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Sheikh Ahmed Aref El-Zein شيخ أحمد عارف الزين | |
|---|---|
 Sheikh Ahmed Aref El-Zein | |
| Born | Ahmed Aref El-Zein (أحمد عارف الزين) 10 July 1884 Shhur شحور, Lebanon |
| Died | 13 October 1960 (aged 76) Shrine of Imam Ali Al-Rida in Kharasan, Iran |
| Occupation | Writer, intellectual, theologian |
| Nationality | Lebanese |
Sheikh Ahmed Aref El-Zein (10 July 1884 – 13 October 1960)[1][2] (Arabic: شيخ أحمد عارف الزين) was a Shi'a intellectual from the Jabal Amil (جبل عامل) area of South Lebanon. He was a reformist scholar who engaged in the modernist intellectual debates that resonated across Arab and Muslim societies in the early 20th century. Disappointed by the lack of education and prosperity of his community under Ottoman rule, he collaborated with other local scholars on interaction with reform movements underway in Damascus, Baghdad and Cairo. By founding the monthly magazine Al-Irfan, he is credited with bringing literary edification and news of scientific innovations to his community and others across the Arab-speaking world. He published a weekly paper, Jabal Amil for a year, wrote several books and established the first printing press in South Lebanon. He promoted education for both sexes in his conservative society and helped female authors by publishing their material under their real names or pseudonyms. He was a pillar in the national Syrian-Arab movement against Ottoman rule in the later years of the Sultanate and resisted the French mandate by advocating independence for Lebanon. He sought educational reforms and the reconciliation of Islamic values with Western ideas of liberty and democracy.