Syed Ahmed Khan (1817-1898) was a Moslem religious leader, educationalist, and politician. He contributed to the intellectual and institutional foundation of Moslem modernization in southern Asia.

Born on Oct. 17, 1817, Syed Ahmed trained himself in Moslem law and religion and was employed by the British government. He served in several Indian administrative posts, gave assistance during the 1857 mutiny, and retired with honor 20 years later to devote himself to social and religious reform.

Throughout his life Syed Ahmed showed concern with how Indian Moslems could adapt to intellectual and political change accompanying Western rule. His first mission became reinterpretation of Moslem ideology so as to reconcile tradition with Western education and science. He argued in several books on Islam that the Koran rested on a deep appreciation of reason and natural law and therefore did not preclude Moslem involvement in scientific methodology. These themes, mixed with a call for Moslem...