and employ terms usually used in a Sufi context to praise a shaykh. In the first
letter Àbduh addresses Afghani as `my greatest master (maulayl al-a `zam)' 162and pays
tribute to his insight into his disciples' souls and the guidance he offers to them:
You know what is in my soul, as you know what is in yours. You have made us with your
hands, invested our matter with its perfect shapes (sutit"arahä al-kamnlij5w) and created us
in the best form (fi ahsan tagtirim). Through you have we known ourselves, through you
have we known you, through you have known the whole universe. Your knowledge of us is,
as it will not be hidden from you, a necessary knowledge. It is the knowledge you have of
yourself, your confidence in your power and will; from you have we originated and to you,
to you do we return (wa-ilnyka ilayka al-, nä ßb).163
This passage suggests the quasi-prophetic status of the shaykh, a status which is
almost elevated to that of the divine creator. Afghani is portrayed as omniscient at least
in regard to the inner feelings and thoughts of his disciples and as their fashioner in a
spiritual and intellectual sense. One is reminded of Koranic passages which introduce
God's creative power and omniscience. Although the exact wording in the Arabic
original is slightly different, the parallel Àbduh draws between Afghani as his personal
fashioner and God as the creator of the world as stated in the Koranic verses is obvious:
He created the heavensand the earth for a true purpose; He formed you and formed you
well (wa-sawarakwn ova-ahsan suwarakinn): you will all return to Him (wa-ilayhi al-
masir). He knows what is in the heavens and earth; He knows what you conceal and what
God knows the heart. 164
you reveal. very well secrets of every
Other expressions used in the letter also hint at the quasi-prophetic charisma of
Afghani. Àbduh reports on the situation of his companions who have accompanied him
to his exile and writes how `their states have been changed after what has been sent
down through you (bad bika)'. '65 In this instance, Àbduh

nuzul ma nitzila employs a
technical term of Islamic theology to describe the divine revelation which was sent
down from heaven to Muhammad and the other prophets before him: `We sent (anzalnä)
Our Messengers with clear signs, the Scripture and the Balance, so that people could
justice. ' 166Another
uphold expression usually associated with the Prophet Muhammad
is sunna (custom/practice). The stuuia of the Prophet describes the totality of the deeds,
162Shalash,Silsila, p. 47.
163Ibid., p. 47; for English translation cf. Kedourie, Afghani and 'Abduh, p. 66.
16;Koran 64: 3-4.
165Shalash, Silsila, p. 48.
166Koran 57: 25.
71
habits and sayings of Muhammad which Muslims should emulate and abide by. In a
similar manner, the Sufi disciple follows the stoma of his shaykh, because he owes
obedience to him and regards him as a spiritual role model. In his letter, Àbduh
reassures Afghani of his loyalty and obedience: `We are following your customs and
(nahnir fr àla ' 167
your practice salikfuia sunanika Wa- sunnatika).
The following section illustrates again the use of Sufi imagery and terminology
and Àbduh's identification of Afghani with the Perfect Man:
As far as I am concerned, you have three spirits (anräh). Were one of them released into
the world completely, it would petrify into a perfect man (insnnan kämilan). Your visible
likeness is manifest in my imaginative faculty and commands over my combined senses.
With me is the picture of nobility, the image of wisdom, and the temple of perfection. To it
I refer all my perceptions, and in it are lost (funiyat) all my visual impressions... Your
photograph which in the shrine of my prayers (fi qibla saläti) I set up as a guardian over all
my actions and as a viler over all my conditions. I never did an action or spoke a word,
never aimed at some objective or abandoned it, until the perfection of your spirits - which
three '68
are - coincided with my actions.
Àbduh recalls Afghani's face so as to receive inspiration from him. As part of

his devotional practices, he placed Afghani's photograph in his prayer niche. It was
common among Sufis to visualize a picture of their shaykh while performing (INA-1.It is
not surprising that Rashid Rida in his edition of the correspondence between Àbduh
and Afghani and also later editors of Àbduh's works like the contemporary al-Azhar
scholar Muhammad Ìmara have omitted such scandalous passages which give
expression to a personal veneration and a type of image worship even the Prophet
Muhammad does not deserve to receive but was quite common among Sufis. Elie
Kedourie and Àli Shalash in their translations and editions of the letters point out the
selective approach and textual manipulations of Àbduh's works by later '69

recipients.
Even later in his life, Àbduh alludes to the quasi-prophetic status his mentor held for
him. Although not a prophet himself, Afghani comes closest to what constitutes one:
If I said that what God gave him from the power of intellect, the width of reason and the
means of sight is the maximum of what he has conferred on non-prophets (U-ghayr al-
anbiy '), I be ' 70

would not exaggerating.
16' Shalash, Silsila,

p. 50.
16sIbid., p. 47; for translation cf. Kedourie, Afghani
and 'Abdith, p. 67
"G9Kedourie, Afghani
and Àbduh, pp. 66-9; Shalash, Silsila, pp. 9-14.
170Rida, Ta'rikh 1, p. 34.
72
2.4. Conclusion
As the accounts of Àbduh's and Àbdul-Baha's childhood and youth have

shown, the formative period of their lives is characterised by a pre-dominance of
personalised and charismatic patterns of religious authority. Àbduh's distress with

institutionalised learning stipulated his yearning for a more satisfying form of
intellectual instruction and spiritual initiation. First, his uncle Shaykh Danish could
satisfy these yearnings and introduced Àbduh to Sufism which became his spiritual
refuge when he was agonised by the dullness of traditional scholarship. Later, Afghani
replaced Àbduh's first spiritual mentor and became his second mrushfd, guiding his
disciple's mystical leanings into a more rationalistic and activist understanding of Islam.
Àbdul-Baha's charismatic inclinations are much more obvious. As a Babi, he belonged
to a charismatic movement which challenged Shii orthodoxy in Iran as no other
movement in the 19`x'century did. The biographical accounts of Àbdul-Baba portray
him and his father with many qualities which reflect Shii and Sufi notions of
charismatic leadership. At the same time, the accounts of Àbdul-Baha's and Àbduh's
formative years contain motifs which anticipate the roles they assumed later at their
lives. Àbduh's frustration with traditional religious scholarship at a very young age
foreshadows his later attempts to modernise Islamic religious education. Àbdul-Baha's
innate knowledge prepares the ground for his later role as charismatic and divinely
inspired leader of the Baha'i movement after his father's death.
Jamalud-Din al-Afghani provides the link between Àbdul-Baha and

Muhammad Àbduh. Although Afghani is keen to present himself as an orthodox Sunni,
his actual Shii background and his education as a Shii `dlimn are well attested.
Furthermore, his particular attraction to the Shaykhi School and his possible early
affiliation with the Babi movement have been noted. Though it may be unlikely that
Afghani taught Shaykhi doctrines during his stay in Egypt to Sunnis like Àbduh, the
Shaykhi synthesis of rationalist Islamic philosophy and Sufism formed part of his
private lectures and study sessions. Àbduh was certainly not directly associated with
the Shaykhi School, as his Sunni background would not have allowed such a
connection with a branch of Shii Islam which concentrates on the veneration of the
Imams. Nevertheless, after the encounter with Afghani, his mystical inclinations opened
his eyes to new intellectual pursuits and prepared the ground for his later attempts to
develop a modern rationalist exposition of the Islamic tradition in imitation of the
73
Shaykhi School. Regarding Àbdul-Baba, the Shaykhi background is more obvious.
The Babi movement emerged out of adventist strands within the Shaykhi School.
Baha'ullah and his family like many other members of Iranian aristocracy had links
with heterodox expressions of popular religiosity and Shii mysticism and esotericism -
links they shared with Afghani.
Shii traditions of religious dissent manifested themselves in the formative years
of Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh. Islamic mysticism and millenarianism became the vehicle
and charismatic authority became the driving force in expressing their revolts against
religious traditionalism and orthodoxy. The Babi movement undoubtedly inherited
notions of religio-political dissent from previous messianic movements and the Ismailis.
But also Afghani's and Àbduh's activities are reminiscent of the strategies of
traditional dissident and activist movements. The secretive night sessions Afghani held
to instruct his disciples in philosophy and mysticism and to discuss socio-political
issues resemble the majälis al-jdkma, the sessions of wisdom, which Ismailis conducted
to initiate new adherents among the Muslims. Afghani's and Àbduh's association with
Freemasonry in Egypt evokes parallels with the clandestine networks of the Ismailis in
the past. The French established Masonic lodges in Egypt which Middle Easterners
entered from the 1860s onwards. Afghani became a member of two lodges in Egypt: the
Eastern Star Lodge in 1876 which he later headed and the Italian Lodge. Àbduh joined
the Eastern Star Lodge Afghani's '7'

as well via mediation.
Freemasonry attracted intellectuals and freethinkers who opposed traditional
religiosity and orthodoxy and was used as a platform for political activism. With its
organisation and rituals, Freemasonry shares certain elements and patterns with
heterodox movements like Ismailism. The oath of allegiance any new member of a
lodge had to take resembles the oath or covenant (àhd or mithaq) new Ismailis entered.
Symbolic language, dissimulation
(tagiyya) and hierarchical structures have their
antecedents in Ismaili 172

Afghani used to call his fellow-masons
medieval movements.
iklnvän al-safd' wa-khulldn al-wafd' (Brethrens of Purity and Companions of Sincerity)
in a deliberate reference to the 10`x'or 11`hcentury group of Iraqi philosophers in Basra
who were influenced by Neoplatonic philosophy and have been connected with the
Ismailis. 173Hence, some characteristics of Ismailism are implicitly re-created by
"' Rida, `Sira',

pp. 401-3.
172Keddie,
al-A.fShäni, pp. 92f..
173The Ismaili affiliation of the Brothers
of Purity has been contested. See Netton, I. R., `Brotherhood
versus Imamate: Ikhwän al-Sala' and the Ismä'ilis', Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and /slain II (1980),
253-262.
74
Afghani who `saw in masonry a modern extension of ancient Islamic heterodoxy to
he ' 174
which was clearly attracted.
Weber's understanding of the dissident and heretical nature of charismatic
authority which releases its revolutionary potential and creative output can be observed
in the formative years of Àbdul-Baba and Àbduh. Despite the occurring mimesis of
traditions of religious dissidence in Islam, their repetition also implies their
simultaneous creative transformation. Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh repeat traditional

models of post-prophetic charismatic authority but simultaneously alter them. Afghani
added to Àbduh's initially rustic mysticism a philosophical and rationalistic orientation
alien to his Sunni background but still existent in Iranian Shiism. Afghani was not
interested in facilitating the spiritual ascension of Àbduh, as one would expect it from a
murshid in a traditional sense. Instead, he utilised his disciple's receptivity to mystical

authority to guide him to an activist understanding of Islam and to encourage his
interest in socio-political reforms.
As for Àbdul-Baha and his Babi background, it is obvious how the Bab and his
followers initially repeated Shii models of religious authority but by reiterating them
gradually radicalised them. Post-prophetic authority is transformed into prophetic

charisma, when the Bab shifted his claim of being the Gate to the Hidden Imam to being
the prophet-founder of a new religion. This movement is later repeated by Baha'ullah
when he responded to Shii and Babi eschatological expectations and considered himself
to be the return of Imam Husayn and the Babi messiah man ytr. hiruhfi allnh. The
reflection of Imamic qualities in his life and the lives of other members of his family
and his familiarity with Sufi themes and motives facilitated the acceptance of his later
more radical theophanic claims among Shiis, Sufis and Babis. In addition, it made him,
Àbdul-Baha and other Baha'is more receptive to modern ideas which they encountered
in the Ottoman Empire and incorporated into the doctrinal outlook of the new religious
movement they began to shape. In contrast to representatives of religious traditionalism

and orthodoxy, Àbdul-Baha's and Àbduh's early experimentations with religious
dissent and charismatic authority in Islam allowed them to deal creatively with the
increasing intrusion of Western modernity into the Middle East.
174Kedourie, Afghani and 'Abduh, p. 21.
75
3. Into Modernity
This chapter explores the entry and participation of Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh in
the 19`h century gedankenwett of socio-political reform and religious revival.

Baha'ullah's and Àbdul-Baha's exile to the Ottoman Empire where they both would
live until the end of their lives brought them into contact with the reformist discourse
among Ottoman intellectuals and bureaucrats who experimented with European ideas of
nationalism, parliamentarianism and liberalism. Baha'ullah and Àbdul-Baha actively
sought links with Middle Eastern reformers in order to place themselves within the
mainstream of contemporary Middle Eastern reform movements. Similarly, Àbduh's
relationship with Afghani turned his interest to the question of the modernisation of
Egyptian society and later of the entire Muslim world. Hence, a period in the lives of
Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh is discussed in which they share very similar concerns and
engage in very similar debates. Therefore, it is not surprising that their paths should
have crossed at some point in this period as happened when they met in Beirut in 1887.
Like other Middle Eastern reformers, Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh had to face the
opposition of two forces. Traditionalist `Manta' opposed any attempts at reforming the
educational system, curbing the authority of the sharià or introducing a modem state
bureaucracy. The second challenge came from Europe itself and its increasing
colonialist intrusion into the Middle East. Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh had to voice their
responses to the twofold challenge to Middle Eastern reform movements. The
conservative religious establishment assumed an inherent enmity between Western

modernity and Islam. European powers implicitly denied to Muslims the ability to
modernise their societies by themselves as a pretext for their colonialist drive.

After investigating Àbdul-Baha's and Àbduh's new turn in their careers with
their participation in the reformist discourse of their time, two of their works will be
compared which are representative for this period of their lives. Àbdul-Baha's Risnla-
yi Madaniyya (Treatise on Civilisation) written in 1875 in support of first political and
social reforms in Iran and Àbduh's articles in the anti-British journal Al- Ùrwa al-
ü'itthgd (The Firntest Bond), which he published together with Afghani in their exile in
Paris in 1884, will be discussed. Both authors evoke early Islamic history as an
authoritative mythical past in different ways to support their respective political agendas.
Their different depictions of Islam's mythical past will be compared and contrasted. In
both works the creative potential of charismatic authority is unleashed. In their aim to
76
harmonise Islam with modernity, their authors intend to offer an indigenous alternative
between the blind imitation of European ideas as advocated by the new secular elite and
their outright rejection by the representatives of religious orthodoxy.
3.1. Àbdul-Baba: From Millenarianism to Reformism

3.1.1. The Emergence of the Baha'i Movement
In the 1860s the Babi movement experienced two major changes. Externally, the
Ottoman environment, in which many political and social reforms were undertaken and
reformist intellectuals demanded the introduction of representative government and

constitutional law, had an important impact on the doctrinal development of the
movement. Internally, a split occurred within the movement resulting from the
unresolved question of leadership and Baha'ullah's own theophanic claims. When

Baha'ullah claimed to be recipient of divine revelations, the formation of the Baha'i
movement as a religious group distinct from the Babis and from Islam began.
During the Baghdad period of the Babi movement Subh-i Azal, Baha'ullah's
younger half-brother, was considered to be the actual head of the movement. However,
his leadership was constantly questioned. Some Babis openly challenged Subh-i Azal's
authority in the early 1850s by raising charismatic claims to be the return of Imam
Husayn whose appearance is prophesied after the rise of the Mahdi or to be the marl
yuzhir"uhir alhih ('the one whom God will make manifest'). On the one hand, Baha'ullah
expressed his loyalty to his half-brother, was able to curb rival claims and managed to
stabilise the Babi community. On the other hand, he created a network of believers loyal
to his authority and thereby implicitly challenged the leadership of his half-brother. 175
Not only the Babis but also the Iranian and Ottoman authorities regarded him as
the de facto leader of the movement. The Iranian government exercised diplomatic
pressure on the Ottoman authorities to return Baha'ullah to Iran, but the Ottoman
government refused to extradite him. During their stay in Baghdad Baha'ullah and his
entourage had successfully applied for the Ottoman citizenship which protected him
from extradition to his home country. Therefore, the Ottoman government decided to
175For a full discussion

of the various charismatic claims in the late Babi movement see MacEoin, D.,
`Divisions and Authority in Babism (1850-1866)', Studia h"anica 18 (1989), pp. 93-129.
77
invite Baha'ullah and the Babis from Baghdad to Istanbul in order to comply with both
its responsibilities towards its subjects and the pressure from Iranian diplomats. 176
Baha'ullah departed for Istanbul in May 1863 with Subh-i Azal following him
incognito. He only stayed in the Ottoman capital for a few months and was further
exiled to Edirne in Rumelia in December 1863. In 1866, Baha'ullah made the first
public announcement of his theophanic claims to the Babis. In his writings from that
time, he claims to be the recipient of divine revelations and a new manifestation of God
after the Bab. Missionaries were sent out to Iran to inform the Babis about Baha'ullah's
new claims. Subh-i Azal met these claims with opposition and referred to his
appointment by the Bab as leader of the movement. The unresolved question of
leadership within the Babi movement and the implicit rivalry between Baha'ullah and
Subh-i Azal whose resolution had been avoided for more than a decade became explicit
and caused the split. The two half-brothers also disagreed on the further development of
the movement and the style of charismatic leadership it required. Subh-i Azal remained
more faithful to the original teachings of the Bab, considered him to be the sufficient
fulfilment of Shii messianic expectations and continued the line of political activism.
Baha'ullah undertook a major reinterpretation of Babi doctrine, providing it with a
mystical, ethical and quietist reading.

The split became manifest within the small exiled community in Edirne.
Whereas most members of the entourage accepted Baha'ullah's claims and began
calling themselves Baha'is, a small number of Babis and his immediate family followed
Subh-i Azal and referred to themselves as Babis or Azali-Babis. The same happened in
Iran where Baha'ullah's charismatic appeal, which he had established in Baghdad,
facilitated the acceptance of his new claims. Most of the Babis became Baha'is, whereas
only a small minority adhered to Subh-i Azal. E. G. Brown estimated that by 1909 there
were only three or four Azalis for hundred Baha'is. '77 Although there emerged a
every
distinct Azali and Baha'i identity from the 1860s onwards, many Middle Eastern
observers and Orientalists did not necessarily make these distinctions and referred to
both groups as `Babis'. 178At the same time, the split did not occur suddenly but became
176Balyuzi, H. M., Bahd'ii'lldh: The King

of Glory, Oxford: George Ronald, 1980, pp. 135-58; see also
Smith, Babi and Baha'i Religions, pp. 65f..
"' Browne, E. G., `Babiism', Momen, M. (ed.), Selectionsfrom the Writings E. G. Browne the Bnbi
of on
and Bahä'i Religions, Oxford: George Ronald, 1987, p. 425.
178For example, E. G. Browne
who also referred to the `Babis' in his writings regardless of whether they
belong to the Azali or Baha'i branch.
78
only gradually realised with the Iranian followers of Subh-i Azal and Baha'ullah still
being in contact with each other.
In Edirne, there were several clashes between the two groups. According to
Baha'i sources, Azalis discredited the Baha'is before the Ottoman government,
connecting Baha'ullah's messianic claims with political sedition as evidenced 20 years

earlier with Babi uprisings in Iran. These accusations, the clashes between Azalis and
Baha'is, the attempts of Baha'is to proselytise among the Muslim population of Edirne
and the constant stream of Iranians arriving there, was seen as a possible threat to public
order. The Ottoman authorities took the decision to separate the two parties and to exile
them outside the heartland of the Ottoman Empire. In 1868, Baha'ullah and the Baha'is
were exiled to Àkka and Subh-i Azal and the Azalis to Cyprus. Coincidentally, the
exile to the crusader fortress of Àkka in Palestine gave Baha'ullah's theophanic claims
further credence due to the sacred geography of the Holy Land. 179
3.1.2. Millenarianism and Democratic Thought

Baha'ullah's sojourn in the Ottoman Empire exposed him and his followers to
the reformist thought prevalent in the 1860s. While Babism was initially a chiliastic
movement within the framework of Shii messianism, Baha'ullah's rejection of its
original militancy and his ethical and mystical reinterpretation of Babi doctrines
transformed it into a kind of Sufi order in the 1850s. Unlike the traditional Islamic
conception of spiritual and secular authority being fused in the Prophet and in the Imam,
and therefore also in the Mahdi, Baha'ullah's charismatic claims lacked any political
pretensions and were confined to spiritual authority. This understanding is quite similar
to the role of the Sufi shaykh which separates spiritual and secular authority and assigns
to the Sufi master only the task of spiritual guidance. Whereas the Bab had alluded
more to the Imamic fusion of religious and secular authority, Baha'ullah's quietist
understanding of his messianic authority was more appealing to the vast majority of the
Babis. Subh-i Azal's more traditionalist line was unattractive for most Babis who were
disillusioned by the disastrous consequences of the early Babi uprisings. The stress on
political quietism and peaceful means to propagate the new religious movement were
amongst the central elements in the new Baha'i identity of the Babis which separated
them from the Azali-Babis.
179Cole, Ìranian Millenarianism

and Democratic Thought', p. 6.
79
Baha'ullah's encounter with the political climate of the Ottoman Empire and
with reformers themselves in his exile affected the doctrinal development of his religion.
Through the mediation of Ottoman reformers Baha'ullah also got acquainted with
several modern ideas. As Juan R. I. Cole states: `The interaction between Iranian
millenarianism, Ottoman and Qajar reformism, and European modernity formed the
the teachings. "80 It is, however, not really significant

context of new religion's social
and for the most part impossible to find out which movement exercised influence on
another. Tracing back channels of influence appears to be a rather futile task. Baha'i
sources are unwilling to admit any external influence on Baha'ullah's and Abdul-Baha's
socio-political teachings as this would undermine their special status as recipients of
divine revelation and inspiration. Muslim sources similarly tend to deny any association
followers heterodox Baha'is. '8'
of Muslim reformers with of a movement such as the
But it is possible to illustrate the common response of the Baha'i leaders and Middle
Eastern reformers to the colonialist challenge, to the need for political reforms and to
the ideas which constructed the late 19`hcentury gedankenwelt.

The doctrinal shift in the Baha'i movement towards socio-political issues
becomes manifest for the first time in the Sura al-Mulürk which Baha'ullah wrote in
Edirne in the year 1868 to address the reigning monarchs of his time. In this letter, he
also refers to Ottoman cabinet officials and Sultan Àbdiil-Àziz and assures them that
his own theophanic claims are not theocratic in nature and do not threaten the civil
authority of the sultan. Baha'ullah referred to Àbdul-Àziz as the `sultan of the

Muslims [sultn, t 1i1-nnrslintin]' 182and `God's shadow on earth [; ill alldh fil-anl]. ' 183
Likewise, in the Lawh-i Sultan, a letter to Nasirud-Din Shah, Baha'ullah alludes to the
notion of divine kingship presenting monarchic sovereignty as divinely appointed.

Baha'ullah conceives his own role as new divine messenger towards the secular rulers
of his time as that of a spiritual adviser. Alluding to the Iranian tradition of `Mirrors for
Princes', he admonishes the rulers to exercise justice towards their subjects and to
improve their standard of living. '84
Despite the allusions to divine kingship and the central role of monarchic
sovereignty, Baha'ullah did not advocate absolutist monarchy but urged Sultan Àbdül-
180Ibid., p. 3.
181Momen, `The Bahä'i Influence
on Reform Movements', pp. 48f..
182Baha'ullah, Ahvnli Ha&a Bahn 'Allah ild
al-Mulfrk wa-al-Ru'asi ', Rio de Janeiro: Editora Baha'i
Brasil, 1983 p. 120; for the official Baha'i translation cf. Baha'ullah, `Süriyi-i-Mulük', Summons of the
Lord of Hosts: Tablets of Bahä'it'llc h, Haifa: Bahä'i World Centre, 2002, p. 211.
183Baha'ullah, Alu'äh al-hfulfik, p. 121; cf. Baha'ullah, Summons, p. 214.
184Baha'ullah, Ahvd%ial-Ahulirk, pp. 8-39.
80
Àziz, for instance, to consult with his cabinet ministers in political affairs. Consultation
as a process of decision making has its antecedents in the Islamic tradition. The Koran
advises the Prophet to consider the views of the believers and to `consult with them
(shnwirhuni) about matters' 185and encourages communal and consultative decision-
186 Its finds the notion of consultation in the medieval
making. secular manifestation
`Mirrors for Princes' like the Qabirsndnia which recommends the king to seek counsel
with his grand vizier. 187The notion of shfrrd gained further prominence among Muslim
reformers in the 19`x'century. To embed notions of parliamentary and representative

government within the Islamic tradition, Muslim reformers sought conceptual and
historical antecedents. Shfrra in their interpretation became identified with modern
188
parliamentarianism.
Baha'ullah's exile to Àkka in 1868 led to a further radicalisation of his political
message. He felt maltreated by the Ottoman government which had ordered his
imprisonment in Àkka despite his loyalty to the sultan. In several letters to the Ottoman
ministers Àli Pasha and Fu'ad Pasha - both served as prime-ministers and foreign
ministers alternately - he prophesied the downfall of their government and that of
Sultan Àbdiil-Àziz. On his way from Edirne to the port of Gallipoli, Baha'ullah wrote
a letter to Àli Pasha predicting in an apocalyptic language the collapse of their regime
as part of divine for his 189
Sultan Àbdiil-Àziz's death in the
vengeance maltreatment.
wake of the constitutional revolution of 1876 was seen by many Baha'is as the
fulfilment of Baha'ullah's prophecies. ' 90
However, Baha'ullah not only envisioned political upheaval but also democratic
change at large as part of the repercussion of his millenarian mission. While Baha'ullah
supported consultative governance in line with traditional notions of shirrä in Edirne, he
laid stronger emphasis on constitutional monarchy based on a parliamentary system in
the Àkka period. In the letters to political rulers which Baha'ullah wrote in Àkka from
1869 onwards, he made a stronger case for constitutional and representative government.
Whereas Muslim reformers saw in the introduction of a parliamentary system a way to
create legitimate governance in the absence of the Prophet, Baha'ullah considered
185Koran 3: 159.
186Koran 42: 38.
187Kai Kdlas ibn Iskandar, A Mirror jar Princes: The Qnbirs Nnma, tr. by Reuben Levy, London: Cresset
Press, 1951, pp. 222-4.
188See for example
on Namik Kemal and shürä in Cole, Modernity and Millennium, p. 62; see on
Muhammad Àbduh's understanding of shirrs in Hourani, Arabic Thought, p. 144.
189Baha'ullah, Alnyth
al-Aluffik, p. 66; cf. Baha'ullah, Summons, p. 143.
190Balyuzi, Bahrr'u'llah,
p. 262.
81
democratic reforms as part of the political effects his 191
millenarian mission generates.
In a letter he wrote to Queen Victoria in 1869, Baha'ullah combines the two elements.
He proclaims himself effectively to be the return of Jesus Christ: `What has been
mentioned in the Gospel has been fulfilled. The land of Syria has been Honoured by the
footsteps of its Lord. ' 192He also applauds her for having èntrusted the reins of
consultation (nurshäwara) into the hands of the people (al junihia"). '193In his Kitäb al-
Aqdas (The Most Holy Book) written in 1873, Baha'ullah predicts further revolutionary
changes in the Middle East resulting from his millenarian mission. In reference to Iran,
he prophesies that `the state of affairs will be changed within you, and the people
(jumhiir min al-ncrs) will vile you. ''94
3.1.3. Àbdul-Baba and Ottoman Dissidents

Baha'is had been in contact with Ottoman dissidents in Edirne. These contacts
intensified in Àkka, as many of the dissidents shared imprisonment in the fortress city
with the Baha'is. In 1873 many of them were exiled to provincial prisons due to their
opposition to the absolutist rule of Sultan Àbdiil-Àziz. The intellectual and writer
Namik Kemal (1840-1888) was sent to Cyprus. Other dissidents like Menapirzade Nuri
Bey (1844-1906), Kemal's close associate, and Bereketzade Hakki Effendi (1851-1918),
a young alten and aide of Kemal, to Àkka.

Dissidents like Namik Kemal or Nuri Bey worked for the translation bureau of
the Ottoman Porte during the period of the Tan::imät reforms and were exposed to
different strands of 19th century European thought like liberalism, nationalism or
constitutionalism. They formed the Patriotic Alliance, a secret political organisation, in
the summer of 1865 and organised themselves in the Young Ottoman Society two years
later. The Young Ottomans considered Àli and Fu'ad Pasha and other authoritarian
members of the High Porte bureaucracy as their chief foes whose autocratic rule and
top-down reforms they opposed as blind imitation West. 195
As Young Ottomans
of the
and Baha'is shared common enemies in the Ottoman sultan and the court bureaucracy
191Cole, Modernity and Millennium p. 62

192Baha'ullah, Alwdh
al-Mulirk, pp. 59-62; cf. Baha'ullah, Summons, p. 89.
193Baha'ullah, Alii'nb
al-Mulfik, p. 69; cf. Baha'ullah, Summons, p. 90.
194Al-Kitäb
al-Agdns 93. The numbers given in reference to Al-Kitäb al-Agdas refer to the paragraph and
not the page number. Paragraphe numbers are identical in both the Arabic and English editions of the
book.
195For a comprehensive discussion of the historical and intellectual development of the Young Ottomans
see Mardin, S., The Genesis of Young Ottoman Thought: A Study in the Modernization of Turkish
Political Ideas, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1962.
82
and were both exiled to the same places, it is quite likely that they began to debate and
exchange similar ideas during their encounters.

Àbdul-Baha's role between his father's millenarian claims and the reformist
thought of the Young Ottomans was that of a mediator. Known as Àbbas Effendi
among his contemporaries, he became the spokesperson of the Baha'i movement and
was responsible for its external affairs. Presumably through the mediation of the
Ottoman dissidents exiled to Àkka, Àbdul-Baba established links with other Young
Ottomans.
Namik Kemal in Cyprus had more contacts with the Azalis but also knew the
Baha'i Mishkin Qalam who had been sent with the Azalis to the island. 196He also
exchanged letters with Àbdul-Baha. Apparently, Kemal was quite sceptical of the
Babis resident in Cyprus who, according to his description, raised heretical claims
towards post-Koranic prophecy and even divinity and strove towards political sedition
in the Ottoman Empire. 197It is plausible that Àbdul-Baha distanced himself from the
Azali-Babis in Cyprus but how he portrayed his actual religious affiliation to Kemal
remains unclear. In addition, despite Kemal's open rejection of Azali-Babi doctrines

and political aims, his relationship with the Babis in Cyprus was ambiguous. That he
dictated a theatre play to Ahmad Azal, one of Subh-i Azal's sons, hints at a much closer
198When Kemal returned to Istanbul from his exile, he was
relationship with them.
forced to deny rumours that he had become a Babi himself. Therefore, his apparent
denunciation of the Babis might have been necessary to counter charges of heresy raised
against him. His other religious affiliations did not epitomise Sunni orthodoxy either.
He was associated with the Bektashi Order, a Sufi order with Shii leanings which
attracted other liberal-minded Ottomans and after it had been forced into secrecy in
1826 associated itself with Freemasonry. 199
Midhat Pasha (1822-1884) was an able Ottoman bureaucrat and one of the
political patrons of the Young Ottomans. In several administrative positions he held as

governor of Bulgaria, Iraq and later Syria and briefly as Ottoman prime minister, he
proved to be an unyielding moderniser who like other reformist bureaucrats in the
Middle East often antagonised both the ùlai nä' and the conservative court
establishment. He fell into disfavour with Sultan Àbdiil-Àziz and plotted his
196Cole, Alode)-nity
and Millennium, p. 69.
197Alkan, N., `The Babis
and Baha'is in the Ottoman Empire and Turkey (1844-1920s)', unpublished
Ph.D., University of Bochum, 2004, p. 130.
198Ibid., p. 131.
199Ibid.,
pp. 133-5; see also Mardin, Young Ottoman Thought, p. 288.
83
overthrow in 1876 to become the author of the first Ottoman constitution and to oversee
the election of the first parliament in 1877. When Midhat Pasha was governor of Syria
from 1878-1881, he met Àbdul-Baha on a visit to Àkka and later invited him to Beirut
in June 1880.200
That Àbdul-Baha had an interest in linking different reformers with the Baha'is
is evidenced in a communication with Jamalud-Din al-Afghani. He followed events and
developments in other parts of the Middle East like the emerging nationalist and
constitutionalist movement in Egypt which he observed by reading the pro-
constitutionalist newspaper Misr to which Afghani contributed. In an undated letter to

him, Àbdul-Baha wrote:
I read your splendid article printed in the newspaper Misr, which refuted some English
newspapers. I found your replies in accord with prevailing reality and your eloquence aided
by brilliant proof. Then I came across a treatise by Midhat Pasha, the contents of which
So, I it 201
support your correct and magnificent article. wanted to send along to you.
The letter is signed with `the Babi missionary imprisoned in Àkka, Àbbas (al
(M7 al-bubi al-masjfrn fi 'Akkd, 'Abbis). X202

The letter must have been written some
time after 1877, the year when Misr began its publication. Àbdul-Baha presents
himself as a Babi and must have known that Afghani would associate him with the
political activism and militancy of the early Babi movement. That Àbdul-Baha wanted
to instigate such an association serves as an indication of Afghani's sympathies for the
Babis. Such sympathies - in stark contrast to Afghani's condemnation of the Babis in
his writings - are indirectly expressed in an article the Lebanese journalist Adib Ishaq
published in the same journal in 1878. Probably written under Afghani's supervision,
the article pronounces a very favourable view on the Babi movement, comparing it with
the French Revolution, European socialism and the Ottoman constitutional
203
revolution.
200Ayati, Al-Kawäkib
al-Durri}}a 1, p. 512 and Vol. 2, p. 17. For a more detailed discussion on the
relationship between Àbdul-Baba and Midhat Pasha see also Alkan, N., `Midhat Pasha and Àbdu'l-
Baha in Àkka: The Historical Background of the "Tablet of the Land of Bä"', Baha 'i Studies Review 13
(2006), [forthcoming].
201Printed in Afshar, I., Mahdavi, A., (eds.), Maj, n 'a
yi Asnnd wa-Madnrik chap nashuda dar bnra yi
Sayyid Jmndl al-Din Mashhiu" ba Afghani, Tehran: University of Tehran, 1963, tableau 62, picture 133.
20' Ibid.
203Cole, Modernity
and Millennium, p. 75; see also Cole, J. R. I., Colonialism and Revolution in the
Middle East: Social and Cultural Origins of Egypt's 'Urabi Revolt, Princeton: Princeton University
Press, 1993, p. 143; cf. whole article by Adib Ishaq, `Haraka al-afkär', Misr 1878, reprinted in East
Lansing, Mi.: H-Bahai, 2001 [available at: littp: H%vxv%v.h-net. org/-bahai/areprint/vol5/ishaq. htm (last
access: 13/06/05)].
84
Àbdul-Baha was either in personal contact or communicating by letters with
leading reformers in the Ottoman Empire. What remains unclear is how he presented
himself, particularly his religious affiliation. In a footnote attached to Shakib Arslan's
brief account mentioning the meeting between Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh in Beirut,
Rashid Rida tells the reader that Àbdul-Baha practised taqiyya, concealing the full
claims of his father and presenting the Baha'i movement as a Shii religious reform
204Tagiyya, the
movement. pious dissimulation of one's religious beliefs, originated in
the time of the early history of the Shii movement when the partisans of Àli concealed
their political and religious allegiance to the descendents of the Prophet in the light of
looming persecutions. Apart from the specific meaning of tagiyya in reference to the
early Shia, it can also describe a general discreetness adherents of heterodox beliefs had
to adopt in Islam. The followers of mystical, esoteric and philosophical movements
outside the orthodox mainstream often had to dissimulate their beliefs in a hostile
environment.
The few accounts which are available by Ottoman dissidents and reformers who
have met Àbdul-Baha in Àkka or corresponded with him confirm the suggestion that
Àbdul-Baha concealed the full millenarian and theophanic claims of his father. While
all the available accounts agree that Àbdul-Baba clearly dissociated himself from the
Babi group led by Subh-i Azal in Cyprus, they consider the Baha'i branch of the Babis
in Àkka to be a Shii reform movement working for a rapprochement with the Sunnis, a
Islamic (madhhab) Sufi (tariga). ZOs

new school of thought or a order
One of the most detailed description of his rapport with the Baha'is in Àkka is
provided by the Young Ottoman Bereketzade Hakki Effendi in his autobiography Ynd-i
Midi (`Past Recollections'). He describes the Baha'is in Akka as a well-educated,
cosmopolitan group with great interest in international affairs. But he admits that the
actual teachings of this movement are shrouded in mystery. Although he has come
across many rumours about Baha'ullah's alleged claims to post-Koranic revelations and
even to divinity, he can neither deny or verify such claims, as `the tenets and beliefs of
the creed [are] being kept extremely secret in Àkka. '206Hakki Effendi tends, however,
204Rida, Ta'rikh 1, 307, footnote

p. no. 2.
205For a summary
of several accounts by Ottoman reformers who met Àbdul-Baha see Alkan, `Babis
and Baha'is in the Ottoman Empire', pp. 26-45.
206Hakki, B. I., Ynd-i Math, Istanbul: Tevsi-i Tibaat, 1915,
p. 105. The autobiography is written in
Ottoman Turkish. An English translation of the relevant section on the Baha'is in Àkka has been
published by Alkan, N. (tr. ). `Bereketzade Ismail Hakki: Yad-i Mazi ('Past Recollections'), Istanbul:
Tevsi-i Tibaat, 1915, pp. 105-120 (latinised version: Istanbul: Nehir Yayinlari 1997, pp. 99-113)',
85
to consider such accusations to be false, because Àbdul-Baha spoke of the Prophet
Muhammad and the first rightly-guided caliphs full of respect and with admiration and
Shafi'i legal (madhhab). 207
compared the Baha'i movement with the school
Apart from accounts as such, two letters Àbdul-Baha sent to the Baha'i
publisher Farajullah al-Kurdi in Cairo provide evidence that he and his father, indeed,
practised tagiyya. In a letter penned in 1911, Àbdul-Baha stresses the importance of
meeting important persons be they politicians, ùlanzd' and intellectuals, but reinforces
again his father's prohibition not to talk openly about the new religion: Ìf someone asks
a question, they [the Baha'is] should in every statement pretend to be ignorant so that
the murmur and the noise gradually are silenced. '208He himself in all his encounters
with prominent people followed this policy as well, `because the state of wisdom
(hikmat) necessitates this. '209Another letter to Kurdi in Cairo sent in October 1921,
shortly before Àbdul-Baha's death, repeats this injunction of practising taqiyya and
being covert and ambiguous when talking about the Baha'i movement. 210Knowing that
the millenarian and theophanic claims of his father to post-Koranic revelations would
antagonise most Muslims, Àbdul-Baha withheld them in his representation of the

Baha'i movement to a Muslim audience, presenting his father's movement as a Sufi-
inspired Shii reform movement.
The encounters of the Baha'is with the reformist discourse in the Ottoman
Empire affected the doctrinal formation of the new religious movement. Àbdul-Baha as
the spokesperson of the new movement established links with various political
dissidents and attempted to connect the Baha'is with other religious and political reform
movements which opposed the traditionalism of the 'ulamd' and the autocratism of
Middle Eastern regimes. Under the tutelage of Afghani, the young Àbduh would
likewise become part of dissident movements in the Middle East and engage in various
political activities and reformist debates.
Translations ofShaykhi, Babi and Baha'i Texts 4 (2000) [available at: http: //hv%vw.
h-
net. org/--bahai/trans/vo]4/yadimazi. htm (last access: 20/09/2005)
207Hakki, Ynd-i AMädi,p. 106.
tos'Abdul-Baba, Alatdkib 'Abd a/-Bahl ', Vol. III, Cairo: Faraj Allah Zak! al-Kurdi, 1921,p. 327.
209Ibid.
210Ibid., p. 325.
86
3.2. Muhammad Àbduh: From Mysticism to Political Activism
3.2.1. From Mosque to Coffee-house
If a philosopher wears rough clothes, lengthens his rosary and attends the mosque, he is a
mystic (sij7). If he sits in the Matatia coffee-house and smokes the hubble-bubble, then he
is a philosopher only. -'' 1
Jamalud-Din al-Afghani's remark on Àbduh's development articulates the
change in his disciple's mentality. Before his encounter with Afghani, Àbduh was an
austere ascetic. Afghani not only gave his mysticism a philosophical foundation but also
changed the outlook of his activities. The change of life-style is expressed in the places
Àbduh increasingly frequented. In coffee-houses, scholars, poets and intellectuals met
to listen to musical and poetical performances. In the 19`hcentury, they became places
where the latest political developments were discussed and political ideas exchanged,
meeting points for intellectuals dissidents. 212
and
Àbduh's move from mosque to coffee-house finds its expression in his teaching
and journalistic activities. In 1873, being dissatisfied with the educational traditionalism
of al-Azhar, Àbduh started teaching at two newly-founded state schools. He taught
history at the Dar al-Ùliim, which was founded to train teachers for the new state-
schools, and Arabic linguistics at the language school Dar al-Lisan al-Khadiwiyya. He
also gave private lessons in which he discussed political and ethical literature stretching
from classical Àbbasid ndäb-literature like the Tahdhib al-akhläq by Ibn Miskawayh
and Ibn Khaldun's Mugaddima to modern European political writings like Guizot's
L'histoire de la civilisation en Europe et en France to which Afghani had first
introduced him. 213Conceiving his role as teacher to shape the political conscience of his
students, Àbduh departed from the traditional role of a teacher as the preserver of a
scholarly tradition. Although his main textbooks stem from the Àbbasid and early post-
'Abbasid period, he considered the introduction of classical scholars on politics and
ethics like Ibn Khaldun and Ibn Miskawayh as precursors within the Islamic tradition
advocating the modernisation of Egyptian 214
society.
The emergence of the Egyptian press in the early 1870s provided Àbduh with a
new avenue for articulating and spreading the reformist ideas Afghani taught him. He
applauded the establishment of the AI-Abram newspaper by the Syrian Tagla brothers in
211Quoted in Àbdur-Raziq, 'Abduh,

pp. 74f..
212Encyclopaedia Iranica,
s.v. `Coffeehouse'.
213Rida, `Sira', 404.
p.
214Rida, Ta'rikh 1,
pp. 146f..
87
1875 and became one of its first contributors. 215His development from a religious
scholar to a journalist and intellectual did not occur consecutively but he assumed both
roles concurrently. Publishing articles in Egyptian newspapers at the same time he was
engaged writing his mystical Risd1a al-Wd iddt gives evidence of his ability to move
between different literary genres. It also indicates that there was no contradiction
between his mystical inclinations and his publishing activities. Both were inspired by
Afghani and express Àbduh's desire to articulate forms of Islamic religiosity which
break through the intellectual stagnation of traditional Islam and allow the reconciliation
of Islam with modern ideas.

Àbduh was also drawn closer to Afghani's political schemes. Afghani used the
Masonic Lodge as an instrument for his political activism which aimed at deposing the
Khedive Ismail (r. 1863-1879) who cooperated with European powers and refused to
introduce democratic reforms. He had plans to assassinate Ismail and apparently
received Àbduh's for this as well. 216Through the Masonic Lodge, Afghani
approval
established contacts with the crown-prince Tawfiq whom he wanted to install as new
khedive. Ismail was indeed deposed and succeeded by Tawfiq in 1879, but it remains
doubtful how much influence Afghani himself had in the transition of power, as his
biographers quite likely exaggerate his actual role in the regime change.
Although Tawfiq introduced some reforms and established a council of

representatives and a cabinet of ministers with distinct portfolios, he did not fulfil
Afghani's hopes completely, as he still accepted foreign influence on Egyptian politics
and French and British control over its fiscal policy. Disillusioned by Tawfiq's
collaboration with the French and the British, Afghani began to influence public opinion
against him and argued in his speeches that opposition to a ruler is permissible when he
cooperates with the enemies of his own people. Due to his public agitation against the
khedive, Afghani was arrested and expelled from Egypt and his closest disciple Àbduh
exiled to his home village in Lower Egypt in September 1879.217While Afghani had
experienced expulsions from various countries before, Àbduh's first exile showed him
the limitations of political dissidence in an autocratic state.
215Àbduh, I., Jarida

al-Alurcnn: Ta'rikh wa-Fa, m (1875-1964), Cairo: Mu'assasa Sajall al-'Arab, 1964,
pp. 32-7.
216Blunt, Secret History,
p. 489. See also Kedourie, Afghani and 'Abduh, p. 25.
217Rida, 'Sira',
p. 405.
88
3.2.2. From Dissidence to Revolution: The Ùrabi Revolt (1881-1882)
Àbduh's inner exile did not last for very long, as one of his allies in the capital
invited him to the capital for a new public role. Riyad Pasha who became the Egyptian
prime-minister in 1879 wanted to improve the official journal Al-IYaq(7'i ` al-Misr"iyya

(The Egyptian Events) which was established by the Khedive Muhammad Àli to
publish governmental policies. Riyad Pasha intended to change the nature of this journal
from merely announcing decrees of the khedive and governmental departments to a
forum in which political, social, cultural and religious ideas are discussed and the
modernisation policies of the government are communicated to the educated elite of the
country. After having read Àbduh's article in Al-Ahrdm, he invited him to become co-
editor and later editor-in-chief of the journal. 218
The prime-minister Riyad Pasha was sceptical towards radical changes and
sought a gradual implementation of reforms. However, his modernisation policy faced

opposition from several sides. The Khedive Tawfiq became increasingly suspicious of
his prime minister's independent policy and a group of young army officers who,
inspired by Afghani, founded the National Party (al-hizb al-ivatani) were discontented
with the slow implementation of reforms and the financial dependence of the country on
Britain and France. In September 1881, Ahmad Ùrabi headed a military demonstration
to the Àbdin place, the seat of the khedive, and demanded the dismissal of Riyad's
government and the creation of a parliament. Tawfiq appointed a new government with
Ùrabi as minister of war. The new government attempted to expand the financial
independence of Egypt from Britain and France but encountered the resistance of both
countries. Likewise, Khedive Tawfiq opposed the reforms undertaken by the new
government, considering them to limit his own power, and decided to cooperate with
the British and French governments. Both countries embarked on a naval mission to
Alexandria in May 1882 and demanded Ùrabi's dismissal. While the khedive complied
with conditions of the ultimatum, the army officers around Ùrabi chose resistance.
After the French warship withdrew, the British fleet attacked Alexandria. The British
occupation of Egypt began and was completed in September 1882 with the final defeat
of the Egyptian army. 219
It is difficult to determine Àbduh's role in the Ùrabi revolt and his attitude
towards it. Àbduh and his disciples afterwards tended to rewrite history, reflecting that
218Ibid.,
pp. 405-9.
219Al-Sawi, A. H., Mu/rnmmad 'Abrluh McGill University: Montreal, 1954,
and al-{Vagn'i' al-Alisrij}iah,
pp. 55-78.
89
at the end of his life he changed his attitude towards the colonial policy of the British
completely and decided to cooperate with them. At this stage, Àbduh's active support
for the Ùrabi revolt when he was young was seen as problematic and needed to be re-
evaluated. Rida argues that Àbduh disagreed with Ùrabi and his allies and considered
these army officers as ignorant and incapable of thoroughly reforming and modernising
Egypt. Àbduh believed neither in the sincerity of Ùrabi to establish democracy nor in
the success of reforms instructed from the top without a proper preparation of Egyptian
society for constitutionalism and parliamentarianism. For Àbduh, his country was not
ready for a representative government if the only way it could be achieved was by a
military coup. According to Rida, Àbduh foresaw the failure of the Ùrabi revolt and
its consequence in an increasing foreign dependence.22°
Àbdur-Raziq agrees with Rida that Àbduh was apprehensive of the revolt in
the beginning because of his association with the more gradualist prime minister Riyad
Pasha. Later however, he supported it as the commencement of the gradual change
towards democracy. It is true that Àbduh's early articles in the journal Al-WWagd'i ` al-
Misriyya warn against a superficial introduction of Western political models and legal
concepts, but after the revolution, he wrote several articles in support of
parliamentarianism and representative government and thereby responded positively to

the reforms initiated by Ùrabi. 221Probably, the general euphoria after Ùrabi's coup
also infected Àbduh when ìn the streets of Cairo men stopped each other, though
strangers, to embrace and rejoice together at the astonishing new reign of liberty. i222
Finally, when the British attacked Egypt, Àbduh considered it to be his patriotic duty to
join forces with Ùrabi in opposing them. 223
Hence, Àbduh might have been more supportive of Ùrabi than he himself and
Rida wanted to admit. Despite the initial scepticism towards the outcome of the revolt,
Àbduh later expressed his full support for Ùrabi's opposition to Khedive Tawfiq and
the British. The British diplomat and friend of Àbduh Wilfrid Blunt even calls him `the
intellectual head of a political revolution, ' 224alluding to Àbduh's co-authorship of the
220Rida, `Sira', pp. 411-6.

"' For a critique
of Western-oriented intellectuals and their advocacy for adopting European law see
`Khatä' al-ùgalä', Rida, Ta 'rikh II, pp. 119-23, and Ìkhtiläf a1-gawänin bi-ikhtiläf al-umam', in ibid., pp.
157-63. More supportive responses to the Ùrabi revolt and subsequent democratic reforms can be found
in the articles Àl-shürä' and Àl-shüri wa-al-gänim', in ibid., pp. 197-205.
222Blunt, Secret Histo>7>> 153.
p.
223Àbdur-Raziq, 'Abduh,
pp. 126-30.
224Blunt, Secret History, p. 105.
90
the National Party. 225Afghani's influence on the National Party and
programme of
Ùrabi is obvious, as their political formation was inspired by him. With Ùrabi and his
revolt, reforms were implemented that Afghani and Àbduh had advocated with their
political activities and journalistic writings. Àbduh must have seen the revolt as the
fruit of their endeavours. As Àbduh was still tinder the influence of his mentor Afghani,
he probably was more in favour of revolutionary change and of using violent means to
achieve it than he was willing to acknowledge at the end of his life. Hence, Àbduh
played a more supportive role in the Ùrabi revolt than his own autobiographical
remarks and his biographers disclose. The British government held a similar view. As
soon as the British army entered Cairo in September 1882, Àbduh was imprisoned and
exiled together with Ùrabi and the other leaders of the nationalist movement.
3.2.3. The Firmest Bond

In December 1882, Àbduh was ordered to go into exile in Beirut. Afghani was
in India at the time of the Ùrabi revolt and went to Paris where attacks on the British
colonial policy were welcomed, as France and Britain had been competing for
supremacy in the Middle East for decades. It seems that Afghani sought French support
for his opposition of British colonial intrusion in the Muslim world. In Arabic journals
which were published in Paris, Afghani advocated the Ottoman caliphate as the only
political entity which was able to launch a successful response to British colonialism.
Not only was the Ottoman Empire quite successful in maintaining its independence as
the remaining indigenous superpower in the region, but Afghani also envisioned the
symbolic power of the Sunni caliphate claimed by the Ottoman sultan to become the
religious motivation for a united effort of the Muslim community against European
226
colonialism.
In 1884, Àbduh left Beirut and joined his mentor in Paris where they founded
the secret society Al-'Urwa al-IViethgd (The Firmest Bowl). Afghani and Àbduh used a
Koranic term227to name their society and applied it to the Ottoman caliphate held by
Sultan Abdtil-Hamid II who would unite all Muslims under `the firmest bond' of his
228As part of the society's activities a journal was published under the same
caliphate.
name which became the vehicle of their Pan-Islamist ideology. After the publication of
225Ibid., p. 173. Full text of party

programme in ibid., pp. 556-9; for Arabic text cf. Ìrrara, Al-A'mdl al-
Knmila 1, pp. 367-70.
226Keddie, al-Afghans,
pp. 184-6.
227See Koran 2: 256 and 31: 22.
228Keddie, al-Afghani, p. 214.
91
the first issue in it
March 1884, ceased only eight months later in October. 229Whereas
Rida attributed its discontinuation to British censorship in Egypt and India where the
it
publication was soon prohibited '230 seems more likely that both editors ran out of
money after the sources of income - Ottoman, Egyptian and Tunisian notables and
had funding the journal 231During its short life, the
government officials - stopped .
journal was sent to ùlanid ', notables, government officials and intellectuals in the entire
Muslim world. 232

Rashid Rida portrays the journal and the activities which surrounded it as part of
Afghani's and Àbduh's efforts to instigate a thorough reform of Islam. He
distinguishes between a short-term and a long-term objective of the journal. Its
immediate purpose consisted in opposing colonialism in the Middle East, particularly in
response to the British occupation of Egypt. At the same time, it promoted the return of
Islam to its pure and pristine state as embodied by the early community around the
pious ancestors (al-salat a

al-srilih) as goal to be achieved in the future. Their plea for
Muslim unity under `the firmest bond' of the Ottoman caliph aimed at recreating the
Islamic community as it existed in the time of the rightly-guided caliphs. 233
However, it is doubtful whether the two editors actually saw the publication of
their journal in such a long-term perspective. The journal responded to the immediate
threat of European imperialism and used an Islamic discourse to promote Muslim unity.
Rather than embarking on full-blown religious reforms, Afghani and Àbduh were
primarily concerned with finding means to mobilise Muslims against European
colonialism. Implicitly, they might have intended to exploit notions of religious reform
and renewal (tajdid) for their own political purposes. The establishment of the society
coincided with the first years of the 14th century alter the Iz ra which started in 1882.
Distributing the journal throughout the Islamic world in response to the European
229The articles are published in Rida, Ta'rikh II,

pp. 215-341; Marcel Colombe has translated some of the
articles into French. See Colombe, M. (tr. ), `Pages choisies de Djamal al-Din al-Afghani', Orient 21
(1962), pp. 87-115; Orient 22 (1962), pp. 125-59; Orient 23 (1962), pp. 169-90; Orient 24 (1962), pp.
125-5 1; Orient 25 (1963), pp. 141-52).
230Rida, `Sira',
p. 462.
`31Keddie, al-Afghani, pp. 215-9.
232In the Lnuvh-i Dun}n before his death in 1892 -, Baha'ullah mentions that
- written probably shortly
Afghani sent him a copy of the journal. See Baha'ullah, dlnjm5'a'y az Alwah-i Ha /rat-i Aqdas-i Abad ka
ba'd az Kitdb-i Agdas nnzil shuda, Hofheim: Bahä'i Verlag, 1981, p. 54). William McCants suggests that
a letter Àbdul-Baba wrote to Àbduh might be his response to the publication of the journal. See
McCants, W., "'I never understood any of this from Àbbas Effendi": Muhammad Àbduh's Knowledge
of the Baha'i Teachings and His Friendship with Àbdu'l-Baha Àbbas', Sharon, M. (ed. ), Studies in
Modern Religions, Religious Movements and the Babi-Baha'i Faiths, Leiden: Brill, 2004, p. 282. 'Abdul-
Baha's letter to Àbduh is published in Qub'ayn, S., 'Abd al-Bahl' ital-Bahd'iyya, Cairo: Matbaà al-
'Umrän, 1922, pp. 125f.
233Keddie, al-Afghani, p. 283.
92
occupation of Muslim lands might have appealed to expectations of the centennial
nn jaddid or `renewer' of Islam in times when the weakness of the Islamic community
was clearly exposed.

A closer look at the features of the society which published the journal reveals
patterns which have already been observed in regard to Afghani's and Àbduh's
endeavours in Egypt and resemble more the secrecy of Freemasonry and Islamic
esotericism. Rida himself admits that Àbduh did not reveal anything to him about the
234 Similar to initiation Ismailism Freemasonry, Àbduh
society. processes of and
formulated a code of conduct incumbent for all members and an oath of allegiance
which initiated new members. They had to swear to base their actions on the Koran, to
promote its doctrines and laws, to defend Islam against its opponents and not to
contradict other members of the society or to contravene their actions:
I swear by the divine covenant ('ahd allnh ii'a-mit/rägihi) that I seek the means to
strengthen Islam and the Muslims in their mind and in their power in every aspect I know,
I ignorant I knowledge from those who do know On in fn). 'S
and of what am of seek al-'51
Àbduh assumed different mediating roles depending on the audience he was
addressing. In the articles, British colonialism was denounced and Muslims were
encouraged to pursue all means to counter the intrusion into their countries. This
revolutionary message directed to Muslims in the Middle East and South Asia differed
from Àbduh's diplomatic approach towards British politicians and government
officials. The arabophile British politician Wilfred Blunt invited Àbduh to London in
1884 where he met members of parliament and of the British government to lobby for a
withdrawal of British troops from Egypt.

In a meeting with the British war minister Spencer Hartington Àbduh opposed
the minister's position that the whole purpose of British colonial policy was to bring
progress and prosperity to the country and to replace the despotism of the Turkish
pashas with stable British vile. Àbduh denied the civilising rationales for British
colonialism and replied that it was against human nature to be ruled by a foreign power.
He referred to the modernisation policy of the Khedive Muhammad Àli and the
intellectual and cultural achievements of his reign with the spread of general education
and the emergence of newspapers. The conversation with Hartington and other
government officials as it is reported by Rida revealed to Àbduh the colonising
234Rida, Ta'rikh I,
p. 283.
235Quoted in ibid., pp. 287f..
93
intentions of the British government and the different theoretical pretexts provided for
their justification based on the assumption that the Middle East is unable to modernise
itself without European help. 236
Àbduh's multiple activities as Afghani's mediator ranged from writing articles
in the journal, to diplomatic encounters and secret missions to different parts of the
Muslim world. When the publication was stopped and the society ran out of funding,
Afghani sent Àbduh to Tunis to found a branch of the society and to raise money.
During his mission to Tunis, Àbduh adopted the pseudonym àl-Àrabi Basis'237and
met with ùlamd ' to win them as new members. In a letter dated 24 December 1884 to
Afghani, he reports about the outcome of his activities:
I told them that the Bond is not the name of a journal but the name of a society which the
Sayyid [Afghani] founded in Hyderabad. It has branches in many regions. Each of the
branches does not know anything about the other and only the head knows all of them.
Likewise, I told them that we intend today the foundation of a new branch in this
238
country.
Although he managed to do so in Tunis, the new members apparently could not
provide the financial revenues Afghani and Àbduh hoped to gain. In concluding the
letter, Àbduh can still find some amusing sides in his mission despite its failure in
raising money:
They believe we possess a great fortune! There is an unknown power which aids us in what
we want. Their beliefs delight than the the fortune do. 239
me more possession of would
The society probably consisted only of Afghani and Àbduh and some of their
aides and associates in Paris. Secrecy and deliberate deception characterise the society's
activities which stand in the tradition of past dissident movements in Islam and their
clandestine strategies.
The choice of cautious and secretive methods in broadening the appeal of the
society and in presenting it to the public is quite similar to Àbdul-Baha's tagiyya-style
representation of the Baha'i movement to outside observers. The hostility of the

political and religious establishment towards the ideas of dissidents and reformers
forced Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh to revert to such measures. They preferred to remain
anonymous participants in the reformist discourse in order to avoid that their
236Rida, `Sirs',
pp. 460f..
237Shalash, Si/sila,
p. 46.
238Letter quoted in ibid.,
pp. 45f..
239Ibid.,
p. 46.
94
contributions, mostly in writing, would be discredited among the readers, just because
their authors had the reputation of being trouble-makers and heretics. Despite common
concerns and styles of activism, in their two major publications of this period in their
lives, Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh came to rather different conclusions of how Muslims
should respond to the challenge of Western modernity.
3.3. Mythical Past and the Re-construction of Authentic Islam

Colonialism
3.3.1. The Two Contexts: Failed Reforms and
Before embarking on the comparison of Àbdul-Baha's Risäla yi Madaniyya
and Muhammad Àbduh's articles in Al- Ùr-wa a1-IVuthgä, it is necessary to discuss the
contexts in which both works were published, their addressees and objectives.
Baha'ullah instructed his son to write a book on politics in 1875 in response to the
increasing opposition in Iran towards the policies of Mirza Husayn Khan (1828-1881)
who was ambassador in Istanbul from 1858 to 1870 and became Iranian prime minister
in 1871. Emulating the Ottoman Tan imnt reforms, he initiated some timid
administrative and political reforms - establishing a modern cabinet government, for
example - which met the opposition of the conservative religious and political
240
establishment.
The Baha'i leaders in Àkka followedthe events in their home country.
Baha'ullah approved Husayn Khan's reforms in the presence of Iranian believers. 241
Following the policy of taqiyya, Àbdul-Baha published the book anonymously letting
the author appear to be a patriotic reform-oriented Iranian Muslim. That it was the
second Baha'i book to be printed - the first edition was published in Bombay in 1882 -
illustrates the importance it was given. During his journey to Iran in 1887-88, E. G.
Browne noticed the wide circulation of the Bombay-printed edition of the treatise
among Iranian Baha'is. 242
In the treatise, Àbdul-Baha addressed different elements of the Iranian elite. As
the opposition towards the modernisation of the state apparatus was expressed in
religious terms by the 'ulannn' in particular, the discourse of the treatise had to
transcend the more pragmatic question of political, social and economic reforms and to
deal with the question of the relationship between Islam and modernity. In the Iranian
240Cole, Modernity
and Millennium, p. 81.
241Fayzi, 'Abd
al-Bahä', p. 42.
242Browne, E. G., `The Bibis
of Persia', in Momen, Selections, p. 250.
95
context, attempts to reconcile both had not yet been undertaken. A secular and atheist
intellectual like the poet and playwright Fath Àli Akhundzadih (1812-78)243blamed
Islam as responsible for the backwardness of Iran whereas the 'ulamä' saw the solution
for their country's problems in the return to original Islam. Despite the contradictory
evaluation of the role of Islam in Iranian society, both parties saw an inherent enmity
between Islam and modernity. 244 Àbdul-Baha intended to overcome the created
dichotomy and produced one of the first works in the Persian language which intends to
reconcile Islam and modernity.

The context of Al-'Ur wa al-Wulhga was different. Almost ten years lay between
the composition of Àbdul-Baha's treatise and the publication of the journal. In these
ten years the political landscape of the Middle East had changed quite radically. The
reform attempts undertaken in Egypt under Ùrabi, the constitutional revolution in the
Ottoman Empire and the reform attempts in Iran of Mirza Husayn Khan had failed
resulting in the restoration of absolutist rule in these countries. Furthermore, the
colonial intrusion into the Middle East gained further momentum. French troops began
the conquest of Tunisia in 1881 and British troops occupied Egypt in 1882. The journal
aimed at illustrating the reasons for the current inferiority of the Muslim and weakness
of the Middle East and at showing ways out of its crisis. It urged Muslims to seek the
progress and prosperity of their civilisation and to unite against the colonial intrusion by
European powers. 245

For Àbdul-Baha, the colonial context was not given, not only because he wrote
the treatise before the colonisation of the Middle East but also because the Ottoman
Empire where he was resident and his home country Iran never faced a complete
military occupation of their territories and could retain a certain degree of independence.
What allows the comparison between the two different works is the religious nature of
their discourses. Both authors used the Islamic tradition as point of reference to find
their own responses to the political and cultural challenge of European modernity. The
pre-colonial context of Àbdul-Baha's treatise and the colonial context of Abduh's

journal were certainly important factors which account for the differences of their
responses. However, in their argumentative strategies, Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh did not
243Encyclopaedia Iranica,
s.v. Àkhündzäda'.
244Saiedi, N., Àn Introduction to Àbdu'l-Bahä's Secrets Divine Civilization', Converging Realities
of
1: 1 (2000) [available at: http: //converge. landegg. edu/saiedi5. htm (las access: 11/02/2004)].
245Jornier, J., `La Revue "al-Òrnva al-\Vothga" (13 mars 16 octrobre 1884) et I'autorite du Coran',
-
Melanges d'Institut Do, ninicain d'Etudes Orientales du Caire 17 (1986), pp. 13f..
96
differ completely. Both created a mythical past of Islam as an ideal actualised in history
and perceived the West and its modernity according to their objectives.
Interestingly, the Islamic credentials of both authors are on shaky grounds. The
millenarian claims of Àbdul-Baha's father intended to supersede the Islamic tradition.

It is quite curious that he then attempted to define the relationship between Islam and
modernity in his treatise. This was part of the double-strategy of the Baha'i leaders
which consisted in consolidating the sectarian consciousness of the Baha'is internally
and mediating its socio-political doctrines as a mere reform movement externally. In the
case of Àbduh and Afghani, the sincerity of their religious beliefs has been doubted
from several sides.246The journal instrumentalised Islam as an anti-imperialist ideology
and used it as a religious driving force for political objectives.
3.3.2. Ancient Glories and Present Austerities

Àbdul-Baha and Muhammad Àbduh construct different versions of a mythical
past. Ancient pre-Islamic Iran is one of the mythical pasts Àbdul-Baba evokes. In the
light of the current inferiority of the Iranian nation vis-ä-vis European powers, he urges
his compatriots to remember the glorious days of ancient Iran when it was `the pivot of
the worldi247 as the dominant political power in the Middle East and a centre of learning
for the entire world. The monarchic reign of the shah humbled all other rulers and its
system of administration became a role model for other countries in the world. Ancient
Iran occupied a vast territory stretching from India and China to Yemen and Ethiopia.
Àbdul-Baba appeals to the Iranian people to wake up and to remember that their
country was `the origin of world civilisation and the source of glory and joy for the
human race.'248
Why does Àbdul-Baha quote the ancient glory of Iran? One suggestion would
be that he like other Iranian intellectuals intends to create a focal point of Iranian
national pride. The way that Àbdul-Baha uses this role-model suggests another
interpretation. Following his exposition of ancient Iran's excellence and its
juxtaposition with its current degradation, Europe is presented as the most advanced
civilisation of the present. The Western world has emerged from its backwardness of the
Middle Ages to become the leading civilisation on the globe. 249Thereby, Àbdul-Baha
246Keddourie, Afghani and 'Abduh; see also Bayat, Mysticism

and Dissent, pp. 143f..
'47 Àbdul-Baha, Afadaniyya,
p. 9.
248Ibid.,
p. 11.
2'9 Ibid., pp. 13f..
97
implies that the shah's reform attempts today are an imitation of what other nations did
during Iran's glorious past. Just as Iran's example had been emulated by the entire
world in the past, so now the shah adopts elements of today's leading civilisation in
order to restore Iran's glory. Instead of providing a historical antecedent for Iranian
national pride, Àbdul-Baha uses his country's mythical past to question essentialist
notions of civilisation. Civilisation is not the monopoly of one nation, culture or religion.
It is neither Iranian nor European and, as he shows later, neither Islamic nor Christian,
but evolves through the interaction between different 250
nations, cultures and religions.
Àbdul-Baba and Àbduh use the history of the early Islamic community as
Islam's mythical past and refer to the rapid expansion of the Islamic empire and the
progress of its civilisation. However, Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh understand this

historical role model quite differently. Both authors agree that nations undergo an
organic and dynamic development of growth and decline. For Àbduh, history teaches
the lesson that every community experiences a period of growth during which its unity
is well established and its strong leadership manages to maintain its integrity and
strength. History also shows that the period of growth is followed by a period of decline.
The unity of the community is lost and it disintegrates when its members do not follow
its shared beliefs and pursue their own egoistic interests.251
Similarly, Àbdul-Baba sees the decline of a nation as a consequence of a lack of
moral education and religious beliefs. When ignorance, fanaticism, egotism and
downfall begins. 252Both authors see the need
corruption spread, the cultural of a nation
of a competent physician who heals the dead body of the nation or community. Religion
is the essential instrument to identify the causes for moral and cultural decline and to
prescribe a remedy. The prophets have assumed this role and their custodians today, the
ùlanid',. need to deputise behalves. 253Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh refer to the
on their
mythical past of Islam to illustrate the healing effect of religion but come to different
conclusions.
For Àbduh, the early rise of the Arab community under the banner of Islam
serves as a paradigmatic historical case study to illustrate its civilising power:
250Cole, J. R. I., `Marking Boundaries, Marking Time: The Iranian Past and the Construction of the Self
by Qajar Thinkers', Iranian Studies 29 (1996), pp. 43-6.
251Àbduh, M., Àl-mädi al-umma wa-hädiruhä wa-ìläj ìlalihä', in Rida, Ta'rikh //, pp. 227f..
252Àbdul-Baha, AMadaniyya, p. 129.
253Ibid., pp. 98f.; Àbduh, M., Ìnhität al-muslimin wa-sukünulnim wa-sabab dhälika', in Rida, Ta'rikh 11,
pp. 247-9.
98
Have you forgotten the history of the Arab community and its characteristics before the rise
of religion, its savagery and fragmentation, its looming abasement and reprehensible
customs? When religion came, it united, strengthened and purified the community,
its intellects, its firm its 254
enlightened made morals and guided rules.
Islam established just governance in the Arab community and encouraged its
sons to seek different branches of knowledge:
They brought to their lands the medicine of Hippocrates and Galen, the geometry of Euclid,
the geography of Ptolemy, the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle and what existed of it
before religion. Every community attains mastery tinder this banner when its strength and
lies in the adherence to the fundamental its 255

civilisation principles of religion.
Àbduh argues that the Arabs would never have acquired excellence in the fields
of knowledge without their Islamic beliefs which stimulated their thirst for knowledge.
` But the ancient glory of early Islam did not only consist in its intellectual and
cultural achievements. In political and military terms, early Islam was a success as well.
The Muslim empire occupied a vast territory stretching from `the far west to the Gulf of
Tonkin on the borders of China and from Kazan in the north to Ceylon beneath the
equator. '256At this time, `their Àbbasid caliph uttered a word and the emperor of China
kings in Europe for fear. 257Àbduh's evocation of the
obeyed and the greatest trembled
former political and military supremacy of the Muslims has to be seen in the light of the
colonial threat. While Muslim countries were threatened by the military occupation of
their territories and their colonial subjugation, in the mythical past of Islam, Muslims
were the colonial power of the world. Àbduh establishes a correspondence between the
political power of the West in the present with the ancient glory of Islam.
Àbduh's colonialist correlation between Islamic mythical past and European
present serves as a stimulus for anti-imperialist resistance. According to him, the
military power of the early Islamic Empire and its rapid expansion illustrates that
Muslims are unwilling to acquiesce in foreign domination: `This is how they were once,
and this is how they are today as well. '258His political and militant reading of Islam is
reminiscent of dissident movements in Islam and their activist ethos as represented by
the Ismailis and messianic movements. Afghani's own sympathies to religiously
motivated political activism as practised by the Babis, for example, allowed him and his
'S"Abdub, Àl-mädi', p. 236.

255Ibid.
256'Abduh, M., Àl-wahda
al-islämiyya', in Rida, Ta'rikh II, p. 276.
257Ibid.
258Ibid.,
p. 277.
99
disciple to counter the traditional political quietism of Sunni orthodoxy and to urge
opposition against European colonialism and its indigenous agents in the Muslim world.
What were the reasons for the political and military successes of the early
community? For Àbduh, the specific nature of the Islamic religion needs to be taken
into account and contrasted to Christianity which is basically a secular and pacifist
teaching from this 259Unlike Christianity,

religion withdrawal world.
the Islamic religion is based on the quest for invasion, power, expansion and glory. It is
based on the opposition to every secular law (gnnün) which contradicts its own religious
law (shari'atah(i) and the rejection of any authority (sulfa) whose owner does not rise to
implement the principles of the religious law. 260
Political domination and militant expansion form the ethos of the Islamic
religion which motivated the early Muslims to undertake the military conquests. Àbduh
admits that a look at the present situation in the Muslim world seems to contradict such
a characterisation of both religions. Whereas Christianity is depicted as a purely
spiritual and apolitical religion, its history has been quite bellicose. Despite the asserted
intrinsic resistance of foreign domination in the Islamic ethos, Muslims seem to accept
the European conquest of their countries. How can this reversal be explained? For
Àbduh, the original teachings of both Christianity and Islam have been diluted. When
Christianity established itself in the Roman Empire, it was politicised, as new converts
introduced their own cultural heritage into Christianity.
A similar development occurred in the early history of Islam when superficial
and atheist converts introduced notions of predestination into the Islamic religion and
fabricated prophetic traditions to support their views. The original activist nature of
Islam was destroyed and made its followers passive and fatalistic. 261 In this
juxtaposition of Christianity with Islam, another motif appears: doctrinal distortions
caused the decline of Islam. Not only do the European Christians embody values which
the Islamic mythical past originally possessed but at the same the mythical past has
been distorted by the introduction of alien doctrines into Islam. The authentic self,
which is tangible in the mythical past of Islam and ironically in the colonial presence of
the Europeans, has been deformed by doctrinal innovations.
Àbduh's presentation of the mythical past of Islam is an act of historical
archaeology which aims at re-discovering the authentic self of Islam. For Àbduh,
259Àbduh, M., Àl-nasräniyya wa-al-isläm wa-ahluhuma', in Rida, Ta'rikh II, p. 239.

260Ibid., p. 240.
261Ibid., pp. 242f..
100
authenticity requires purification and excluding the other which is present in
Christianity and doctrinal innovations. However, Àbduh's insistence on doctrinal
purity is not without tensions, because his activist understanding of Islam resembles
more the politicised religious ethos of heterodox movements and his account of the
intellectual and cultural blossoming of early Islamic civilisation acknowledges how
early Muslims embraced Greek philosophy, medicine and science.
This classical juxtaposition of pre-Islamic Arab society (jahiliyya) and Islam is
also reflected in Abdul-Baha's treatise. However, he extends this notion of radical

transformation and change induced by the emergence of Islam on the Arab peninsula to
pre-Islamic religions. Responding to secular intellectuals who discarded religion as

inherently backward, Àbdul-Baha accuses the despisers of religion of looking at
fanatical and hypocritical religionists to reject it as a whole. He admits that religion can
be and has been misused for purposes which contradict its true nature. But a look at the
history of Judaism, Christianity and Islam reveals that there has been no greater
civilising and uniting force than religion:
Nothing in the world can be conceived and affected without unity and agreement. In the
world, the most perfect means to engender fellowship and unity is true divine religion: Ìf
you had given away everything in the earth, you could not have done this: but God brought
them together. '262With the rise of the prophets of God the power of true unity, internally
and externally, has drawn together tribes and peoples, who were once fighting and killing
each other, under the one shadow of the God. 263

word of
Àbdul-Baha's historical exercise on the rise and fall of Judaism, Christianity
and Islam and their respective civilisations follows archetypical patterns. A community
is disunited and marginalised and its religion corrupted until a prophet appears to unite
the community and restore true religion. The community with its fresh spiritual impulse
produces a great civilisation which in its apex exercises an immense influence on other
nations and communities and dominates them politically, culturally and intellectually.
The inevitable decline of the community commences when the fundamental principles
of its religion are forgotten and distorted. Then a new prophet appears restoring true
religion and creating a new civilisation. Particular responsibility for the decline of a
religion is given to the religious scholars of each age:
True religion is the cause of civilisation, glory, prosperity and prestige, and the learning
and progress of peoples who were once abject, enslaved, despicable and ignorant. Then it
26"Koran 8: 63.
263'Abdul-Baba, Madani11'
y n, p. 87.
101
fell into the hands of ignorant and fanatical scholars ('ulamä'-yi jdhil-i muta'assib) and by
their maltreatment the greatest splendour is turned into the darkest 264
Àbdul-Baha creates a cyclical notion of salvation history in which archetypical
patterns are reiterated with the genesis of each new religion. His historical exposition
reflects the Koranic understanding of progressive revelation with each prophet and
messenger. It also mimics the standardising tendency of Koranic narratives on the
various pre-Islamic prophets whose lives and missions follow the same patterns as
epitomised by the `stories of punishment' (al-mnthnnti), for 265The cyclical
example.
understanding of salvation history has its origins in early Ismaili theology and the
Shaykhi School and has become part of Babi-Baha'i religious thought. Àbdul-Baha's
assertion that at the time of the demise of a religion and its community a new prophet
appears not only reflects Islamic understandings of salvation history but can also be
understood as an allusion to the millenarian and theophanic claims of his father.
The description of the heyday of Islamic civilisation in Àbdul-Baha's treatise is
quite similar to Àbduh's. However, it differs in some interesting elements. Àbdul-

Baha implicitly acknowledges the syncretistic formation of a religion. Agreeing with
Àbduh, that the emergence of Islam introduced into the world a fresh impetus of
knowledge, he particularly stresses external influences which shaped early Islam. When
the Muslims in Medina were besieged by the Meccans, Muhammad adopted a defence
strategy which his Iranian follower Salman suggested. He ordered the Muslims to build
trenches around the compound and did not reply `that this was a custom current among
idolatrous, infidel Magians and could therefore hardly be adopted by the people of
divine unity. '266Àbdul-Baha creates a correspondence between Muhammad's approval
of using a foreign defence strategy for pragmatic reasons and the need to adopt
Western-style reforms in Iran today.
Regarding the formation of Islam, he also creates a continuity between the pre-
Islamic Arab society and the Islamic revelation, a continuity which Muslim historical
consciousness is eager to deny. For Àbdul-Baha, it is obvious that Muhammad

included many pre-Islamic laws and customs in the new religion like the lunar calendar,
the rituals performed during the pilgrimage or the prohibition of pork. In contrast to
other Muslim authors who would see the origin of these laws and practices in the time
264Ibid.,
pp. 94f.
265Watt, W. M. (ed. ), Bell's Introduction to the Qur pan, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1970,
pp. 127-35.
66'Abdul-Baha, Madani}ya,
p. 34.
102
of Abraham, Àbdul-Baha denies their Abrahamic origin and refers to the Torah which
does not give evidence of such laws. 267Whereas Àbduh retains the dichotomy between
jnhili}rya and Islam, Àbdul-Baba relativises it and acknowledges an interaction with

outside influences in the genesis of Islam. While he counters notions of doctrinal purity
as they are echoed in Àbduh's account on the origins of Islam, Àbdul-Baha still
concurs with Àbduh on Islam's civilising power which has been lost today.
In the question of the early spread of Islam, the authors come to different
conclusions as well. For Àbduh, Islam is a religion which seeks political domination
and expansion and is willing to use force to accomplish its mission. Christianity,
however, is a peaceful and apolitical religion. Àbdul-Baha expresses admiration for the
way Christianity spread around the globe by peaceful missionary means. Contrary to the
widespread notion that Islam is a religion of the sword, also upheld by Àbduh, Àbdul-
Baha presents Islam as a religion which has spread peacefully. Muhammad prohibited
coercion in matters of religion and sanctioned the use of violence only against the first
Arab converts who apostatised from Islam. 268Àbduh demarcates authentic Islam from
Christianity while Àbdul-Baha undertakes the exact opposite movement and identifies
the way Christianity and Islam spread throughout the world.

Looking at the way Àbdul-Baha creates Islam's past and comparing it with
Àbduh's mythical reconstruction, it becomes clear that they adopt different strategies to
respond to the superiority of Western civilisation. While Àbduh experiences it as a
colonial threat, his mythical past is a mimesis of Western modernity in its colonialist
form. His Islam is identified with civilisation but at the same time militant and
expansionist, political and activist. It seems that Àbduh's contact with British
government officials and their rationales for colonising the Middle East, led to a
mimetic reaction of Àbduh who similarly presents Islam as a genuine promoter of
civilisation and destroyer of barbarism and ignorance. To resolve the challenge of the
apparent alterity of Western modernity, he identifies it with Islam's mythical past.
Àbdul-Baha's approach is more universalist and finds another response to the
perceived otherness of Western modernity. According to him, modernity and its core
values like progress and civilisation do not belong to any nation or religion exclusively.
His historical excavation reveals that all religions jointly contributed to the spiritual and
material progress of humanity and that civilisation is the result of the interaction of
different cultures. The challenge of Western superiority and the perceived alterity of its
267Ibid.,
p. 35-7.
268Ibid.,
p. 52.
103
modernity are undone by denying the otherness of Western modernity. When he
attributes the rise of modernity in Europe to the cultural influence of the Islamic
civilisation in the Middle Ages, he explicates what Àbduh with his identification of
Muslim ancient glory with current Western supremacy implies: modernity does not
belong to the Europeans, it basically belongs to the Muslims.
3.4. Conclusion
Àbdul-Baba and Àbduh provide very different narratives of early Islamic

history. Both refer to the authority of Islam's past to convey a new understanding of an
Islam that is not hostile to modernity but in its essence activist, progressive and the
epitome of civilisation. Given `that the umnah of the Prophet was the template of all
legitimate Muslim polities and that the activities of the Prophet and his companions
provided the quintessential paradigms for governing the behaviour of latter
generations, i269Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh utilised early Islamic history as a necessary

reference point to create continuity between the past and the present.
Since the revolutionary propaganda of the Àbbasid movement in the eighth
century, promising the dawla, the return to the Islamic community of the Prophet, the
time of the early Muslim community has become an idealised golden age of Islamic
history. Conformity with this template of Muslim historical consciousness provides
legitimacy in terms of political leadership, social organisation and religious orthodoxy.
Because of the opposition to modernity by the very guardians of the Islamic tradition,
Àbdul-Baha has to evoke Islam's mythical past to justify socio-political reforms in Iran.
In order to stir up resistance against European colonialism throughout the Muslim world,
Àbduh likewise refers to Islam's golden age not unlike the revolutionary propagandists
of the Àbbasid movement.

Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh could not escape the authority of Islamic history. In
order to justify their respective political agendas both created correspondences between
the present and the authoritative past, as they perceived them. For Walter Benjamin,
history is a construction of the present, a process in which a historical consciousness is
forged by filling memories of the past with the concerns of the present.270Given the
269Lassner, J., The Middle East Remembered: Forged Identities, Competing Narratives, Contested
Sf
PIaces, Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 2000, p. 89 (italics in the original).
2 Benjamin, W., `Über den Begriff der Geschichte', Gesammelte Schriften, Vol. 1-2, Frankfurt
a. M.:
Suhrkamp Verlag, 1972-89, p. 701.
104
very different concerns of Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh, their creation of historical
correspondences differed and led to competing historical narratives. Àbdul-Baha
writing outside the colonialist context was more concerned about the compatibility of
modernity with Islam while Àbduh sought a political and military response to
European imperialism.
What they have in common is their opposition towards the forces of
traditionalism as represented by conservative ùlama' who swung in their perception of
Western modernity between utter disregard and open hostility and by autocratic regimes
in the Middle East which cooperated with European powers and resisted any political
reforms. Àbdul-Baba's and Àbduh's attachment to religious strands outside the

orthodox establishment provided them with a critical stance towards traditional Islam
and facilitated their openness towards its re-evaluation in the modern age.
Dissident movements in Islam have gained their raison d'etre out of the promise
to restore the ideal prophetic age as expressed for the first time in the Àbbasid notion
of dalvla and the different models of religio-political leadership in mystical, esoteric and
messianic movements in Islam. The intellectual heritage of these dissident traditions
appears to be more capable of allowing a reconciliation of Islam with modernity. The

political activism of the Ismailis provides Àbduh with a more useful historical
precursor for a concerted Muslim effort against colonialism in contrast to the
accommodating attitudes of the religious mainstream. The religious universalism of

Persianate Sufism allows Àbdul-Baha to counter notions of cultural alterity based on
the appreciation of other religion's contributions to history and their essential unity. The
proto-evolutionary thought of esoteric Shiism expressed in Ismaili theology and the
religious thought of the School of Isfahan and the Shaykhis reveal a certain similarity
with modern notions of civilisation and progress.
In their activities, Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh shared secrecy and covertness with
dissident movements in the past. Their early association with esoteric strands of the
Islamic tradition facilitated the adoption of clandestine methods. Since the failure of the
Babi revolts in Iran, Baha'ullah as leader of the Babi movement adopted a more
cautious approach stipulating political quietism. He must have been aware of how much
his own theophanic claims would have scandalised the ùlamn' and many Muslims,
creating hostility towards his followers. Therefore, he ordered the Baha'is to practise
taglyya and to initiate only people they deemed ready to the frill impact of his own
prophetic consciousness. Within the Ottoman Empire, he prohibited all kinds of
105
missionary activities, even covert ones, so as not to endanger his own volatile situation
Ottoman 271In his encounters with intellectuals and reformers in the
as an prisoner.
Ottoman Empire, Àbdul-Baha withheld the full nature his father's prophetic claims and
in seeking links with them stressed the commonalities between the Baha'is and other
Middle Eastern reform movements in terms of their shared socio-political teachings.

Afghani's affinity with Islamic esotericism is obvious in his own dissimulation
of his Shii background in order to find acceptance in the Sunni world and his fondness
for secret societies and clandestine activities. The society of A1- Ùrwa aI-Wuthgd
looked like a modern- though less effective - re-enactment of the underground
propaganda cells of the Àbbasids in Khurasan or of the Ismailis among the Kutama
Berbers in North Africa. Àbduh had been infected by Afghani's style of secrecy in
adopting different guises in his travels throughout the Muslim world to found virtual
branches of their secret society.
Afghani's hopes for a general upheaval within the Muslim world against
autocratic regimes collaborating with the European powers were not fulfilled. The
failure of the Ùrabi revolt in Egypt and the rapid demise of AI- Ùrtiva al-IVuthgn and its
publication must have made Àbduh aware of the difficulties in introducing political
reforms and opposing European colonialism in the Middle East. The enthusiasm with
which Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh had thrown themselves into the reformist discourse by
publishing treatises and articles, creating links with other reformers and actively
participating or supporting revolutionary changes throughout the Middle East was
frustrated by the failure of these reform attempts.

Given the obvious failure of several reform movements with which Àbdul-Baha
and Àbduh were connected, both had to redefine the future direction of their activities.
The death of Baha'ullah in 1892 and the succession of Àbdul-Baha as leader of the
Baha'i movement provided him with the necessary authority to guide it into new
directions. Àbduh returned to Beirut in 1885 under looming disappointment about
Afghani's revolutionary and clandestine activism. Contemplating a return to Egypt, he
271A letter
with Baha'ullah's clear stipulation of tagiy ynhas been published by Fazil Mazandarani (ed. ),
Anir it'n-Khalq, Vol. 3, Langenhain: Bahä'i-Verlag, 1984, pp. 118f.. For a discussion on the practise of
hikmat and tngi}yyn in the early Iranian Baha'i community see Stiles-Maneck, S., `Wisdom and
Dissimulation: The Use
and Meaning of Hikinat in the Bahä'i Writings and History', Bah6'i Studies
Review 6 (1996), pp. 11-23. Despite Stiles-Maneck's good description of the practice of tagiyyn among
early Iranian Baha'is, she still follows the false assumption that Baha'ullah explicitly prohibited this
practice. For a thorough discussion of tagi}}'n in the early Baha'i movement see Ekbal, K., `tngiy ynund
kitindn in den Bäbi und Bahä'i Religionen', in Wild, S., Schild, H. (eds.), Akten des 27. Deutschen
Orientalistentages (Bonn - 28, September bis 2. Oktober 1998): Norm und Abweichung, Würzburg:
Ergon, 2001,363-372.
106
had to reconsider his relationship with the political realities of the Middle East,
particularly the increasing presence of European colonialism. The new directions of

Àbdul-Baha's and Àbduh's activities and their conceptions of religious authority will
be discussed in the following chapters.
107
4. Succession and Renewal
For Max Weber, charismatic authority exhibits several features. It is dissident
and heretical questioning traditional and institutionalised holders of authority. It is
revolutionary and creative and thereby becomes a force of cultural change. Finally, it is
unstable and precarious, because it becomes manifest in an individual and lacks the
backing of an authoritative tradition or an efficient bureaucratic apparatus. In their own
association with holders of charismatic authority, Àbdul-Baha and Muhammad Àbduh

exhibited all the aforementioned features. They were religious dissidents attracted to
heretical expressions of Muslim religiosity and made use of the creative output of
charismatic authority in order to develop alternative readings of the Islamic tradition

which would accommodate Western modernity without blindly imitating it.
At the same time, they had to experience the instability of charismatic authority.
The disappointed messianic hopes of the Babi movement and the ensuing leadership
struggle required a constant reinterpretation of the millenarian scope of the Babi
movement. Moving it away from militancy and political revolt, Baha'ullah developed
his own millenarian claims and spiritualised Shii and Babi eschatology. Islamic
eschatological prophecies would not be fulfilled by the successful establishment of a
messianic kingdom, but the disruption of the traditional socio-political order in the
Middle East by the forces of Western modernity were signs of the millennium. The
toppling of autocratic regimes and the establishment of democratic forms of government
were seen as part of the millenarian repercussions of Baha'ullah's theophany. This view
embraced socio-political reforms and made possible the creation of links between the
Baha'is and other Middle Eastern reform movements.
Afghani's Sufi-like mentorship of Àbduh helped him to overcome his
frustration with religious traditionalism and provided the ground for his intellectual
engagement with the modern world. At the same time, Àbduh experienced the
precarious character of religio-political dissent. Clandestine activities, acts of
dissimulation and deception and periods of exile describe Àbduh's experiences in his
formative years under Afghani's influence experiences which he shared with Àbdul-
-
Baha and the Baha'is who suffered from deportation and persecution and had to conceal
Baha'ullah's theophanic claims. Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh benefited frone the creative
output of charismatic authority but at the same time encountered the risks of religio-
political dissidence.
108
Weber's notion of the routinisation of charisma is not so much understood as the
sociological process of communal institutionalisation when the holder of charismatic
authority dies and his followers have to develop ways to perpetuate his charisma. In the
context of this thesis, routinisation rather describes in general terms the strategies
Àbdul-Baha and Muhammad Àbduh employed to retain the creative output of
charismatic authority without facing its inherent instability and the potential risks of
religious dissidence. Àbdul-Baba and Àbduh had to position themselves vis-ä-vis the
charismatic authority of their mentors and their reformist projects after they had walked
out of their shadows. They adopted different strategies which led to the parting of their
ways. The period discussed in this chapter marks the beginning of Àbdul-Baha's
movement from heresy to apostasy and Àbduh's return from heresy to orthodoxy.
4.1. Àbdul-Bahn: From Dissidence to Apostasy

4.1.1. Charismatic Succession in the Early Baha'i Movement
This section begins with the succession of charismatic authority from Baha'ullah
to Àbdul-Baha discussing how it reflects Shii and Sufi models of charismatic
succession. An examination of the leadership struggle between Àbdul-Baha and his

younger half-brother Muhammad Àli reveals different understandings of the nature of
Baha'ullah's charismatic claims and the future sectarian orientation of the movement
among early Baha'is. With the spread of the Baha'i movement in the West, Àbdul-
Baha as new charismatic leader had to market the movement in new ways and thereby
fostered the Baha'i departure from Islam.
Given the Shii background of Baha'ullah and most of his early followers, the
question of his succession must have been important for them. The unresolved issue of
who should have succeeded Muhammad and the different interpretations resulting from
this uncertainty led to the split between Sunnis and Shiis and left the latter as the
holders of a minority view in a marginalised position. Hence, Baha'ullah and the
Baha'is must have placed importance on ensuring a smooth transition of charisma to his
successor to avoid the sectarian dissension which overcame Muslims after the death of
the Prophet. Furthermore, the Shii background of Baha'ullah and most Baha'is also
yielded certain expectations as to who is eligible to succeed, how he is supposed to be

determined, what kind of qualities he must exhibit and what kind of authority he will
exercise.
109
The Shii theory of the Imamate combines spiritual authority and family
genealogy in its emphasis on the inherited charisma of the direct descendents of the
Prophet. Considering the Shii context of Baha'ullah and the early Baha'is, it must have
been quite obvious that Baha'ullah's successor must come from his family and be one
of his male descendents. In the case of Baha'ullah, there were several possible
candidates for succession. As a member of an affluent Iranian aristocratic family,
Baha'ullah lived polygamously and was married to three wives with whom he had
several children. He married in Tehran in 1835 his first wife, Asiyih Khanum (d. 1886),
with whom he had three children: Àbbas ('Abdul-Baha), Fatima and Mihdi. His second
wife, Fatimih Khanum (d. 1904), bore Baha'ullah one daughter and three sons after
their marriage in Tehran in 1849: Samadiyyih, Muhammad Àli, Ziya'ullah and
Badi'ullah. In Baghdad, Baha'ullah's married his last wife Gawhar Khanum with whom
he had one daughter. 272
That Baha'ullah was aware of the important role the genealogical principle and
the family of the prophet-founder play in the religious horizon of Shii Islam, is
evidenced by the special designations he gave his female and male offspring.
Baha'ullah often identifies himself with the farthest lote-tree (si(lra al-nnrnntahn), a
Koranic term273which signifies the divine presence Muhammad is believed to have
attained in his spiritual ascension through the seven heavens (mi `rdj). Baha'ullah uses
this Koranic term in reference to himself and other manifestations, prophets and
messengers of God before him. This is quite similar to the understanding of some Shii
commentators who consider the Prophet Muhammad, his daughter Fatima and the
Twelve Imams to have been farthest lote-tree 274
created out of the substance of the .
Being the farthest lote-tree himself, Baha'ullah then labels his wives and daughters as
its `leaves' (lvaragät) and his sons as its `branches' (aghscut, sg. ghusn). Muhammad
Àli, his second eldest son, received the epithet `the greatest branch' (ghusn-i akbar),
while Àbdul-Baba was referred to as `the mightiest branch' (ghtrsn-i a `tarnt).

Baha'ullah's Kitäb al-Agdas (The Most Holy Book), written in 1873 after
requests from his followers to provide a book containing the Baha'i shar"i à, contains a
few indications of the organisational structure he envisioned for his movement in the
future. In this book, Baha'ullah indicates that his male descendants will assume a
272Taherzadeh, A., The Covenant h, Oxford: George Ronald, 1992, pp. 111-24.
of Bahä'ii'llt
273See, for example, Koran 53: 14.
274Momen, AN Islam,
p. 149.
110
leading role within the community after his death and that his charismatic authority will
pass on to them. Anticipating his own death in metaphorical language, he writes:
O people of creation! When the dove has flown from the thicket of praise and sought its
most remote and most hidden destination, refer whatsoever you do not understand of the
book to the branch which has sprung from this solid root (al far' al-miuisha'ib min hndhn
275
al-ast al-gawinn).
Baha'ullah alludes to spiritual succession which is connected with his own
offspring but does not specify which of his branches inherits his charisma. He already
identifies one of the tasks the heir of his spiritual charisma will carry out. In line with
the Shii understanding of the role of the Imam, Baha'ullah's successor will act as the
interpreter of his scripture. In another passage, he determines who receives religious
endowments (awgnf) contributed by the Baha'is. These endowments should be directed

towards himself by virtue of his theophanic authority and àfter him, the authority shall
to the branches (aghsän). ' 276Again, Baha'ullah does not name an heir of his
pass
authority directly but rather refers to the collective authority of his sons after his death.
Baha'ullah was survived by four of his sons: the eldest Àbdul-Baba Àbbas,
Muhammad Àli, Ziya'ullah and Badi'ullah.
4.1.2. Designation and Covenant

Being aware of the necessity of a clear resolution in the question of succession,
Baha'ullah left a will and testament in which he designated an heir to his charisma. The
Shii understanding of the Imamate includes the designation (nass) of an Imam by his
predecessor as one of the essential requirements for the legitimacy of his authority. This
designation is divinely inspired and hence decreed by God. The process of designation
is part of the larger covenant (àhd, mithnq) between God and his creation. In Koranic
terms, it refers to the primordial covenant which was established when God created the
world and asked humanity: "Àm I not your Lord? ", and they replied, "Yes, we bear
" 277The Shii view of salvation history implies that God never leaves humanity
witness.
without guidance. As this divine guidance is perpetual and permanent, God not only
sends prophets and messengers to humanity but appoints a proof (lu jja), a person who
manifests divine guidance in humanity in the absence of a living prophet. These proofs
are the Imams. Therefore, each prophet initiates two covenants, one with the next
275Al-Kitdb
al-Aqdas 174; see also ibid. 121.
276Al-Kitnb
al-Agdas 42.
277Koran 7: 172.
111
prophet who will appear at some point in the future and one with his immediate
successor, the Imam.
That Baha'ullah shared the Shii understanding of this covenant, is demonstrated
by the name he gave his will and testament calling it Kitab-i Àhd (Book of the
Covenant). According to the text of the testament, 278Àbdul-Baba, `the mightiest
branch' and his eldest son, is designated as his successor:
The will and testament of God is this: the branches, the twigs, 9afnän, relatives of the Bab)
kindred, one and all, must turn their faces towards the branch. 279
and my mightiest
To avoid any possible confusion about the heir of his spiritual charisma which
might result from the different epithets he attributed to his sons, Baha'ullah clarifies that
`God ordained the station of the greatest branch (Muhammad Àli) beneath his
station. '280
This succession of charismatic authority imitates the transition of authority from
the Prophet Muhammad to the line of the Shii Imams. However, the term Ìmam' is
never used in reference to Àbdul-Baha. Although the description of Àbdul-Baha's
status eschews Shii terminology used to designate holders of charismatic authority, the
Baha'i horizon of expectations regarding Àbdul-Baha's status was shaped by the
understanding of Sufi sainthood and the Shii Imamate. Baha'ullah envisioned his son's
role in similar lines to that of the Perfect Man, the qu(b, who acts as isthmus between
the divine and the human world and resembles the Shii notion of the lu jja. In one letter
to his eldest son, Baha'ullah calls him `the one around whom the names revolve, '281an
epithet that echoes the description of the Perfect Man as being the full embodiment of
all divine attributes or names. Another letter addressed to Àbdul-Baba alludes to his
role as providing divine guidance:
We beseech God that through you he may immerse his servants in the deep sea of his
oneness, that through your remembrance ((Ihikrika) he may give them to drink from the
river of everlasting life (kawihar al-! zayawnn) and through your explanation (baynnika)
from the wine of mystical knowledge ('irfnn)... We beseech God that he may illumine the
world with your knowledge (Thnika) and your wisdom (bi kmatika)... '282
278The full text

of the testament in Persian is quoted in Ayati, Al-Kaii-akib al-Durriyya 11,pp. 20-2. An
English translation is published in Baha'ullah, Tablets ofBahn'u71äh Revealed after the Kitdb-i-Aqdas,
Wilmette, Ill.: US Bahä'i Publishing Trust, 1988, pp. 219-23.
279Quoted in Ayati, Al-Knn'nkib
al-Durri}ya Il, p. 21.
280Quoted in ibid.,
p. 22.
2" Quoted in Fayzi, 'Abd
al-Baha', p. 50.
282Quoted in ibid.,
p. 51.
112
It is noteworthy that Baha'ullah associates with Àbdul-Baha two Koranic terms
which are used to denote divine revelation. Bayern (explanation) is synonymous with the
Koran and generally referred to as the word of God and so is dhikr (remembrance).
Àbdul-Baha is portrayed not only as holder of profane knowledge ('ihn) and wisdom
(hikma) but also in line with the qualities of a Sufi saint endowed with mystical
knowledge (71ffin) received via divine inspiration. This implies that whatever Àbdul-
Baha utters is of divine origin. In another letter to his son, Baha'ullah suggests a central
position for Àbdul-Baha within creation not unlike that of the Sufi pole:
Verily, we have made you a refuge for the worlds, a sanctuary for those in the heavens and
the earths, and a fortress for those who believe in God, the unique, the knowing. We
beseech God that he may preserve them through you, enrich them through you and provide
for them through you, and that he may inspire you (ytdhimaka) about what is the dawn of
affluence for the people of creation, the sea of generosity for the inhabitants of the world
dawning kindness the 283
and the place of above nations.
Similar to status of the Imams in esoteric traditions in Shiism and the station of
the Sufi saint as the qutb, Àbdul-Baha is presented with a quasi-cosmological role as
the preserver of creation, living proof of God on earth and link between the human
world and the divine. The special charismatic features which biographical sources
attribute to Àbdul-Baha from his early childhood onwards epitomised, for example, in
the various anecdotes on his innate knowledge, appear as a sign for his future role as
successor of his father and divinely inspired leader of the Baha'i movement. As
charismatic authority continued with Àbdul-Baha's leadership, its creative potential
was retained. This would prove to be sufficient for him to guide the community into
new directions.
4.1.3. Charismatic Authority Contested

The very nature of charismatic authority tends to make its transmission
problematic. Unlike more bureaucratised and institutionalised forms of leadership,
charismatic authority is closely related to the individual person who exercises it. Shiism
and Sufism have experienced clashes of authority between different contestants of
charismatic leadership. Looking at the line of Shii Imams, there were always groups
among the Shiis who did not accept the specific line of succession which became part of
the orthodox Twelver Shia. In quite similar fashion, splits within Sufi orders occurred
283Quoted in ibid.,
p. 52.
113
when several disciples of a Sufi shaykh or several of his sons as heirs apparent
competed for leadership and often founded their own branches of this particular order.
Looking at the emergence of Baha'i movement, problems in the transition of
charismatic authority had happened before Baha'ullah's death. After the execution of
the Bab, Baha'ullah competed with his half-brother Subh-i Azal over the leadership of
the Babi movement. This dispute was not simply over the leadership of the movement
but also had doctrinal implications, as Baha'ullah undertook a complete reform of Babi
doctrines. This dual motif of struggle for authority in the movement and over its
doctrinal orientation was repeated between Àbdul-Baha and his younger half-brother
Muhammad 'Ali. 284The latter worked as Baha'ullah's scribe and was famous among
the Baha'is for his calligraphic skills. While Àbdul-Baba was responsible for
establishing relations with the outside world, Muhammad Àli was the contact person
for the followers of Baha'ullah, taking care of the dissemination of his writings and
his followers. 285
organising his correspondence with
As only Baha'i sources are available for the conflict between Àbdul-Baha and
Muhammad Àli, one can only reconstruct a biased account. There are two sources to
which Baha'i authors refer in describing the leadership struggle. One account is by
Àbdul-Baha himself and the other by Badiùllah, Muhammad Àli's younger brother
who initially followed his brother but later repented. In an open letter, he apologises for
initially supporting the leadership claims of his brother and provides his version of the
events after Baha'ullah's death. Both accounts agree on the basic sequence of events:
Muhammad Àli stole two cases with Baha'ullah's seals and writings while Àbdul-
Baha was washing his father's corpse. According to Badiùllah, Muhammad Àli
searched the two cases for Baha'ullah's testament which, however, was in the hands of
Àbdul-Baha, who had received it prior to his father's death. After Baha'ullah's will and
testament had been publicised and Àbdul-Baha had been invested as his successor, he
asked Muhammad Àli to return the seals. However, Muhammad Àli refused to give
them to him - an act by which he symbolically refused to acknowledge that religious
had from his father to Àbdul-Baha. 286
authority passed
Despite the polemical Baha'i portrayal of Muhammad Àli as envious, ambitious
and treacherous, the sources reveal certain patterns which help to understand the nature
284The parallel between the two leadership stnrggles in the early Baha'i movement has also been noted by
Berger, `Motif messianique', p. 101.
285Ayati, AI-Kaweikib al-Durriyya 11,p. 24.
286Taherzadeh, Covenant, p. 153.
114
of this conflict apart from two half-brothers competing for supremacy within the Baha'i
movement. It seems that Muhammad Àli de-emphasised the whole notion of covenant
and charismatic succession. For him, the need of a new charismatic leader who would
act as the spiritual head of the community and inspired interpreter of the writings was
not self-evident, as the writings of Baha'ullah provided sufficient guidance for the
287
community.
Apart from de-emphasising the need for a new charismatic leader within the
Baha'i community, Muhammad Àli also accused his half-brother of making claims to
him be divine incarnation. 288
prophethood and other Baha'is of considering to a
Apparently, he wanted to group Àbdul-Baha and his followers within the tradition of
Shii extremists (glurlnt) who believe in the divinity of Àli and other Imams. It might
well have been the case that some of Àbdul-Baha's followers divinised him, taking
Baha'ullah's eulogies of his son to imply the attribution of a divine status. In
questioning the superior charismatic authority of Àbdul-Baha, discounting its necessity
and accusing him of its misuse, Muhammad Àli might have envisioned a more
collective form of leadership of all the aghsnn, as alluded to in the more unspecific
passages of Al-Kitäb al-Agdas. Favouring a more collective form of leadership,
Muhammad Àli might have seen his role as a necessary check and balance to limit the
extent of Àbdul-Baha's authority.

But it was not only the question of leadership and the scope of charismatic
authority within the Baha'i movement on which the two half-brothers disagreed. It
seems that Muhammad Àli also opposed the direction Àbdul-Baha wanted to take the
Baha'i movement. In contrast to Àbdul-Baha who considered his father to be the
founder of a new religion, Muhammad Àli considered the Baha'i movement to remain
within the confines of the Islamic tradition. Ayati puts the following words into
Muhammad Àli's mouth:
Our father did not claim to be an independent manifestation and did not abrogate the
shar7'a but he was one of the saints (atit'li}'n') and poles (agtäb) and followed the Islamic
religion. However, our brother Àbbas Effendi put forward a novel trick and founded a new
(shnr'i jad 4). 289
religion
Muhammad Àli presents the Baha'i movement as being similar to a Sufi order
with Baha'ullah as its founder. That many outside observers might have shared this
287Ayati, Al-Kawnkib
al-Durriyya 11,p. 26; see also Taherzadeh, Covenant, p. 157.
288Ayati, Al-Kairnkib
al-Dun-riyya II, p. 30.
289Quoted in Ayati, Al-Kmti"«kib
al-Durriyya 11,p. 31.
115
impression is quite likely. Baha'ullah dressed like a dervish - and so did Àbdul-Baha -
and the veneration he received from his followers must have reminded them of the
adoration with which followers of a Sufi saint approach their spiritual guide. When
Baha'ullah and his family were exiled from Baghdad to Istanbul, Baha'ullah ordered the
male Babis in his entourage to disguise as Sufis by letting their hair and beards grow
during the journey to the Ottoman capital. 29°Muhammad Àli's portrayal of his father
as being merely a Sufi master might either reflect his genuine belief or it might have
been just a manoeuvre to discredit Àbdul-Baha, as Baha'i sources would say.
After the open opposition of Muhammad Àli, the situation for Àbdul-Baha
seemed to be quite adverse. Almost the entire family of Baha'ullah supported

Muhammad Àli and rejected Àbdul-Baha's leadership. The open disloyalty of most
members of Baha'ullah's family, particularly of all the aghsnn, the male descendants
who were assigned a leading role in the Baha'i community in Baha'ullah's Kitäb al-
Aqdas, must have perplexed many Baha'is. Most Baha'is were more in contact with
Muhammad Àli while Àbdul-Baha was a rather unknown figure to them, having been
assigned to contacts with the outside world.

Nevertheless, Àbdul-Baba managed to establish his authority within the
community. Like his father, Àbdul-Baha combined in his charisma the eloquence and
organisational skills needed to win over allegiance. He successfully appealed to motifs
in Shii theology and history referring to the clear designation (nass) by his father and
comparing Muhammad Àli's rebellion against him with Ùmar's opposition to Àli. As
Ùmar broke the covenant of Muhammad's prophecy, so did Muhammad Àli break the
his father. 291
covenant of
Although Àbdul-Baha's supporters pressured him to declare those Baha'is who
did not pledge allegiance to him as unbelievers, he did not revert to the practice of tamer
used by Shii ùlantn' against alleged heretics. Nevertheless, he ordered the Baha'is to
shun the `covenant-breakers' (ndgi(l-i mithnq) systematically, even if they belonged to
their own families, in order to preserve the unity of the movement and to ensure
his leadership 292
allegiance to alone. By cutting off any contacts with Muhammad Àli's
partisans in Iran, Àbdul-Baha found a way to deal effectively with dissidents in his
own movement.
290Ekbal, `tagij5,
a und kitmnn', p. 367.
`9! Taherzadeh, Covenant, pp. 157f..
292Moayyad, K/hätirnt-i Habib,
p. 164; see also Cole, J. R. I., `The Evolution of Charismatic Authority in
the Bahz'i Faith (1863-1921)', Gleave, R. (ed. ), Religion and Society in Qajar Irani, London and New
York: Routledge Curzon, 2005, pp. 331-4.
116
Muhammad Àli and his supporters apparently understood the direction which
the Baha'i movement should take differently and denied the departure of the Baha'i
movement from Islam. The descendents of Baha'ullah who did not accept Àbdul-Baha
assimilated into the Arab population in Palestine and assumed a Muslim identity in the
long term. Rather then consolidating the split with Islam, Muhammad Àli might have
wanted to return the Baha'is to orthodox Islam in a Sufi guise. His opposition to the
leadership of his half-brother might have been personally motivated by offence at
Baha'ullah's designation of him as secondary to Àbdul-Baha. But it might also express
his genuine scepticism to the mode by which Àbdul-Baha exercised his charismatic
authority to underpin the Baha'i departure from Islam and to create a distinct sectarian
identity. Muhammad Àli might have intended to limit the charisma of his half-brother
in order to prevent a further universalisation of the Baha'i movement.
Max Weber stresses the revolutionary drive of charismatic authority. By denying

it to Àbdul-Baha and considering the writings of Baha'ullah to be sufficient,
Muhammad Àli might have wanted to repress the innovative power of charismatic
leadership and its effects on the future development of the Baha'i movement. However,
Àbdul-Baha's insistence on the continuing need of charismatic authority proved to be
more appealing to the vast majority of the Baha'is. While the Baha'i movement went
through important changes - its establishment in the West in particular -, the flexibility
of charismatic authority was more effective in facilitating doctrinal, cultural and
organisational modifications which were needed for the long-term survival of the
movement. Muhammad Àli, however, instigated ùne "routinisation" prematuree'293

for which the movement was not yet ready.
Dealing with the messianic or prophetic claims of contenders to charismatic
authority is not unprecedented in Islamic history. Similar to the early Baha'i movement,
the messianic movement which Nurbakhsh initiated in Iran in the 15th century
underwent a split after his death. One branch of the movement, led by Nurbakhsh's
earliest disciples, de-emphasised his messianic claims às forgivable overstatement of
his status. ' 294They stressed Nurbakhsh's spiritual lineage in the Kubrawiyya Order
presenting his movement as a sub-branch of the Sufi order in which Nurbakhsh was
raised. For them, he was merely a Sufi saint and if they accepted him as the Mahdi, then
it was only in its literal sense, as one who had received divine guidance. Other
293Berger, `Motif messianique', p. 102.

294Bashir, S., Messianic Hopes
and Mystical Visions: The Nun"bakhshij,a between Medieval and Modern
Islam, Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2003, p. 161.
117
Nurbakhshis who followed his son Qasim Fayzbakhsh and his descendents continued to
believe in Nurbakhsh as being the Mahdi but defined the scope of his messianic mission
as being that of a religious reformer who has been sent to overcome the sectarian
divisions in the Muslim community and to restore Islam as it was at the time of the
Prophet. However, also the family branch of the Nurbakhshiyya moved away from its
messianic orientation in Safavid Iran and as a consequence of the Safavids' religious

Twelver Shiism. 295
policy converted to orthodox
In reference to a contemporary messianic movement, this controversy is
reminiscent of the schism in the Ahmadiyya movement between its Qadiani and Lahori
branch which occurred after the death of the first successor or khnl fa to its founder
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in 1914. Whereas the Qadiani-Ahmadis, led by Ghulam
Ahmad's son and second khalifa Mahmud Ahmad, believed that he claimed not only to
be the Mahdi but a prophet as well, the Lahori-Ahmadis sought a rapprochement with
mainstream Islam by presenting Ghularn Ahmad as merely being a nn jaddid without

296Like the Nurbakhshiyya order in Safavid Iran and the
any prophetic pretensions.
Ahmadiyya movement in British India, the early Baha'i movement had to deal with the
future of its religious dissidence. It had to decide whether to find its place within the
Islamic mainstream - an option that Muhammad Àli apparently favoured - or to
cement its departure from Islam -a policy which Àbdul-Baha eventually pursued.
While routinisation of charisma led many followers of messianic claimants to de-
emphasise the radical nature of their claims and to dissociate themselves from their
expressed religious dissidence, for Àbdul-Baha it signified the radicalisation of his

father's claims in their doctrinal assertion and organisational implementation.
4.1.4. The Establishment of the Baha'i Movement in the [Vest

The continuing need of charismatic authority became particularly evident with
the spread of the Baha'i movement to Europe and North America. Placing a Shii
messianic reform movement into a completely different cultural and social setting
required the flexibility of charismatic authority in order to facilitate required doctrinal
and organisational accommodation. Àbdul-Baha's charisma provided his diverse
followers in Europe, North-America and the Middle East with a focal point and a sense
of unity. His irenic attitude towards different expressions of religiosity and doctrinal
295For a full discussion of the bifurcation of the Nurbaküshiyya after its founder's death and its long terns
development see ibid., pp. 161-97.
296Friedmann, Prophecy Continuous, pp. 147-62; see also E12,s.v. Àhmadiyya'.
118
disputes and his shrewd presentation of Baha'i doctrines to a Western audience made it
possible for extremely different people to be attracted to the Baha'i movement. At the
same time a resolution of very different if not contradictory understandings of what it
meant to be a Baha'i was delayed.
The merit of having introduced the Baha'i movement to the West belongs to
Ibrahim Kheiralla (khayr" alldh) (1849-1929), an Orthodox Melkite Christian born in Mt
Lebanon. In his own religious development, the parallel co-existence of several
religious identities is evidenced, as he converted to Protestantism after attending the

Syrian Protestant College in Beirut and developed at the same time a deep interest in
occultism and magic. Kheiralla moved to Egypt after graduation and was involved in
several commercial ventures with varying success. After moving to Cairo in 1886,
Kheiralla came in contact with Iranian Baha'is, among them Àbdul-Karim Tehrani who
was introduced to him as well-versed in magic. Under Tehrani, Kheiralla was exposed
to Baha'i doctrines so that in 1889 he wrote a letter to Baha'ullah declaring his faith in
him. However, his acceptance of Baha'ullah's religious authority and charismatic
claims did not necessarily mean for him that he had changed his religion. He still
considered himself to be primarily a Christian.
In 1892, Kheiralla moved to the United States in order to promote one of his
many inventions, a ticket sales machine he hoped to be used for the World's Columbian
Exposition in Chicago in 1893.297 In the course of his business trips through the
Midwest, particularly in Michigan, he began to establish contacts with people interested
in magic and occultism. Kheiralla's Middle Eastern background helped him to assume a
certain degree of religious authority among the occultist circles with whom he became
acquainted and who were interested in Òriental' knowledge. He started giving talks on
spirituality, the philosophies of the East and similar topics and, when he settled in
Chicago, offered classes on religious and spiritual topics from 1894 onwards. The
classes promised a gradual initiation into spiritual and occult knowledge and its
attendees formed the nucleus of the American Baha'i community. The lessons would
start with general religious topics, move on to Biblical prophecies and then, in the final
stage, reveal Baha'ullah as the incarnation of God on earth whose son, Jesus Christ,
now lived in Àkka and was Àbdul-Baha. 298
297Hollinger, R., Ìbrahim George Kheiralla

and the Bahä'i Faith in America', in Cole, J., R., Mooren, M.
(eds.), From Iran East and 1Vest,Los Angeles: Kalimät Press, 1984, pp. 100f.
29SHollinger, R., "'Wonderful True Visions": Magic, Mysticism
and Millenialism in the Making of the
American Bahä'i Community', Danesh, J., Fazel, S. (eds.), Search for Values: Ethics in Bahd'i Thought,
Los Angeles: Kalimät Press, 2004, pp. 207-31; see also Smith, Babi-Baha'i Religions, pp. 100f..
119
In 1898, Kheiralla and some of his students undertook a pilgrimage to Àkka,
meeting Àbdul-Baha himself. During the pilgrimage a clash between the two
charismatic personalities must have occurred. According to Baha'i sources, Kheiralla
offered Àbdul-Baha a division of the leadership of the Baha'i movement with himself
becoming its leader in the West while Àbdul-Baha would remain its leader in the
East.299The reasons for the alienation between the two were, however, more complex.
During his stay in Àkka, Kheiralla's presentation of Baha'i doctrines which included
the belief in reincarnation was heavily criticised by Iranian 'ulamd' converts present in
Àkka at the same time. Àbdul-Baha's relativist attitude towards these doctrinal
disputes, supporting neither side explicitly, disappointed Kheiralla who hoped for a
stronger backing of his interpretation. During the visit the antagonism between
Kheiralla and the early American convert Edward Getsinger also came to the fore. Both
had been competing for leadership in the American Baha'i movement. As Àbdul-Baha
remained neutral in this leadership dispute as well, Kheiralla turned to Muhammad Àli
him in his Àbdul-Baha. 300

and aligned with opposition to
The final rift between Àbdul-Baba and Kheiralla left some of the American
Baha'is dismayed, so Àbdul-Baba sent Kheiralla's original teacher Àbdul-Karim
Tehrani from Cairo to Chicago to ascertain their loyalty. Via correspondence and by
dispatching Iranian missionaries to North America, Àbdul-Baha tried to ensure the
basic ideological cohesion of the American Baha'is. But most of them retained a rather
individualistic
religiosity and were only united in their veneration of Àbdul-Baha
be the return of Jesus Christ. 30'

whom they considered to
The millenarian message of Baha'ullah and Àbdul-Baha found receptive
adherents among religious circles in North-America which were open for alternative
religiosity, interested in non-Christian religions and therefore inclined towards religious

dissidence themselves. Early converts were recruited from liberal Protestants
dissatisfied with the clerical hierarchies within their churches, Theosophists who sought
mystical knowledge from the East and interfaith activists who saw in the Baha'i
movement a way to reconcile the different religions of the world. In his communication
with the new Baha'is in North America, Àbdul-Baba responded to the religious
individualism and inclusivism which characterised them and presented the Baha'i
movement as an all-embracing movement:
299Ayati, Al-Kmrnkib
al-Durrij5-a II, p. 35.
300Hollinger, `Kheirallah and the Bahä'i Faith', pp. 112-8.
301Smith, Babi-Baha'i Religions,
pp. 102f..
120
The Bahai Movement is not an organisation. You can never organise the Bahai Cause. The
Bahai Movement is the spirit of the age. It is the essence of all higher ideals of this century.
The Bahai Cause is an inclusive Movement: The teachings of all the religions and societies
are found here; the Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Mohammedans, Zoroastrians, Theosophists,
Freemasons, Spiritualists, et al., find their highest aims in this Cause. Even the Socialists
and philosophers find their theories fully developed in this Movement. 302
Despite its loose definition as an inclusivist movement, Àbdul-Baha stressed in

his correspondence with the American Baha'is the need to engage in general
proselytisation. The American Baha'is were to play a major role in establishing the first
communities in Europe; in London and Paris in 1898-9, in Italy in 1900 and Germany in
1905-7. The increased missionary activities within and outside the United States
required the establishment of some degree of organisation, a development which
Àbdul-Baha himself approved.
When in 1909 the decision was made to construct a Baha'i temple near Chicago,
the Baha'i Temple Unity was established. Delegates from all local Baha'i communities
would meet once a year to discuss initially the project but later would also consult on
general matters affecting the community. The Baha'i Temple Unity elected an executive
committee of nine which was in charge of overseeing the progress of the temple
construction but gradually assumed a leading role in managing the affairs of the entire
American Baha'i community. This development towards a higher degree of
organisation created greater cohesion and cooperation among the American Baha'is but
was received with scepticism by Baha'is who joined the movement in order to escape
organised religion and felt that such an institutionalisation betrayed the original spirit of
the Baha'i movement. It was Àbdul-Baha's charismatic authority that united religious
individualistsand those in favour of a stiffer organisation. He urged the American
Baha'is to remain united and to obey his authority. 303
From August 1911 until June 1913, Àbdul-Baba undertook an extensive
journey through Europe and North America. During the journey, he offered the Baha'is
in Europe and North America the opportunity to meet him personally and also gave
several public addresses. The places where Àbdul-Baha gave talks indicate the
environment from which his followers came and to which they still were affiliated. He
spoke in Unitarian Churches and Theosophical Societies about the unity of all religions,
in meetings of Esperantists about the need to establish a world language and among
302Àbdul-Baba
quoted in Star of the {Vest 5 (1914), p. 67.
pp. 106-14.
121
peace activists about the need to establish world peace. Àbdul-Baha used the doctrinal
and ideological resemblances between the teachings of his father and these different
religious, social and political organisations in order to create a link between them and
the Baha'i movement.
Although he would quote frequently from the writings of his father passages
dealing with the need to establish universal peace or to recognise the essential unity of
all religions, he never presented the Baha'i movement as a new religion. His public
representation of the Baha'i movement closely resembled the Theosophical Society, an
inter-religious movement aiming at the reconciliation of all religions, the establishment
of universal peace and the realisation of the spiritual potential of humanity. Becoming a
Baha'i did not mean abandoning one's previous religious affiliation. For instance,
Àbdul-Baha told a young student who asked him whether as a Baha'i he could still
attend church:
If you belong to a Society already do not forsake your brothers. You can be a Bahä'i-
Christian, a Bahä'i-Freemason, a Bahä'i-Jew, a Bahä'i-Muhanunadän [sic]. 304
Such an account of the Baha'i movement appealed to religious individualists
who wanted to escape orthodox rigidity and were open to alternative expressions of
religiosity. At the same time, it deepened the potential conflict between the
individualistic and non-denominational aspirations of religious dissidents and the need
to provide a clear organisation for the nascent Baha'i movement, a need which was
recognised by some American Baha'is and Àbdul-Baha himself.

Missionary activities in Europe were not very successful with only a few
converts. North America had the largest Baha'i community with about 2,800 members
in 1916.305 Àbdul-Baha's call on the American Baha'is to engage in systematic
missionary activities, which was expressed in a series of letters from 1916 onwards,
increased the pressure on them to establish the organisational framework for such
306Therefore,
endeavours. committees were set up for the publication of books and
pamphlets, for identifying target groups and target cities within America and for making
travel arrangements for itinerant missionaries within the United States and to Europe.307
The attraction to Baha'ullah's messianic claims among Americans and
Europeans provided Àbdul-Baha and the Baha'i movement with a new orientation:
304'Abdo'i-Bahn' in London, p. 98.

30' Smith, Babi-Bnba'i Religions, p. 105.
306See Àbdul-Baha, Tablets of the Divine Plan, Wilmette, Ill.: US Bahä'i Publishing Tnist, 1993.
307Smith, Babi-Bnba'i Religions,
pp. 103-5.
122
rather than investing energy in the futile reform of Middle Eastern societies and their
political systems, the Baha'is should engage in a world-wide proselytisation effort
which would eventually lead to the universal recognition of Baha'ullah as the world
saviour. The establishment of the Baha'i movement in the Europe and North-America,
the geographical and cultural entity labelled as `the West', provided Baha'ullah and his
religious movement with a degree of recognition he did not receive in the Middle East.
That the Baha'i movement moved outside the Middle East during Àbdul-Baha's
ministry strengthened his charismatic authority as well.

At the same time, his charismatic authority was still needed in order to facilitate
changes in the doctrinal outlook of the movement which would make it more
marketable in the West. The promise of world peace had implicitly been part of
Baha'ullah's millenarian claims but only gained prominence among his teachings
during Àbdul-Baha's visits to Europe and North America, when he made it the central
aim of his father's theophany. Other doctrinal principles which were implicitly part of
Baha'ullah's teachings like racial equality or feminism became more pronounced in
Àbdul-Baha's representation of the movement in the West after contacts with
campaigners for racial justice and with suffragettes. Hence, the establishment of the
Baha'i movement in the West not only provided it with a new centre of gravity but also
its doctrinal development. 308In a different way, Àbduh also sought recognition
affected
and support from the West after he had ended his collaboration with Afghani.
4.2. Muhammad Àbduh: From Dissidence to Renewal

4.2.1. Alienation from Afghani
The section on Muhammad Àbduh's return to Sunni orthodoxy begins with his
alienation from his mentor Afghani shortly before his homecoming to Egypt. The
discussion of Àbduh's dissociation from Afghani also touches upon his radical re-
assessment of European colonialism and its role in the modernisation of Muslim
societies. The chapter concludes with how Àbduh aligned himself with traditions of
religious renewal and revival and non-charismatic models of religious authority in
Sunni Islam in order to dissociate himself from religious dissidence and to buttress his
orthodox credentials for posterity.
soßBrowne, E. G., Materials for the Study

of the Bibi Religion, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1918, p. xix.
123
After the failure of the fundraising mission to Tunisia and the ultimate demise of
the journal A1-'Ui"iva al-lVuthga, Àbduh returned to Beirut in 1885. His exile was
supposed to last for three years starting from December 1882 until 1885. However, his
direct involvement in the publication of Al- Ùi-wa al-Wuthgd and its anti-British
orientation did not allow for a return to Egypt that quickly, as both the British
occupying authorities and his chief opponent, the Khedive Tawfiq, feared that Àbduh's
presence in Egypt might destabilise the regime. The return of his long-standing political
ally Riyad Pasha as prime minister of Egypt in 1888 and the latter's intercession at the
khedivial court as well as the mediating role of supporters like Mukhtar Pasha, the
Ottoman representative in Egypt, achieved a pardon by the khedive so that Àbduh
could return to Egypt in 1888.309

There is some controversy as to the role of the British authorities in Egypt,
particularly of the governor Lord Cromer, in Àbduh's return from exile. While Rida
downplays the importance of Lord Cromer in the khedive's decision and emphasises the
mediation of local intercessors, Lord Cromer claims that he as the chief representative
in fact, Àbduh. 31oRida intends to diminish British
of British authorities, pardoned
influence on Àbduh's return by attributing it primarily to the intercession of his
Egyptian friends. The political context of independent Egypt in which Rida wrote his
biography explains his agenda. In a time of national re-assertion after Egypt had gained
formal independence from Britain in 1922, it was important to cleanse 'Abduh from any
close rapport with the British authorities.

Regarding Àbduh's acquittal, the khedive might have issued the official decree
allowing Àbduh's return to Egypt but given his earlier association with Afghani and his
anti-British agitation, it is more likely that the khedive could only have pardoned
Àbduh with British approval. 311Àbduh's Egyptian friends received the assurance from
him that he would abstain from any direct involvement in politics after his return and
only engage in religious reform in such a way as it would not threaten the authority of
the British 312
occupying powers.
Despite the khedive's pardon Àbduh's public influence was curbed
immediately after his return to Egypt. Although Àbduh intended to resume teaching at
the Dar al-Ùliim, the khedive feared that this would give him a strong platform to
309Rida, Ta 'rikh I,
p. 418.
310Rida, Ta 'rikh I,
p. 895
311Amin, A. Zu'arnri'
aI-IslrizJtl-'Asr al-Hadith, Cairo: Maktaba al-Nahaa al-Misriyya, 1948, p. 336.
312Ibid.,
p. 337.
124
exercise political influence, particularly on his students. Therefore, he ordered Àbduh
to become judge at a court outside the capital, an order which can be considered to
further 313
mean a exile within the country.
Àbduh's acquittal by Lord Cromer also required his dissociation from Afghani.
Àbduh's break with Afghani was to some extent necessary in order to live and work in
British-occupied Egypt. However, there are some indications that this break was not just
fabricated to appease Lord Cromer and the khedive but that it reflected Àbduh's
genuine disillusionment with the style of radicalism and revolutionary activism Afghani
embodied. Rida indicates that particularly after the failure and end of the society of Al-
Ùr-wa al-IVirthgä and its journal, Àbduh increasingly felt the futility of Afghani's
political schemes. Rida's biography contains a conversation in which Àbduh suggests
to Afghani a strategy change and an idealistic educational pyramid scheme as an
alternative to their hitherto ineffective political activities:
Ì think', he said to Afghani, `we should abandon politics and should go to a completely
unknown place on the earth where we don't know anybody. We should then choose among
the people of this place ten young men or more who are bright and in good condition. We
should educate them in our way and draw their attention to our purpose. When for each one
of them the further education of ten others is destined, it will only take some years and we
have one hundred sons who are firm in the struggle (jihad on the path of reform'... But
Afghani replied: `You are hesitant. We have been proceeding in this way and it is necessary
to continue. As long as we persevere, we will see its effect. 314
In the first meeting Àbduh had with Rida in Cairo he expressed regrets over
how Afghani wasted his energy and talents in fertile political struggles, though `Sayyid
Jamalud-Din possessed extraordinary power. If he had changed and had devoted his
attention to education (al-ta'ihn wal-tairbiyya), Islam would have gained immense

benefits. '315However, Afghani was too impatient a person to devise long-term plans for
a profound reform of Muslim societies via education: `Sayyid Jamalud-Din thought that
the path of education is long and that quicker reform is achieved by the reform of the
ruler and the government. ' 316Àbduh bemoaned the fact that instead of using his
contacts with the Ottoman sultan to lobby for educational reforms as he did, Afghani
associated with people in Istanbul who pursued despicable activities. Rather than
seeking the cooperation of influential religious leaders in Istanbul to increase the
313Rida, Ta'rikh 1, p. 420.

"; Ibid., pp. 416f..
315Ibid.,
p. 894.
316Ibid., p. 896.
125
funding for religious colleges and universities, Afghani embarked on revolutionary
activities which were not only fertile but also corrupt and ultimately frustrated any
317
reform attempts.
The last correspondence between Afghani and Àbduh expresses the rift between
the two. Their final exchange of letters cannot be completely reproduced. Rida only
summarises the contents of Àbduh's letter and quotes a few sentences from Afghani's
reply. According to Rida, Àbduh wrote a rather allusive letter to Afghani in which he
explains his disillusiomnent with their political activities. Àbduh chose an esoteric
style as he feared that the police might read all mail sent to Afghani. Likewise he did
the letter, knowing that Afghani his handwriting. 318Such

not sign would recognise
secretive methods were a sign of Àbduh's fear that the khedive and the British
authorities might interpret their correspondence as a sign of their continuing association.
Afghani in reply rebuked him for such secretive measures and accused him of being a
coward who lives ìn dark abodes where the evil is not distinguished from the good, the
honourable from the despicable and the prudent from the reckless. '319 For Afghani,
Àbduh's decision to seek pardon from their chief opponent, Tawfiq Pasha, and from
their former common enemy, the British colonial authorities, must have felt like a
betrayal. Their relationship cooled down in consequence. When Afghani died in 1897,
Àbduh did not write any commemorative article or eulogy to his former master whom
he had adored so much as a young man.320
Hence, Àbduh's break with Afghani represents a radically different
understanding of renewal between the two. While Afghani and Àbduh prior to his
return to Egypt believed in indigenous reform attempts and saw in the Ùrabi revolt an
expression of this possibility, the failure of the Ùrabi revolt and all other reform
attempts in the Middle East and the consequent colonial policy of European powers led
to a re-adjustment of their strategies. In the articles of Al- Ù-iva al-W uthgd, the
liberation from and struggle against European colonialism possess priority over political
reforms. Afghani believed that his political agitation and cooperation with Middle
Eastern rulers like Sultan Abdiil-Hamid II or Nasirud-Din Shah will eventually be
successful in driving European powers out of the Muslim world. As Àbduh saw the
failure of Afghani's anti-imperialist activism and the inability of Middle Eastern
317 Ibid.
318Ibid.
319Ibid., p. 897.
320Rafiì, A, Al-Thawra Cairo: Matkaba al-Nahda al- Misriyya, 1949,
al-'Arabiyya it'al-/btilnl al-h jilizi,
pp. 542f..
126
regimes to introduce reforms, he realised that reforms can only be achieved with the
colonial powers and not against them. Since the British occupying powers in Egypt
controlled every aspects of public life and even the khedive depended on them, Àbduh
decided to cooperate with the British. It is obvious that the relationship between
Afghani and Àbduh deteriorated as Àbduh decided to pursue a path which Afghani
utterly detested.
4.2.2. Colonialism as a Tool to Modernisation

Initially, Àbduh found in the new Khedive Àbbas Hilmi, who succeeded
Tawfiq in 1892, a strong supporter for his reformist agenda. The khedive appointed
Àbduh to various positions in order to enforce reforms. However, their relationship
deteriorated when Àbduh contravened on several occasions the khedive's interests.321
Consequently, the khedive countered Àbduh's reform initiatives and allied with the
conservative ùlamä' of al-Azhar to curtail his public influence. Àbduh in consequence

developed a rather hostile attitude towards the khedive and his family stressing their
foreign origin and attempting to decrease their political influence. As the khedive failed
to provide political patronage for his projects, Àbduh turned towards the British
colonial authorities and their chief representative Lord Cromer in whom he found a
reliable supporter whenever he faced the opposition of the political and religious
322
establishment of the country.
While the ùlainr ' and the khedive turned into his enemies, for the British
authorities Àbduh was àn "Alim" of... a superior type' and à man of broad and
enlightened views. '323He not only found in the chief representative Lord Cromer an
ally but he also developed a good rapport with him. The British occupying powers were
the driving force behind Abduh's appointment as grand mufti of Egypt in 1899.324
When Àbduh's position was threatened due to his controversial fatwas, it was
Cromer's backing which ensured that Àbduh could retain this office. 325Legal reforms
affecting the slzar 'a courts and reforms in the central administration of pious
endowments and the network of mosques were initiated by Àbduh as grand mufti of
321Amin, Zu àmä',
p. 320; Ìrrara, Al-A'mal al-Kdndla I, p. 30, footnote 1; Sekaly, A., `Le Probleme des
Wakfs en Egypte', Revue des Eludes Islamiques 3 (1929), pp. 115f..
'" Rida, Ta'64-h 1,
pp. 572-5.
323Baring, Modern Egypt II,
p. 179.
32' Rida, Ta'rikh I,
p. 602.
32SBaring, Modern Egypt /1,
note 1, pp. 180f..
127
Egypt. They could only be achieved against the resistance of the ùlaiuä' and the
khedive because of Cromer's support for these reforms.
In Cromer, Àbduh found a kind of political authority which shared his
scepticism toward and distance from the religious and political establishment and was
keen on curbing the influence of the conservative 'ulania' and the khedive. Cromer was
rather sceptical of the prospect that Egyptians would gain a degree of political maturity
which would allow self-rule in the foreseeable future. For him, it would take many
years until an educational system could be established creating an intellectual and
political elite capable of governing the country. Àbduh apparently shared this view
perceiving the Egyptian elite as being incapable of modernising the country on its own.
Before democratic self-rule could be established an elite would have to be created with
the necessary educational standard to provide effective and moral leadership. 326
Àbduh agreed with Cromer that British colonial rule was required in order to
prepare the Egyptians for self-government. Contemporary biographers and observers of

Àbduh compared him with Sayyid Ahmad Khan who laboured for political, social and
for the Muslims in India with British support. 327 Àbduh's
religious reforms
rapprochement to the political ideas of the Neichariyya School is evident in a letter he
wrote to an Indian scholar informing him that he had translated Ahmad Khan's
Neichariyya and was preparing its publication. 328

The British authorities were for Àbduh an important counter-pole to the
khedive limiting his obstructive policies against reforms. When, in 1904, Wilfrid Blunt
asked his friend Àbduh about the conditions under which Egyptian independence could
be achieved, Àbduh clearly expressed his resentments against the khedive in the letter
he wrote in response. For him,
the first and fundamental rule of administration must be that the Khedive shall have no
power of interference in the executive of any of the Ministerial Departments, nor yet in the
Atirkaf, nor in' the Azhar, nor in the religious Courts. His personal intervention in the
Egyptian Administration should be done away with, once and for all. 32°
Blunt sent another letter to Àbduh in which he asks him to develop a post-
independence draft constitution for Egypt. In light of the khedive's opposition to such a
326Rida, `Sira', p. 489; see also Merad, A., `L'enseignement

politique de Muhammad Àbduh aux
algeriens (1903)', Confluent 42-43 (1964), pp. 674-89.
327Amin, Zu'ama',
pp. 340f.; see also Baring, Modern Egypt II, p. 180.
328Ìrrara, Al-A
nal al-Kämila 11,pp. 374f; see also Livingston, J. \V., `Muhanmiad Àbduh on Science',
The Muslim World 85 (1995), p. 222.
329Quoted in Blunt, Secret Histomy, 625.
p.
128
constitution, Blunt suggested that he should be replaced by a European prince who
would support a constitutional government. Although Àbduh rejected the idea of
installing a European ruler in Egypt, he stressed the need of British rule in preparation
of independence, as `the British Government shall watch over the maintenance of order
and the safeguarding of the Constitution to be granted, and not leave it exposed to
interference by the Khedives. ' 330
That Àbduh saw in European colonialism an agent of modernisation can also be
seen in his journey to Tunisia and Algeria in 1903 which were under French colonial
rule. Contacts with reformist 'Mama' in this region had already been established, as
they received copies of AI-Mandr. Àbduh's journey had the purpose of meeting those
'ulanrd' who felt attracted to his modernist interpretation of Islam. Àbduh was aware
that he had to avoid the impression that his journey was an attempt to mobilise Muslims
in Algeria and Tunisia against French colonial rule. As soon as some of Àbduh's
opponents in Egypt heard about his plans to travel to North Africa, they sent letters to
the colonial authorities in Algeria warning them of Àbduh's future arrival and his
disorder. 33' Therefore, Àbduh had to present his
alleged plans to stir up unrest and
journey as having merely an educational and religious mission for the reform of Islam
and the revival of the Arabic language. In April 1903, he published an article in A1-
Manär which provided a quite favourable description of French colonial policy in order
to prepare his visit to North Africa French backing. 332As Àbduh stayed
and to receive
in France prior to his departure to Algeria, he required the permission of the French
government to enter its colony. It is not unlikely that the permission was granted under
the condition that Àbduh did not touch upon political questions during his stay in
Algeria and Tunisia. 333
At first sight, Àbduh's journey appeared to be completely apolitical. He met
modernist ùlania', discussed with them the need for educational reforms, urged them to
ensure the application of the shari à and gave a commentary on the Sf"a al- Àsr (The
Declining Day) in several lectures. However, even a politically inconspicuous exercise
like writing a Koranic commentary contained a political message which was
sympathetic to the French government. The full text of the sura is as follows:
330Quoted in ibid.,
p. 626.
331Rida, Ta'rikh /,
p. 781.
331A1-AMandr6 (1903),
pp. 79f..
333Merad, Ènseignement
politique', pp. 659-63.
129
I swear by the declining day that man is in [deep] loss, except for those who believe, do
good deeds (snlihät), urge one another to the truth (hagq) and urge one another to
(sabr). 333
steadfastness
According to Àbduh, the very short sura contains the notion that salvation
depends on the adherence to truth. As the political pendant to truth is justice, the sura
implies that justice will triumph in the world if people exhibit steadfastness and exercise
steadfastness or patience (sabr). 335This interpretation reflects Àbduh's pragmatic
stance in relation to European colonialism. The foreign occupation of Muslim countries

might be an undesirable state but the imperative of political patience dictates that it is
more beneficial to abstain from violent opposition to European imperialism and to
it
accept as a tool for the modernisation of Muslim 336
countries.
In his public lectures, Àbduh advised the Muslim elite in the colonies to acquire
a quietist stance towards their colonisers and to seek cooperation with them. As long as
the colonial authorities feel that their subjects oppose them, they will suppress them.
Therefore, Muslims should abstain from anti-colonialist activities in order to gain
material support for the modernisation of their countries. Political quietism does not
mean that attempts should not be made to influence the policies of the colonial
authorities and to affect their legislation. Àbduh envisioned a pacifist and loyal
cooperation of Muslims with their colonisers as a necessary condition for the

development of Muslim societies. The civilising mission of European colonialism is
implicitly acknowledged as Àbduh believed that indigenous reform attempts would fail
337
outside the colonial context.
His journeys to Europe similarly document how much Àbduh considered
Western nations to be a role-model for Middle Eastern societies. Whenever he travelled
to Europe, he gained the inspiration and motivation for the reform of Islam and Muslim
societies. Asked by Rida, what he is expecting from his European journeys, Àbduh
replied: Ì go there to renew myself. '338
The journeys to Europe had the effect that they strengthened my hope in the reform of the
conditions of Muslims. Whenever I travelled to Europe, it renewed my hope in changing

the state of Muslims for the better, achieved through the reform of what they have
corrupted in their religion... This hope always turned weak whenever I returned to my
33; Koran 103: 1-3.

335Ìmara, Al-A'mäl
al-Känrila V, pp. 501-3.
336Merad, Ènseignement
politique', pp. 671-3.
337Rida, Ta'rikh 1,
pp. 873f..
338Ibid., p. 847.
130
country...But when I returned to Europe and stayed there for a month or two that hope
came back to 339

nie.
The purpose of Àbduh's European journeys as expressed in his own words
provides evidence of his realisation that the modernisation of Muslim societies could
only be achieved in cooperation with European nations even if this required a period of
colonisation. Àbduh's complete reversal from Afghani's religio-political dissidence
could not be more explicit. Whereas under Afghani's mentorship and as editor of AI-
Ùnva al-Wuthgä Àbduh was an outspoken opponent of European colonialism and
used the Koran in order to legitimise resistance, at the end of his life Àbduh accepted
colonial vile for pragmatic reasons and referred to the Koran to justify it. His
acquiescence with European colonialism stemmed from the realisation that ambitious
reform projects could not be realised in the current political and religious climate in the
Middle East without the compounding support of the Europeans. For posterity, his
break with Afghani and his complete political u-turn had to appear coherent. Àbduh
aligned himself in the tradition of orthodox Islamic renewal (tajdid) in order to
reconcile himself with his origins in religious dissidence and to explain away the
contradictions and breaks in his biography.
4.2.3. The mujaddid Tradition in Sunni Islam
Subsequently I consulted on that matter a number of those skilled in discerning hearts and
visions and they were of one mind in advising me to abandon my seclusion and to emerge
from my religious retirement. In addition to that, certain godly men had many recurrent
dreams attesting that this move of mine would be a source of good and a right procedure,
and that it had been decreed by God - Praised be He! - for the beginning of this century.
For God - Praised be He! - has indeed promised to revivify His religion at the beginning of
each century. 340
Describing the reasons for his return to scholarly activities after ten years of
retirement, al-Ghazali admits his apprehensions of resuming a path which he has

abandoned in the past. After his disillusionment with the life of a religious scholar, its
too rationalistic foundation, its lack of spiritual orientation and its distracting social
prestige, he withdrew from his teaching position in Baghdad and lived the life of a
wandering dervish before founding a Sufi convent near his hometown Nishapur. As a
response to the perceived moral laxity of the people, the demise of the ùlainf ' class and
33' Ibid.,
pp. 846f..
340Al-Gbazält, Freedom
and Fulfrlmenl, pp. 106f..
131
political turmoil, al-Ghazali decided to shun this world and pursue the life-style of a
mystic. However, the grand vizier ordered al-Ghazali to return to Nishapur and to
continue teaching, an order which he initially ignored but later made him realise that the
proper response to the corruption of religion caused by the moral decline of the
believers is not abandoning the world but guiding the believers to the truth. After
discussing his reluctance with fellow mystics, al-Ghazali's conviction grew that he was
destined by God to restore Islam in his time.
Al-Ghazali paraphrases in this statement a Iradith which appears in the canonical
collection of Abu Dawud: `Verily, God, the Exalted, sends to this community at the
beginning of each century someone who renews its religion (magi yi jaddidu laha
dinahd). ' As his re-conversion to a religious scholar occurred at the beginning of the
fifth century after the hijrra, al-Ghazali must have felt that he was the one God has
chosen to renew Islam in his time. He rephrases the liadith slightly using revival of
religion (ilryd' al-den) instead of renewal (tajdid). His choice of words might intend to
establish a link between the hadith and his own magnum opus Ilryä' ÙI&m al-Din (The
Revival of Rellglous Sciences). 34'
Unlike other epithets and titles, the term nujaddid has not really played a
prominent role in discussions of religious authority in the Islamic tradition. The

different conceptions of religious and political leadership in the Islamic community
which emerged among sectarian lines in early Islam and which distinguish Shiis from
Sunnis have received quite detailed elucidations in relation to the establishment of the
Shii-Sunni divide. Theories on the Imamate and the caliphate were formulated to
consolidate the distinct sectarian identities of both groups. Similarly, alternative

channels of charismatic authority like the Sufi saints or agents of charismatic renewal
like the Mahdi have received a lot of attention. Comparable discussions of the role and
the characteristics of the nnjaddid and his mission of tajdid are a rather rare and late
phenomenon in Islamic thought. As Ella Landau-Tasseron observes, `the discussion of

tajdirl is mainly conducted in personal, not in conceptual terms. '342The title is attributed
to pious and meritorious Muslims like al-Ghazali without providing any doctrinal
systematisation of the label.
''1 Lazarus-Yafeh, H., `Tajdid al-Din: A Reconsideration of Its Meaning, Roots, and Influence in Islam',
Brunner, N. M., Ricks, S. D. (eds.), Studies in Islamic and Judaic Traditions: Papers Presented at the
Institute for Islamic-Judaic Studies, Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1986, p. 103; Landau-Tasseron, E., `The
"Cyclical Reform": A Study of the Muynddid Tradition', Studia Islmnica 70 (1989), p. 86.
342Ibid.,
p. 84.
132
The mtjaddid liadith seems to have originated in an eschatological context. Abu
Dawud includes the tradition in the section containing traditions on events prior to the
Day of Judgement. 343Although the hadith does not have eschatological connotations on
the surface, it appeared in response to the disappointed messianic expectations of early

Muslims who awaited the immediate arrival of the Mahdi at the turn of the first century
hyra. But as the calamities and disasters described in eschatological Itadith
after the
reports did not occur, the belief in the immediate arrival of the Day of Judgement
became unsustainable. The nujaddid hadith offered a solution to the disappointed

it
messianic expectations as presumes the cyclical renewal of Islam and its rejuvenation
344In the long term,
at the turn of each century without concurrent eschatological events.
the hadith was used against messianic movements in Islam. When messianic
expectations became popular in Egypt at the beginning of the eigth century A. H., the
scholar Zaynud-Din al-'Iraqi (d. 1404) stressed the importance of the nnjaddid to
counter eschatological expectations. He and the Egyptian scholar Jalalud-Din al-Suyuti

(d. 1505) countered in their works on the ttit jaddid the immediate prospect of
charismatic renewal by the Mahdi to prove that Islam possesses mechanisms of self-
its integrity 345
purification which guarantee the preservation of and authenticity.
In interpretations of the nnjaddid ltadith and in attempts to identify bearers of
this title throughout Islamic history, the ltadith has been completely dissociated from its
The title mt jaddid has been applied to eminent Sunni

possible eschatological origins.
scholars known for their restoration of genuine Islam as embodied in the Koran and the
stntzta of the Prophet like al-Shafi'i, al-Ash'ari or al-Ghazali. The rntjaddid was
understood to be the restorer of pristine Islam against its adulteration by alien

innovations (bida ). The identification of renewal with the restoration of Islam in its
original form upholds the primary importance of the Koran and the sunna as the
repositories of the perfect model of Islam. Hence, the nn jarldid advocates a stricter and
more rigorist application of the authoritative sources of Islam and thereby targets
practices of popular religiosity which have no foundations in these sources, established

ùlamd ' who adhere to the scholarly conventions of their legal or theological more than
to the Koran and the sunrta, and, finally, the adoption of non-Islamic ideas and customs
which delude the purity of the Islamic revelation. The nu jaddid argues for an
343Friedmann, Prophecy Continuous, p. 95.

"' Ibid., pp. 96-99. That the in jaddid hafith originated in reaction to eschatological expectations in order
to postpone the arrival of the Day of Judgement has been contested. Cf. Landau-Tasseron, `Mt jaddid
Tradition', pp. 80-4).
345Ibid., pp. 79f..
133
independent interpretation of the primary sources of Islam (ijtihdd) ignoring the legal
him its imitation (taglid) by other scholars.346
and exegetical tradition preceding and
Charismatic authority is not important in connection with the nnjaddid. He is
rather one of the ùlanid' who restores true Islam and whose scholarly contributions
have left a lasting impact on the Muslim community. Far from being associated with
religious dissidence and heterodoxy, the m jaddid epitomises orthodox Islam. For
Àbduh, the mtjaddid tradition became a tool of routinising charismatic authority. By
identifying himself with great reformers in the Sunni tradition, he was able to reconcile
his origins in heretical traditions with his later dissociation therefrom. By becoming the
iurjaddid of the 19ì' century, Àbduh's religious dissidence could appear to be orthodox.
4.2.4. The Making of a Salafi mujaddid

In the beginning of his autobiographical remarks, Àbduh describes his reformist
project and outlines its objectives:
First, to liberate thought from the shackles of blind imitation (taglid) and understand
religion in the way of the pious ancestors of the community (salaf al-uroma) before
dissension appeared; to return in the acquisition of religious knowledge to its first sources
and to weigh them in the scales of human reason which God has created in order to prevent
excess and to lessen delusion and adulteration in religion, so that the wisdom of God may
be fulfilled in preserving the order of the human world. Religion in this respect can be
counted as a friend of science, investigating the secrets of existence, summoning respect for
established truths and demanding reliance on them in one's moral life and conduct. All this,
I count as one matter, and in my advocacy for them, I stood in opposition to the opinion of
two great groups of which the body of the community is constituted - the students of the
sciences of religion, and those who are like them, and the students of the arts of this age,
347
and those who are on their side.
Àbduh does not refer to himself as a nujaddid explicitly but still mentions
several features which are in accordance with the Sunni understanding of this role as it
has evolved in the Islamic tradition. He mentions the need to return to the primary
sources of Islam and to re-discover Islam as it existed in the early community. Like
other renewers, he rejects taglid, the unquestioned adherence of the ùlaind' to their
scholarly tradition and advocates a return to the unmolested purity of Islam at the time
of the pious ancestors (al-salaf al-sälilr), the first three generations of Muslims after
346Vol,, J. 0., `Renewal

and Reform in Islamic History: Tajd d and Islal: ', Esposito, J. L., (ed. ), Voices of
Resurgent Islam, New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983, pp. 32-47.
347Rida, Ta 'rikh 1,
pp. 11f.; see also I lourani, Arabic Thought, pp. 140f..
134
Muhammad. The orientation towards the pious ancestors would provide the reform
movement which Àbduh initiated with the name Salafiyya.

While the opposition between taglid and Utihäd had been utilised earlier in the
articulation of tajdid, these terms receive a particular reading by Àbduh and Rida.
Traditionally ijtihdd denotes the personal effort of a religious scholar to arrive at a legal
ruling using the primary sources as well as the whole repertoire of jurisprudential
scholarship. Tag1Fdrefers to the adherence of a scholar to the scholarship of his own
legal school (ma(hhab). The nnjaddid would usually claim the prerogative of Ytihdd
and de-emphasise scholarly loyalty towards any of the different legal rites. Àbduh and
Rida however provide these terms with a Salafi spin. For them, the nnjtahid, the scholar
practising ijtihdd, is identified with a modern Muslim re-interpreting the primary
sources in the light of current problems and circumstances, while the nurgallid,
meticulously preserving the medieval scholarly heritage, is presented as a traditionalist
348
out of touch with the modern world.
Àbduh positions himself between two groups: the representatives of traditional
Islamic scholarship who remained untouched by the emergence of Western modernity
and intellectuals who have studied modern sciences and dismiss Islam as inherently
backward. From the time of his early educational career, Àbduh was uneasy with the
first group as his frustration with traditional scholarship and modes of instruction
indicated. At the same time, he rejected the blind imitation of Western modernity as
advocated by Western educated intellectuals and members of the ruling elite. By placing
himself between the conservative religious establishment and secular thinkers, Àbduh
evokes an important element of religious renewal. The in jaddid stands in opposition to

a stagnant ùlamä' class and to groups among Muslims which advocate the adoption of
foreign elements and innovations (bida ) alien to Islam.
As the title iui jaddid was mostly bestowed on a religious scholar by his
disciples, it was Rashid Rida who attached this label to both his teacher Àbduh and
also Jamalud-Din al-Afghani, considering them to be àmongst the greatest
nianifestations'349 of religious renewal. To counter the objection that with Afghani and
Àbduh there were two simultaneous renewers notion that is not evident in the text
-a
of the Odith - Rida refers to later Muslim commentators like al-Suyuti. According to
their understanding, renewal does not necessarily occur in the whole of Islam by one
348Skovgaard-Petersen, J., Defining Islam for the Egyptian State: Muftis

and Fativas of the Däß"al-Ifid,
leiden: Brill, 1997, pp. 65-8.
349Rida, Ta'iikh 1,, 974.
p.
135
major reformer, but there are usually several reformers who work in different fields.
Some renewers labour on the reform of religious sciences like Koranic exegesis,
jurisprudence or Arabic linguistics, other reformers have a political and military
350
mission.
In his Ta'rikh, Rida undertakes a comparison of the reformist oeuvre of Afghani
and Àbduh. After their encounter in Egypt, they embarked together on `two kinds of
' 351Afghani
renewal, political and scientific. and Àbduh taught at al-Azhar and the Dar
al-Ù1üm, contributed to the nascent Egyptian press, formed a new nationalist party and
used other channels like Freemasonry to lobby for political reforms. Using these
different means, Afghani and Àbduh jointly worked' for changes in the intellectual,
educational and political life of Egypt. In response to British colonialism, they were
forced to focus on political change and cooperated in the anti-colonialist society AI-
Ùrwa al-Wirthgn. When the journal ceased its publication and Àbduh returned from
Paris to Beirut, their cooperation terminated and likewise the focus of their reformist
activities altered:
Then, the two parted and each one of them occupied himself with what was natural for him
to accomplish, in accordance with his preference and capacity. Both of them are necessary
and indispensable: reform and renewal through politics and reform and renewal through
education (al-ta'lhn uval-taibivya). If you like, you could say, the first is the renewal of the
community through the reform of the state while the second is the renewal of state through
the reform of the community. Both of them are necessary and lead to each other. However,
while the first is more rapid and more immediate, the second is more constant and more
352
permanent.
According to Rida, in the time of their cooperation in Egypt, Afghani and

Àbduh fused their different talents and interests, while later they pursued distinct
careers suited to their mentalities. Afghani continued his political activism until the end
his life, Àbduh 353
of whereas concentrated on educational reforms.
Rida's depiction of Afghani and Àbduh as 19`h century manifestations of the
tajdid tradition serves two apologetic purposes. First, he intends to cover lip the serious
rift which must have occurred between Àbduh and Afghani in the later 1880s
illustrated by their last rather hostile correspondence and Àbduh's political turnaround
from a dissident political activist to a quietist religious reformer. Rida explains this rift
350Ibid.
351Ibid.
352Ibid.
353Ibid.,
pp. 975-7.
136
away by speaking of the different, but equally important and complementary, focuses of
their activities and by distinguishing between Afghani's political and Àbduh's
educational approach.
Second, Rida attempts to reconcile Afghani and Àbduh with the Sunni
mainstream by giving them the label nnjaddid and thereby employs a very similar
strategy as the disciples of al-Shafi'i did in early Islam. Al-Shafi'i's opponents accused
him of introducing innovation (bid à) into Islam with his systematisation of Islamic
jurisprudence. His disciples used the nujaddid liadith to underpin his scholarly and
religious authority by portraying him as the agent of cyclical reform in Islam as

in the 354
11adith. By characterising Afghani and Àbduh as the Islamic
predicted
renewers of the 19`h century, Rida attempts to deflect doubts about their orthodox
credentials which were quite justified in the light of their Sufi and Shii leanings and
their flirtation with religio-political dissidence. The label mujaddid not only sets them in
line with the eminent Sunni scholars of the past like al-Shafiì and al-Ghazali but also
gives their reformist work a specific doctrinal direction. Whatever both endeavoured to
accomplish in the various fields of their activities, both always aimed at the restoration
of authentic Islam, the return to the sunna of the Prophet and the example of the early
community.
Similar to efforts in the past when the nujaddid hadith was used to counter
messianic movements or to rehabilitate religious dissidents for posterity like al-Shafi'i,

Àbduh embraced the label mrjaddid in order to reconcile his own religious dissidence
and that of Afghani with Sunni orthodoxy. While Àbduh's initial religious dissidence
was expressed in terms of Sufi Islam and rationalistic philosophy, it could now be
presented as an act of orthodox purification itself as predicted in the zadIt/, and
.
undertaken by famous historical precursors. Àbduh evoked the nu jaddid hadith in
order to set himself apart from suspicions of religious heresy and to align himself with
the reformist oeuvre of famous Sunni scholars of the past. While for Àbdul-Baha
routinisation of charisma meant the cementing of the departure of the Baha'i movement
from Islam, it was for Àbduh the concealment of his own early flirtation with
heterodox Islam and traditions of religio-political dissent and the modelling of his own
vita as a religious reformer after the nujaddid /tadith and historical role models whose
adherence to orthodox Sunnism is undoubted.
354Landau-Tasseron, `Mt jaddid Tradition',

pp. 93-112.
137
4.3. Conclusion
With Àbdul-Baha and Muhammad Àbduh, one encounters modern re-

enactments of two prima facie contradictory models of renewal in the Islamic tradition.
While the succession of charismatic authority from Baha'ullah to Àbdul-Baha
resembles the continuation of divine guidance in the line of the Shii Imams after the
death of the Prophet, Muhammad Àbduh is depicted as the mi jaddid of the 19`hcentury
who restored Islam in its original purity. Hence, the two seem to be modern
manifestations of the tension between Shii and Sufi notions of charismatic authority and
its quasi-prophetic nature and the Sunni stress on scholarly authority embodied in the
nujaddid. While the former upholds the continuity of divine guidance which also
entails a further development of the Islamic tradition, the latter posits the ideal to be
enshrined in the past and considers renewal to be the return to the historical role-model.
Assuming a conflict between these two models and their modern representations in
Àbdul-Baba and Àbduh helps to explain the different directions they took. The Shii
notion of continuous divine guidance facilitated the theophanic claims of the Bab and
Baha'ullah and endowed Àbdul-Baha with a scope of authority which allowed the
Baha'i departure from Islam. Àbduh's identification with the tradition of renewal in
Sunni Islam allowed him to return to religious orthodoxy.
However, the assumed sharp contrast between charismatic and scholarly renewal
overlooks the subtle similarities between the two. The nizjaddid hadith might have had
originally stronger connotations of charismatic and messianic renewal. With the caliph
Ùmar b. Àbdul-Àziz (r. 717-720), there is an individual combining the charisma of
deep piety, sound scholarship and political power whom many of his contemporaries
regarded as the Mahdi and whom later generations of scholars considered to be the first
Islam. 355A return to the messianic connotations of the nnjaddid occurred
nn jaddid of
with the South Asian Naqshbandi Sufi Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi (1564-1624). Believing
in the continuous divine guidance of humanity, Sirhindi considered the `slim who
becomes the centennial nnjaddid as the agent with whom God directs humanity after
prophecy has terminated with Muhammad. For Sirhindi, the centennial m111jaddid
assumes a similar role to that of the Israelite prophets after Moses. Both the rnujaddid
and Israelite prophets do not bring a new book or new law but simply restore the law as
it has been previously revealed. But Sirhindi goes one step further. Living at the
355Rida, Ta'rikh I,
pp. 116f..
138
beginning of the second millennium of the Islamic era, Sirhindi developed the notion of
the renewer of the second millennium (m jaddid-i alf-i thdni) and claimed to be the one.
His mission excels the reform initiated by the centennial ones. As the decline of Islam
gained unprecedented momentum and is in a similar state as it will be before the Day of
Judgement, the millennial mtjaddid is endowed with a task comparable to the mission
of previous independent prophets (ulfr al- àzm) like Moses or Muhammad. The
millennial nujaddid cannot be a prophet himself but at least possessessimilar prophetic
perfections and, like proper prophets, communicates directly with God without any
in fulfil his formidable Islam. 356
mediation order to mission of the millennial renewal of
In the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement, Ghulam Ahmad, there is a
contemporary of Àbdul-Baba and Àbduh who conflates the in jaddid motif with
messianic and prophetic claims even more explicitly. Ghularn Ahmad initially claimed
to be merely a mi jaddid. However, his understanding of the sources of religious
renewal extends the rather scholarly Sunni notion of it and reflects its quasi-prophetic
conception by Sirhindi. Ghulam Ahmad's later direct claims to prophethood illustrate
that the »ujaddid embodies not necessarily the exact opposite to charismatic authority.
Provided with a quasi-prophetic mystical reading by Sufis like Sirhindi, it can become
in its radicalisation the very foundation for prophetic claims. Ghulam Ahmad has
become `the arch-heretic in modern Indian Islani'357 while Sirhindi is presented by 20th
century Muslim authors as the stronghold of Sunni orthodoxy in the Mughal Empire.
Despite the similarity of their charismatic claims, their later assessment could not be
more contradictory. This not only shows the fluidity of categories like orthodoxy and
heterodoxy but demonstrates the different dynamic that claims to charismatic authority
can gain in different historical circumstances. Whereas Sirhindi had to clothe his
spiritual claims in an allusive language because explicit claims to prophethood would
have resulted in the ultimate punishment, the situation in British India allowed Ghulam
Ahmad articulate his own convictions more openly. 358Ahmad Sirhindi and Ghulam
Ahmad provide two examples of the different directions religious heresy can take. In the
eyes of posterity, Sirhindi moved from heterodoxy to orthodoxy, while Ghulam

Ahmad's heretical claims ultimately turned into apostasy, at least in the eyes of
mainstream South Asian Islam today. This is quite similar to the historical evaluation of
356Friedmann, Y., Sha}kh Alimad Sirhindi: An Outline

of his Thought and a Study of his Image in the
Eyes of Posterity, 2nded., New Delhi: Oxford University Press, pp. 13-40.
3 Friedmann, Prophecy Continuous,
p. 146.
358Ibid.
139
Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh whose origins are quite similar but whose assessmentby later
generations could not be more different.

Categories of religious renewal like tajdid or wiläya appear to be more
precarious than sharp distinctions between Imam and Sufi saint on the one side and
nujaddid on the other side would suggest. Despite the fluidity of these two models of
religious renewal, Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh used them to deal with their common
origins in traditions of religious dissent and to routinise in different ways their mentors'
charismatic authority. Their early association with religious dissidence was important
for Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh in forging a new vision of Islam as an alternative to the
understanding of religious orthodoxy. It allowed them to engage with the emergence of

Western modernity in formulating versions of Islam which embrace modern ideas.
Given the unstable nature of charismatic authority, strategies had to be found to
perpetuate its appeal for posterity. As Àbdul-Bata's and Àbduh's religious dissidence
opened their minds to Western modernity, so did Western modernity provide the means
for a reformulation of their religious dissidence.
The heretical claims of Baha'ullah could not be articulated openly in a Muslim
environment. However much other Muslim reformers and dissidents might have shared
a certain affinity with the mystical foundations of the Baha'i movement and its socio-
political teachings, such a rapport could have only been maintained by concealing the
full impact of Baha'ullah's theophanic claims. Either Baha'ullah's claims had to be de-
emphasised, moving away from heresy in the long term, or they had to find new
addresseesmore receptive to their millenarianism.
That there were different interpretations of its sectarian orientation within the
Baha'i movement can be seen by the struggle for authority between Àbdul-Baha and
Muhammad Àli. Baha'ullah's extravagant claims to spiritual authority might have
appeared to him and to other contemporaries as being very similar to those of other
extreme Sufis like Nurbakhsh or Sirhindi. The nature of such claims does not epitomise
orthodox Islam but does not necessarily lead to a departure from the Islamic tradition.
Many of the first Baha'i missionaries who were sent to different parts of the Muslim
world, upholding tagiyya, presented the Baha'i movement as being merely a new Sufi
359One
order. might speculate that if Baha'ullah had not lived at the end of the 19`x'
century but in the 14`x'or 15th centuries, the Baha'i movement would have gone through
a similar doctrinal and organisational development to that of the Nurbakhshiyya earlier.
359Momen, M., `JamalEffendi and the Bahä'i Faith in Asia', in Danesh,J., Fazel, S. (eds.), Searchfor
Values: Ethics in Bah(ii'i Thought,Los Angeles: Kalimät Press,2004, pp. 161-205.
140
Àbdul-Baha's encounter with the West provided the Baha'i movement with a
new orientation. As the first Baha'i communities were established in North America in
1890s, he had to market the new movement in a different way fostering its doctrinal and
organisational consolidation and departure from Islam. Àbdul-Baha's charismatic
authority was still needed in order to provide a focal point for various Baha'is and their
diverse interpretations of the nature of the Baha'i movement. While Àbdul-Baha
tolerated the different if not contradictory opinions as to the nature of his movement,
these differences had to be resolved in its further institutionalisation.
Muhammad Àbduh's encounter with the West and his decision to cooperate
with the British colonial authorities made him dissociate himself from religio-political
dissent. After his break with Afghani, Àbduh moved away from religious heresy and
returned to orthodox Sunni Islam. Rida in his attempt to cover up both the heretical
origins of Afghani and Àbduh and their later alienation, depicted them as embodiments
of the centennial mi jaddid. Their religious authority is defined in non-charismatic and
scriptural terms evoking historical precursors like al-Ghazali in order to facilitate their
appeal within Sunni orthodoxy and to identify their reformist activities with his own
Salafi agenda.
While Àbdul-Baha's success in gaining recognition for his father's spiritual
claims outside the Middle East initiated the transformation of Baha'i movement into a
new religion, Àbduh's recognition by the British authorities made him to move away
from religious heterodoxy. Àbdul-Baba and Àbduh sought acknowledgement from the
West. As soon as they managed to receive it, their movements moved in opposite
directions. While the Baha'i movement finalised apostasy and assumed a distinct
sectarian identity and its own organisational structure, Àbduh became more orthodox
and, in developing a more sustainable model of religious authority, undertook a
modernist re-interpretation of the role of the ùlama' in Sunni Islam.
141
5. Charisma Routinised
When Àbdul-Baha and Muhammad Àbduh moved out of the shadows of their
early mentors and had to ascertain their influence in their respective communities, they
identified themselves with different models of religious authority. While Àbdul-Baha
established himself as the new charismatic leader of the Baha'i movement, Àbduh
presented himself as an orthodox Sunni reformer.
From their formative years onwards, Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh shared
dissatisfaction with the performance of the traditional holders of religious authority.
Therefore, they sought alternative forms which were initially charismatic. Given the
precarious nature of charismatic authority, they had to find ways of, what Weber has
called, routinising charisma in order to discipline the religious dissent out of which they
themselves had originated. More stable and effective forms of leadership were required
in order to consolidate the religious movements they had initiated. At the end of their
careers, Àbdul-Baba and Àbduh developed and implemented new models of religious
authority which would, on the one hand, ensure that the creative output of charismatic
authority could be perpetuated and which would, on the other hand, be more stable and
permanent.
Àbdul-Baha, after the establishment of the Baha'i movement in the West,
furthered its institutionalisation both in the Middle East and in Europe and North-
America. In the process of its institutionalisation the departure of the Baha'i movement
from Islam was gradually implemented. At the same time, new patterns of religious
authority were introduced which replaced traditional charismatic and clerical authority
with lay leadership and more consultative forms of decision making. Àbduh intended
to reform the nature of religious authority in Islam by broadening its intellectual scope
and making it more accessible for lay Muslims. Thereby, he initiated the popularisation
and laicisation of religious discourse in modern Islam. Concurrent with their reforms of
religious authority, Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh completely broke with their dissident past
and moulded their own activities and those of their followers in politically quietist terms.
142
5.1. Àbdul-Baba: From Charisma to Bureaucracy
5.1.1. Froni Charisma to Consultation
In Al-Kitnb al-Agdas, Baha'ullah expresses his awareness of the need to
routinise his charisma after his death and introduces several sources of authority in his
absence. That his male descendants, the aghsin, would assume a leading role in the
administration of his movement is alluded to when they are designated to receive
(aºvgnf) his death.36°In his Kitdb-i Àhd,
religious endowments and religious taxes after
Baha'ullah further qualifies the leadership of his sons by prioritising his eldest son
Àbdul-Baha over his younger half-brother Muhammad Àli. While for Àbdul-Baha
and most Baha'is this meant the sole and centralised authority of Àbdul-Baha,
Muhammad Àli and his brothers favoured a more collective form of leadership by all
aghsnn. Àbdul-Baha's interpretation became the widely accepted viewpoint,
particularly as it evokes the traditional succession of charismatic authority in the Shii

Imamate and in Sufi orders.
Whereas centralised charismatic authority was exercised by Baha'ullah by virtue
of being a new divine theophany and later by Àbdul-Baha as his appointed successor,
leadership on a local level was not formalised. Living in a society in which religious
authority was traditionally attributed to the Shii clergy, `Mama' converts became the
natural leaders of the Baha'i movement in the different regions and cities of Iran. They
acted as emissaries for Baha'ullah and later Àbdul-Baha visiting them frequently in
Àkka, distributing the latest of their pronouncements and collecting the financial
contributions of their followers. In line with their religious vocation, they were drawn
into the traditional sphere of activities of Muslim ùlamä' like proselytizing, preaching
and interpreting Baha'ullah's and Àbdul-Baha's writings. Baha'ullah encourages their

locally exercised religious authority in an apostrophe to `the learned ones in al-bahä'
(al-'Manta "fil-baha)'361, whom he characterises as `the dawning-places of explanation
(inns/äriq al-baynn) for all in the contingent world. 7362Turning towards the Baha'i
`zdamä' for guidance and advice is therefore commended. 363
Despite Baha'ullah's reference to traditional sources of religious authority in
Islam, be they charismatic or clerical, the modern context in which he developed the
doctrinal outlook of his religious movement is also reflected in the organisational
360Al-Kitdb
al-Adgas 42.
361Ibid., 173.
362Ibid.
363Ibid.
143
structure he envisioned for it. Being in close contact with Middle Eastern reformers,
Baha'ullah and Àbdul-Baba expressed their support for representative and
parliamentary forms of governance. That both chose more consultative forms of
community organisation for the Baha'i movement as an alternative to the traditional

clerical authority of the ùlamä' is therefore not surprising.
When Mirza Asadullah Isfahani, a prominent Baha'i in Tehran, returned from
his pilgrimage to Àkka in 1877/8, he brought a copy of Baha'ullah's Kitäb 364
al-Agdas.
Asadullah was educated as a Shii cleric and worked as a Baha'i missionary and preacher
after his conversion. Upon his return, he intended to implement one of the
organisational injunctions found in the book:
God has prescribed that in every city a house of justice (bayt al-'ad! ) shall be established in
which souls shall gather to the number of al-bated' [=9, according to abjad system]. If it
exceeds this number it does not matter. They should consider themselves as entering the
presence of God, the exalted, the most high, and as seeing him who cannot be seen. It
behoves them to be the trustees (unrann') of the merciful in the contingent world (imkän)
and the vicegerents (tivukald ') of God for all that dwell on earth. They shall consult
(Iyushäivh-Fii)on the welfare (nia. Ali/i) of his servants in the face of God as they consult on
their own affairs. They that is befitting (al-mukhtnr). 365

shall choose which
In this passage, Baha'ullah introduces the collective leadership of these
assemblies which would constitute an alternative to the traditional individual authority
of the ùlamä'. Most notably, he envisions a more discursive process of decision
making by advising the members of the house of justice to reach their decisions by
consultation.
5.1.2. From Clerical to Lay Authority
The move from individual clerical authority to more consultative and lay-
oriented forms of leadership in the Baha'i movement occurred in other religious
communities in the Middle East as well. In a decree of 1856, the Ottoman Tan,jindt
reforms placed the leadership of a millet in the hands of an appointed committee
comprising both clerics and lay members of the community. Before that, Armenian
merchants, artisans and moneylenders in Istanbul succeeded in receiving an imperial
decree to found lay councils between 1838 and 1841 which the priestly hierarchy was
forced to accept. Similar conflicts occurred in the Jewish community and among the
36; Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By,

p. 325.
365Al-Kitnb
al-Adgas 30.
144
Zoroastrians in Iran where associations (anjumkn) challenged the authority of the priests.
The rising prominence of lay members in the leadership of a religious community
resulted from the emergence of a new educated and literate class outside traditional
learning which was unwilling to concede all authority to the traditional clerical
leadership of the rabbis and priests. 366
Despite this major trend throughout religious communities in the Middle East,
Baha'i consultative institutions were initially dominated by converts from the Shii
clergy. However, all but one of the nine members of the Tehran assembly had a clerical
background. Merchants and government officials who constituted other elements of the
urban elite represented in the Baha'i movement were not invited. The first members
called the actual meeting place house of justice and referred to the council as
`consultative assembly' (mahfil-i shaver) or `spiritual assembly for consultation'
(malrfil-i i-filu n yi shmvr). It resembled more a secret society where membership
depended on personal invitation and initiation. Secrecy was required in order to avoid
the suspicion of the state which might have considered such an institution outside state
control as having political aims.

There was initially not much concern among the 'zilanzä' members of the Tehran
assembly with attending meetings regularly, possibly reflecting a lack of interest in
consultative community leadership in favour of more traditional forms of clerical
authority. The assembly invited Jamal Bunijirdi, a leading nujtahid coming from a
clerical family who was highly regarded among Iranian Baha'is and had spent several
months with Baha'ullah in Àkka. Given his superior rank as nnjtahid in relation to the
other ùlamd' members of the Tehran assembly, Bunijirdi made his membership
dependent on becoming its chairman and on his vote equalling six votes of the other
members. The assembly refused to grant such a decisive position to Burujirdi referring
to the text of AI-Kitdb al-Agdas which does not mention the position of a chairman. The
dispute reflects the tension within the early Baha'i movement between the traditional
individual authority of the ùlamä' and more consultative and cooperative forms of
leadership which Baha'ullah introduced without addressing possible tensions between
the different sources of authority.

Baha'ullah was asked to resolve the controversy. He sent Burujirdi to Mosul and
approved the work of the assembly. Apparently, Baha'ullah agreed with the position of
366Mardin, Young Ottoman Thought,

p. 19; see also Cole, Modernity and Millennium, p. 92, and Cole, J.
R. I., `Religious Dissidence and Urban Leadership: Baha'is in Qajar Shiraz and Tehran', II-an 37 (1999),
p. 136.
145
the assembly that no member should have an exalted position, but at the same time he
did not want to embarrass Bunijirdi, given his religious standing and reputation within
the Baha'i movement. In the long term, the clerical authority within the Baha'i
community diminished and assemblies were constituted more and more by laymen. The
itinerant life-style Baha'i ùlamd' had to assume, as their sectarian affiliation did not
allow them to acquire teaching positions, made it difficult for them to settle down and to
take control of the assemblies. Their children likewise could not study at religious
colleges to become trained as ùla,nd ' and therefore pursued secular professional
careers. In this way, the class of `Mama' died out in the Baha'i movement and its
leadership shifted from clerics to lay people. 367

Despite the secrecy, the Tehran house of justice was discovered by the state
authorities and its members arrested in 1882. Henceforth, the Baha'is were reluctant to
set up local assemblies fearing government suspicion. But Baha'ullah promoted the
establishment of these institutions, encouraging Baha'is with a non-clerical background
to set them up. At the end of 1883 and the beginning of 1884, he wrote several letters to
the Afnan family in Shiraz, relatives of the Bab who were engaged in trade, asking them
to establish a consultative assembly in this city. In these letters, Baha'ullah assures the
Afnan family that the decisions of the assembly reached by consultation are divinely
inspired (mallifun) and are therefore binding on all Baha'is in Shiraz.
One can observe a gradual transfer of his own charismatic authority to the
consultative leadership of the assemblies. When an assembly in Iran approached
Baha'ullah to resolve a property dispute, he relegated the problem to the assembly and
advised them to it
consult upon and reach a decision which would be authoritative for
all parties. Baha'ullah envisioned the houses of justice as being responsible for dealing
with the local affairs of the community and conflated traditional spiritual charisma in
the notion of their access to divine inspiration with modern rational and discursive
decision 368
modes of making.
In one of the supplementary tablets Baha'ullah wrote after Al-Kitdb al-Agdas, he
introduces in addition to the local houses of justice an international one responsible for
the affairs of the entire Baha'i movement. He attributes to it a legislative function, as it
should deliver rulings on questions not covered by his own writings. While ritual and
devotional practices (ìbadtit) are defined in his scriptures and cannot be altered, the
'G' Cole, Modernity and Millennium, pp. 91-3; see also Cole, `Dissidence and Urban Leadership', pp.
137f..
368Cole, Modernity
and Millennium, pp. 93-7
146
international house of justice - being divinely inspired - should legislate and decide on
novel problems:
Inasmuch as for every day there is a new matter and for every moment there is a judgement
expedient, such matters should be referred to the ministers of the house of justice so that
they may enact what they regard suitable to the time (maslahat-i dI 369
waqt nan(O.
That the house of justice inter alia substitutes for the jurisprudential authority of
the ùlamd ' is evident in a letter Àbdul-Baha wrote to a Baha'i who asked about the
scope of authority of the international house of justice. In his reply, Àbdul-Baha

compares its mandate with that of mtjtahid. Both are responsible for ensuring the
flexibility and constant applicability of the shari à. The ùlamd ' issue different rulings
based on their individual ijtihäd and therefore tend to contradict each other. The
advantage the house of justice offers is that as the sole and central authority its rulings
are authoritative and binding and therefore preserve the unity of the community. In
contrast to the individual ijtihdrd of the ùlamd ', Àbdul-Baha introduces the collective
house justice. 370Centralising religious authority within
and consultative ijtihnd of the of
the house of justice is quite similar to the Shii institution of the mnaija` al-taglld, the
chief cleric who is the source of emulation for all lay believers. Rather than having
various nn jtahids at the same time potentially coming to different rulings, just one most
senior nu jtahid would be recognised whose decisions have to be obeyed by all. In
praxis, the lack of organisational coherence among the ùlamd' has persisted, however,
as there has not very often been a consensus among ùlamd ' on the identity of the
` 371
maija al-taglid with several claimants to this position competing with each other.
It is not quite clear when Baha'ullah hoped for the establishment of the house of
justice on an international level. Neither he nor his son during his ministry made any
provision for its formation. Baha'ullah probably viewed it as an institution which would
be set up once genealogical charismatic succession would have ceased when Àbdul-
Baha and all the other aghsnii would have died. In quite a similar fashion to the way in
which the 'Waind ' act as delegates of the charismatic authority of the Imams in their
absence, the international house of justice would then be introduced as an institution
369Baha'ullah, Ahrnb-i Hndrat-i Aqdas,

p. 75; for the official English translation cf. Baha'ullah, Tablets
of Bahä 'u 'lhih, p. 129.
370Àbdul-Baha, Majmfi'a
yi Makätib-i Hadrat-i 'Abd al-Bahä', Volume 59, Tehran: Iran National
Baha'i Archives, 1978, pp. 275-80; for English
translation cf. Cole, J. R. I. (tr. ), Àbdu'l-Baha "On the
House of Justice and Baha'i Jurisprudence": Letter of circa 1899', Translations ofShaykhi, Babi and
Baha'i Texts 5: 1 (2001).
371Cole, `Charismatic Authority in the Bahä'i Faith',
p. 327.
147
routinising the charismatic authority of Baha'ullah, Àbdul-Baha and the other aghsdn
after their deaths.

The routinisation of charisma gained further momentum under the ministry of
Àbdul-Baha with the establishment of a wider network of local spiritual assemblies, as
they were commonly called instead of houses of justice. Likewise he defined the
modalities of determining membership in the assemblies. While Mirza Asadullah

Isfahani in Tehran and the Afnan family in Shiraz invited senior and respected members
of the local communities to membership, Àbdul-Baha introduced the democratic

372With he
election of the members of the spiritual assemblies. this step, realised the
demands of political reformers and dissidents throughout the Middle East for more
representative forms of government within his own religious movement. Rather than
hoping for an eventual success of these various Middle Eastern reform movements,
Àbdul-Baha used his authority to implement their underlying principles within the
Baha'i movement itself.
During the ministry of Àbdul-Baha, the Baha'i movement gained a clearer
organisational structure. In addition to the establishment of spiritual assemblies, further
community services were introduced for members of the movement like schools,
libraries, welfare services when the number of Baha'is in a village, town or city created
the need for such services and provided sufficient human and financial resources to
373
sustain them. But how did the Baha'is define their relationship to the wider society
and the state. Which role did they play in the major political events in Iran at the turn of
the century?
5.1.3. Moulding an Apolitical Community

Since Baha'ullah assumed leadership of the Babi movement in Baghdad and
during the formation of the Baha'i movement later on, he moved his followers away
from the political dissent and militant activism of the early Babis. Despite his support
for democratic reforms and his opposition to the autocratic regimes in the Middle East,
he not only urged the Baha'is to abstain from any political unrest but also to conceal
their faith in order to avoid persecutions and confrontations with governmental and
372Àbdul-Baba, Ahvä/t {Vasnyäyi hlubärakn yi Hadrat-i 'Abd al-Bahn', [Karachi? ]: Mabfil-i Rühäni-yi
Milli-yi Bahä'iyan-i Pakistan, [n. d. ], pp. 15f..
373For the development of such services in the Baha'i community in Ashqabad in Turkmenistan see
Momen, M., `The Baha'i Community of Ashkhabad; its Social Basis and Importance in Baha'i History',
in Akiner, S. (ed. ), Cultural Change and Continuity in Central Asia, London and New York: Kegan Paul,
1991, pp. 278-305.
148
clerical authorities in Iran and the Ottoman Empire. While the Azali branch of the Babi
movement continued its active opposition to the political realities in both countries,
Baha'ullah and Àbdul-Baha presented themselves and their followers as loyal subjects
to the Iranian shah or the Ottoman sultan.

At the turn of the century, two major events shook the political foundations of
Iran. The Tobacco Revolt in 1891-1892 was the first major popular protest movement in
modem Iranian history with a successful cooperation between dissident ùlannn' and
the It be be 'rehearsal 374for
reformers as well as wider populace. can considered to a
the later Constitutional Revolution (1905-1911) in which the same religious and
political forces managed to put limits on the absolutist rule of the Qajar shahs.
Baha'ullah's and Àbdul-Baha's responses to these two events defined their attitudes
towards the prospect of successful political reforms in Iran and the future political
orientation of the Baha'i movement.

In March 1890, Nasirud-Din Shah granted a tobacco concession to the British
subject Major Talbot which comprised a full monopoly on the production and trade of
tobacco in the whole country. Once the deal became public, a storm of protest began led
by 'ulamar' and merchants disaffected by the concession. When more 'zrlaind 'joined the
protest, an official fativa appeared in December 1891 attributed to Mirza Hasan Shirazi,
the maija' al-taglid at that time, condemning smoking as morally reprehensible. The
publication of the fatwa led to a nationwide boycott on smoking which forced the Shah
to cancel the concession. 375
As Azali-Babis supported the boycott, Àbdul-Baha, invested as head of the
Baha'i movement, saw the necessity to re-assert the loyalty and quietism of the Baha'is
and penned a response to the revolt, published as Risäla yi Siyasiyya (Treatise on

Governance) 376This treatise exhibits a paternalistic understanding of the state with the
.
shah at the top and lacks any reference to consultative government. The stronger sense
of monarchic rule results from one of its objectives. The Risnla yi Siydsiyya was
presented to the in
shah order to prove the absolute loyalty the Baha'is. 377
of
37 Encyclopaedia Iranica,
s.v. `Constitutional Revolution: i. Intellectual background' [by Abbas
Amanat].
375Keddie, N., Religion
and Rebellion in bran: The Tobacco Protest of 1891-1892, London: Frank Cass,
1966, pp. 95-133.
376Àbdul-Baba, Risnla
yi Siyäsij5, a, Tehran: Muhammad Labib, 1934 [originally published Bombay
1896].
377Balyuzi, H. M., Eminent Bahd'is in the Time
ofBahä'u'Näh, Oxford: George Ronald, 1985, p. 176.
149
As with the Tobacco Revolt, the impetus for the Constitutional Revolution378
came from the mercantile class, the bazaaris, which suffered from the economic
problems in the country and the decline of trade. In the summer of 1906, the tensions
between the government and the bazaaris culminated in thousands of protesters seeking
asylum in the British legation in Tehran in July 1906. The bazaari protesters managed to
win the support of leading 'ulamä', who preached against the government in their
mosques, and cooperated with various political societies, which demanded the
introduction of a constitution and a parliament. The mass unrest forced Muzaffarud-Din
Shah (r. 1896-1907) to agree to the demands and to prepare the way for the election of a
parliament in September 1906.

The successful popular unrest must have appeared to many Baha'is as the
fulfilment of Baha'ullah's prediction of a revolutionary overthrow of the Qajar regime
in his Kitäb al-Agdas. The Baha'is in Tehran represented groups which were either
negatively affected by the shah's economic policies or critical of the Qajar regime.
Baha'i merchants must have felt the same disadvantages as other merchants with the
decline of foreign trade and the raising of customs on foreign imports. 'ulantä' converts
stemmed from the middle-ranking stratum of clerics who were critical of the close
association of leading conservative 'ulamn' with the court and also felt the need for
political reforms. Among the Baha'is in Tehran were also members of the Qajar family
and government officials with a critical stance towards the vile of Muzaffarud-Din Shah
and the political conservatism of the court. The Azali-Babis directly participated in the
Constitutional Revolution, organising meetings and demonstrations and publishing pro-
379
constitutionalist newspapers. A clear dissociation between Azali-Babis and Baha'is
could not always be made, as some Baha'is moved between Baha'i and Azali circles,
particularly those with sympathies for 380
radical political reforms.
Àbdul-Baha as head of the Baha'i movement knowing of the sympathies many
of his followers had for the constitutional movement, articulated an ambivalent attitude
in the beginning. 381While he viewed the reform process favourably, he was sceptical of
378On the Constitutional Revolution

see Browne, E. G., The Persian Revolution of 1905-1909,
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1910; Martin, V., Islam and Modernism: The Iranian
Revolution of 1906, London: Tauris, 1989.
379Bayat, Iran 's First Revolution,
pp. 53-75.
380Cole, `Millenarianism and Democratic Thought',
pp. 19f.. See Cole, J. R. I., Àutobiography and
Silence: The Early Career of Shaykhu'r-Ra'is Qäjär', in Bürgel, J. C., Schayani, I. (eds.), Iran im 19.
Jarhundert und the Entstehung der Bahä7-Religion, Zürich: Olms, 1998,91-126.
381For
a whole discussion of Àbdul-Baha's communication with the Iranian Baha'is during the
Constitutional Revolution see Yazdani, M., `Diyänat-i Bahä'1 wa-Nahdat-i Mashrütiyyat-i Trän az khaläl-i
Ahvzh-i Radrat-i Àbd al-Bahä", Khüshahn'i az Khurman-i Adab wa-Hunan 12 (2001), pp. 223-48.
150
the open opposition against the shah and feared a Baha'i involvement in anti-
government activities. In a period when the protesters demanded the dismissal of the
government and restrictions to the absolutist role of the shah, Àbdul-Baha described
`the (markaz-i 382
the shah as mightiest centre of kingship sultanat-i a` am)' and
considered the prime-minister to be `just, experienced, determined and expert. '383In his
communications with the Baha'is in Iran, Àbdul-Baha was keen to emphasise the
ultimate political authority of the shah from whom any initiative for reforms must
originate. He did not want the Baha'is to be associated with any form of political
dissidence.
The parliament proved to be less effective than expected. Not only was it
internally divided but it faced the resistance of the new Shah Muhammad Àli and a
growing religious opposition undermined its work as well. The leader of the religious
opposition was Fazlullah Nuri. Nuri saw in the establishment of the parliament a threat
to the legal authority of the ùlama' and therefore lobbied for a strengthening of the
Islamic element in the constitution and the necessary foundation of parliamentary
legislation in the shari à. In order to discredit the Constitutional Revolution, he and
other ùlama' loyal to the court branded it as a Babi or Baha'i plot whose aim was to
destroy Islam and to convert all Iranians to their religion. 384The clerical opponents did
not always distinguish between Babis and Baha'is, either not knowing of the sectarian
split between Azali-Babis and Baha'is or ignoring it deliberately so as to discredit both
groups as harmful to the state and the revolution as un-Islamic.
The inexperience and incompetence of the parliament and the growing suspicion
between the parliament and the court led Muhammad Àli Shah to stage a coup d'etat in
the summer of 1908 dissolving 385

abolishing the constitution and the parliament.
However, public pressure on the shah mounted and in May 1909, he announced the
election of a second parliament. In a letter to an Iranian Baha'i, probably written at

about the same time, Àbdul-Baha responded to the question as to whether Baha'is were
allowed to seek membership in the new parliament. Rather than allowing all Baha'is to
382Àbdul-Baha, Majmir'a
yi Mubnraka, Tehran: Àli Akbar Milani, 1326/ 1908, p. 89; cf. Cole, J. R. I.
(tr. ), "Abdu'l-Baha on the Establishment of Civil Courts in Iran as a Prelude to the inauguration of the
first Iranian Parliament (Jan. 1906?)', Translation ofShaykbi. Babi and Baha'i Texts 2 (1998) [available
at: http: //www. h-net. org/-bahai/transh, ol2/abparl/abcourts. htni (last access: 16/08/2005)].
383Àbdul-Baba, hlajmir'a
yi Afubnraka, p. 89.
384Encyclopaedia h"anica,
s.v. `Constitutional Revolution: i. Intellectual background' [by Abbas
Amanat]; see also Bayat, h-an's First Revolution, p. 223, and Ayati, Al-Kant'nkib al-Durri}ya II, pp.
162ff..
385Encj,
clopaedia Iranica, s.v. 'Constitutional Revolution: ii. Events'.
151
become members, he singled out a group of senior missionaries in Tehran who should
become its members. 386
Baha'ullah had appointed four Baha'is in Tehran as `Hands of the Cause of
God' (ayndi amr allnh) who worked as channels for communication between him and
his Iranian followers and who were therefore the de facto leaders of the Baha'i
movement in Iran. By choosing them as quasi-official Baha'i representatives in the
parliament, Àbdul-Baha could rely on loyal believers who would ensure a Baha'i
presence in the parliament which would directly follow his guidelines and stay outside
partisan politics. It is unknown how seriously these plans were pursued, but it is
387
unlikely that they actually materialised.
The course of the Constitutional Revolution, the violent clashes between
supporters and opponents of the constitution and the inability of the parliament to effect
substantial reforms caused a change in Àbdul-Baha's attitude. Baha'i sympathies and
support for the constitutionalists and the active involvement of the Azali-Babis as part
of political groups and secret societies provided anti-constitutionalist and pro-court
ùlamd ' with an easy tool to declare the constitutional movement as being heretical. 388
As allegations against the Baha'is continued and caused outbursts of persecution against
them with ùla»rn' issuing fatwasàgainst them and several Baha'is being consequently
killed, Àbdul-Baha must have seen the need to finalise the distinction between the
political activism of Azali-Babis and the quietist stance of the Baha'is. After
Muhammad Shah was deposed by constitutionalist militias in July 1909, he explicitly
banned any direct political involvement of the Baha'is. 389In 1913, shortly before the
election of the third national parliament, he explicitly prohibited Baha'is from seeking
390
membership therein.
Àbdul-Baha was encouraged by his father to seek links with other Middle
Eastern reformers in the 1870s and 1880s and had participated in the reformist discourse
with his books and corresponded with many contemporary reformers. But now as the
leader of the Baha'i movement, he attempted to dissociate them from political
dissidence. In order to protect the Iranian Baha'is from persecution, he sought the
official recognition of the Baha'is as a loyal religious group opposing the political
386'Abdul-Baba, AMakätrb-i Radrat-i 'Abd

al-Baba', Vol. 2, Tehran: Mu'asasa-yi Milli-yi Matbü`ät-i
Amri, [n. d. ], p. 263.
387Yazdani, `Baha'i
wa-Nahfiat-i Mashrütiyyat', pp. 242f..
388Bayat, Iran's First Revolution,
p. 223.
389Ayati, Al-Katii'nkib
al-Durri}ya //, p. 165.
390Yazdani, `Bahä'i
ova-Nahdat-i Mashrütiyyat', p. 243.
152
interference of the ùlamn' and the opposition of reformers, intellectuals and the Azali-
Babis. However, he failed in securing official recognition of the Baha'is as part of

Iranian society in the long term. Events during the Constitutional Revolution of 1905-11
made it clear that the political, cultural and religious elite of the country did not want
the Baha'is to become part of its socio-political re-construction.
Àbdul-Baha then transformed the millenarianism of the Baha'i movement in
light failed in the constitutional movement. 391While Baha'ullah
the of the participation
and Àbdul-Baba initially considered the reform process in the Middle East to be the
political repercussions of Baha'ullah's messianic mission, the unsuccessful modelling

of the Baha'i movement as a reform movement led to its political and cultural
reorientation. Àbdul-Baha's initial cautious approval of a Baha'i involvement in the

constitutional movement was his last attempt to place the Baha'is within the mainstream
of other Middle Eastern reform movements. But the failure of the revolution and the
danger of the Baha'is becoming corroded in the political struggle between the different
parties made him break any connections of the Baha'is with other religious or political
reform movements.
The Middle East did not prove to be a receptive ground for the message of the
Baha'is. The claim to a post-Koranic revelation. scandalised Muslims and could not be
articulated openly and the failure of other reform movements with similar aims
prevented the Baha'is from gaining a permanent foothold in the Middle East. North
America and Europe provided Baha'ullah's millenarian claims with a more receptive
audience after first communities had been established earlier in the 1890s. By
establishing the Baha'i movement in the West, creating community institutions and
severing ties with other religious and political movements, the departure of the Baha'i
movement from Islam gained further momentum. Àbduh similarly experienced the
frustration of previous reform attempts. But having aligned himself within the tradition
of orthodox Sunni reform, he pursued a different approach in modernising the nature of

religious authority in Islam.
391Àbdul-Baha
made it clear in a communication to the Baha'is in Iran that with the events of the
Constitutional Revolution Baha'ullah's prophecy of a future democratic Iran had not been fulfilled. See
Àbdul-Baha hfä Ydnyi Äsntdni, Vol. 9, Tehran: Mu'assasa-yi Milli-yi Matbü' t-i Amrt, 122 BE [1966],
p. 1. See also Yazdani, `Bahä'i wa-Nahdat-i Masluütiyyat', p. 243.
153
5.2. Muhammad Àbduh: The Salafi Model of the Neo-`dlint
5.2.1. Reforming Religious Authority within Islam
With the introduction of consultative assemblies into the Baha'i movement,
Àbdul-Baba intended to modernise religious authority. Muhammad Àbduh also
realised the need for a modernisation of religious authority within Islam. Remaining
within the framework of orthodox Sunni Islam, however, he did not seek to replace the
leadership of the `ttlamä' with alternative models but to change the nature of their
authority. Àbduh feared that the ùlamn', stuck in their traditional scholasticism, would
become intellectually isolated and socially superfluous if they did not open their
education to modem subjects, thereby becoming enabled to re-position themselves as a

renewed cultural elite of the Muslim world in a modem context. Àbduh's aim was to
create à new kind of religious leadership'392whose religious and intellectual authority
is based on both traditional scholarship and modem knowledge. More important than a
thorough knowledge of the scholarly tradition of Islam is the `trlamn "s ability to relate
the teachings of Islam to the modem world. 393
The introduction of state schools for the training of bureaucrats not only created
a new intellectual elite outside the religious domain and sidelined the ùlaniär' in society.
It also contained the potential danger of an educational dualism with long-term
repercussions on the religious composition of society. The co-existence of two

educational paths might produce two opposing cultural elites: secular, Western-oriented
intellectuals and traditional scholars.394While the former group would exclude Islam
from the organisation of public life, the latter group would render itself irrelevant to the
modern world by not engaging with it intellectually and practically. Although Muslim
reformers like Àbduh referred very often to the danger of a cultural bifurcation of
society resulting from two competing educational systems, the educational experiences
which his contemporaries went through were very often more complex and usually
contained a blend of traditional and modern elements. Elements of religious education
persisted as part of the social upbringing, transmitted, for example, in the family, and
in important 395
even state schools religious education still played an role.
392Haddad, Y., `Muhammad Àbduh: Pioneer

of Islamic Reform', in Rahnema, A. (ed. ), Pioneers of
Islamic Revival, London and New Jersey: Zed Books, 1988, p. 49.
393Rida, Ta'rikh 1,
pp. 851-3.
393Hourani, Arabic Thought,
pp. 137-9.
395Fortna, Èducation and Autobiography',
pp. 1-3 1. On the role of Islamic education in state-schools in
the late Ottoman Empire see Fortna, B. C., Ìslamic Morality in Late Ottoman "Secular" Schools',
International Journal of AMiddleEast Studies 32 (2000), pp. 369-393.
154
For Àbduh, this idealised opposition between traditional and modern education
was important in order to argue for educational institutions blending both elements. He
intended to overcome the potential dichotomy between secular and religious education
and the resulting intellectual and cultural division of society by creating a new type of
àlien. The blind imitation of Western knowledge would lead to further dependence of
Muslims on the West and also alienate them from their own religious and cultural
heritage. By modernising the education of the ùlamä', Àbduh intended to make them
agents of an intellectual appropriation from the West who at the same time guarantee
the preservation of cultural authenticity. 396
It is quite likely that Àbduh was influenced in his understanding of a modern
Islamic education by educational reforms in Ottoman state-schools during the reign of

Sultan Àbdiil-Hamid II. During his exile in Beirut, Àbduh must have witnessed efforts
in state-schools to emphasise the Islamic identity of the Ottoman Empire and its citizens
in line with the sultan's Pan-Islamist political orientation. At a time when he became
frustrated with the futility of Afghani's political activism, he entered the Ottoman
Empire of the Hamidian era in which educational reforms were seen as the essential
instrument to strengthen the empire and to secure its future 397The educational
unity.
optimism he encountered in his exile might explain his focus on educational reforms at
the end of his life. 398His aim to transform a medieval institution like al-Azhar into a
modem university can be seen an imitation of similar efforts in the Ottoman Empire at
the level of secondary education.
The new educated elite outside the `clamd' milieu was Àbduh's target group.
Members of this group had benefited from a modem education and viewed traditional
Islamic scholarship as obscurantist and irrelevant to the needs of the modem world. In
reaching out to them, Àbduh hoped to make Islamic discourse interesting for them. For
instance, Àbduh gave public lectures at al-Azhar which attracted not only religious
but lay 399As Àbduh
students also persons. was aware that certain subjects and
discussions could not be included in al-Azhar, he held special private teaching and
discussion sessions continuing the evening study sessions Afghani initiated. These night
396Livingston, "Abduh on Science', pp. 215-34.

397Fortna, B. C., Imperial Classroonn: Islam, the State, and Education in the Late Ottoman Empire,
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002, pp. 1-42.
393Weisman, I., 'Between Sufi Reformism and Modernist Rationalism: A Reappraisal of the Origins of
the Salafiyya from a Damascene Angle', Die Welt des Islams 41 (2001), pp. 232f..
399Rida, Ta'rikh I, p. 769.
155
sessions were particularly aimed at attracting students and graduates from the new state
40°
schools.
Àbduh stood outside the religious establishment of al-Azhar and was critical of
its intellectual traditionalism. Because of his lacking association with the Egyptian
religious nomenclature, his reform attempts were hampered right from the beginning.
When the Khedive Tawfiq died in 1892 and Àbbas Hilmi succeeded him, Àbduh
found in the new Western-educated khedive an ally in the reform of al-Azhar. Aware of
the obstacles he had to face in his attempts to introduce changes to this long-established
institution, Àbduh knew that the only way of modernising al-Azhar was by winning the
support of the new khedive. 4o'
Àbbas Hilmi shared with Àbduh the desire to reform al-Azhar. He agreed to
set up a new administrative committee (»tajlis idm"a al-Azhar) in 1894 and appointed
Àbduh as one of the official representatives of the government on the committee.
However, the initiative turned out not to be very effective. The opposition of the
conservative 'ulamä' at al-Azhar prevented a thorough restructuring of the traditional

curriculum. The new administrative committee was successful in introducing
organisational reforms and in improving the general infrastructure of the university but
a thorough intellectual reorientation was not achieved. Although Àbduh was successful
in introducing geometry, algebra, geography, arithmetic and Islamic history into the
curriculum and in putting primary texts rather than commentaries in the centre of the
syllabus, his aspiration to include failed. 402
modern sciences
As his relationship with the Khedive Àbbas Hilmi deteriorated at the end of his
life and the conservative forces in al-Azhar could use their good connections with the
court to prevent further reforms, Àbduh had to realise that further initiatives from his
side to modernise the curriculum were destined to fail and therefore resigned from the
administrative council in 1905.403Àbduh then hoped a new machrasa or university
would offer modern subjects in addition to religious instruction and create a new
intellectual elite. He started making plans for the foundation of new niadrasa in the
outskirts of Cairo with Rida and his other associates. However, Àbduh's premature
death in 1905 prevented the realisation of these plans.40'
400Ibid., p. 774.
401Rida, `Sara', p. 472; see also Adams, Islam
and AModernism,p. 71.
40' Adams, Islam
and Alodernism, p. 75.
103Ibid., pp. 77f..
404Rida, Tarikh 1, pp. 946f..
156
5.2.2. Apologetics and Fatwas: The Salafi Àlim in Praxis
Àbduh attempted to set an example as a new type of `älim in his own scholarly
activities. In 1899, Àbduh started to write a comprehensive commentary on the Koran
he to to 2: 125 before his death. 405He also commented

which managed complete up sura
Koranic in his fativas. 406Although Àbduh's
on various verses other publications and
commentary claims to be characterised by a rejection of the scholarly tradition and its
blind imitation (taglld) and a stress on a renewed interpretation via j tihad, his
commentaries rely a lot on one of the classical works of Sunni exegesis, the Tafsir al-
Jaldlayn by Jalalud-Din Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Mahalli (1389-1459) and Jalalud-
Din Àbdur-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr al-Suyuti (1445-1505), which is the standard Sunni
commentary used as textbook in madrasas. In his own commentary, Àbduh neglects

technical questions and is less concerned with linguistic problems than traditional
Koranic exegesis is. In his aim to reach the educated elite outside the ùla,nä' milieu,
Àbduh wrote accessible commentaries which summarise basic Muslim beliefs in a way
is for 407By targeting lay Muslims, Àbduh made
which understandable non-scholars.
non-scholarly approaches to the Koran possible and ìnitiated the twentieth-century
trend of individual interaction with and interpretation of the Qur'an. '408

Àbduh's interpretation of the Koranic verses dealing with the question of
polygamy illustrates both his accessible style and his understanding of ijtihad. Sole
focus is given to the Koran without any reference to the opinions and rulings of other
scholars. The exegetical criterion determining how the relevant Koranic passagesshould
be understood is public and individual welfare (rnasla jia). Àbduh refers to sura 4: 3
which sanctions polygamy under the condition that the husband treats his wives
equitably. He then counters the conditional permission with another verse in the same
sura categorically denying that a husband can give equal and just treatment to all of his
409For Àbduh, this implies that is only permissible under exceptional
wives. polygamy
circumstances and that monogamous marriages are in reality stipulated. In the early
Muslim community, the rapid increase of orphans and widows during the wars with the
Meccans was the reason for the widespread practice of polygamy. However, under
normal circumstances polygamy should not be sought, not only because it is
405Jomier, J., Le Commentaire Coranique du Manor: tenannces modernes de ! 'e_xegeseCoranique en

Eg}pt, Paris: Maisonneuve, 1954, pp. 50f.. Àbduh's Koranic commentary can be found in the fourth and
fifth volumes of Ìmara, Al-A'mnl al-Kämila.
406Jomier, Commentaire,
p. 52.
407See commentary on the first sura àl-Fätiha' in Ìmarah, Al-A'mnl al-Kämila IV, pp. 23-8.
40SHaddad, `Pioneer', p. 46.
409Koran 4: 129.
157
discouraged in the Koran but also because it has socially harmful effects. The jealousy
and competition between the different wives and their children destabilise or can even
destroy families and thereby deprive society of well functioning families. 410
To increase the accessibility of his Koranic commentaries, Àbduh published
them in a new forum. In 1898, Rida founded his own journal called A1-Manär- (The
Lighthouse). While newspapers had been used by Western-oriented intellectuals to
disseminate their ideas, the foundation of this journal by Rida was intended to provide
modem Islamic discourse with an adequate forum to a

reach wider public. Àbduh's
commentaries were published in this journal in order to reach out to non-scholarly
circles. The journal was also sent to different parts of the Muslim world and thereby
became a vehicle to spread Àbduh's reformist ideas outside Egypt and to increase his
reputation. In Tunisia, for example, young reformers among the ùlamä' of the
Zaytuniyya Madrasa, the Tunisian equivalent to al-Azhar, subscribed to Al-Mandl- and
drew their modernist ideas from it. 411
Àbduh used the journal also for the publication of his apologetic articles
responding to articles in the Egyptian press on the relationship between Islam and
Christianity. The journal AI-Mu 12
'ay}gad by the French foreign minister
printed articles
Gabriel Hanotaux and the journal AI-Jä, ni'a413 articles by Farah Antun. All these
articles attest to an inherent irrationalism and fatalism in Islam unlike Christianity
which was presented as being tolerant to scientific investigation and appreciative of

human freedom. In his responses, Àbduh presented Islam as a religion of reason par
excellence whose basic theological doctrines are in accordance with rational

414Àbduh's stress on the inherent rationality of Islam is also present in his
philosophy.
major work Risdla al-Tativhirl41s,an accessible catechism of basic Muslim beliefs which
41°Ìrrara, Al-A'ntäl al-Knmila V, pp. 169-7 1; see also Gätje, H., The Qur'än and its Exegesis: Selected
Texts with Classical and Modern Muslim Interpretations, London: Routledge, 1976, pp. 248-61.
411Kraiem, M., Àu sujet des incidences des deux sejours de Muhammad Àbduh en Tunisie', Revue
d'Histoire Maghrebien 3 (1975), pp. 91-94.
412The journal was established in 1889 and patronised by the Khedive Àbbas Hilmi II. Edited by the
Azharite Shaykh Yusuf Àli, it was one of the few Islamic journals in the Egyptian press. See Hartmann,
M., The Arabic Press of Eg}pt, London: Luzac, 1899, pp. 11-4,55; see also Reid, D., `Farah Antun: The
Life and Times of a Syrian Christian Journalist in Egypt', Princeton University, Ph. D., 1969, pp. 131 If..
413Al-Jnmi'a was a secular journal published by the Syrian Christian Farah Antun to familiarise th2
Egyptian reading public with French Enlightenment thought. See Reid, `Farah Antnn', pp. 99-126.
'" For a collection of the articles see Àbduh, M., Al-Islam bayna al-71m titi'al-Madaniyya, Cairo: Dar al-
Madä lil-Thagäfa wal-Nashr, 1993. See also Ayyub, M., Ìslam and Christianity: A study of Muhammad
Àbduh's view of the two religions', Humaniora Islamica 2 (1974), pp. 121-137.
415Àbduh, M., Risnla al-Tau'hFd, Cairo: al-Malba'a al-Kubrä al-Amiriyya, 1897; for the French
translation of the first edition see Rissalat al tau,hid: expose de la religion musuhnane, traduite de l'arabe
avec une introduction sur la vie et les idees du Cheikh Mohammed Abdou par B. Michel et Moustapha
Abdel Razik, Paris: Geuthner, 1925. For an English translation see also The Theology of Unity, tr. by
158
includes elements of Islamic philosophy and Mu'tazila theology. Unlike traditional
ùlama' who lacked the intellectual skills to respond adequately to anti-Islamic views of
Western-oriented intellectuals, Àbduh hoped for the development of a new generation
of `trlamä' capable of defending Islam against criticism from a Christian or secular
perspective and set an example in his own apologetic works.

The apex of Àbduh's personal career was reached with his appointment as
grand mufti of Egypt in 1899. For the first time, Àbduh held the most senior position in
the religious hierarchy of Egypt, a position which allowed him to express his hitherto
rather informal influence through official channels. His personal opinions would now
gain further authority clothed in the form of official fatwas. However, it seems that
Àbduh became mufti by accident as neither appointer nor appointee were very happy
with the nomination. A statement by the khedive indicates that the British occupying
powers played an important role in Àbduh's nomination. As the khedive feared that
Àbduh would reject the offer, he told two of Àbduh's friends that ìf he does not
accept the position of chief mufti now, I reckon that I will fall in personal difficulties
the ' 416To limit Àbduh's influence, the khedive separated the
with occupying powers.
two positions of chief mufti and rector of al-Azhar, positions which were held by
Àbduh's predecessor jointly. Àbduh was frustrated about this separation which led to
further deterioration his khedive. 417Furthermore, Àbduh felt
a of relationship with the
that this new responsibility would deter him from his actual interest in and activities for
the reform of Islam. According to Rida, he, however managed to convince Àbduh that
`he would make the greatest religious office an instrument for the general reform of
Islam. '418
Fativas which Àbduh issued following requests from Muslims all over the
world became the main instrument for providing fresh interpretations on legal problems.
Many of the fatlvas deal with problems Muslims faced in adapting to a modem life-style
dealing with the encounter and cohabitation with foreigners and non-Muslims, the
parallel existence of different codes of law and the relationship of Islam with modem
Ishaq Musa'ad and Kenneth Cragg, London: George Allan and Unwin, 1966. N. B.: Whereas the first
edition published in Àbduh's lifetime follows the Mu'tazila doctrine of the createdness of the Koran,
later editions published under the auspices of Rashid Rida lack this section. See Àbduh, Risnla al-
Tawhid, pp. 27f..
416Rida, Ta'rikh I, p. 602.
417Amin, A., Zu'amä', p. 318f.. See also Kemke, A. H. E., Stiftungen im muslimischen Rechtsleben des
neuzeitlichen Ägypten: Die schariarechtlichen Gutachter (Fativas) von Muhammad 'Abduh (st. /905)
zum 1Vnhf Frankfurt . M.: Peter Lang, 1991, p. 30, no. 4.
418Rida, Ta'rikh /, p. 602.
159
419That Àbduh for fatwas from throughout the Muslim world
science. received requests
fame he had by 420
gives evidence of the now acquired .
The so-called Transvaal Fatwas421written in response to questions of a Muslim
diaspora community in South Africa became most notorious, as the following outcry
among the ùlamä' of al-Azhar reflected their opposition towards Àbduh's reformist
ideas and also the general isolation of Àbduh among the political and religious
establishment of Egypt. The khedive himself became part of the opposition to Àbduh's
during in 1903 he instigated. 422No fattiva had
rulings a press campaign which other ever
received such attention in Egypt and other parts of the Muslim world.
A member of the Muslim community in Transvaal asked Àbduh whether it is
permissible for Muslims to wear European hats during their business transactions with
non-Muslims, whether it is allowed to eat meat slaughtered by Christians, and whether

followers of the Sha6ì rite can pray behind a Hanafi imam. 423Àbduh declared all three
things permissible.
For Àbduh, wearing European hats does not constitute an act of apostasy if they
are worn for practical reasons like protection against the sun or increasing success in
business activities. The connection between dress and one's religious affiliation is
irrelevant - what counts is the intention of the wearer. Àbduh does not ground his
response on any reference to the Koran or the sunna of the Prophet but uses the legal
criterion of welfare (maslaha) as guiding principle.
As for the second question, Àbduh refers to a Koranic verse424which allows
Muslims to eat the food of the `People of the Book'. Although there is a complex legal
discussion in Islamic jurisprudence on whether and to what extent food of Jews and
Christians is allowed for consumption, Àbduh keeps his response as simple as possible
ignoring the whole legal tradition around this problem by referring solely to the Koran.
Furthermore, despite his position as Hanafi mufti, he includes the approval of a Maliki
jurist as another authority to justify his opinion. Àbduh not only ignores judgements of
419Adams, C. C., `Muhammad Àbduh and the Transvaal Fatwa', in The MacDonald Presentation
Volume, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1933, pp. 14.f.; see also Adams, Islam and
Alodernisation, pp. 79-81.
420Skovgaard, Defining Islmn, pp. 126f..
''-1 For the full text of the Tansvaal Fatwas see Àbduh, M., A1-Fatdwd fil-Tajd d wal-Isldh al-Dini, Tunis:
Dar al-Ma`1rif, 1989, pp. 20f.. Thorough discussions of the fahwas have been provided by Adams,
`Transvaal Fatwa', pp. 13-29, and by Skovgaard, Defining Islam, pp. 123-33.
422Rida, Ta'rlkh 1, pp. 668f..
423Àbduh, Fatnºrn, p. 20.
424Koran 5: 5.
160
previous scholars on this issue but also the legal distinctions between the different Sunni
rites aiming at their rapprochement (talfrq).
Regarding the third question, Àbduh again simplifies his answer and does not
enter a discussion of the detailed differences in the ritual practices of the different legal
schools. He confirms the validity of any prayer according to any rite and allows the
followers of one rite to join the prayer of another one. Insisting on the differences
between the legal schools endangers the inherent unity of Islam and treats the four
canonical rites like four different religions. For Àbduh, it is particularly necessary for
Muslims in a minority status to reduce the differences among them and to stress their
commonalities. 425
Àbduh's responses illustrate his general approach to resolving the problems

Muslims face in following their religion in the modern world. He intended to offer
pragmatic and simple solutions and is completely disinterested in the detailed

technicalities of casuistic legal discussions among Muslim jurisprudents. Furthermore,
Àbduh was willing to combine and utilise rulings of different legal schools if
appropriate and useful to arrive at verdicts in the best interest of Muslims. Àbduh's
disregard for such complex discussions and for a strict adherence to one of the legal
schools led his opponents among the conservative ùlamä' to discredit him by accusing
him to claim the rank of a nujtahid and the same status as the founders of the four
canonical schools. 426The opposition of conservative ùlama' was to some extent
politically motivated aiming at undermining the public influence of Àbduh. But it also
reveals the general unease of the religious establishment with Àbduh's fresh,
unorthodox and highly eclectic approach to Islämic jurisprudence, defying scholarly

conventions and ignoring previous legal rulings. Àbduh thereby introduced a new
understanding of the role of the àlien. Rather than being the custodian and preserver of
a scholarly tradition, he should become an agent of change and development in the
Islamic tradition.
5.2.3. The Neo-'Alim and the State

The changing patterns of the religious field in Egypt and the wider Muslim
world followed two major trends the first of which was the rise of a new educational
elite outside the religious sector. Àbduh responded to this development with his vision
of the neo-'aiim who has command over a bricolage of traditional religious and modern
425Àbdub, Fntnwn,
pp. 20f.; see also Adams, `Transvaal Fatwa', pp. 16-28.
426Adams, `Transvaal Fatwa',
pp. 28f..
161
scientific knowledge, develops a new modernist vision of Islam and adopts strategies to
disseminate it among the new elite. The second major development was the gradual
etatisation of religion. 427With Muhammad Àli's rise to power in Egypt in 1805-1811,
a process was initiated attempting to bring all sectors of society including Islam and its
various expressions under state control.
State interference in the religious sector manifested itself primarily in legal
reforms. Under Muhammad Àli's rule the competence of shar"i à courts was reduced to
questions of personal status and property among Muslims. Foreign residents in Egypt
enjoyed special legal privileges, being under the jurisdiction of their home countries.
Mixed courts were introduced in 1876, being responsible for commercial, civil and
criminal litigation involving Egyptians and foreigners. During the British occupation of
Egypt, further attempts were made to secularise the legal system. So-called national
courts (al-mahakinl al-ahhy}ya) were introduced which dealt with all civil, commercial
followed the French law. 428Judges for these courts
and criminal matters and code of
were trained at state-sponsored schools of law. Hence, there existed several parallel
legal systems in late 19"' century Egypt resulting in a marginalisation of shaf"i à courts
and consequently of the ùlamd "s legal authority. Finally, the shari à courts were put
under the supervision of the ministry of justice and their legal procedures became
formalised. 429
codified and
Efforts to centralise and control the religious sphere in Egypt were also reflected
in the creation of the Dar al-Ifta in 1895. The Egyptian state appointed a body of
official muftis who served as reference points for the shar"i à courts. There was an
official multi appointed from all the four legal rites. The Hanafi mufti possessed special
importance as head of the official rite of the state and was gradually elevated to the rank
of grand mufti of Egypt. The government reduced the number of muftis and centralised
authority in the religio-legal system of the country in the office of the grand mufti. The
grand mufti was concerned with legal matters referred to him by the different
government departments. Primarily, he had to deal with complaints against decisions of

à
shar"i courts and to confirm death penalties. 430
Initially, Àbduh supported governmental reforms in the religious sector. He was
one of the governmental representatives in the administrative council, overseeing the
427Skovgaard, Defining Is/mn,

pp. 77-9.
428Kemke, Stiftungen,
pp. 8-10.
429Skovgaard, Defining Islam,
pp. 56-65.
430Adams, `Transvaal Fatwa',
pp. 13f..
162
reform of al-Azhar and produced a report on the reform of the shat-Va courts in his
position as grand mufti. Àbduh was also responsible for the administration of pious
endowments and the nationwide network of mosques. One of his objectives was to
centralise the administration of mosques which were under-funded and whose staff
tended to lack proper education. He petitioned to reform the mosque system in order to
provide the personnel of mosques with a regular salary and to make their education at
al-Azhar compulsory. As the khedive feared that such reforms would increase the
influence of Àbduh, he opposed these attempts to centralise and systematise the
administration of pious endowments under the authority of the grand mufti. Cromer's
intervention ended the khedive's obstruction and implemented Àbduh's petition. 431
In the same year that he was appointed as grand mufti of Egypt, the khedive also
chose him as new member of the consultative assembly (majlis al-shfrra). As the work
in the assembly required much of his time, Rida urged him to resign from his
membership and focus on his publications. While the government was inefficient in
implementing new laws and the fortunes of politics were changing, Àbduh should
rather concentrate on his writings to leave an everlasting legacy for the Muslim world.
But Àbduh rejected Rida's proposals. He considered his membership in the assembly
and the responsibilities involved with it as a continuation of his other reformist activities.
The assembly was for him the modern manifestation of the Islamic concept of shfira
and membership therein enabled him to control and influence the legislative process. As
an activist älim, Àbduh could shape policies without having any direct connection
432
with the government.
While initially the rapport between Àbduh and the Khedive Àbbas Hilmi was
quite cordial, Àbduh's amicable relationship with the British authorities and his lack of
respect for khedive which became apparent on several occasions resulted in a rather
antagonistic relationship. Consequently, the khedive attempted to minimise Àbduh's
public influence and frustrated Àbduh's reform initiatives. While Àbduh was willing
to become part of state-sponsored reforms after his return to Egypt, his attitude towards
religious reforms under the auspices of the khedive changed when the latter came under
the sway of conservative `Mama'. Àbduh felt confirmed in his negative assessmentof
Middle Eastern regimes, their inability to instigate reforms and their incompetence in
governing the country.
; 31Rida, Ta'rikh 1,
pp. 630-45.
432Rida, `Sira',
p. 489.
163
Given the failure of the religious and political establishment to reform Islam,
Àbduh had to find forms of religious and social organisation outside established
institutions. In 1892, he founded the Muslim Benevolent Society (al-jam ìyya al-
khayriyyya al-islämiyya ) and a literary association, called Society for the Revival of
Arabic Literature (al-fain ìyya li-ihya al-kutub al- `cnrabiyya). As the state remained
uninterested in the social plight of the people and traditional religious institutions only
sporadically engaged in charitable activities, the society aimed at providing systematic
and constant charitable support and educational services. 433The Muslim Benevolent
Society not only expressed 'Abduli's understanding of the social responsibility of the
àlienbut also his attempt to create networks for social activism outside the state.
The foundation of such an organisation outside the state apparatus raised the
suspicion of Àbduh's opponents among the 'Manna' and the political leadership who
spread rumours that the society actually had political aims. In their attempt to discredit
Àbduh and his society in the eyes of the British colonial authorities, they accused the
society of providing funding for militant insurgents like the Mahdi and his followers in
Sudan. 434For the ùlantn', the establishment of religious institutions outside their
control was an infringement of their religious monopoly. In the long term, Àbduh's
Muslim charitable organisation foreshadowed the move of Islam into the private sector
and the further undermining of the religious authority of the ùlamä' witli a proliferation
of religious organisations with charitable, educational and political aims in the 20'h
century. Given the increasing marginalisation of the ùlmttä' in traditional spheres of
their authority - be it in the legal or educational system -, Àbduh sougth alternative
avenues for how ùlantn' in the modern world could exercise their influence. The
private sector offered him this opportunity.
In his interaction with the political authorities in Egypt, Àbduh was a modern
manifestation of the ambivalent attitude ùlamä' had to the centre of power. Àbduh
was willing to become politically involved as long as this involvement did not
compromise his independence from the government. On the one hand, he revealed a
sceptical view of politics in general and the political performance of Middle Eastern
regimes, on the other hand, he did not abstain from politics absolutely but sought
alternative forms of socio-political activism which would ensure his influence on
society but at the same time allow him to stand aloof of the vicissitudes of realpolitik.
Àbduh had to realise that religious reforms cannot be achieved by political means as
433Adams, Islam
and Modernism, pp. 83f..
434Rida, Ta'rikh I,
p. 729.
164
most Muslim countries are ruled by oppressive regimes. Hence, state interference in
religious questions would only corrupt religion itself. 435
For Àbduh, the unhealthy cooperation between political leaders and the ùlmnä'
led to the decline of Islam. Most ùlama' remained apolitical and failed in their duty to
oversee the policies of the ruler and to make them accountable for them. Either they
were complacent and became willingly instrumentalised by the political authorities to
provide religious legitimacy for their inefficient and incompetent leadership or they
attempted to obstruct any attempts of modernising Muslim society. The passivity and
and conversatism of the religious establishment were for Àbduh responsible for the
demise of the ùlama' class. Àbduh re-envisioned the traditional understanding of the
relationship between `the men of the pen' and `the men of the sword' in a modem
context. The àlim should remain outside the state but exercise his religious authority to
provide guidance to to
the rulers and society at large. 436Being a member of the national
assembly, establishing private charitable and educational institutions and exercising

public influence by publishing articles and books, Àbduh set the example of a new type
of àlim who is socially active and politically conscious without becoming too closely
associated with politics. Muslim leaders would imitate Àbduh in the 20th century by
creating a space for Islamic discourse in society outside the realm of traditional
religious scholarship and independent of, if not in competition with the state.
5.3. Conclusion
The legacy Àbduh and Àbdul-Baha carried forward from their common origins
in religious dissidence was their opposition towards the `tilamä'. The two shared a
mistrust of the intellectual capability and inclination of the traditional religious class to
promote religious reforms. The two criticised the close association of the ùlamä' with
the state as one of the primary sources for stagnation, corruption and autocracy. The
responses the two offered reflect their different experiences with charismatic authority.
As Àbduh became disillusioned with his own adherence to Afghani, he returned to
traditional scholarly authority but aspired a radical reorientation of its intellectual scope.
He wanted to create a new kind of 'nlini who had received a fair amount of traditional
religious instruction but who was more importantly educated in contemporary thought,
who was capable of leaving the ivory-tower of madrasa scholarship and who would
435Ibid.,
pp. 891f..
436Haddad, `Pioneer',
pp. 52f..
165
become part of a religious and cultural avant-garde, leading Muslim societies to an
authentic acculturation to Western modernity.

Àbdul-Baha's experience with charismatic authority as both experienced from
his father and exercised by himself was more successful. Having learned lessons from
the Babi movement, the Baha'i movement stood aloof from radical political activism.
The organisation Baha'ullah envisioned for his religious movement would be able to
dispense with traditional clerical authority. Although early leadership within the
community was exercised by ùlamä' converts, the bureaucratic apparatus which began
to emerge in the time of Àbdul-Baha would create communal patterns of leadership for
which religious education became completely irrelevant. Religious authority would
move from scholarly and charismatic to communal lay leadership based on an electoral
process and consultative decision making.
Despite their attempts to suppress their rebellious origins by modelling new
forms of religious authority, religio-political dissent remained as an undercurrent
motif -a suppressed memory sometimes coming to the surface. Remnants of religio-

political dissent survived in Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh not only in their critical stance
towards the ùla,nä "s ability to become agents of religious reform but also in their
distance from the state and their scepticism towards political means in instigating
reforms.
Although Àbdul-Baha transformed the Baha'is into a quietist and apolitical
community, his scepticism towards realpolitik remained as a heritage taken from
Islamic traditions of religio-political dissent. Messianic movements in the past like the
Babis aimed at an overthrow of existing political orders in order to realise their
theocratic ideal of a divinely guided and moral socio-political order. Àbdul-Baha hoped
that the Baha'is could at least play a conciliatory role in the constitutional movement by
overcoming the destabilising effects of partisan politics. But his efforts to present the
Baha'is as promoters of democratic reforms loyal to the shah failed. The memory of the
ruling dynasty and the ùlarnd ' of the radical political aims of the Babi movement was
too strong. Therefore, Àbdul-Baha moulded a religious community which severed all
its ties with the Iranian state and other political and social organisations in the country.
The Baha'is became a community apart with a completely apolitical orientation, outside
Iranian mainstream society.
Despite Àbduh's attempts to buttress his orthodox credentials, the religious
establishment of the al-Azhar ùlama' never accepted him as one of its own. His
166
rejection of traditional Muslim scholarship, his embrace of Western knowledge and his
cooperation with the British authorities rendered him suspicious in the eye of traditional
ùlamä'. They knew too well that Àbduh's intellectual agility stemmed from his early
association with Afghani whose heterodox leanings were even more obvious. Although
Àbduh discarded revolutionary means to affect politics, he still continued to hold a
sceptical attitude towards the political realities in the Middle East. He intended to
immunise Islamic discourse from political instrumentalisation by creating a space for it
outside the state and traditional religious scholarship.

Hence, the focus of Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh moved away from state politics to
the private sector. Àbduh established private societies with charitable, cultural,
religious and educational purposes outside the grip of the state to obtain the
organisational framework to work for social reforms and religious revival within
Muslim societies. As these societies countered the efforts of the Egyptian state to
control religious institutions and established organisations which competed with the
traditional educational and religious networks of the ùlamä', they were viewed with
scepticism by both the ùlamd' and the khedive. Similarly, Àbdul-Baha's efforts
concentrated on the construction of a new religious community outside Islam without
any links with the state or other social and political organisations and groups. After the
failure of Middle Eastern reform movements, the Baha'is were to focus on missionary
activities to win new adherents to the millenarian message of his father which would
lead to a moral revival not only of the Middle East but of the entire world.
Àbdul-Baha's move from heresy to apostasy and Àbduh's reverse move from
heresy to orthodoxy were not yet finalised at the end of their lives. Their intellectual
legacies and the religious movements they had created contained tensions and
contradictions which had to be resolved by their disciples and successors. The early
Baha'i movement ultimately had to clarify its relationship with its Islamic origins and to
define its future sectarian orientation. The Salafiyya movement, the group of Muslim
modernist intellectuals inspired by Àbduh, articulated a third way between the

traditionalism of the ùlamd' and the blind imitation of the West. In the long term, they
had to show that their modernist interpretation of Islam was not an expression of
religious dissidence directed against orthodox Islam but was the only way to ensure the
place of Islam in the modern world. It was up to Shoghi Effendi Rabbani Àbdul-Baha's
successor as leader of the Baha'i movement, and Muhammad Rashid Rida, Àbduh's
most influential disciples, to address and resolve these tensions.
167
6. The View of Posterity: From Heresy to Neo-Orthodoxy
The story of Àbdul-Baha and Muhammad Àbduh is part of the history of
religious dissidence in the 19`h century Middle East. In Muslim historical experience,
dissidence towards the religious and political establishment had messianic undertones.
The revolt of al-Mukhtar in Kufa against the Umayyad caliph Yazid was fought in the
name of Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya, a son of Àli, who was called al-Mahdi. The
Àbbasid revolution likewise exploited millenarian hopes for the return to a just and
truly Islamic government established by an acceptable Hashimid candidate (al-ride' ntin

äl Muhantnra(lfor the caliphate. The Safavid dynasty came to power in Iran as a
messianic movement around the charismatic and divine authority of Shah Ismail.
However, messianic dissidence tended to be a short-lived rapture which was
sometimes successful, sometimes unsuccessful in overthrowing the existing political

regime. In order to be successful, dissident movements had to dissociate themselves
from dissidence. While revolts like al-Mukhtar's in the name of al-Mahdi failed like so
many other messianic movements throughout Muslim history, the Àbbasid and Safavid
rise to political power succeeded, because the blend of religious and political dissidence
which drove the two movements forward was suppressed as soon as political power was
seized. The Àbbasids turned their rule into a Sunni caliphate patronising Sunni `trlamä'
and persecuting Shiis. The Safavids chose Twelver Shiism as the state religion for Iran
and slaughtered the Qizilbash whose extreme devotion to Ismail was not helpful in
buttressing the orthodox Shii credentials of the new dynasty.
Hence, religious dissidence needs to make a choice between aligning itself with
orthodoxy or becoming extinguished. The experiences of Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh and

their development give evidence of the choice which a religious dissident needs to make.
In the course of their careers, Àbdul-Baba and Àbduh had to re-define their religious
dissidence. While Àbduh positioned himself in a thoroughly orthodox framework,
Àbdul-Baha, realising that religious dissidence would never be accepted by the
orthodox mainstream, moved outside Islam.
This chapter looks at the successors of Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh investigating
how the religious reform movements they had initiated developed after their deaths.
Shoghi Effendi's rise to the role of the leader of the Baha'i movement and his
interpretation of the sectarian identity of the Baha'is will be discussed. Then, the role of
Rashid Rida, Àbduh's self-acclaimed main disciple, in the development of 20`h century
168
political Islam will be examined. The two created new forms of religious orthodoxy out
of the teachings of their predecessors. In their visions of future society, they allocate
religion a central place in order ensure its socio-political relevance in the modern world.
6.1. Shoghi Effendi and the Creation of a New Religion

6.1.1. From Movement to Conºnurnity
When Àbdul-Baba died in 1921, he appointed his eldest grandson Shoghi
Effendi Rabbani (1897-1957) as his successor and `guardian of the cause of God' (wall
437While the appointment stands very much within the Shii tradition of
anºr alläh).
Imamic succession, Shoghi Effendi's ascendancy to the head of the Baha'i movement
was not a smooth process. His style of leadership differed markedly from that of his
grandfather. While Àbdul-Baha was outgoing and personable, Shoghi Effendi was
introverted and solitary; while Àbdul-Baha used to dress like a Sufi shaykh with a long
cloak and a turban, Shoghi Effendi wore Western clothes and a fez; while Àbdul-Baha
was educated by his father, Shoghi Effendi studied at the Syrian Protestant College in
Beirut, which would later become the American University, and at Balliol College in
Oxford. Most importantly, Shoghi Effendi was only 24 years old at the time of his
appointment. Born in 1897, he had never met Baha'ullah, in contrast to many of his
relatives and other Baha'is who lived in Àkka and Haifa.
Although Àbdul-Baba's appointment of Shoghi Effendi as new head of the
Baha'i community giving him the title wall amr allah, one of the titles of the Shii
Imams, stands within the tradition of charismatic succession in Shiism, he introduced a
new institution in his testament. His father, Baha'ullah, never referred to the institution
that would be called `guardianship' (wildya) in Àbdul-Baha's testament. In
Baha'ullah's writings, the house of justice (bay! al- àdl is envisioned as leading the
affairs of the Baha'i movement in the future. Hence, many Baha'is expected Àbdul-
Baha's testament to contain injunctions for the formation of the house of justice.
The testament, however, introduced the concept of a dual leadership of the
Baha'i movement. On the one hand, Shoghi Effendi inaugurated a line of charismatic
leaders chosen from his male descendents which very much resembles the Shii
understanding of the Imamate, in terms of their descent, their designation and their
mandate. On the other hand, another body, called the universal house of justice (bayt-i
437Àbdul-Baba, {Vasä}'n,
pp. 1If..
169
'adl-i `tvýtirini), consisting of nine men would conjointly with the guardian exercise
leadership over the community. While the guardianship would be concerned with the
doctrinal interpretation of scripture, the universal house of justice would be the supreme
legislative organ. Although both the guardian and the house of justice act independently
in their respective fields of competence - interpretation and legislation -, the guardian
would have supreme authority and the final word in all decisions as the lifelong head of
the universal house of justice.
In his testament, Àbdul-Baha outlines the further institutionalisation of the
Baha'i movement as well. Apart from the universal house of justice, local houses of
justice should be instituted as mentioned in Baha'ullah's Kitdb al-Agdas. In addition,
Àbdul-Baha introduces a special house of justice (bayt-i 'adl-i khusfrsi) to be
in house justice. 438
established all countries whose members would elect the universal of
For the Baha'is in the Middle East, the introduction of the guardianship as a new
religious office did not pose a serious challenge, particularly as it did not constitute a
radical departure from known religious institutions of charismatic authority. However,
given Shoghi Effendi's youth and inexperience, senior members of the Iranian Baha'i
movement as well as members of his own family faced difficulties in accepting his
guidelines, especially as he himself struggled with his new role in the beginning. They
felt the need to establish the universal house of justice as soon as possible in order to
follow Àbdul-Baha's will and testament and also to balance the perceived weak
leadership of Shoghi Effendi.
In March 1922, Shoghi Effendi invited leading members of the Middle Eastern
and Western Baha'i communities to Haifa in order to discuss the possible formation of a
universal house of justice. Unlike many of those invited, Shoghi Effendi came to the
conclusion that the establishment of the institution at this time would be premature. As
the universal house of justice was to be elected by the members of all national or special
houses of justice, according to Àbdul-Baha's testament, Shoghi Effendi decided that an
election did not make sense unless a sufficient number of national bodies had been
established throughout the Baha'i community. At the time of Shoghi Effendi's
assumption of authority, none of these national bodies existed apart from the North
American Temple Unity. Hence, Shoghi Effendi concluded that both a further
institutional consolidation of the existing communities and the systematic expansion of
the Baha'i movement throughout the whole world were necessary prior to the election
438Ibid., pp. 12-5.
170
the house justice. 439Many invited to the meeting with
of universal of senior members
Shoghi Effendi did not agree with this decision, having their own aspirations to become
members of the house of justice and reservations about submitting to the authority of
Shoghi Effendi.
Although leading and respected Baha'is and Shoghi Effendi's close relatives
rejected his leadership, he managed to secure the loyalty of the vast majority of the
Baha'is in the Middle East and the West. He then began a major transformation of the
Baha'i movement which would change its character substantially. As part of his plan to
enhance the institutional consolidation of the community, he provided guidelines for the
establishment of local and national spiritual assemblies. Shoghi Effendi chose the title
`spiritual assembly' as a provisional designation for the later houses of justice. In each
city where more than nine Baha'is lived, a local spiritual assembly should be elected
which will be in sole charge of all communal activities of the resident Baha'is.
In 1923, the first national spiritual assemblies were elected in Great Britain,
Germany and India, followed by Egypt in 1924. By 1925, the Baha'i Temple Unity of
Chicago was changed into the national spiritual assembly of the United States and
Canada. In 1931, the first national spiritual assembly was elected in Iran. These national
assemblies became the centres of administrative authority in all national communities
and were registered as legal bodies representing the interests of the respective Baha'i
communities. Along with the development of a hierarchical administrative order, the
Baha'i community also assumed a new organisational status. Whereas before its
institutionalisation, it had been a loose religious or interfaith network bringing people
from different backgrounds together without requiring them to dissociate themselves
from their own religions, Shoghi Effendi developed the Baha'i community into a
distinct and separate religious organisation to which membership is exclusive. While for
many of the early converts becoming Baha'i did not mean dissociating themselves from
their previous religious networks, as many Christian, Muslim and Jewish converts still
attended the communal services of their respective religions, under Shoghi Effendi
membership in the Baha'i community required a withdrawal from membership in any
440
other religious or political organisation.
From the 1920s onwards, one can actually speak of the Baha'i movement as a
distinct religious community. For the Iranian Baha'is the development of a distinct
religious identity meant the end of the practice of tagiyya which had been initially
439Smith, Babi-Baha'i Religions, pp. 120f..

440Ibid., p. 122.
171
enjoined upon them by Baha'ullah but which was explicitly prohibited by Shoghi
Effendi in the late 44'

1920s. The rise of the Pahlavi dynasty and its secular orientation
provided the Baha'is in Iran with the political context in which they might practise and
express their new religious identity openly.
Events in Egypt were a landmark for Shoghi Effendi in defining the relationship
of the new religious community with Islam. In 1925, a provincial court in Upper Egypt
divorced three Baha'is from their wives arguing that they were not Muslims but
followers of a new religion. As apostates from Islam they could not be legally married
to Muslim women. Shoghi Effendi pointed out how this legal ruling by an Islamic court
gave evidence of the independence of the Baha'i Faith from Islam and its character as a
new religion. When in 1939, a crowd in the Egyptian city of Ismailiyya prevented the
burial of a prominent local Baha'i in a Muslim cemetery, the national spiritual assembly
of the Balia'is in Egypt requested allocations of land from the government in order to
create Baha'i cemeteries in Cairo and Ismailiyya. The government referred the case to
the grand mufti of Egypt who confirmed that Baha'is cannot be considered Muslims and
as apostates cannot be buried in Muslim cemeteries. Events like these which were
repeated in other parts of the Muslim world as well, signified for Shoghi Effendi the
departure from Islam. 4'2
ultimate of the Baha'is
6.1.2. Furthering Bureaucracy
For many Baha'is in North America and Europe, Shoghi Effendi's policy of
institutionalising the Baha'i movement into an exclusive religious community was
alienating. Several Baha'is left the community. In Great Britain, the Baha'i community
experienced an almost complete change of personnel with hardly any of the early
converts being involved in the community from the late 1920s onwards.
One of the more vocal and successful opponents of Shoghi Effendi's new
policies was the American Baha'i Ruth White who considered Àbdul-Baha's testament
to be a forgery as he could not have approved the development of a Baha'i organisation
which she found inimical to the inclusivist nature of the Baha'i movement. In 1930, she
founded the Baha'i World Union which did not survive for very long. Nor did the
movement of the German `Free Baha'is', who also rejected Shoghi Effendi's leadership.
441See Ishraq-Khawari, H., Gm jinn yi Hurl&d wa-Ahknm, repr., Toronto: University of Toronto Press,
[n. d.], pp. 456-9. The chapter is entitled `The Prohibition of tagiy5,a and kilmnn' and contains various
letters to Baha'is in Iran in which Shoghi Effendi clearly proscribes the practice. See also Ekbal, `tagiyya
und kitmnn', pp. 371If..
442Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, pp. 364-9.
172
The strongest challenge within the American Baha'i community came from Ahmad
Sohrab, a former secretary of Àbdul-Baha, who did not consider the testament to be
forged but found the formation of an exclusivist religious organisation contrary to the
inclusivist ideals expounded by Àbdul-Baha. In 1929, together with other disillusioned
Baha'is he founded in New York the New History Society which organised events and
was engaged in publishing activities for the propagation of ideas like world peace and
the unity of all religions, ideas which were at the very heart of the Baha'i movement and
which Àbdul-Baha had presented in his tours through North America.

As Ahmad Sohrab was unwilling to place the New History Society as a Baha'i
organisation under the jurisdiction of the national spiritual assembly of North America,
he was declared a `covenant-breaker' in 1930. His excommunication posed a serious
challenge for many Baha'is in the New York area who were involved in the activities of
the New History Society and obviously sympathised with its objectives. Ahmad
Sohrab's excommunication however meant they had to avoid any association with the
society not to be excommunicated themselves. The affair of Ahmad Sohrab and the
New History Society in New York illustrates that the development of a rigid
organisation within the Baha'i community required abandoning the rather inclusivist
spirit of Àbdul-Baha and a move towards an exclusivist religious community governed
by administrative bodies which alone were entitled to exercise authority. 443
In line with the institutionalisation of the Baha'i community, its communal
activities were put into a systematic framework. Again the American Baha'i community
played a leading role in enhancing a change in the culture of the Baha'i community and
became a role-model for other communities in the world. The final ascendancy of those
in favour of a clear organisation in North America can be seen by a series of systematic
plans which were developed by the national spiritual assembly between 1926 and 1934.
The aim of these plans was to formulate targets and strategies for the missionary
activities of the community and for the completion of the Baha'i Temple in Chicago
whose foundation stone had been laid during Àbdul-Baha's visit but whose
construction had not made any major progress due to the lack of organisational cohesion
and low financial contributions.
Two consecutive `Plans of Unified Action' were developed by the national
spiritual assembly, particularly its secretary Horace Holley, and approved by Shoghi
Effendi. As part of the American plans, proselytisation activities were systematised. A
113Ibid., pp. 124-6.
173
national committee was appointed by the national spiritual assembly with each of its
members responsible for a particular region in North America. Likewise, systematic
instruction for itinerant missionaries was introduced, recommending to them certain
writings from Àbdul-Baha and Shoghi Effendi to be studied in preparation for the
missionary activities and also suggesting methods for winning adherents like
interpreting the Bible and its prophecies in the light of Baha'ullah's theophany and
relating Baha'i social and political teachings to current issues. Most importantly, all
missionaries had to be approved by Baha'i institutions, a process which ensured their
doctrinal cohesion.
Apart from systematising missionary activities, the second objective of the
`Plans for Unified Action' was to raise funding for the completion of the Baha'i Temple
in Wilmette near Chicago. In fact, it became the primary responsibility of the local
spiritual assemblies to receive contributions for the Baha'i Temple and forward them to
the national assembly. In order to increase awareness of the individual member's
responsibilities, the national assembly decided to provide a clear structure for the 19-
Day-Feasts, the regular meetings of a local community at the beginning of a Baha'i
month. While these meetings are mentioned in Baha'ullah's Kits b al-Agdas as
occasions for communal prayers and socialising, the national assembly intended to
make use of these regular gatherings in order to implement its administrative guidelines.
The 19-Day-Feast received a tripartite structure consisting of prayers, consultation and
socialising. The second part was used to disseminate policies and instructions from the
national assembly and to provide the local communities with a forum to consult on and
organise their own activities. In addition, the 19-Day-Feast was transformed into an
exclusive meeting place for Baha'is only. This structure of the 19-Day-Feast was
developed by the American Baha'is and later approved and adopted by Shoghi Effendi
who prescribed this structure to all other communities in the world. 444
The American Baha'i community played a central role in developing the
administrative patterns which created, out of the loose interfaith network of the Baha'i
movement at the time of Àbdul-Baha's death, a bureaucratic and hierarchical religious
organisation with centralised authority on different levels, communal action plans and
regular and structured communal meetings. All these new policies developed by the
American national spiritual assembly, by its secretary Horace Holley in particular,
required Shoghi Effendi's final approval since he was considered to be the supreme
'" Bramson, L., `The Plans

of Unified Action: A Survey', in Smith, P. (ed. ), Bahr 'Is in the {fest, Los
Angeles: Kalimät, 2004, pp. 166-70.
174
source of authority within the community. In most cases, Shoghi Effendi willingly lent
his support for the organisational innovations introduced by the American Baha'is and
adopted them himself later. The two `Plans for Unified Action' were followed by other
plans in North America. In addition, Shoghi Effendi assigned to other national
assemblies their own plans for the consolidation and expansion of their communities.
The ultimate aim of these plans was to spread the Baha'i Faith geographically
around the world so that a sufficient number of national spiritual assemblies would be
set up in preparation for the election of the universal house of justice. While
communities and spiritual assemblies had been established in North America, Europe,
the Middle East and South Asia, missionary efforts were needed to create communities
in South America, Africa and East Asia. In 1953, Shoghi Effendi launched the so-called
Ten-Year-Crusade (jihad-i raivIOni yi akbar"), a major task for all existing national
spiritual assemblies to send missionaries from their communities to all countries in the
world. The aim was to increase the number of national spiritual assemblies and to elect
the universal house of justice at the end of this plan. 445
Shoghi Effendi died unexpectedly in 1957 in the middle of the `Ten-Year-
Crusade'. His sudden death left the community in confusion as he had not left a
testament to appoint a successor. In order to assist him in his global endeavour to

institutionalise and expand the geographical scope of the Baha'i community, like
Baha'ullah and Àbdul-Baha, Shoghi Effendi appointed several `Hands of the Cause of
God' (ajýndi anir alldh) who acted as a channel of communication and guidance
between him and the several national communities. By the time of his death, he had
appointed 27 Hands of the Cause whom he considered to be `the Chief Stewards of

Bahä'u'lläh's embryonic World Commonwealth. 9446As its `Chief Stewards', the Hands
of the Cause led the Baha'i community in the remaining years of the Ten-Year-Crusade
before the first universal house of justice was elected in 1963.
With Shoghi Effendi's death the institution of the guardianship ended and with it
charismatic authority within the Baha'i community. In the first communication of the
newly elected universal house of justice, the end of the guardianship was proclaimed
because Shoghi Effendi had not left a testament and nobody in the community would
meet the criteria to be designated as a new guardian. 447Shoghi Effendi did not leave any
4'5 Ibid.,
pp. 185f..
446Shoghi Effendi, Messages to the Bahd'i World, 1950-1957, Wilmette, Ill.: Bahä'i Publishing Trust,
1971, p. 127.
p. 132.
175
male descendents and all of Àbdul-Baha's male descendents had been excommunicated
for disobeying Shoghi Effendi. The nine members of the universal house of justice also
reflect the Western orientation of the Baha'i community, as most of its members were
from North America and Britain and its few Iranian members had been living outside
Iran for many years.

The routinisation of charisma which Àbdul-Baha had initiated during his
ministry and envisioned in his testament and which Shoghi Effendi had pursued with his
leadership, was finalised with the establishment of the universal house of justice as the
sole head of the international Baha'i community and the ultimate end of charismatic
authority with the death of Shoghi Effendi.
6.1.3. Reinterpreting Baha 'i Millenarianism: The World Order of Baha 'ullah
The globalisation of the Baha'i Faith, which gained further momentum under
Shoghi Effendi's ministry, also led to a reinterpretation of Baha'i millenarianism. Right
from the outset of his theophanic claims, Baha'ullah considered himself to be the
consummation of all previous salvation history not only fulfilling the eschatological
expectations of Shia Islam and Babism but of all religions. While many of his writings
responded to political issues in the Middle East and presented its current turmoil as the
result of his theophany, Baha'ullah envisioned himself to be a global messianic

reformer. He sent letters to the major heads of state in the Middle East and Europe,
summoning them to abandon warfare and to seek peaceful relations.
Àbdul-Baha's own presentation of the teachings of his father in the West
stressed the pacifist current of the Baha'i movement which would bring all religions,
races and civilisations together. Shoghi Effendi expanded on the millenarian motif of
peace and the creation of a new world order and connected it with the construction and
expansion of the Baha'i community and its administrative order. The joint efforts of all
Baha'is in expanding and consolidating the Baha'i community is not an end in itself.
According to Shoghi Effendi, the Baha'is and their religious community would play a
central role in spearheading humanity's transition to a new age and in laying the
foundations for a future golden age as promised by all religions.
For Shoghi Effendi, two distinct yet interconnected parallel processes yield the
golden age. On the one hand, the current world order with all its ramifications will
crumble while, on the other hand, the Baha'is create the nucleus of a new order, the
world order of Balha'ullah, whose embryonic form can be discerned in the emerging
176
administrative structure of their community. The more humanity rejects the salvific
message of Baha'ullah, the more it will be afflicted by divine retributive calamities:
The catastrophic fall of mighty monarchies and empires in the European continent,
allusions to some of which may be found in the prophecies of Bahä'u'lläh; the decline that
has set in, and is still continuing, in the fortunes of the Shi'ih hierarchy in His own native
land; the fall of the Qäjär dynasty, the traditional enemy of His Faith; the overthrow of the
Sultanate and the Caliphate, the sustaining pillars of Sunni Islam, to which the destruction
of Jerusalem in the latter part of the first century of the Christian era offers a striking
parallel; the wave of secularization which is invading the Muhammadan ecclesiastical

institutions in Egypt and sapping the loyalty of its staunchest supporters; the humiliating
blows that have afflicted some of the most powerful Churches of Christendom in Russia, in
Western Europe and Central America; the dissemination of those subversive doctrines that
are undermining the foundations and overthrowing the structure of seemingly impregnable
strongholds in the political and social spheres of human activity; the signs of an impending
catastrophe, strangely reminiscent of the Fall of the Ronan Empire in the west, which
threatens to engulf the whole structure of present-day civilization-all witness to the tumult
which the birth of this mighty Organ of the Religion of Bahä'u'lläh has cast into the
world-a tumult which will grow in scope and in intensity as the implications of this
constantly evolving Scheme are more fully understood and its ramifications more widely
the 44
extended over the surface of globe.
As humanity witnesses the downfall of the previous world order with the fall of
mighty religious, political and social institutions, the Baha'is play their role in this
apocalyptic and cataclysmic process by creating the foundations of a new world order.
The future golden age will witness the unity of all nations, races, religions and
classes. In terms of its political structure, it will consist of a world parliament, world
government and world tribunal. International communication will be facilitated by the
adoption of a global language 449Science and religion will be reconciled; the
and script.
press will be completely independent and not manipulated by economic and political
vested interests; a fair global economic system will be established ensuring the equal
distribution of goods:
National rivalries, hatreds, and intrigues will cease, and racial animosity and prejudice will
be replaced by racial amity, understanding and cooperation. The causes of religious strife
will be permanently removed, economic barriers and restrictions will be completely
abolished, and the inordinate distinction between classes will be obliterated. Destitution on
the one hand, and gross accumulation of ownership on the other, will disappear. The
448Shoghi Effendi, The IVorld Order

of Bahä'u 7/äh, Wilmette, Ill.: Bahä'i Publishing Trust, 1991, pp.
155f.
449Ibid., p. 203.
177,
enormous energy dissipated and wasted on war, whether economic or political, will be
consecrated to such ends as will extend the range of human inventions and technical
development, to the increase of the productivity of mankind, to the extermination of disease,
to the extension of scientific research, to the raising of the standard of physical health, to
the sharpening and refinement of the human brain, to the exploitation of the unused and
unsuspected resources of the planet, to the prolongation of human life, and to the
furtherance of any other agency that can stimulate the intellectual, the moral, and spiritual
life of the entire human race.450
In other words, the world order of Baha'ullah is nothing else than paradise on
earth couched by Shoghi Effendi in the language of modern political and social
utopianism. This golden age will only be achieved by àllegiance to one common
Revelation, ' 451the revelation of Baha'ullah. However, the Baha'is should not expect the
fulfilment of these chiliastic hopes in the near future since it is a long process, as
`mysteriously, slowly, and resistlessly God accomplishes His design. '452
The chiliastic hope of Shii millenarianism that with the parousia of the Hidden
Imam a just political order and a perfect Islamic government will be established
resurfaces in a new context in Shoghi Effendi's notion of the world order of Baha'ullah.
The original political aspirations of Shii messianism return, not in the form of a single
messianic figure who completely overturns the current political order, but by a
charismatic community which is driven by the salvific message of its founder,

Baha'ullah, which translates this message into its communal organisation and which
gradually and increasingly attracts humanity to it. Humanity must turn to this
community and follow its example to reach salvation politically, socially and spiritually.
The theocratic ideals of Shii messianism which also guided the Babi movement
re-appear in the form of a new religious movement which is deprived of the militant
millenarianism of Shiism and Babism but still retains the hope of a future fusion of
political and religious authority. The Baha'i community and its administrative structure
offer the nucleus of the future world order in which the vast majority of humanity has
turned to the Baha'i Faith and the institutions of its community. The universal house of
justice in addition to its religious functions will play a leading role in the political and
social administration of the future world commonwealth. The temporary separation of

religious and political institutions will be undone and both will merge or at least
450Ibid., p. 204.
451Ibid.
452Shoghi Effendi, The Promised Day Has Come, Wilmette, Ill.: Bahä'i Publishing Tnist, 1980, p. 116.
178
collaborate in order to create a forumof governance which satisfies both the material and
spiritual needs of the entire human race:
Not only will the present-day Spiritual Assemblies be styled differently in future, but they
will be enabled also to add to their present functions those powers, duties, and prerogatives
necessitated by the recognition of the Faith of Bahä'u'Iläh, not merely as one of the
recognized religious systems of the world, but as the State Religion of an independent and
Sovereign Power. And as the Bahä'i Faith permeates the masses of the peoples of East and
West, and its truth is embraced by the majority of the peoples of a number of the Sovereign
States of the world, will the Universal House of Justice attain the plenitude of its power,
and exercise, as the supreme organ of the Bahä'i Commonwealth, all the rights, the duties,
incumbent future ; s3
and responsibilities upon the world's super-state
Although Shoghi Effendi does not define exactly which additional powers the
universal house of justice will assume in the future and what exactly its relationship to
the world government and the world parliament will be, it is likely that he considers it to
in Commonwealth. 454Despite
be the supreme legislative organ a future `World Bahä'i
Shoghi Effendi's efforts to complete the departure of the Baha'i movement from Islam
with the construction of a distinct religious organisation, his vision of the charismatic
role of this community has inherited the Shii vision of the just ruler in the person of the
mahdi-gn'im who embodies the fusion of secular and spiritual authority.

Shoghi Effendi took the religious dissidence of the early Baha'i movement to its
logical conclusion by finalising the departure from Islam, providing a textbook example
of Weber's notion of the routinisation of charisma. When the creation of a distinct

communal organisation gained further momentum under Shoghi Effendi, the Baha'i
Faith finally became a new religious movement with its own corpus of scripture, its own
rituals and doctrines and its own organisational structure which distinguish Baha'is
from followers of other religions. The origins of Baha'i movement in the Shii
environment of religious and political dissidence are forgotten. What remains, however,
is the political and religious utopianism of Shii messianism. The promise of a future
golden age takes the millenarian ideal of a divinely guided society out of the context of
Islamic messianism. The Baha'is as members of a charismatic community driven by
Baha'ullah's teachings will pacify and unify the world and create a new world order
453Shoghi Effendi, World Order, pp. 6f..

454Shoghi Effendi, Messages, p. 155; see also Schaefer, U., Towfigh, N., Gollmer, U., Desinformation als
Methode: Die Balra'isnrus-Monographie des F. Ficicchia, Hildesheim: Olms, 1995, p. 335. The question
to what extent Baha'i institutions would assume political functions in a future Baha'i state is
controversial. For a critique of a theocratic understanding of a Baha'i state see McGlinn, S., `Theocratic
Assumptions in Bahä'i Literature', in Fazel, S., Danesh, J. (eds.), Reason and Revelation: New Directions
in Bahd'i Thought, Los Angeles: Kalimät Press, 2002, pp. 39-80.
179
based on the will of God. 455Quite similarly, in Rashid Rida's interpretation of Àbduh's
teachings and his vision of a modem Muslim society remnants of messianic utopianism
reappear in the notion of an Islamic state.
6.2. Rashid Rida and the Rise of Political Islam in the 20`x'Century
6.2.1. Àbdtth's Legacy: Between Secularism and the Salafiyya
Àbduh's reinterpretation of Islam and his approach to religious authority have
been extremely influential in the development of modern Islamic thought. Àbduh
became the prototype of the 20`x'century activist `dlim whose religious authority does
not solely rest on the depth of his scholarship but on a blend of traditional religious
expertise and social and political activism. Although he came to disbelieve in Afghani's
revolutionary strategies of manipulation, conspiracy and mass politics, he remained a
his life. 456
politically conscious älim until the end of
The legacy that he left, however, is full of tensions. His assumption of an
inherent harmony of Islam with modernity and his simultaneous adherence to the early
Islamic community as the mythical manifestation of authentic Islam attempt to bridge a
dynamic understanding of Islam as a modern and flexible religion with its anchoring in
a static role-model projected to the past. The scriptural foundation of Islam in the Koran
and the sunna of the Prophet aimed at simplifying the religion and re-discovering its
pristine spirit. It would make Islamic religiosity more homogenous but at the same time
more scripturalist, limiting the scope for dynamic change.
Another tension lies in the social and political relevance Àbduh intended to
attribute to Islam in the modern world. Àbduh maintained a holistic understanding of

Islam as the necessary moral foundation for Muslim societies. By founding religious,
cultural and benevolent organisations he intended to Islamise Egyptian society in new

ways as the traditional religious authorities did not respond to the intellectual and social
compartmentalisation of their societies. For Àbduh, Islam should not be
instnimentalised politically but it should certainly not remain the domain of a culturally
isolated religious class but become the moral and spiritual foundation of the modern
457
world.
455On the continuation and modification of the messianic motif in the Baha'i Faith see also Berger,
`Motif messianique', pp. 106f..
ashMerad, Ènseignment politique', pp. 674-85.
457Hourani, Arabic Thought, p. 161
180
According to Albert Hourani, the tensions left in Àbduh's thought were to
become manifest among his disciples. One group stressed the unchanging and eternal
nature of Islam as embodied in the scriptural sources of the Islamic tradition and its
ideal embodiment in the early community. This group made Àbduh super-orthodox,
comparing him with figures like al-Ghazali or even Ibn Taymiyya and taking Wahhabi-
style scripturalism as guiding principle. The other group of his students emphasised
Àbduh's notion of necessary social change and followed 19`x'century ideas of freedom
and progress. This group instigated a de facto separation of Islam from politics, thereby
becoming more secular. This group ignored Islam in ideological terms and rendered it
irrelevant for the social and political organisation of the country. 458
Modern secular thought in Egypt has its origin in Àbduh, as he opened the door
for a critical evaluation of the role of Islam in the modern world with his opposition
towards the `Manta' and their conservatism. The secular branch of his disciples shifted
away from the question of how Islam must be understood to give it a place in the
modern world. The members of the secular branch were rather interested in the question
of which values are important for the progress of a society in the modern world. This
group became organised in the People's Party (hizb al-u»ima) and used the journal Al-
Jarkla edited by Ahmad Lutfi al-Sayyid (1872-1963) to articulate its ideas publicly.
Lufti al-Sayyid was an important figure in the foundation of the first secular Egyptian
university and became one of its first professors and rectors. For Lutfi al-Sayyid,
education was important for social progress as it was for Àbduh, but the religious
element becomes secondary in his thought. Lutfi aI-Sayyid attributed to Islam a role in
providing general moral values but for the reconstruction of the Egyptian nation a
cohesive nationalist ideology was most important.
Nationalism and liberalism were the two central ideologies around which the
secular wing of Àbduh's disciples centred their intellectual and political activities.
While some of them became intellectuals and literati providing an ideological
foundation for an independent and democratic Egypt, other disciples became important
figures in Egyptian inter-bellum political life. Sad Zaghlul (1857-1927) studied under
Afghani and Àbduh and became the leading figure in the post-World War I
independence movement as the founder of the IWafd party which was to dominate
Egyptian inter-bellum politics. Zaghlul became the first prime minister after Egypt
gained nominal independence from Britain in 1922.
458Ibid.
181
The ultimate expression of secularism among Àbduh's followers came from
Àli Àbdur-Raziq (1888-1966), the younger brother of Mustafa Àbdur-Raziq who was
one of Àbduh's disciples. In response to the abolition of the caliphate by Atatürk in

1924, he argues in Al-Iskbn wal-Usül al-Hukm (Islam and the Foundations of
Government) that the caliphate is not a religious but a political institution which
emerged after the death of the Prophet. There are no bases for it in the Koran or the
hence, is Islam 459
sunna and, no political system associated with per se. While Àbduh
presented his opposition to the traditionalist `trlamd ' and his advocacy for the adoption
of modern values as an attempt to retrieve authentic Islam, for his secular disciples,
Islam became irrelevant or uninteresting in the creation of a modern Egyptian nation-
state. Àbduh's secular disciples moved outside Islam ideologically and intellectually.
Àbduh might not have approved the ultimate conclusion they drew from his thought
but it was the intellectual tensions and contradictions they inherited from him that made
them choose to leave Islam aside in socio-political terms.460

The other group which prioritised the Islamic element in Àbduh's thought
gained an important role in buttressing the orthodox credentials of their teacher and
stylising him as a beacon of Sunni orthodoxy in the 19`h century. This group was led by
Muhammad Rashid Rida (1865-1935). While for Àbduh the main enemies were the
traditionalist ùla, nfl' who prevented an adaptation of Islam to the modern world, Rida
saw the greatest challenge to Islam coming from the westernised intelligentsia which
made Islam irrelevant for the modem world with its orientation towards secularism and
liberalism. That many of the proponents of these ideas stemmed from the circle of
Àbduh's disciples who claimed to be faithful to the intellectual heritage of their teacher
constituted a particular insult to Rida and led him to re-interpret Àbduh's ideas in sharp
contrast to those of secular intellectuals. Ideas which Rida adopted from his teacher
were an activist and flexible understanding of Islam, the notion that it is both a religion
and a civilisation and is ideally embodied in the time of the pious ancestors (al-salaf al-
461
Àbduh's attitude towards the Western world gives evidence of admiration for
its achievements, an admiration that led him to travel as often as possible to Europe.
Rida's opinion on the Western world was more sceptical if not hostile because of the
459For a summary
of Sunni debates on the caliphate in the aftermath of its abolition see Enayat, H.,
Modern Islamic Political Thought, Austin: University of Texas Press, 1982, pp. 52-68.
460Hourani, Arabic Thought,
pp. 161-221.
461Ibid.,
pp. 228f.
182
slavish imitation of Western life-style he observed in the Egyptian middle-class and
intelligentsia. He argued for an adoption of modern civilisation only as far it
as was
necessary for Muslim societies to regain strength. Adaptation to the West should be
restricted to scientific and technological borrowing and should not include the adoption
Western ideological 462
of cultural or values.
Rida attempted to resolve two basic tensions in Àbduh's thought: How could
the flexibility of Islam be ensured while at the same anchoring it in its scriptural
sources? How could Islam be the comprehensive source of Muslim civilisation without
becoming politically instrumentalised? In a time when the Sunni caliphate was
abolished and discussions on its re-establishment shook the Muslim world, Rida
defended its necessity in opposition to secular thinkers like Àli Àbdur-Raziq who
developed a purely spiritual understanding of Islam without any connection to a
particular political system. For Rida, the secularised reading of Islam did not only
betray the intellectual legacy of Àbduh but also deprived Islam of an essential
institution to safeguard its integrity. If Islam was both a religion and a civilisation, it
would require a political system based on Islamic principles.
6.2.2. Creating an Islamic Order: Rashid Rida and the Muslim Brotherhood
Rida followed Àbduh's identification of Islam with civilisation and outlined the
foundations of an Islamic political theory based on the institution of the caliphate and
the comprehensive nature of the shar"i à. Whereas Àbduh ignored the caliphate in his
political thought at the end of his life, this institution occupied an important place in
Rida's religious and political discourse. One the eve of its abolition, Rida wrote, in
1922, a treatise on the caliphate entitled Al-Khilnfa aw-al-Imäma al- Ùzntk (The
Caliphate or the Supreme Imamate). 463 In 1922, the Turkish National Assembly
effectively spirtualised the caliphate by abolishing the sultanate. Àbdul-Mecid was

elected as caliph for all Muslims, devoid of any political power.
Following discussions throughout the Muslim world on the future of the
caliphate, Rida envisioned a restoration of this institution not in the same way as it was
manifest throughout Muslim history but in the manner in which it had existed in the
early community adapted to notions of representative government and national
162Ibid.
463For French translation cf. Laoust, H. (tr. ), Le Califat (fans la doctrine de Ra3"idRidä: Traduction
a
annotce dal-Hilnfa au al-hnnma n! -'upnd (Le Califat ou I'Inranna supreme), Beirut: Institut Francais de
Damas, 1938.
183
sovereignty. The caliph should be elected by popular consensus of the entire Islamic
community. This is ensured if learned and prominent leaders of the Muslim world,
the ùlamä', its in 464
namely acted as representatives a shfa-d council electing the caliph.
This shfrrä council would act not only as electorate for the caliph but as a
permanent check-and-balance institution representing the Muslim community and

holding the caliph accountable for his conduct. As `the people who loose and bind' (ahl
al-hall wal- àqd), they would represent the entire Muslim community and ensure that
the caliph's conduct conforms to the requirements of justice in general and of the
share à in 465
While classical theories on the caliphate presented him as the
particular.
vicegerent of God on earth and attributed political sovereignty on him in consequence,
Rida shifted sovereignty from the caliph to the shfo-a council as the supreme legislative
and judicial body of the entire Muslim world. Being composed of ùlamä', it would
provide a comprehensive, unified and coherent Islamic code of law by which the entire
Islamic community and the caliph would have to abide.466
However, Rida did not conceive the caliph to be the temporal ruler of a unified
Islamic state. He accepted the division of the Islamic unnna in several nation-states and
portrayed the caliph as the spiritual head of the umma providing it with a sense of
467The
unity. caliph should be the chief nujtahid of the entire Islamic community who
would not have the right to formulate the precepts of the shari à on his own but would
be bound to the consensus (U/na ) achieved by the ùlanla' represented in the shür"
council. The core of the ùlamd ' represented in the council should be trained in newly-
established Islamic seminaries which would not only provide instruction in religious
sciences but also in contemporary thought, thereby yielding the new type of ùlainä'
Àbduh had envisioned. Among the graduates of these new seminaries a morally and
intellectually qualified candidate from the tribe of Quraysh should be elected as caliph.
The candidate would have a thorough grounding in traditional Islamic sciences,
sufficient exposure to contemporary thought and as a member of the tribe of Prophet

would possess the necessary religious prestige to to
ascend the caliphate. 468
Rida's theories remained a conspicuously vague and utopian attempt to revive
the caliphate and are similar to the understanding of the caliphate proposed by the
464Rida adopted the ideas

on the caliphate from the Syrian Salafi intellectual Àbdurralunan al-Kawakibi
(1848-1902). See Schulze, Islamischer Internationalismus, pp. 57ff..
465Enayat, Islamic Political Thought,
pp. 72-4.
466Laoust, Le Califat,
pp. 98-117.
467Ibid.,
pp. 89f. and pp. 173-9.
468Ibid., pp. 29-42. See
also Hourani, Arabic Thought, pp. 243f.; Kerr, Islamic Reform, pp. 153-86.
184
Turkish National Assembly in 1922 -a kind of nostalgic view of this institution,
symbolising the unity of the umma but not having any political power over the Muslim
world. Rida's understanding of the caliphate also shares involuntary resemblances with
Àbdur-Raziq's criticism of traditional Muslim political thought. Rida agreed with
Àbdur-Raziq and the Turkish Assembly in the sense that the caliphate as it had existed
in Islamic history ought not to and could not be revived. For Rida, the best possible
be 469
alternative should therefore conceived.
Despite this vagueness, Rida developed Àbduh's thought further by demanding
a political system based on Islamic principles and laid the foundation for later
formulations of an Islamic state. Rida's understanding of role of the shar7 à in a modern

influential for later Islamist ideologues. 470
nation-state would particularly prove
Reclaiming the all-comprehensive nature of Islam, Rida developed a notion of the
shari'a which denied that it was merely an ideal which jurisprudents should aspire to
achieve or that it only dealt with personal status laws. In theory, so Rida argued, the
spar i à provided guidelines from which rules and regulations for all aspects of
individual and social life could be deduced. Rida's understanding of the shat- à as the
sole foundation of Muslim societies countered the turn of secular thinkers and
politicians towards European codes of law. He turned the shari à into an equivalent to
secular law whose formulation mimics the legislative process of modern nation-states.
In contrast to secular law, the shari à would provide Muslims with infallible divine
be therefore superior to any temporal legislation. 471
guidance and
As the ùlam ' would also provide rulings on general political, social and
economic questions, Rida implicitly bestowed on the ùlainä' a degree of political
authority and gave them a share in political leadership. To guarantee that the ùlamä'
would provide the state with rulings that conform to the shari à on all aspects of life,
legislative and judicial institutions within Muslim nation-states would have to install
institutionalised procedures by which the ùlama' could exercise their influence. The
traditional Sunni legal criterion of ijnia ` acquires a new meaning in Rida's thought.
Rather than describing the ideal consensus of the entire Muslim community on certain
beliefs and practices, it denotes `the ijma ` of the `Mama' of each age, a legislative rather
than a judicial principle, working by some sort of parliamentary process.'472
'69 Enayat, Islamic Political Thought,

p. 76.
470Ibid., pp. 76-80.
; 71Laoust, Le Califat, pp. 151-72.
472Hourani, Arabic Thought, p. 234.
185
Àbduh argued for the social and political relevance of Islam in the modern
world by stressing the need for a modernised Islamic education and the creation of a
new class of ùlamdr'. Rida attempted to find ways that Islam would not use its socio-
political relevance in the modern world by conceiving a quasi-political role for the
'u/ama' in national legislative processes and by assuming the universal validity of the
shari à. For Rida, the abolition of the caliphate was a sign of the general demise of
Islam in the early 20`h century. His arguments for its restoration if only in rather
symbolic terms were intended to counter the increasing dominance of secularism and
liberalism in the Muslim world. An existing caliph would remind Muslims symbolically
of where their ultimate allegiance lay.

Rida's idea of the all-comprehensive nature of the shari à as the foundation of
an Islamic socio-political order and his opposition to the increasing secularisation of

Muslims societies inspired a new generation of Muslim intellectuals to formulate an
liberal Egyptian 473
oppositional attitude towards the and secular orientation of society.
The most eminent among the new group of neo-Salafis was Hasan al-Banna (1906-1949)
who visited Rida frequently during his studies in Cairo and became editor of the journal
AI-Manär after Rida's death.474In 1928, al-Banna founded the Society of the Muslim
Brothers (jam'iyya al-ikhwnn al-nnislimin) in the provincial town of Ismailiyya on the
Suez Canal. Later on, similar organisations were founded throughout the Muslim world
and the Brotherhood established national sub-branches in several Middle Eastern

in the 1940s.475
countries
The Muslim Brothers saw themselves in the tradition of modern Islamic reform
initiated by Jamalud-Din al-Afghani, Muhammad Àbduh and Rashid Rida. Al-Banna
considered these figures to be his predecessors who had paved the way for the activities
of the Brotherhood. Afghani was called the `caller' warning the Muslims of the
challenges of European imperialism. Àbduh was the `thinker' who initiated the reform
of the educational system and the reinterpretation of Islamic thought. Rida spread their
ideas as a journalist and publisher. Al-Banna, however, was seen as the actual builder of
a new Islamic society who attempted to translate the ideas of his predecessors into
socio-political realities. The indebtedness of the Muslim Brothers to Àbduh and Rida is
also reflected in the materials which teachers of the Brotherhood used in their lectures
473Schulze, Islamischer Internationalismus,

pp. 89f..
"; Mitchell,
R. P., The Society of the Muslim Brothers, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1969, p. 5; Lia,
B., The Society of the Muslim Brothers in Eg}pt: The Rise of an Islamic Mass Movement, /928-1942,
Reading: Garnet, 1998, p. 29.
475Mitchell, Muslim Brothers, pp. 104f..
186
and study sessions; among them the Koran commentary Al-Mandy and Àbduh's Risäla
al-Tawhld1.476
Initially, the Brotherhood was conceived as a charitable, educational and
religious organisation akin to Àbduh's benevolent society and other similar charitable
societies which had emerged in Egypt in the 1920s. The aim of the Brotherhood was to
provide social support and religious instruction in the form of public lectures and
religious publications. Education was the central concern of the early Muslim
Brotherhood. Following Àbduh's and Rida's stress on a new kind of religious
education outside the conservative religious establishment, al-Banna concentrated on
moral reform (isldli al-nufirs) and moral upbringing (tahdhib), using a terminology
traditionally associated with the spiritual education of Sufi 477
adepts.
There is a strong Sufi element in the early Muslim Brotherhood, as it provided a
number of religious, social and educational services for which urban Sufi orders would
have been traditionally responsible. In the words of al-Banna, the Muslim Brotherhood
is à salafi call, a Sunnite order, a Sufi reality; a political institution, a sports team, a
cultural association, an economic company and a social concept. A78 Likewise in terms
of its organisational structure the Brotherhood imitated Sufi orders. Hasan al-Banna was
refereed to as the `general guide' (al-Haushi(l al- damn) to whom members had to offer a
pledge of allegiance (bay à). In terms of its organisational hierarchy, the Brotherhood
favoured a meritocratic promotion system based on the degree of spiritual maturity
achieved by the Brothers. The weekly meetings resembled Sufi gatherings (ha(lra) in
Sufi hymns lectures Sufism delivered. 479
which were chanted and on were
Àbduh's insistence on educational reforms as prerequisite for the modernisation
of Middle Eastern societies is interpreted in more Islamic terms. The aini of the early
Muslim Brotherhood was not to establish an Islamic state, in fact, al-Banna had not
developed such an ideological concept. By ensuring the Islamic orientation of
individual and collective morality with wide-ranging educational, literary and social
activities, a truly Islamic be 480

society would gradually established.
The breeding of a new Islamised cultural cadre would inaugurate the
establishment of a true Islamic order (ni in islnmi) within Muslim societies. More
476Ibid.,
pp. 321-3.
477Lia, The Societj, of the Muslim Brothers,
p. 37.
478Quoted in Ayubi, Political Islam: Religion
and Politics in the Arab World, London: Routledge, 1991,
p. 132 (italics in the original).
479Lia, The Societj, of the Muslim Brothers,
pp. 36-8. For al-Banna's early association with organised
Sufism see Mitchell, Muslim Brothers, pp. 2C, and Lia, The Society of the Muslim Brothers, pp. 25f..
480Ayubi, Political Islam,
pp. 130-34; Mitchell, Muslim Brothers, p. 323.
187
important than the restoration of the caliphate was the creation of a society whose legal
system is based on the shari à and whose public and individual morality is inspired by
Islamic principles. In the early phase of the Muslim Brotherhood, this vision of an
Islamic order did not require a revolutionary overthrow of the existing political order
but was perceived as achievable within the framework of the modern secular nation-
481
state.
Al-Banna shared with Àbduh and Rida a sceptical distance from the religious
establishment of al-Azhar. The intellectual conservatism of the 'ulanld ' and their close
connection with the political regime disqualified them from spearheading the moral and
religious revival of Muslim societies. Only by creating a religious network outside the
established religious institutions, could a religious counter-elite be produced which
would guide society in Islamic terms and thereby compensate for the failure of the al-
Azhar ùlamn'. 482Similar to Àbduh's own dissociation from traditional scholarship in
his early years, the Muslim Brotherhood could attract young students from al-Azhar
felt by the conservatism of the 483
who alienated
From the late 1930s, Hasan al-Banna and the Muslim Brotherhood became
increasingly politicised. Although in the beginning avoiding open confrontations with
the Egyptian king and the British authorities in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood had
gained such a degree of organisation with a para-military branch and its own companies,
hospitals, schools and had infiltrated other organisations like trade unions and armed
forces that it began to undermine the state in the late 1940s. Dissatisfied with the
continuous presence of British interests in Egypt and sympathising with the Palestinian
Revolt of 1936-1939, the Brotherhood launched a series of attacks against British and
Jewish institutions in Egypt. Failed attempts to participate as a political party at the
parliamentary elections in 1942 and 1945 led to a further radicalisation of the

Brotherhood. The shift to open confrontation found its climax in the assassination of the
prime minister by a member of the Muslim Brotherhood in 1948 and of Hasan al-Banna
by the government in 1949.
481Mitchell, Muslim Brothels, pp. 232-59.

482Ibid., pp. 211-4.
433Zeghal, M., Gardiens de 17slmn: Les oulemas d'Al Azhar dons l'Egpte contempornine, Paris: Presses
de la Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques, 1996, pp. 84-90.
188
6.2.3. The Return of Political Dissidence: Sayyid Qutb and the Islamic Revolution
The political developments in Egypt in the 1950s and the rise of the Nasserist
regime would radicalise the Muslim Brotherhood more and make al-Banna's holistic
understanding of Islam more ideological. Initially quite supportive of the coup d'etat of
the Free Officers and enjoying good contacts with them, the Muslim Brothers with
Sayyid Qutb (1906-1966) as its major spokesperson was not only politically excluded
from the new regime once it was established but it also rejected the socialist direction of
Nasserist Egypt. While the Muslim Brotherhood under the leadership of Hasan al-
Banna pursued the ethico-religious reconstruction of an Islamic society outside but not
against the state similar to Àbduh and Rida, the political suppression of the Muslim
Brotherhood under Nasser and the imprisonment of its leadership led to a further
radicalisation of Sayyid Qutb's thought.

Being held in solitary confinement and enduring torture, Qutb came to the
conclusion that the establishment of a truly Islamic society could only be established in
a revolutionary struggle against the state. For Qutb, the Muslims of his time lived in a
renewed state of jdhiliyya. Like the Arabs in pre-Islamic times, Muslims lacked any
spiritual and moral foundation in their lives and pursued purely materialist interests.
This was due to their political leadership which was not only morally corrupt but
usurped divine sovereignty by replacing the divine laws of the shari à with man-made
laws. Professing the belief in one God and his overall sovereignty implied for Qutb a
rejection of any man-made political and social order and the activist struggle for the
establishment of an Islamic state whose sole foundation was the shari à. Such a state
could only be achieved by withdrawing from the present society and shunning its
corrupting influences and by a militant struggle in order to overthrow the current

in Muslim 484That Sayyid Qutb was executed in prison in 1966
regimes countries.
provided the Muslim Brothers with another martyr and a source of inspiration for their
battle 485
violent against the state.
Thinkers and activists like Hasan al-Banna and Sayyid Qutb belonged to neither
the ùlamä' nor the secular Egyptian intelligentsia and constituted a new counter-elite,
termed Ìslamist' or `fundamentalist', which was well-educated but still socially and
politically excluded from the ruling elite. The Islamist counter-elite consisted of social
climbers; viral Egyptians who went to Cairo in search for better education and
... Moussalli, A. S., Radical Islamic Fundamentalism: The Ideological and Political Discourse of Sayyid
Qutb, Beirut: American University of Beirut, 1992, pp. 147-237.
485Ayubi, Political Islam, pp. 134-42.
189
like Hasan Sayyid Qutb themselves. 486Stemming from the
employment al-Banna and
afandiyya - the Western-educated urban middle-class - they signify the establishment
of lay intellectuals as alternative loci of religious authority in modern Islamic
movements. 487 Their reputation was not based on their religious scholarship but on their
socio-political activism. It was not scholarly merits or intellectual distinction in the

fields of religious sciences that constituted their authority but their constant efforts for
the religious revival and the moral reconstruction of Muslim societies, efforts for which
both had to pay with their lives.
Unwittingly, al-Banna and Qutb were also heirs of Àbduh. With his questioning
of the religious monopoly of the ùla,nä' and his popularisation of Islamic discourse,
Àbduh opened the door for lay Muslims to participate in the construction of Muslim
identity in the 20`h century. With his involvement in politics as part of Afghani's anti-
colonialist agitation in his early years or his various officials functions in his later life,
Àbduh himself embodied his demand that the `clama' should play an active part in the
political and social formation of Muslim societies. Hasan al-Banna and Sayyid Qutb
followed this example but radicalised their attitudes, as they were facing increasing
opposition from the state. Al-Banna identified himself particularly with Afghani and
drew a parallel between his own struggle against the British colonial presence in Egypt
and Afghani's agitation against British imperialism. 488
Initially, Hasan al-Banna, Sayyid Qutb and the Muslim Brotherhood were
defiant of the religious establishment of al-Azhar and hardly any links existed between
them. Only a few young students from al-Azhar became Muslim Brothers. This changed
in the 1960s with the introduction of modem sciences in the curriculum of al-Azhar.
When Nasser made subjects like engineering, geography and medicine part of al-
Azhar's curriculum in 1961, Àbduh's vision of opening this institution to the modem
world seemed to have been fulfilled. However, after Nasser's reforms religious and
scientific subjects co-existed with each other without coming together meaningfully.
The new al-Azhar student was to read Islamic jurisprudence with engineering, Koranic
exegesis with physics and receive pieces of traditional and modem knowledge
separately.
This development allowed a rapprochement between al-Azhar graduates and the
neo-religious intelligentsia organised in the Muslim Brotherhood. Not only were both
486Zeghal, Gardrens,
pp. 43f..
487Mitchell, Muslim Brothers,
p. 329.
488Ibid.,
p. 321 f..
190
groups exposed to a very similar educational socialisation consisting of scattered and
unconnected pieces of religious and modern knowledge, but they also stemmed from the
same social background sharing similar aspirations which were very often disappointed.
Most graduates from al-Azhar, like the graduates from modem Egyptian universities,
had a rural background and came to Cairo to receive a better education and climb the
social ladder. But it was not only their social proximity which implied a certain degree
of affinity between the two groups. The exposure of al-Azhar students to modem
knowledge made them more receptive to the intellectual discourse of thinkers like al-
Banna or Qutb and allowed them to participate in this discourse.

The intention behind the introduction of modern sciences at al-Azhar was to
make this ancient institution and its graduates a useful part of Nasserist Egypt. But in
reality it opened them to the increasingly radical and dissident religious discourse of the
Islamists. Not only the blend of traditional and modern knowledge they received but
also their social standing within the al-Azhar establishment made them prone to
political dissidence which was then nurtured by their encounter with political Islamic
thought. The senior ùlaind' enjoyed close contacts with the political establishment -
the king before and Nasser after the coup - and were therefore complacent with the
political realities, offering religious legitimacy for them. The al-Azhar students with a
rural background became peripheral 'ulaina', standing outside the centre of power and
being marginalised within the traditional religious elite. Their distance from the political
leadership in the country, their marginalisation within their own ranks and their
exposure to traditional and modern knowledge made them develop in dialogue with the
Islamists a utopian notion of an ideal Islamic society as Hasan al-Banna and Sayyid
Qutb had done before:
Ces oulemas dessinent 1'utopie d'un pouvoir politique desincame qui reduit ]a place des
individus pour imposer le pouvoir du divin, sur un monde regule par des instances non
humaines 489
Opposition to the current political order was imperative as the state was
perceived as an obstacle to the realisation of the ideal divine order. The state was static,
inflexible and man-made while religion was understood as a place for social activism
and political innovation. In order to avoid state control, the peripheral ù1a»1d'would
engage in activities very similar to the Muslim Brotherhood and to Àbduh. They would
489Zeghal, Gardiens, p. 49.
191
create private networks of religious associations of 'ulaind' and Islamists, charitable
in Egyptian 490
organisations, educational societies order to Islamise society.
There is a resemblance between the grassroots social activism Àbduh had
initiated and that which the Muslim Brotherhood and many peripheral 'ulanra' in
cooperation with Islamists would engage with. There is also an element of religiously
motivated political dissidence discernable. The Muslim Brotherhood envisioned an
Islamisation of the society either by education and social work on the ground or by
49' The Muslim Brothers defied a totalitarian
attempting to overthrow the government.
state like Nasserist Egypt and its claim to control all aspects of life. Hence, social
activism based on Islamic principles - as practised by Àbduh - became a source for

religiously motivated political dissidence.
Islamic ideologues like Hasan al-Banna or Sayyid Qutb suddenly appear to have
inherited from the young Àbduh the religious-cum-political dissidence which was so
important in preparing him for the reconstruction of Islam in the modern world.
Religiously motivated dissent against a social and political order which was seen as
unjust, morally corrupt and illegitimate had been expressed in messianic and
millenarian terms throughout Muslim history. Àbduh suppressed his early association
with such tendencies and portrayed himself as a modern orthodox Sunni scholar. This
picture was perpetuated by his disciple Rida. Àbduh and Rida suppressed the memory
of Afghani's and his disciple's flirtation with Islamic heterodoxy, a sacrifice which was
necessary in order to allow the rise of Àbduh as the 19thcentury renewer of Islam.
In Islamists like al-Banna, Qutb and other ideologues of political Islam, religious
dissent re-appeared - but in the guise of a neo-orthodoxy. The suppressed memory of
religious and political dissidence came to the surface but thanks to the containment of
its millenarian origins by Àbduh and Rida, it re-appeared not from the margins of
Islamic heterodoxy but as the very expression of orthodoxy. In organised political Islam
the mystical and millenarian origins of religious dissent were forgotten. The utopian
ideals of religious dissidence in Islam resurfaced however. The millenarian hopes for
the establishment of a just political order by a messianic leader were adopted by Muslim
492In the light
political movements. of the perceived failure of modem nation-building in
490Ibid., pp. 44-53.

'91 Zaman, M. Q., The Ulama in Contemporary Islam: Custodians
of Change, Princeton: Princeton
University Press, 2002, pp. 134f..
492Mitchell, Muslim Brothers, pp. 320f.. Analogies between the
religio-political activism of the Ismailis
and Kharijites and that of the Muslim Brother have been drawn by Heyworth-Dunne, J., Religious and
192
the Muslim world with liberal and socialist experiments, the promise of an Islamic state
governed by divine principles appealed to a new elite which felt that its social and
political aspirations had been betrayed. This ideal Islamic order did not require the
appearance of the Hidden Imam or the rise of a Mahdi, but was to be achieved by social
networks, political elections or Islamic revolutions.
6.3. Conclusion
Shoghi Effendi and Rashid Rida completed the dissociation from religious
dissidence which Àbdul-Baha and Muhammad Àbduh instigated at the end of their
lives. Islamic heresy from which Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh initiated their careers as
religious reformers remained as an ìnvoluntary memory, '493reshaped and reinterpreted

by their successors. Afghani's Shii background is forgotten and his self-portrayal as a
Sunni Muslim is willingly accepted by Àbduh and Rida. Afghani's sympathies for
Islamic mysticism and esotericism were suppressed in the memory of him which depicts
him as a Sunni reformer who called for a return to the example of the early Muslim
community. This depiction of Afghani sacrifices much of his rich and contradictory
personality.
Rida likewise ignored Àbduh's evolution from a political activist to a religious
reformer in order to reconcile his teacher's early religious dissidence with his later
orthodox outlook. The tensions in Àbduh's intellectual legacy were resolved in favour
of a Salafi reading of the Islamic tradition. Ignoring Àbduh's appreciation of the

intellectual and cultural achievements of the Western world, Rida depicted him as the
defender of authentic Islam against the cultural encroachment of the Muslim world by
the values of Western modernity. This eclectic memory of Afghani and Àbduh was
necessary in order to create continuity between them and himself. Rida used Afghani
and Àbduh as historical precursors for his own efforts to return Islam to its scriptural
foundations and to provide it with a stronger political role in the modern nation-state.
Shoghi Effendi acknowledged the evolution of the Baha'i Faith from à
heterodox and seemingly negligible offshoot of the Shaykhi school of the Ithnä-
Àsh'äriyyih sect of Shi'ah Islam into a world religion. 3494In order to facilitate this
Political Thought in Modern Eg}pt, \Vashington: McGregor & Werner, 1950, p. 56; see also Safran, N.,
Egypt in Search of Political Community, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1961, pp. 231-44.
49' Benjamin, W. Illuminations, ed. by Hannah Arendt, London: Fontana Press, 1968, p. 154.
494Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. xii.
193
evoliution he undertook a radical reinterpretation of its formative period. The
establishment of the Baha'i movement in the western world and his aim to turn it into a
new religious movement required an interpretative act of historical reconciliation. In
order to finalise the departure of Baha'i Faith from Islam, Shoghi Effendi's official
memory of the movement's formative period suppressed its elements of Islamic heresy.
The militant orientation and the political aspirations of the Babis were forgotten,
as they were presented as the innocent victims of clerical and state persecution due to
their religious beliefs. To his western followers, Shoghi Effendi presented the early
history of Babism as a re-enactment of early Christianity in which the execution of the
Bab was rendered reminiscent of the crucifixion of Christ and the confrontations
between the Babis and the state-clergy alliance as equivalent to the persecution of the
early Christians in the Roman Empire. In order to connect the Babi and Baha'i
movements historically, Shoghi Effendi presented the Bab as the mere herald of
Baha'ullah and the Babis as proto-Baha'is who were as pacifist and tolerant as the later
Baha'is. 495As with Afghani, the official Baha'i memory of the Bab and his movement
is eclectic and sacrifices the rich dynamics of Shii eschatology in order to make his
personality as an Iranian version of Jesus Christ accessible to a Christian audience.

Many of the characteristics of the Baha'i movement at the time of Baha'ullah
and Àbdul-Baba were virtually ignored. Shoghi Effendi's presentation of early Baha'i
history neglects contacts with other contemporary political movements assuming a
continuous apolitical attitude of the Baha'i movement. The practice of tagiyya by the
early Baha'is as well as the co-existence of several religious identities among
Baha'ullah's and Àbdul-Baha's followers were disregarded. The formation of a distinct
religious community with its exclusive sectarian identity was Shoghi Effendi's
achievement. However, he projected the outcome of his policies onto the formative
period of the Baha'i movement.
Despite the different depictions of Àbdul-Baha's and Àbduh's religious origins
which resulted from the different directions they and their movements took, their
successors shared quite similar aspirations. Rida and those who appropriated his
interpretation of Àbduh and Shoghi Effendi in his understanding of the historical role
of the Baha'i community envisioned the future establishment of a socio-political order

based on divine principles without all the shortcomings of man made socio-political
engineering. Both groups had a similar theocratic understanding of an ideal human
'95 MacEoin, `From Babism to Baha'ism',

pp. 230-8.
194
society in which secular and spiritual authority were fused and divine law was if not the
only at least the primary source of legislation. This theocratic understanding of
governance reflects the prophetic ideal embodied in the early community when
Muhammad combined political and religious authority. The prophetic model continued
in the Shii understanding of the Imamate and gained a further millenarian dimension in
the Imam-Mahdi who would restore the prophetic ideal at the time of his appearance.
The vision of a world guided by unerring divine principles lived on in the
thought of Àbdul-Baha's and Àbduh's successors. Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh shared a

frustration about the vicissitudes of realpolitik which they experienced in their failed
attempts to engage in social and political reforms in the Middle East. Due to these
constant frustrations, they dreamt of a socio-political order in which morality would
prevail over politics. In offering alternative utopian conceptions of socio-political
organisation which differ from the mainstream of modern secular political thought,
Shoghi Effendi and Rashid Rida developed their predecessor's frustration with the
political realities of the Middle East a step further. Their different visions of a future
divinely guided society, however, remain vague and inconclusive, awaiting further
reinterpretations and reconciliations with political realities by those who claim to follow
in their footsteps.
195
7. Conclusion
The encounter between Àbdul-Baha and Muhammad Àbduh in Beirut in the
summer of 1887 provided the starting point of this thesis. They met at a time when they
shared very similar religious and intellectual inclinations and pursued the same political
goals. The subsequent period initiated the parting of their ways when Àbdul-Baha
fostered the Baha'i departure from Islam and Àbduh, after his return to Egypt,
abandoned religious heterodoxy. What was their relationship like at the end of their
lives?
More than 30 years after his meeting with Àbduh, Àbdul-Baha provided the
fullest account of his relationship with the Egyptian scholar in a talk he gave in the
presence of several Baha'is in Haifa in 1920.496Àbdul-Baha states in this talk that he

met Àbduh several times during his sojourn in Beirut until a telegram arrived from
Àkka telling him to return to the fortress city. According to Àbdul-Baha, Àbduh upon
his immediate departure Àkka intended to join him. 497Àbdul-
receiving the news of to
Baha, however, suggested that the two men being seen together would not be in their
mutual interest, `because the people of Àkka will say that he who is himself a mischief-
maker (»tufsidd has taken another mischief-maker as his companion. '498As Àbdul-
Baha did not want to dismiss Àbduh's request altogether, he suggested that Àbduh
should leave Beirut under the pretext of performing a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. After
completing the pilgrimage, he should travel to Àkka where Àbdul-Baha would arrange
accommodation and a place for him to teach. Àbduh repeats his wish to meet Àbdul-
Baha in Àkka in a letter he sent to him from Beirut in October 1887.499However, these
plans did not materialise as Àbduh was able to return to Egypt a couple of months later
in 1888.
Àbdul-Baba also suggests in this talk that his relationship with Àbduh cooled
down significantly later on. He describes Àbduh as having become arrogant after he
had acquired the reputation of being am jaddid of Islam. Àbdul-Baha, furthermore,
expresses his disappointment over an article on `the Babi sect' (Al-Firga al-Bdbiyya)
49"For the whole talk Fazil Mazandarani, Ta'rikh-i Zuhür

al-Hngq, Vol. 6, Appendix, pp. 766f.
[published: East Lansing, Michigan: H-Bahai, 1999: littp: //Nv%v%v. li-
net.org/-batiai/arabic/vo]3/tzli6/tzli6. litm (last access: 03/06/2005)].
497See also
another much shorter talk by Àbdul-Baba on Àbduh reproduced in Moayyad, Khätirät-i
Habib, p. 220.
'93 Mazandarani, Zuhinr al-Hagq, p. 767.
499An English translation
of the letter can be found in McCants, `Muhammad Àbduh's Knowledge of the
Bahä'i Teachings', pp. 295f..
196
which was published anonymously in the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahräm on 18 June
1896.500'Abdul-Baha considers Àbduh to be the author of the article which responded
to the newspaper coverage on Nasirud-Din Shah's assassination on 1 May 1896. The

Iranian shah was murdered by Reza Kermani, a servant and disciple of Jamalud-Din
Afghani. 501The author of the article - Àbduh in Àbdul-Baha's opinion - suggests,
however, that not Afghani but the Babis were responsible for the assassination, as they
had attempted to kill the shah before. For Àbdul-Baha, this article is an attempt by
Àbduh to exonerate his mentor from suspicions of being involved in the assassination
of the shah using the Babis as scapegoats. After its publication, he ceased any contact
Àbduh. 502
with
Establishing Àbduh's attitude towards the Baha'is at the end of his life is more
difficult. The Al-Ahraln article on the Babis could provide some clues on his attitude to
the Baha'is if one could establish that he actually was its author. There is some
circumstantial evidence which supports such a suggestion. The author of the article
draws doctrinal and legal comparisons between the Babi and the Druze religions which
would imply that he had either a Lebanese background or had at least lived in this
region for a while. During his exile in Beirut, Àbduh came in contact with members of
the Druze community which allowed him to observe apparent similarities between
Babis and Dnize. Furthermore, the author is full of praise for the followers of
Baha'ullah and particularly his son, Àbdul-Baha, whom he had niet personally.
If Àbduh really was the author of the AI-Ahrcm article, he knew more about the
history and tenets of the Babi and Baha'i movements than he was willing to admit
publicly. Rashid Rida's biography contains a conversation on the Baha'is which Rida
had with his teacher shortly after his arrival in Cairo in the summer of 1897.5° In this
conversation, Rida presents Àbduh as sympathising with the religious and social
doctrines of the Baha'is due to the similarity with his own efforts to reform Islam. But
Àbduh appears to be ignorant of the belief of the Baha'is in a new divine revelation
which would abrogate Islam. For him, `they have undertaken to reform the Shii creed
(ma(lhhab) and bring it closer to the Sunnis. '504
500'Al-Firqa al-Bäbiyya', Al-Ahräm, 18 June 1896.

501Keddie, al-Afghäni,
pp. 404-9.
502Mazandarani, Zuhfnr
al-Hagq, p. 767
503Rida, Ta'rikh I,
pp. 930-9. For an English translation of the dialogue cf. Cole, J. R. I., `Muhammad
Àbduh and Rashid Ridä: A Dialogue on the Bahä'i Faith', World Order 15 (1981), pp. 7-16.
504Rida, Ta'rikh 1, 934.
p.
197
Rida attributes Àbduh's apparent ignorance of the prophetic claims of
Baha'ullah to Àbdul-Baha's tagiyyýa-style representation of the Baha'i movement
towards Muslims, thereby excusing him from any sympathies with the followers of a
heretical movement such as the Baha'is. The author of the AI-Abram article, however,
was well-informed about the nature of the Baha'i movement and the prophetic claims of
its founder. If Àbduh was indeed the author, he concealed in the conversation with
Rida his full knowledge, maybe in order to excuse himself from his admiration for
Àbdul-Baha and other Baha'is.
While the physical encounter between Àbdul-Baha and Muhammad Àbduh

initiated this thesis, their historical relationship was sidelined and almost became
irrelevant in the course of the research. Rather than excavating letters, sifting through
memoirs and biographies, collecting newspaper articles in order to discover clues on

how their relationship might have evolved throughout their lives, contextualising and
comparing these two religious reformers promised to be a more exciting research

project - exciting because unusual, as it connects two religious movements which are
normally not brought together.
The Baha'i Faith and the Salafiyya appear to be two completely incompatible
expressions of modem religiosity. Baha'is as followers of a post-Islamic religion,
persecuted and discriminated against in many Muslim countries, seem to have nothing
in common with the Salafis who under the influence of Wahhabi legalism and
scripturalism have contributed to the homogenisation of Muslim religiosity in the
modem world. Àbdul-Baha is the charismatic Oriental sage who talked about world
peace and the inherent unity of all religions in Europe and North America. Àbduh is
the stem scholarly reformer who defended the superiority of Islam against Christian and
secular critics. Yet, these images are the result of a historical process, of re-reading and
re-writing history in order to create correspondences and continuities within two
religious movements. These images are posterior creations which reinterpret, ignore,
omit or deny transitions and turning points in their lives and contradictions and tensions
in their teachings.
This thesis has followed previous works which have scrutinised Afghani's and
Àbduh's religious beliefs. For Lord Cromer, the consul general in Egypt from 1883 to
1907, Muhammad Àbduh was in reality an agnostic. sosStatements like this by people
505Baring, Modern Egypt, Vol. 2,

p. 180.
198
who claim to have known Àbduh as well as his early association with Afghani led to
speculations about the nature of his religious beliefs. The publication of Afghani's
personal papers in 1963506instigated a series of studies offering new perspectives on
Afghani's life and teachings and a radical reassessment of the hitherto orthodox
portrayal of him. Subsequent works on him by Elie Kedourie (1966), Homak Pakdaman
(1969) and Nikkie Keddie (1972) depict him as a political opportunist who
instrumentalised Islam for political purposes. For Kedourie, òne of Afghani's aims - of
which his disciple Àbduh knew and approved - was the subversion of the Islamic
religion... The method adopted for this end was the practice of false but showy
devotion. '507Kedourie describes Àbduh's devotional attitude towards Afghani as `that
of the master and disciple in some secret, esoteric cult'508 and àkin to idolatry. '509
Pakdaman considers Afghani to be one of the fathers of nationalist movements against

Western imperialism in the Middle East whose activities reveal ùn ton messianique. 7510
This thesis has followed the tradition of this scholarship on both Afghani and
Àbduh in casting doubts on their posterior perception as orthodox Sunni Muslims.
However, it has also questioned both sweeping judgements on Àbduh's alleged
agnostic or anti-Islamic beliefs and standard narratives on his orthodoxy. The two
positions arguing either for his complete conformity with orthodox Islam or for the
heretical nature of his thought represent very simplistic approaches towards his
personality and ideas - positions which ignore the evolution of his thought.
Although Kedourie, Pakdaman and Keddie have made an important contribution
in highlighting religious tendencies in Afghani's and Àbduh's lives which they
themselves and their official biographers suppressed, they still follow the too simplistic
dichotomy between orthodoxy and heterodoxy. The question whether Àbduh was an
orthodox or heterodox Muslim is ultimately not very helpful in outlining his intellectual
and religious development. Likewise, classifying the Baha'i Faith as a heretical
movement, standing outside Islam, will find the approval of Muslims and Baha'is alike
but does not give justice to its genesis in the milieu of Islamic reform and revival in the
19`hcentury.
506Afshär, Mahdawi, Afajm&'a

yi Asndd tit'a-MMaddrikchap nashuda dar bdra yi Sa}yid Jamal al-Din
Alashhin" ba Afgbnni, Tehran: University of Tehran, 1963.
$07Kedourie, Afghani
and 'Abduh, p. 45.
SOSIbid., p. 8.
sogIbid., p. 9.
s'° pakdaman, Afghani, pp. 19f..
199
Any approach which pigeonholes Àbdul-Baba and Àbduh under either
orthodox or heterodox Islam ignores the blurred boundaries between the two categories.
It also ignores Max Weber's insight into the inherently heretical nature of religious
creativity. Advocacy for religious change is an expression of heresy and instigated by
holders of charismatic authority. Both figures had to find out what constitutes orthodoxy
and heterodoxy for themselves and in the evolution of their reform projects. In defining
their own sectarian identities, they attempted to distinguish what is orthodox and
heterodox.
Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh stemmed from the same intellectual, religious and
political milieu. The movements of which they became part could have moved in
several potential directions. However, due to different historical circumstances and the
internal dynamics of their movements they embarked on completely different courses.
In historical hindsight, the outcome of their historical evolution appears to be pre-
determined. From the time of the Bab, it seems, the Baha'i movement was destined to
become a new religion. Likewise, it is suggested that Afghani and Àbduh worked for
the restoration of pristine Islam from the beginning of their collaboration. The
comparative intellectual biography undertaken here has been intended to counter such
an anachronistic reading by illustrating the hybrid nature and gradual evolution of
Àbdul-Baha's and Àbduh religious identities. One wonders what might have happened
if Àbduh's wish to join forces with Àbdul-Baha in Àkka had become true. How
would we remember an Àbduh who might thus have collaborated with the Baha'i
leader?
In their own biographies, Àbdul-Baha and Muhammad Àbduh exemplify the
evolving relationship between the Baha'i movement and Islamic reform movements in
the 19'h century. Starting from the same origins they initially shared similar ideals and
objectives before they moved into different directions which required a clearer
demarcation between them, defining what constitutes orthodoxy and heterodoxy in
modern Islam.
Àbdul-Baba and Àbduh found different ways to reconcile their origins in
traditions of religious dissidence. For Àbdul-Baha it meant the move from heresy to
apostasy while for Àbduh the return from heresy to orthodoxy. The steps Àbdul-Baha
and Àbduh undertook in order to reconcile religious dissidence constitute what Weber
has called the routinisation of charisma. In order to encapsulate the innovative output of
200
charismatic authority, the two men created new forms of religious authority which
would keep their dissenting voices against traditional Islam alive. Àbduh denied his
early flirtation with religious heterodoxy and charismatic authority by appealing to
orthodox patterns of authority in Islam at the end of his life so that his vision of modern
Muslim religiosity could appear orthodox. Àbdul-Baha could only keep his father's
vision of an alternative and modern expression of Muslim religiosity alive by cementing

the departure from Islam and creating a new religious community which would realise
the religious ideals of which traditional Islam fell short.
Weber's insights into the nature of charismatic authority reveal its rapturous and
precarious nature which requires disciplining measures in order to suppress its
revolutionary nature and to preserve its creative output at the same time. Indeed, the
religious visions Àbdul-Baha and Àbduh created constitute a radical departure from
traditional Islam. Àbdul-Baha forged out of a Shii messianic movement a new religious
community which has now about seven million adherents around the globe. In the
Baha'i Faith, the revolutionary potential of charismatic authority is most obvious as it is
the only modern religious movement with Islamic origins which has severed its ties
with Islam completely. Baha'is have developed their own sectarian identity and do not
consider themselves to be Muslims - an understanding that is shared by Muslims as
well. Hence, Baha'is and Muslims managed to forget their once common grounds.
As Àbduh and Rida were quite successful in suppressing Àbduh's origins in
Islamic heterodoxy, the revolutionary nature of his reinterpretation of Islam is less
obvious. Their efforts to reconcile religious dissidence in modem Islam were so

successful that Àbduh's dissenting interpretation now appears to be the fullest
expression of orthodox Islam. However, his vision of modem Islam contradicts
traditional Islam in many respects as well. He contributed to the popularisation of
religious discourse in Islam, thereby undermining the religious monopoly of the `zulamn'.
His groundwork allowed later Muslim intellectuals like Muhammad Taha, Fazlur
Rahman or Nasr Abu Zayd to articulate their critique of traditional Islam. Àbduh also
prepared the way for the politicisation of Islam in the 20`h century by stressing its
necessary socio-political relevance and by investing religious authority in the hands of
activist ùlantä' who move outside the mosque and the nradi-asa into society. The
Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt or Hamas in Palestine are a continuation of Àbduh's
own efforts in this sense as well.
201
This thesis not only created a connection between two apparently opposite
religious movements but also made a contribution to the study of modern Islam in
general. It drew attention to one of the intellectual and religious milieus out of which
Islamic reform movements were born in the 19`x' century. Most studies on modern
Islamic movements have sought for historical antecedents within the orthodox tradition
comparing figures like Afghani and Àbduh with al-Ghazali or Ibn Taymiyya. This
comparative intellectual biography of Àbdul-Baba and Àbduh has highlighted the
importance of so-called heterodox traditions of Islam in Àbduh's religious and
intellectual formation. In order to understand what motivated Àbduh to question the
religious establishment and open up Muslim discourse for modern ideas, one needs to
look at Islamic mysticism as kept alive in non-mainstream Iranian Shiism, with its
dissident stance towards Shii orthodoxy, its blend with rationalistic philosophy in Shii
theosophy and its latent messianic potential. Àbduh's identification with the Sunni
tradition of religious renewal (tajdid) was a late development which deliberately
obscures the impact of religious dissidence on the young Àbduh.

Many Muslim reformers and Orientalist scholars attest to Sufism an inherent
anti-modernism blaming it for the intellectual stagnation of the Muslim world because
its its innovations. 5" The
of mystical obscurantism and contamination with non-Islamic
Sufism one encounters in figures like Baha'ullah and Afghani, Àbdul-Baha and
Àbduh is not anti-modern, backward and obscurantist but was, on the very contrary,
the driving force in facilitating their intellectual engagement with the values of Western
modernity. Future research on the Sufi background of Muslim reformers in modern

Islam might correct the image of an anti-modern Sufism by looking at Sufi movements
which were located on the margins, outside official Islam. Such Sufi movements -
standing in opposition to a conservative religious establishment - might prove to have

played a much greater role in the modernisation of Muslim societies and efforts of
Muslim thinkers to reconcile Islam with modernity, as evidenced by Àbdul-Baha's and
Muhammad Àbduh's own activities. 512
511For
examples of this trend in Orientalist scholarship see Adams, Islam and Modernism, or Gibb, H. A.
R., Modern Trends in Islam, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1947.
512For
a reappraisal of the role of Sufism in Islamic reform movements in the 19`' century see Lewisohn,
`Modern Persian Sufism I', pp. 437-464. For the Sufi background of Salafi ùlama in Ottoman Syria see
Weisman, `Sufi Reformism and Modernist Rationalism', pp. 206-237. On the exposure of Young Turks
to Bektashi and Mevlevi Sufism see Fortna, Èducation and Autobiography', pp. 24f..
202
The author began his research for this thesis in late September 2001, just a few
weeks after 9/11. Therefore, this thesis gained more significance as militant Islamists
who have perpetuated a series of terrorist attacks since 9/11 have received direct or
indirect inspiration from Afghani's and Àbduh's anti-imperialist activism. The anti-
Western rhetoric of Muslim militants today and their militant and political struggle
against Western cultural influence and political and economic dominance resemble
Àbduh's anti-colonialist articles in Al-'Ur ova al-JVzithgä and Afghani's political
machinations.
Creating a lineage between Afghani and Àbduh and moderate and radical
Islamists today, not only shows the impact of their ideas on contemporary Islamist
movements but also places such movements, their radical and militant representatives in
particular, in the tradition of religio-political dissent. The various messianic movements
in Islamic history also revealed a strong jihadist tendency in their efforts to create a
truly Islamic society. The Nizari-Ismailis fought the Seljuk dynasty and assassinated
many of its high-profile members in suicide missions. The Mahdi uprisings expelled the
Egyptians and British from Sudan. The Babis went into battle against the Shii clergy
and the Qajar dynasty in Iran, willing to seek martyrdom. All these movements
preceded efforts of Islamist militants today who fight the political regimes in their
countries and attack Western interests in their aim to establish a truly Islamic society.
The Baha'is under the leadership of Baha'ullah clearly dissociated themselves
from the jihadist orientation of the early Babis. Àbdul-Baha committed the Baha'is to
avoiding any direct involvement in politics later under his leadership. Likewise, Àbduh
opted for political quietism and peaceful means at the end of his life. Nevertheless, the
origins of their reform movements are not devoid of religiously and politically
motivated violence, as evidenced by the Babi uprisings and Afghani's sympathies for
militant activism. In their historical evolution, the Baha'i Faith and the Salafiyya reflect
several tensions which have always been part of Muslim historical experience.
There is in Islam a tension between the inclusivist acceptance of the divine
origin of all previous religions and the exclusivist claim to superiority and finality; a
tension between the tolerant co-existence of different faith communities in Muslim
lands and the jihadist struggle to conquer non-Muslim lands; a tension between
pluralistic cultural encounters and cross-fertilisations and the stress on religious purity
and exclusivity. These tensions also became manifest in the history of the Baha'i Faith
and the Salafiyya.
203
While the Bab wanted to create a Babi state in Iran from which non-Babis would
be expelled and where all books apart from his own writings would be burned,
Baha'ullah and Àbdul-Baha stressed the unity of all religions, promised the future
establishment of world peace and considered the Baha'i Faith as a means to overcome
sectarian, national, racial and cultural boundaries. At the same time, however, it is only
through the salvific message of Baha'ullah and the establishment of the world order of
Baha'ullah that humanity can be saved from the wars and turmoil which have haunted it
for centuries.
Àbduh's religious thought emphasises the superiority of Islam but the need to
adapt it to modernity as well. Àbduh wanted to re-assert Muslim religiosity in its

original form but to open it up to modern values at the same time. While at the end of
his life he defended the tolerant and peaceful nature of Islam, he was drawn to militant
opposition to colonialism and entertained a politicised Islamic discourse in his youth.

Àbduh's Salafi followers solved the tensions in his religious thought in favour of a
more scripturalist and politicised understanding of Islam, stressing not only the need to
restore genuine Islam but also to ensure its socio-political relevance by creating an
Islamic state.
The Baha'is today seem to be followers of a pacifist New-Age spirituality -a
dimension of Baha'ullah's teachings which Àbdul-Baha emphasised in his talks in the
West in particular. But at the same time, the Baha'i vision of a future `Baha'i World
Commonwealth' is not unlike the theocratic ideas of those Islamists who are moderate
in tone and strategy and seek the peaceful creation of an Islamic order in their own
countries and in the whole world in the long term.

To quote Weber a last time: By harmonising religion with modernity and
reclaiming its place in the modem world, the Baha'i Faith and the Salafiyya intend to
infuse a disenchanted world with a new spirit. In their visions of a future world order
based on divine principles, they dream of a return from gesellschaft (society) to
(community). 513 Despite Àbdul-Baha's and Muhammad Àbduh's

genteinschaft
attempts to reconcile their origins in religious dissidence and the efforts of their
successors to suppress the memory thereof, the past returns in the movements they have
created. The utopianism of Islamic messianism resurfaces both in the Baha'i Faith and
in the Salafiyya. But due to the successful suppression of the dissident origins of both
movements, the ideal of a divinely guided society does not require a messianic leader
513 Veber, {Virtschaft

und Gesellschaft !, pp. 21-3.
204
but becomes a distant goal in the future achieved through socio-political activism and a
rationalised bureaucratic organisation. Charismatic authority has disappeared but not its
promise of a charismatic community in touch with the divine.
205
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What is the thesis about?

What is the thesis about?

What are the intellectual backgrounds of Abdul-Baha and Muhammad Abduh?

What are the intellectual backgrounds of Abdul-Baha and Muhammad Abduh?

Reconciling Religious Dissidence

in the Baha'i Faith and in the Salafiyya:

`Abdul-Baba `Abbas (1844-1921)

and Muhammad `Abduh (1849-1905)

Oliver Paul Scharbrodt

A dissertation submitted to the University of London, in accordance with the

requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

Department of the Study of Religions

The thesis places Àbdul-Baha Àbbas (1844-1921) and Muhammad Àbduh

exponent of religious heresy in Islam, `Abduh is perceived as an orthodox Sunni

and religious background in traditions of religious dissidence in Islam. This shared

modelled himself as a Sunni reformer, `Abdul-Baha radicalised the heretical nature of

Although any thesis appears to be the result of an individual's effort, many

research tutor, for his support and encouragement.

Fiona Missaghian-Moghaddam convinced me many years ago of the importance of

student. She has always reminded me of the ultimate purpose of scholarship.

Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to my mother and my stepfather,

2.2. `Abdul-Baba and Shii Millenarianism ......................................................

6.3. Conclusion 193

This thesis follows the transliteration system of the International Journal of

1.1. Background: Messianism and Religious Revival

Muhammad `Abduh (1849-1905), the Egyptian-born Muslim reformer exiled to

early August 1887:

`Abdul-Baha `Abbas Effendi (1844-1921) was an Ottoman prisoner at the time

and was exiled from Iran to the Ottoman Empire.

away theologically frone `Abdul-Baba, leader of a heretical movement whose founder

the parting of their ways in the future.

1.1.2. Reform in the 191x'Century Middle East

scientific, military, economic and political dominance of Europe initially triggered

responses from Middle Eastern rulers to modernise their countries.

sultans sent young diplomats to Europe to build a new Western-educated elite,

liberalism with notions of popular sovereignty, constitutionalism and parliamentary

men on educational missions to Europe and support the creation of Western-style

educational institutions in order to yield a new Western-educated elite for the

modernisation of the Middle East.

7 Vol,, J. 0., Islam: Continuity'

political orders Middle Eastern rulers were so keen to establish.

reforms themselves. An increasing number of Middle Eastern intellectuals who came in

religious dissidents and positioned themselves in opposition to the establishment, asking

1.1.3. Origins of Religio political Dissent in Islamic Messia, iism

considered traditional Islam as represented by the `ulaind' to have fallen short of

colonialism in the Middle East, revolutionary movements in Islamic history have

authority felt to be more authentically Islamic.

al-Hanafiyya `al-Mahdi' ('the rightly-guided one'), religious and political dissent in

political movement in support of the leadership claims of a member of the Hashimid

caliphal titles in ' I

of divine guidance for his followers. 13

of Ja'far al-Sadiq and of his son Musa 14

1'-Crone, God's Rule,

1.1.4. Sltü Messianic Movements and Sufism

charismatic authority and thereby preserved the tradition of religio-political dissent of

Sufism as a religious movement within Islam transcended sectarian boundaries

and introduced charismatic authority as an alternative to the scholarly authority of the

to a proliferation of messianic movements in the 14`hand 15`hcenturies during and after

16Chodkiewicz, M., Seal