Kamal al-Qassab

Kamal al-Qassab was a prominent Syrian religious scholar and political activist. He was a former student of Muhammad Abduh, a reformist Islamic thinker, in Cairo. He became known for his public speeches against Ottoman corruption and oppression. He was arrested by the Ottoman authorities and imprisoned for several months. After the First World War, he spoke against the British and the French, claiming their goal was to eliminate Islam and occupy his country. He founded the Syrian Higher National Committee in 1919, which aimed to achieve independence and unity for Syria. He also travelled to Palestine and established a school in Haifa, where he joined the militant Izz ad-Din al-Qassam. He was a respected figure among the Syrian people and a mentor for many scholars and activists. He initiated the state-run Faculty of Sharia in Damascus in 1947, which became a leading institution for Islamic studies. He died in 1954 at the age of 101.