30 Facts About Muhammad al-Kattani

Muhammad al-Kattani is recognized as the father of the Moroccan constitution movement and the leader of the Conditioned Bay'ah of 1908.

Muhammad al-Kattani was vocally opposed to the metastasizing French colonial presence in Morocco, and launched at-Ta'un, the first national newspaper in Morocco.

Muhammad al-Kattani was a member of the al-Kattani family and the Tariqa Kattania, a Sufi order.

Muhammad al-Kattani composed over 300 works, printed 27 of them, and wrote Sufi philosophical love poetry.

Muhammad al-Kattani was accused of treason and flogged to death under Sultan Abdelhafid.

Muhammad al-Kattani was born in 1873 in Fes to the illustrious al-Kattani literary family claiming Idrisid ancestry and known for its independent stance in relation to the Makhzen.

Muhammad al-Kattani's father was the polymath Abdul-Kabir al-Kattani, who was called the "Mountain of Sunna," and his grandfather was the Sheikh Abu al-Mafakhir al-Kattani.

Muhammad al-Kattani's mother was Fadila Bint Idris al-Kattaniya, a scholar of fiqh.

Muhammad al-Kattani enrolled in a kuttab to learn the Quran, memorizing it while in his youth.

Muhammad al-Kattani attended al-Qarawiyyin University and a few other schools in Fes, benefiting from the tutelage of some of the greatest scholars of his time.

Muhammad al-Kattani's father introduced him to Sufism and guided him through important Sufi texts by al-Tirmidhi, Suhrawardi, and Ibn Arabi, such as Ibn Arabi's The Meccan Revelations.

Muhammad al-Kattani studied hadith, biographies of the prophets, fiqh, and kalam under his maternal uncle Ja'afar bin Idriss al-Kattani.

Muhammad al-Kattani taught Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Ibrahim al-Fassi of the Shadhili Sufi Order.

Muhammad al-Kattani encouraged ijtihad, or independent thought and deliberation, and a break from taqlid, or automatic conformity.

Muhammad al-Kattani stayed some time in this role, then he was permitted to return to Fes.

Muhammad al-Kattani spent some time teaching some of the scholars of the Hijaz at Great Mosque of Mecca.

Muhammad al-Kattani traveled through the Mashriq, visiting the Hijaz, the Levant, and Egypt, where he came into contact with important leaders and scholars, including Khedive Abbas Pasha I in Cairo and the Sharif Awn ar-Rafiq in Mecca, and called for reform in the region.

Muhammad al-Kattani taught many Egyptian scholars at Al-Azhar University, and met Khedive Isma'il Pasha for long talks, attempting to coordinate with him, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Morocco to counter French imperialism.

The newspaper pushed the idea that the Muhammad al-Kattani sought to overthrow the monarchy, and lusted after the sultan's power.

When France invaded Oujda, bombarded Casablanca, and invaded the Shawiya in 1907, Muhammad al-Kattani called for jihad and the deportation of the colonists from the country and composed numerous letters calling for resistance against the occupiers.

Muhammad al-Kattani signed a letter addressed to the American ambassador at the American Legation in Tangier, urging the United States not to support Abdelaziz, who took a lax stance against the French occupiers.

Muhammad al-Kattani wrote the terms under which the people of Fes would support him.

Muhammad al-Kattani condemned Sultan Abdelhafid's detention and torture of supporters of the former sultan Abdelaziz in Meknes and the sequestration of their funds, and refused to act as an intermediary between the two sides.

Muhammad al-Kattani released a fatwa ordaining a campaign of jihad against the colonialists, calling for an armed blockade of the French army at Tariq Za'ir outside of Rabat.

Muhammad al-Kattani's father participated in this movement of jihad too, and joined him at the conference, in which they agreed to wage jihad against the French and Spanish colonizers.

Muhammad al-Kattani was captured by the forces of Sultan Abdelhafid, shaved, handcuffed, and paraded through the streets.

Muhammad al-Kattani's hands were cut off and his wounds were salted.

Muhammad al-Kattani was beaten in front of his wives and children, and his body was thrown into an unmarked grave.

Muhammad al-Kattani left a corpus of over 300 pieces, of which about 27 were printed as books.

Muhammad al-Kattani left a diwan, or poetry collection, characterized as Sufi, philosophical, and romantic.