Omar Lotfy

Omar Lotfy Bey
Born	1867 Alexandria, Egypt
Died	14 November 1911 Cairo, Egypt
Occupation(s)	Lawyer, Human Rights Activist
Known for	Among the founders of Al Ahly

Omar Lotfy Bey, was an Egyptian lawyer and human rights activist, known for being the father of cooperation in Egypt and one of the pioneers of the cooperative movement in the world, as well as for his support for women’s rights. He is also the one who came up with the idea of establishing the Egyptian Al Ahly.

Early life and education

Omar Lotfy Bey was born in 1867 in Alexandria. He studied at the Charitable Society School, founded by Sheikh Abdullah al-Nadim, where he memorized the Holy Quran. He then moved to Cairo, lived in Bulaq, and completed his studies at the Collège des Frères. Omar Lotfy Bey enrolled in the School of Law. He graduated in 1886 and rose through the ranks, achieving notable success in a short period.

He first worked in the government's litigation office, then in Saad Zaghloul's law office, and then as a judge in the Qena court. However, he preferred to continue his education, and after a while, he became a deputy at the School of Law at the age of 38. He then left law school and returned to work in the judiciary, opening a law office. He remained a lawyer until his death.

Career

When Omar Lutfi Bey saw the financial crisis intensifying in 1907 and the injustice farmers were suffering from at the hands of usurers and speculators, he began searching for a way to save the Egyptian people from these crises in the future.

After studying agricultural cooperation in Italy in 1908, he decided that the Egyptian government should follow the example of Germany and Italy by establishing agricultural unions in every town to help farmers instead of usurers and speculators. The government did not agree to his proposal, so he resorted to establishing agricultural unions, whose function was to lend and market Egyptian produce cooperatively. He then called for the establishment of cooperative societies, which he called the Household Cooperative Society.

These societies were established in Cairo and then in other major cities in Egypt, such as Alexandria, Mansoura, Minya, Menoufia, and Helwan. He toured all over Egypt to spread his call for the establishment of unions and cooperatives. Omar Lotfy Bey is considered one of the pioneers of the cooperative movement on the global level, and farmers and Egyptians alike called him the father of cooperation in Egypt.

The agricultural problem was one of the most difficult economic problems in Egypt, so Omar Lotfy Bey began to call for economic independence. One of his most loyal friends was Mustafa Kamel Pasha, and Mustafa Kamel Pasha helped him in revealing the benefits of cooperatives to the people, which contradicted the ambitions of the occupation. Omar Lotfy Bey is also considered the founder of the first labor union in Egypt, which is the Handicrafts Workers Union.

Women rights

Omar Lutfi Bey was the first researcher to discuss “women’s rights” in a letter printed in Cairo in 1897, before the Qasim Amin movement. His letter was the summary of a lecture in French that he had given in September 1896, in which he explained women’s rights in Islamic law and compared them to the rights of Western women at that time. He explained how the fairer sex, as they were called, found protection in Islamic law that they did not find in the laws in force at the same time.

Founding Al Ahly

The idea of establishing Al Ahly by Omar Lotfy first emerged while he was the President of the Higher Schools Club. He thought about establishing a sports club that would bring together students from the Higher Schools Club interested in politics and other students in higher school sports, preparing them to take their place at the forefront of the nation's youth seeking Egypt's freedom from colonialism. A place was needed for them after graduation to spend their free time, so that each of them would not have to go back to his village and lose contact with them when the nation needed them to confront the British.

The idea of establishing Al Ahly Club was driven by patriotism, and it was believed in by men loyal to the nation. Omar Lotfy Bey met with patriotic figures and presented the idea of establishing Al Ahly Club to them, including his lifelong friend Mustafa Kamel and the Dean of the Faculty of Dar Al-Ulum. He also met with a group of Egyptian ministers, governors, and provincial directors from north to south, including those who had established the Egyptian economy and established the cooperative movement in Egypt. He also consulted a number of sheikhs from Al-Azhar, and they unanimously agreed to establish Al Ahly Club.

Indeed, Al Ahly Club was established and Omar Lotfy Bey was given the first example in Al Ahly Club of self-denial when he chose Alfred Mitchell Enes to as the first President the club, despite him being the one who had the idea of establishing it, in order to favour the club’s interests.