 Schölch asserts that Aqil contributed little to the socio @-@ economic development of Palestine , and was not a " benefactor of the peasants " . However , Aqil is described in a mostly positive light by modern @-@ day sources and in local tradition . In the Arab nationalist political atmosphere that followed the Ottoman Empire 's fall in 1917 , Aqil 's Arab identity and his struggles against the Ottomans contributed to the prevailing positive commemoration of his life . Palestinian Christians in particular remember him fondly for protecting Christians during his rule . 
