Imam Mohammad Abdou was a pioneering innovator of the intellectual revival movement in Egypt and the Arab East in the 19th century enlightenment. He was also an Islamic intellectual who rejected conventionalism, believed in openness to other cultures and the innovation of thoughts and social, political and religious reform.

Mohammad Abdou Khairallah known as Imam Mohammad Abdou, was born in 1849 in Behera Governorate. In 1877, Abdou obtained his degree "Alamiya" (equivalent to BA) from Al Azhar, despite the opposition of some of his professors on account of his "so called" progressive ideas. When he became a professor at Al Azhar, he was mainly interested in teaching those topics which enlighten the mind and cultivate reasoning such as philosophy, logic and monotheism. He selected some reference books such as "Ethics" by Montesqueu, and "The History of Cities in Europe and France" by Francols Geseun to be the subject matter of his lectures. In history, he selected Ibn Khaldoun and his theory of sociology and urbanisation.

Thanks to his association with Gamal Eddin al- Afghani, he became involved in press writing. Afghani encouraged a number of Egyptian writers and intellectuals to make inroads into the Egyptian press. Soon he gained grounds on the political and intellectual scene. Since the foundation of the prestigious Al Ahram Newspaper in 1876, Abdou contributed with articles urging religious, political and social reforms. He also called for the translation of foreign masterpieces in all fields of knowledge.

In October 1880, he was appointed Editor-in-Chief of the Egyptian Government official gazette "al Waqa'ie al Masriyya". Through his improvements, the gazette came to play a prominent, social, literary and intellectual role.

His call for reform was one of the reasons that motivated the Orabi Revolution of 1881. He was, therefore, sentenced for three months' imprisonment and was exiled from Egypt for three years.

He went to Beirut in 1885. There, he made an appraisal of the whole situation. He created an enlightened Islamic intellectual trend. His house in Beirut was a meeting place for all political, intellectual and religious figures. In view of his broad-minded and tolerant attitude and tactfulness, his meetings were frequented by Christians as well as Muslims.

He was also concerned with educational, social and religious reforms. He believed he should concentrate on the education and training of generations to combat ignorance and stand against foreign occupation. He believed that political, social and religious reform was an arduous and protracted process, requiring reasoning and good judgment. In the context of his policy of reform, Abdou developed an overall reform plan for Al Azhar, the endowments and Sharia (Islamic) courts.

Abdou's call for reform was based on three main pillars:

-1- Religious reform aiming at free thought away from the shackles of conventionalism.

-2- Language reform, in terms of style and usage, aiming at evolving a modern, powerful medium of expression and an element for unifying and integrating the nation.

-3- Political reform, where he believed that a democratic line should be taken between the state's right to obedience by the people and the public's right to justice by the state. This principle is the basis of social life and Islam was a democratic religion.

Abdou left behind a rich intellectual legacy. In addition to his contributions to the press, he made several researches on education. He introduced a new approach in verifying and translating classical books. He co-authored with Qassem Amin "The Emancipation of Women". He also translated Herbert Spenser's book on education.

Imam Abdou was the founder of a special school of reform. He had several disciples who adopted his call in many Arab and Islamic countries, including Shakeeb Arslan, Gamal Eddin Al Qasmi, Rashid Redha and others in Syria, Mohammad Sharaf Eddin and Muhammad Akef in Turkey and Mohammad Ibn al Khoja in North Africa. The party of Reform Ulema in Algeria and the New Enterprise of Moroccan Reforms in Morocco were established on the basis of his call.

Imam Abdou died in 1905.