Jamal Al-Afghani

Jamal Ad-Din Al-Afghani is so hard to classify or to categorize or label.  I am never sure how to label him.  Was he a revolutionary or a reactionary who cozied up to power, in Persia or in Constantinople? I was reading the account of Muhammad `Abduh by his student, Mustafa `Abdul-Raziq.  The charisma and impact of Afghani on his audience was immediate.  As soon as he set up shop in Cairo, he developed a large following.  There is much work to be done on Afghani, even after the publication of Nikki Keddie's work.