Muhammad ‘Abduh along with Jamal al-Din Al-Afghani (1838–1897) are widely considered as the co-founders of Muslim modernism, mainly in, though not confined to, Sunni Islam. An Egyptian jurist, theologian, exegete, grand mufti (Islamic legal counselor) of Egypt, journalist, and liberal religious reformer, he had a considerable role in the modernization of Al-Azhar, the most important center of Islamic learning in Sunni Islam and in Islamic activism in the whole Muslim world. He left a diverse and even seemingly paradoxical legacy behind him, ranging from salafism to liberalism.