Rafīq Bey ibn Mahmūd al-ʿAzm (, 1865-1925) was a Syrian intellectual, author, and politician. 'Azm served as the president of the

Ottoman Party for Administrative Decentralization The Ottoman Party for Administrative Decentralization or (Hizb al-lamarkaziyya al-idariyya al'Uthmani) (OPAD) was a political party in the Ottoman Empire founded in January 1913. Based in Cairo, OPAD called for the reform of the Ottoman provincial ...

and was a key figure in the intellectual formation of

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 ...

. Rafiq was born in 1865 in

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

to the 'Azm family, one of the city's mostly politically and socially influential families. He received an education in French and Arabic in Damascus and

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

. As a young man, 'Azm became involved in a group of reformist

ulama In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...

who believed in restoration of the empire's 1876 constitution. During the reign of

Abdul Hamid II Abdülhamid or Abdul Hamid II ( ota, عبد الحميد ثانی, Abd ül-Hamid-i Sani; tr, II. Abdülhamid; 21 September 1842 10 February 1918) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 31 August 1876 to 27 April 1909, and the last sultan to ...

'Azm joined the Young Turks. He later joined the

Committee of Union and Progress The Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) ( ota, اتحاد و ترقى جمعيتی, translit=İttihad ve Terakki Cemiyeti, script=Arab), later the Union and Progress Party ( ota, اتحاد و ترقى فرقه‌سی, translit=İttihad ve Tera ...

(CUP), an underground organization that advocated for liberal reforms. In 1894 Ottoman authorities began cracking down on constitutionalists and their organizations, including the CUP; in the same year 'Azm fled to

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

, Egypt. In Egypt, 'Azm met

Rashid Rida Muḥammad Rashīd ibn ʿAlī Riḍā ibn Muḥammad Shams al-Dīn ibn Muḥammad Bahāʾ al-Dīn ibn Munlā ʿAlī Khalīfa (23 September 1865 or 18 October 1865 – 22 August 1935 CE/ 1282 - 1354 AH), widely known as Sayyid Rashid Rida ( ar, � ...

; together, the two founded the Ottoman Consultation Society (Jam'iyyat al-Shura al-'Uthmaniyya), a diverse, Ottoman focused society that pushed back against Turkish nationalism. 'Azm served as editor of the Arabic-language portion of the OCS's publications and its treasurer. Following the 1908

Young Turk Revolution The Young Turk Revolution (July 1908) was a constitutionalist revolution in the Ottoman Empire. The Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), an organization of the Young Turks movement, forced Sultan Abdul Hamid II to restore the Ottoman Constit ...

the society was disbanded; 'Azm visited Istanbul and joined the Ottoman Party for Administrative Decentralization. As part of the Ottoman Party for Administrative Decentralization, Rafiq al-ʿAzm along with his cousin

Haqqi al-Azm Haqqi al-Azm ( ar, حقي العظم / ALA-LC: ''Ḥaqī al-‘Aẓm''; 1864, in Damascus – 1955) was a Syrian politician active during the late Ottoman period and during the First Syrian Republic. From 1932 to 1934, he served as Prime Minis ...

opposed proposals to exclude non-Arabs and non-Muslims from the party, pushing for the affirmative inclusion of

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Druze The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...

s, and

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

in order to best reflect the makeup of Syria. Rafiq, as president, closely associated the party with another opposition party, the Party of Liberty and Union headed by Sadiq Bey, which shared the goal of granting the Arab states increased autonomy. In April 1913, 'Azm on behalf of his party, accepted an invitation to the

Arab Congress of 1913 The Arab Congress of 1913 (also known as the "Arab National Congress," "First Palestinian Conference," the "First Arab Congress," and the "Arab-Syrian Congress") met in a hall of the French Geographical Society ( Société de Géographie) at 184 B ...

, to which he sent two delegates. Rafiq al Azm died on 4 July 1925.

References

People from the Ottoman Empire 1865 births 1925 deaths Al-Azm family {{Syria-hist-stub

See also

References