ʻabdu'l-bahá also met muhammad abduh, one of the key figures of islamic modernism and the salafi movement, in beirut, at a time when the two men were both opposed to the ottoman "ulama" and shared similar goals of religious reform. rashid rida asserts that during his visits to beirut, ʻabdu'l-bahá would attend abduh's study sessions. regarding the meetings of ʻabdu'l-bahá and muhammad ʻabduh, shoghi effendi asserts that "his several interviews with the well-known shaykh muhammad ʻabdu served to enhance immensely the growing prestige of the community and spread abroad the fame of its most distinguished member."