Head of Ashrafs Abdul Karim bin Mohamed Abu Al-Nasr Al-Yafi
(1863-1933 AD) – (1280 – 1352 AH)
Sheikh Abdul Karim was born in Beirut and gained his religious education from his contemporaries from the scholars of the Levant. The Sheikh emerged as one of the most important scholars of Beirut, as he became a member of the Association of Muslim Scholars in the city, and Sultan Abdul Hamid II granted him the title of sheikh.
The Sheikh had an interest in politics and the press, in addition to his interest in religions teachings. This interest crystallized after the issuance of the Ottoman Constitution in 1908 AD, when Sheikh Abdul Karim issued the Ottoman University newspaper.
Sheikh Abdul Karim was active in calling for human rights and political reforms in the Arab state. Then he began to demand administrative independence for the Arab states within the entity of the Ottoman Empire.
In 1919, he was elected president of the Syndicate of Ashrafs in Beirut and was appointed as a judge in the High Court of Appeal in Beirut.
Sheikh Abdul Karim died in 1933 AD, may God have mercy on him.
