Tyranny and its Alternatives in Modern Arab Thought: Kawakibi Model. A timely study by Muhammad Jamal Tahhan on the thought of Abd al-Rahman al-Kawakibi (1854 or 1855 - 1902), the influential Syrian author and thinker, and a supporter of Arab sovereignty and Pan-Arabism. Among other works, Kawakibi authored critiques of despotism.