Background
Al-Aqqad, Abbas Mahmud was born on June 28, 1889 in village near Aswan, Upper Egypt.
Columnist and writer apologist of Islam
Al-Aqqad, Abbas Mahmud was born on June 28, 1889 in village near Aswan, Upper Egypt.
Self taught: studied English language, then French. Followed a traditional Muslim way of thought.
Journalist for Al-Garidah. the newspaper founded by Lutfi as-Sayyed. until 1907: in Alexandria (1915). then in Cairo (1923), edited magazines which echoed Sad Zaghlul’s political ideas: engaged in politics in the Wafd Party. Imprisoned in the 1930s for his nationalistic utterances, but in 1938 became member of the Royal Academy. Senator, 1944; appointed to the Conseil Supérieur des Artes, Lettres et Sciences Sociales, 1956, contributed to Al-Muqtataf until 1953.
Al-Aqqad was a traditional thinker. He was a national who viewed Islam as a religion appropriate to modern life. He defended the traditional image of Islam and tried to prove Koranic assumptions by a scholarly historical method. Notwithstanding his moderation, he was charged by the Islamic radical, Sayyed Qutb, with inappropriate recourse to non-Islamic sources in order to explain Islamic thought. In Qutb’s opinion he betrayed the progressive reformism of Muhammad Abduh.