Anti-colonial actions of Sayyid Jamal al-Din Asadabadi in Iran

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    Question

    What actions did Sayyid Jamal al-Din Asadabadi take in the fight against colonialism in Iran?

    Anti-colonial actions of Sayyid Jamal al-Din Asadabadi in Iran were efforts to attract and nurture talented individuals to raise awareness among the Iranian people and elevate the political consciousness of scholars to combat colonialism in events such as the Tobacco Protest.

    Sayyid Jamal al-Din Asadabadi or Sayyid Jamal al-Din Afghani (1254–1314 AH) was a Muslim scholar who believed in fighting colonialism and Islamic unity. He considered the most significant and chronic ailment of Islamic society to be internal despotism and external colonialism. Throughout his life, he fiercely opposed these two forces. Asadabadi believed that political awareness and active participation of Muslims in politics were essential to combat these factors.

    During his time in Iran, Sayyid Jamal al-Din invited individuals to join him in guiding various segments of Iranian society against internal despotism and foreign colonial powers. Additionally, he worked to raise the political awareness of the scholars of his time. One of his anti-colonial activities was his opposition to granting the tobacco concession to the colonial British government.

    Colonialism in the view of Sayyid Jamal al-Din

    Sayyid Jamal al-Din Asadabadi identified internal despotism and external colonialism as the most significant and chronic issues facing Islamic society. He fought vigorously against these during his lifetime. Asadabadi believed that political awareness and active participation of Muslims in politics were necessary to combat these issues.[1] He argued that the most harmful consequence of neo-colonialism was the eradication of the culture and identity of nations. In his view, cultural colonialism paved the way for political and economic colonialism.[2]

    Sayyid Jamal al-Din's efforts in the fight against colonialism gained attention across the Islamic world, influencing subsequent Islamic movements. Muhammad Muhit Tabataba'i (1280–1371 SH), a researcher of Iranian history and culture, noted that European Orientalists and scholars sought to understand the principles of political and social movements in Islamic countries and recognized Sayyid Jamal al-Din's role in the growth of Islamic movements. They found that his ideas had a distinct impact on various political, social, literary, philosophical, educational, and revolutionary movements in the Islamic East.[3]

    Attracting and nurturing talented individuals to raise awareness among the Iranian people

    During his time in Iran, Sayyid Jamal al-Din invited individuals to join him in guiding various segments of Iranian society against internal despotism and foreign colonial powers.[4]

    Among those who collaborated with Sayyid Jamal al-Din were Mirza Agha Khan Kermani, Sheikh Ahmad Ruhi, and Mirza Hassan Khan Khabir al-Mulk. These individuals left Iran during the despotism of Nasser al-Din Shah and went to Istanbul, where Iranian intellectuals had gathered, forming the nucleus of the Iranian movement and working to awaken the thoughts of the Iranian people.[5]

    Raising the political awareness of scholars to combat colonialism

    It is said that Sayyid Jamal al-Din Asadabadi's efforts to elevate the political awareness of scholars of his time, both Shia and Sunni, had a significant impact. Gradually, Qajar-era scholars influenced by Sayyid Jamal al-Din became more active and serious in opposing colonialism and despotism. He first invited them to deeply reflect on political issues and then strengthened their social and political ties with the people, expanding their leadership in political matters. As a result, their conflict with the ruling establishment intensified.[6]

    During his stay in Iran, Sayyid Jamal al-Din, through direct communication with Iranian scholars and his writings, including letters to scholars and religious authorities such as Mirza Shirazi, significantly contributed to raising awareness in Iran. It is noted that most free-thinking scholars of the Nasseri era on the eve of the Constitutional Revolution were, in some way, his students and influenced by his ideas.[7]

    In a letter to Iranian scholars, Sayyid Jamal al-Din pointed out the European governments' plans to infiltrate the country and wrote about their conspiracies: "Wherever the power of scholars has diminished, the power of Europeans has increased, to the extent that they have shattered the glory of Islam and erased the name of religion from those places."[8]

    the Martyr Motahhari stated that Sayyid Jamal al-Din's approach towards the Shia clergy had a profound impact, both in the Tobacco Protest led by scholars and in the Iranian Constitutional Revolution supported by them.[9]

    Sayyid Jamal al-Din's actions in the Tobacco Protest

    One of Sayyid Jamal al-Din Asadabadi's anti-colonial activities was his opposition to the Tobacco Concession Agreement with the British colonial government. The agreement was signed on 28 Rajab 1307 AH in fifteen chapters.[10] The signing of this agreement provoked strong opposition from Sayyid Jamal al-Din. At the time of the agreement, Sayyid Jamal al-Din, who had been expelled from Iran for opposing such actions, was in Basra and sent a detailed letter to the then-marja', Mirza Shirazi, warning him of the dangers of such treaties.[11]

    Influenced by Sayyid Jamal al-Din's letter, Mirza Shirazi sent a telegram to the Shah protesting the agreement on behalf of the scholars and the general public, demanding its cancellation. However, the Qajar Shah ignored this letter. Mirza Shirazi, considering the cancellation of the concession a religious duty, sent another telegram to Nasser al-Din Shah despite the Shah's indifference.[12] When this second telegram was also ignored, Mirza Shirazi issued a historic fatwa prohibiting the use of tobacco in response to a question about its consumption.[13]

    References

    1. ↑ Motahhari, Morteza, "A Brief Review of Islamic Movements in the Last Century," Tehran, Sadra Publications, 1373 SH, p. 15.
    2. ↑ Sahebi, Mohammad Javad, "Reformist Thought in Islamic Movements," Qom, Islamic Propagation Office Press, 1376 SH, pp. 156–157.
    3. ↑ Mohit Tabatabai, Sayyid Mohammad, "Sayyid Jamal al-Din Asadabadi and the Awakening of the East," edited by Sayyid Hadi Khosrowshahi, Tehran, Kelbeh Shoruq, 1380 SH, p. 4.
    4. ↑ Raein, Ismail, "Secret Societies in the Constitutional Revolution," Tehran, Javidan Publications, 1345 SH, pp. 38–39.
    5. ↑ Raein, "Secret Societies in the Constitutional Revolution," pp. 38–39.
    6. ↑ Zargarinejad, Gholamhossein, "Treatises on Constitutionalism," Tehran, Kavir Publications, 1374 SH, p. 78.
    7. ↑ Zargarinejad, "Treatises on Constitutionalism," Tehran, p. 78.
    8. ↑ Sahebi, "Reformist Thought in Islamic Movements," pp. 156–157.
    9. ↑ Motahhari, Morteza, "Islamic Movements in the Last Century," Tehran, Sadra Publications, 1382 SH, p. 18.
    10. ↑ Qodsizadeh, Parvin, "Tobacco Protest," Encyclopedia of the Islamic World, Tehran, Islamic Encyclopedia Foundation, 1393, under the entry.
    11. ↑ Mohit Tabatabai, "Sayyid Jamal al-Din Asadabadi and the Awakening of the East," p. 73.
    12. ↑ Nazem al-Islam Kermani, Mohammad bin Ali, "History of the Awakening of Iranians," edited by Ali Akbar Saidi Sirjani, Tehran, 1357 SH, vol. 1, p. 34.
    13. ↑ Keddie, Nikki, "The Tobacco Protest in Iran," translated by Shahrokh Qaem-Maqami, Tehran, Pocket Books Publications, 1358 SH, p. 125.
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