As we spoke on the character of Sheikh Ali Al-Tantawi last week, we showed that he was actively involved in jihad against the colonial powers wherever they were in the Muslim world. He advocated resistance to imperialism in all possible ways. It was only natural that such commitment to the cause of the Muslim people should bring him into the political life in his hometown.
Sheikh Ali Al-Tantawi contested the elections to the first post-independence Syrian parliament in 1947. Despite his strong appeal, he did not win a seat. There was evident interference with the elections and Al-Tantawi’s name was high on the list of candidates who were out of favor with the government. It was so because his courage, his determined stand for the people, his Islamic outlook and his utter refusal to compromise on matters of principle made him a difficult character to deal with in political matters.
That was the only time he stood for parliamentary elections, but he was always concerned with political developments. He spoke out on any issue that was of importance to the people, or that touched on Islamic principles. Whenever free elections were held, he spoke out in favor of returning an Islamically oriented parliament. In 1954 he issued a statement calling on people to elect only suitable candidates; stating unequivocally that it was forbidden in Islam to elect a member of parliament who belonged to the Communist, Ba’ath, or Syrian Nationalist parties. That made him a target for attack by all three parties and their papers, but he stood up to all their concerted attacks with the courage of a firm believer.
His courage in matters encroaching on Islamic values and principles was phenomenal. He would not hesitate to criticize in the clearest of terms any action that was in conflict with Islamic values.
In the early 1950s, a girls school organized a dance which was attended by the then Prime Minister, Khalid Al-Azm, who was ruling under the patronage of Adeeb Al-Shishakli, the army general who wielded real power. That party was to crown the efforts of the school to revive folklore dancing. That same week Al-Tantawi delivered the khutbah (i.e. Friday sermon), which was broadcast by the Syrian radio. He launched a scathing attack on the organizers of the party and those in government who gave them their support, describing the latter as morally corrupt.
As it was a personal attack on the prime minister himself, there was a furor. The announcer who was at the mosque and the studio announcer, monitoring the prayer, were reprimanded and penalized for not stopping the transmission. AI-Tantawi stood his ground and was unrepentant. The government wanted to punish him, but dared not for fear of provoking a popular uprising.
Courage of that kind was a distinct trait of Al-Tantawi’s character. When he moved to Saudi Arabia, he stood his ground giving his rulings on matters put to him.
Something that gave Al-Tantawi a higher standing among the ordinary Muslim people in Saudi Arabia were his broadcasts on radio and television. At first Saudi radio realized that they had in him a speaker of wide appeal, since his fame preceded him, for he was a regular speaker on Syrian radio. He continued to give radio broadcasts for a very long time.
When Saudi television started broadcasting, Al-Tantawi was among the first to have a regular program. In fact, he had two programs, one known as Questions and Issues, and the other, Light and Guidance. The latter was a weekly program that ran for over 25 years. In Ramadan he added a daily ten-minute program.
As a speaker on radio and television, he realized that his audience was mixed, so he made his talk simple, direct, candid, and most importantly, full of Islamic knowledge. His appeal was wide indeed. His regular viewers included people from all strata of society. His post bag was always full. Viewers wrote to him for advice on all sorts of problems, seeking an enlightened religious view, which he was always ready to give.
In fact, the late King Faisal regularly watched his Friday program. Once he noticed that as Al-Tantawi was seen to continue speaking, there was an interruption in the sound. When he inquired the reason, he was told that apparently the Sheikh had said something that someone felt should be cut off. The King expressed his amazement, saying: “Do we have in Saudi Arabia anyone who is qualified to be a censor to Sheikh Ali Al-Tantawi?” He then ordered that the Sheikh be allowed to say whatever he wanted, at any time, without censorship of any kind. This order continued to be observed for many years even after King Faisal had passed away.
After leaving Syria in 1963, Al-Tantawi spent the rest of his life in Saudi Arabia. He first stayed in Riyadh for a couple of years before moving to Makkah where he lived for nearly 30 years. He then moved to Jeddah to stay nearer to his daughters. He was granted Saudi nationality. In 1990, he was awarded the King Faisal International Prize for service to the cause of Islam.
Personal tragedy was to hit him when his daughter, Banan, was assassinated in her flat in Aachen, Germany, in the early 1980s. She was married to ‘Issam al-Attar, the then leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria. The German security authorities considered the crime a political assassination. The Sheikh was deeply hurt and was in profound grief at her loss. Four years later, he had to refer to her in an article and he wrote that it was the first time he could write down her name or speak about her. Like all her four sisters, she was highly educated. She inherited from her father clarity of expression and a clear literary talent.
Ali Al-Tantawi wrote many books on a wide range of subjects. The book that was dearest to his heart was given an Arabic title equivalent to ‘A Brief Introduction to the lslamic Faith’. It was translated into English and published under the title, ‘The Faith’. It has been re-translated recently.
Sheikh Ali Al-Tantawi serialized his memoirs in daily Asharq Alawsat. These memoirs were later published in eight volumes. The memoirs do not follow a set pattern or a clearly defined plan, but they contain a wealth of information about life in the early and mid 20th century in Syria and other Arab countries. They include detailed biographical notes on a large number of personalities who played a part in shaping events and thought in Syria. These biographical notes are based on Al-Tantawi’s personal knowledge of the people concerned. For the most part, he dictated his memoirs on the telephone to a secretary in the paper’s Jeddah office, and the secretary transcribed them. Yet, the superior literary style of the memoirs suggests that they were subject to extensive revision, which was clearly not the case. That tells us a great deal about his high literary standard, excelled only by his very high standard in Fiqh and Islamic knowledge.
May God shower His grace on Sheikh Ali Al-Tantawi and bless his soul.
