Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed
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Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed or Aḥmad Luṭfī Sayyid
Pasha Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignita ...
() (15 January 1872 – 5 March 1963) was a prominent Egyptian
nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...
,
intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator o ...
, anti-colonial
activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...
and the first director of
Cairo University Cairo University ( ar, جامعة القاهرة, Jāmi‘a al-Qāhira), also known as the Egyptian University from 1908 to 1940, and King Fuad I University and Fu'ād al-Awwal University from 1940 to 1952, is Egypt's premier public university ...
. He was an influential person in the Egyptian nationalist movement and used his position in the media to strive and gain an independent Egypt from British rule. He was also one of the architects of modern
Egyptian nationalism Egyptian nationalism is based on Egyptians and Egyptian culture. Egyptian nationalism has typically been a civic nationalism that has emphasized the unity of Egyptians regardless of their ethnicity or religion. Egyptian nationalism first manifes ...
as well as the architect of Egyptian
secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on secular, naturalistic considerations. Secularism is most commonly defined as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state, and may be broadened to a si ...
and
liberalism Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostilit ...
. He was fondly known as the "Professor of the Generation". Lutfi was one of the fiercest opponents of
pan-Arabism Pan-Arabism ( ar, الوحدة العربية or ) is an ideology that espouses the unification of the countries of North Africa and Western Asia from the Atlantic Ocean to the Arabian Sea, which is referred to as the Arab world. It is closely c ...
, insisting that Egyptians are Egyptians and not Arabs. He is considered one of the most influential scholars and intellectuals in the history of Egypt.


Early life and education

Lutfi was born in the rural village of Berqin, near Al Senbellawein in the Dakahlia Governorate on 15 January 1872. He was educated in a traditional ''kuttāb'', a government school in Manṣūra, the Khedivial Secondary School in Cairo and the School of Law in Cairo. While at law school, Al-Sayyid made contact with influential people such as
Muhammad Abduh ; "The Theology of Unity") , alma_mater = Al-Azhar University , office1 = Grand Mufti of Egypt , term1 = 1899 – 1905 , Sufi_order = Shadhiliyya , disciple_of = , awards = , in ...
and Hassuna al-Nawawi. Abduh played a pivotal role in Lutfi's experience with his reformist movement as well as his ideology concerning politics.


Writings and scholarly work

After graduating from law school, Lutfi entered the legal department of government services and worked there until 1905, then under the British administration of Lord Cromer. Lutfi became editor-in-chief of a newspaper called ''
Al Jarida ''Al Jarida'' ( ar, الجريدة, lit=The Newspaper) was a liberal newspaper which was published in Cairo, Egypt, from 1907 to 1915. The paper was the official organ of the Umma Party. It was one of the publications that shaped the Egyptian na ...
'' in 1907. The paper was prominent for writing enlightened and liberal materials and attracted the attention of many liberal activists. The writings Lutfi composed for ''Al Jarida'' during his time as editor-in-chief are considered his most important and influential. He expounded upon his liberal beliefs about the freedom of Egypt and how people must stand up take action in the newsletters; because of these views, Lutfi created a name for himself in the media and government of Egypt.


Denshaway incident

The Denshawai incident was a violent clash that occurred in June 1906 between Egyptian peasants in the village of Denshaway and British officers who were pigeon hunting in the area. The British had occupied Egypt in 1882 and deployed troops to help put down the Urabi Rebellion, an Egyptian constitutionalist movement. On 13 June 1906, five British officers were hunting for pigeons in Denshaway, an area that needs approval from a headsman. The hunt was approved, but the headsman was not with the officers. They shot pigeons belonging to villagers, angering the owners. The major catalyst was the accidental shooting of the wife of the prayer leader, Abd-el-Nebi, at the local mosque. Enraged, the Egyptian villagers attacked the British officers, who opened fire on them in response, wounding five; the officers also set fire to a grain silo owned by Abd-el-Nebi. Abd-el-Nebi, whose wife was seriously injured, struck one of the officers with a stick. He was joined by the elderly Hassan Mahfouz, whose pigeons had been killed. Other villagers threw stones at them. The officers surrendered their weapons, along with their watches and money, but this failed to appease the villagers. Two officers escaped, one of whom managed to contact his superiors; the other died of
heatstroke Heat stroke or heatstroke, also known as sun stroke, is a severe heat illness that results in a body temperature greater than , along with red skin, headache, dizziness, and confusion. Sweating is generally present in exertional heatstroke, b ...
some distance from the village. An Egyptian peasant who tried to help the dying officer was killed by soldiers who came across them and assumed the peasant had in actuality killed him. Meanwhile, the elders had intervened, rescuing the remaining officers and allowing them to return to their camp. After the incident, 52 villagers were arrested for crimes of violence against the British officers. The trial for the villagers was administered by Ahmed Lutfi-al Sayyid. As editor-in-chief of ''
Al Jarida ''Al Jarida'' ( ar, الجريدة, lit=The Newspaper) was a liberal newspaper which was published in Cairo, Egypt, from 1907 to 1915. The paper was the official organ of the Umma Party. It was one of the publications that shaped the Egyptian na ...
'', Lutfi was able to spread word of the incident quickly, including news of the villagers who had been put on trial. He participated as attorney in the trial after finding out that his daughter was directly involved, which prompted Lutfi to take action. A statement by Lutfi describing the treatment of the accused read: "They fell upon Denshwai, and spared neither man nor his brother. Slowly they hanged the one and flogged the other." It was the Denshwai incident which triggered the creation of the first Egyptian political party created by Lutfi.


Hizbal-Umma

In 1907 after the Denshawai incident, Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed founded Egypt's first political party, ''el-Umma'' ("the Nation"), which came as a reaction to the 1906 Denshaway incident and the rise of Egyptian nationalist sentiment. Lutfi's earlier work with ''Al Jarida'' helped his cause from the numerous writings he published in the paper along with his gaining support upon the Denshwai incident. His involvement during this time is considered to be one of the most pivotal roles in the evacuation of British forces in the 20th century. It was also in 1907 that Lutfi published the ''Al Jarida'', a collection of his nationalist ideas and opinions on political issues, whose statement of purpose read: "''Al Jarida'' is a purely Egyptian party which aims to defend Egyptian interests of all kinds". Lutfi introduced the Arab public to the ideas of British philosopher and economist
John Stuart Mill John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, Member of Parliament (MP) and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of classical liberalism, he contributed widely to ...
and his definition of
liberalism Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostilit ...
.


Intellectual contribution

Ahmed Lutfi al-Sayyid was an outright liberal and believed in equality and rights for all people. Lutfi's contribution to Egypt in intellectual ideas and movements redefined history in Egypt. He was considered one of the first Egyptian officials to introduce Mill's works and reading to the general Arab public so they could educate themselves on concepts of liberalism. He believed that people should have a say in what goes on in their government and country, and that all people had certain civil rights that could not be taken away. He was a staunch proponent of anti-colonialism and the negative effects it has on countries, which is what led to him being such an active member of the anti-British involvement in Egypt. He took a strong stance against the pan-Arabism view that was held at that time which emphasized a unification of all Arab countries and people into one entity. He believed that Egyptians were different from Arabs and had their own separate beliefs and cultural aspects.


Later years and death

From 16 September 1915 to 30 November 1918 Lutfi served as director of the National Library of Egypt. While working for the library, Lutfi did a substantial amount of work including translations from
Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ...
through the
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
versions. He was a member of the Egyptian delegation to the Paris Peace Conference held in
Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...
in 1919, where he pleaded for the independence of Egypt from Britain. Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed was the first director of the
Egyptian University Cairo University ( ar, جامعة القاهرة, Jāmi‘a al-Qāhira), also known as the Egyptian University from 1908 to 1940, and King Fuad I University and Fu'ād al-Awwal University from 1940 to 1952, is Egypt's premier public universi ...
, inaugurated on Monday 11 May 1925. He was a close friend of
Taha Hussein Taha Hussein (, ar, طه حسين; November 15, 1889 – October 28, 1973) was one of the most influential 20th-century Egyptian writers and intellectuals, and a figurehead for the Egyptian Renaissance and the modernist movement in the Middl ...
and resigned his post as university director as a protest against the Egyptian government's decision to transfer Hussein from his university position in 1932."To be free,"
''Chronicles of Ahram Weekly'', 15–21 December 2005
He resigned again in 1937 when the Egyptian police broke into the court of the
Egyptian University Cairo University ( ar, جامعة القاهرة, Jāmi‘a al-Qāhira), also known as the Egyptian University from 1908 to 1940, and King Fuad I University and Fu'ād al-Awwal University from 1940 to 1952, is Egypt's premier public universi ...
. He ultimately stepped down as President in May 1941. During his presidency of the Egyptian University, the first promotion of
women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or Adolescence, adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female hum ...
graduated with university degrees. He was known as a great teacher, and one of his students, Husayn Fawzi al-Najjar, wrote a biography of him entitled "Lutfi al-Sayyid, the Teacher of a Generation" (''Lutfi al-Sayyid Ustadh al-Jil''). In addition, Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed held positions such as the minister of education, the
minister of interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...
, the director of the Arabic language assembly, a member of the senate, and the director of House of Books. He died in 1963.


Influences and legacy

A bulk of Lutfi's political influences came from Western rhetoric that he had encountered through his time studying at the law university. His primary influencers were
Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ...
,
John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism". Considered one of ...
, Bentham,
Mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Textile mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic unit of the Analytical Engine early ...
, Spencer,
Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...
, Comte, and Le Bon. Lutfi saw
Egyptian nationalism Egyptian nationalism is based on Egyptians and Egyptian culture. Egyptian nationalism has typically been a civic nationalism that has emphasized the unity of Egyptians regardless of their ethnicity or religion. Egyptian nationalism first manifes ...
as the direct result of historical and environmental factors, which is why he was against pan-Islamic, pan-Arab, and pan-Ottoman ideologies. Lutfi was against religion as a basis for nationhood and instead advocated that social and political utility was more important. Lutfi's teachings and works were considered so important that he was dubbed ''ustād̲h̲ al-d̲j̲īl'' or “Professor of the Generation.”


See also

*
Liberal Egyptian Party The Liberal Egyptian Party ( ar, الحزب المصري الليبرالي, ), formerly Mother Egypt Party, was a liberal and secular political party in Egypt advocating democracy and patriotism. This liberal party was a political party in Egypt ...
*
Egyptian nationalism Egyptian nationalism is based on Egyptians and Egyptian culture. Egyptian nationalism has typically been a civic nationalism that has emphasized the unity of Egyptians regardless of their ethnicity or religion. Egyptian nationalism first manifes ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sayed, Ahmed Lutfi 1872 births 1963 deaths Egyptian nationalists Al-Azhar University alumni Cairo University faculty Education Ministers of Egypt Egyptian pashas Egyptian secularists Egyptian writers Critics of Arab nationalism Interior Ministers of Egypt Liberalism in Egypt People from Dakahlia Governorate Egyptian newspaper founders