Muhammad Jaber Āl Safa (also spelled Jabir Al Safa) (1875–1945) (Arabic: محمد جابر آل صفا) was a historian, writer and politician from Jabal Amel (in modern-day Lebanon), known for his founding role in the anti-colonialist Arab nationalist movement in the turn-of-the-century Levant.[1]
Muhammad Jaber Āl Safa | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 1875 Nabatiye, Ottoman Syria |
| Died | 1945 Nabatiye, Lebanon |
| Occupation | Historian, writer, poet, politician |
| Notable works | Tārīkh Jabal ʻAmil (The History of Jabal Amil) |
| Relatives | Ahmad Rida (father-in-law) Hisham Jaber (grandson) |
Biography edit
Jaber Āl Safa was born in Nabatiye into an illustrious family of scholars descended from the Safavids. His ancestor, Ismail Mirza, a son of Hamza Mirza - the eldest son and designated heir of Shah Mohammad Khodabanda - had travelled from Isfahan to Nabatiye to escape persecution by his uncle Shah Abbas I.
Jaber Āl Safa studied language and history under renowned scholars Hassan Yusuf al-Makki and Muhammad Ibrahim al-Husseini. Jaber Al Safa and his companions Sheikh Ahmad Reda (also his father-in-law) and Sheikh Sulaiman Daher, having formed an intellectual gathering known as "the Ameli Three", also known as the "Amili Trio" or "Nabatieh Trio", played a principal role in forming Jabal Amel's political and cultural history,[2] and were also the first in that region to speak of an Arab nation and of an Arab state.[3]
Because of the group's strong opposition to the Ottoman rule, they were arrested in 1915, along with other Arab nationalist leaders such as Rida Al Solh and his son Riad, and imprisoned in Aley's military prison.[4][5] They were liberated as the Ottomans left the country during the First World War.
He was a major supporter of King Faisal's rule in Greater Syria following the Arab Revolt, having been a leading nationalist since before the outbreak of the First World War.[6] Nationalists, prior to the revolt, were not secessionists. Rather, they called for decentralization and discussed nationalist ideas, while still positioning themselves within the Ottoman entity.[7] Jaber Al Safa credited the Ottoman state with losing people's support because of the harsh measures it implemented regarding conscription and, before that, its suppression of Arabic as an official and administrative language and related Turkification policies brought forth by the Committee of Union and Progress.
Jaber, as part of the "Amili Trio", lobbied for Lebanon's union with Syria and opposed the French Mandate in Lebanon (he was briefly arrested by the French authorities but was released following widespread protests in Nabatiye in his support), remaining a supporter of pan-Arab unity until his death in 1945.[8]
He wrote "Tārīkh Jabal `Amil", or "The History of Jabal `Amil", which is used as a main reference on the history of the Levant and Lebanon, and Jabal Amel in particular.[9]
Ancestry edit
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See also edit
References edit
- ^ Chalabi, Tamara (2006). The Shi'is of Jabal `Amil and the New Lebanon: Community and Nation-State, 1918-1943, p.34
- ^ Chalabi (2006), p.33
- ^ Chalabi (2006), p.34
- ^ Harris, William (2012). Lebanon: A History, 600-2011, Oxford University Press, p.173
- ^ Chalabi (2006), p.52
- ^ Nakash, Yitzhak (2011). Reaching for Power: The Shi'a in the Modern Arab World, Princeton University Press, p.39
- ^ Chalabi (2006), p.50
- ^ Chalabi (2006), p.108-9
- ^ Chalabi (2006), p.163, p.36