Kawakibi, Abdul Rahman al- (1854-1902): Syrian scholar and one of the most prominent Arab reformists in the early 20th century. He was born in Aleppo and studied Islamic Shari'a. He worked for al-Furat official newspaper before publishing his own al-Shahbaa', through which he expressed his opposition to the Ottomans. He was imprisoned several times and was forced to leave to Egypt where he continued to oppose the Ottomans on pages of local newspapers. It is thought that he was poisoned by Turkish agents. His books include Tabaye' al-Istebdad (Manners of dictatorship), and Umm al-Qura (Mother of Towns).