Pan-Islamism: Indian Muslims, the Ottomans and Britain (1877-1924)

by Azmi Özcan

This important study examines the Indo-Muslim attitude towards the Ottomans from the start of the Russo-Turkish war in 1877 until the end of the Caliphate in 1924. The period treated coincides with what is commonly described as the Pan-Islamic Movement; the British reaction to the Pan-Islamic developments is also discussed extensively.
No comprehensive study to date has dealt with the nature of the relations between the Ottomans and other Muslims, and therefore this work provides new historical, religious and political perspectives on the modern history of Indian Muslims. In addition to Indian, Pakistani, Ottoman and British archival material, publications such as diaries, memoirs, newspapers and books have been incorporated, including writings in Urdu which are generally inaccessible to most historians studying late nineteenth-century Ottoman history.

240 pages, Leather Bound

First published May 1, 1997

Reviews

[Humza · Rating 4 out of 5]

During Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent visit to Pakistan Imran Khan joked that if he wanted to, Erdogan could win the next election for Prime Minister in Pakistan. He even said that he had never seen Pakistani Parliament so united in support of someone. Although said jokingly, this statement was a reflection of the historical connection between the Muslims of the Subcontinent and Turkey. This book emphasizes that this brotherly relationship was most clearly exemplified in the Khilafat Movement of the 1920s. However the common ground goes even further back than that. The Mughals themselves were Chataghai Turks and the Urdu language derives its name from the Turkish word meaning “Army”. This book highlights the material, moral, and spiritual support given to the Ottomans from the Muslims of the Subcontinent. It also explains in detail the scholarly and political activism of the Muslim intelligentsia there (many of whom would go on to advocate for the creation of Pakistan). A common theme throughout the book is how these Muslims struggled to balance their dual status as British subjects and sincere believers interested in Islam as a political entity/worldview. Many times these coincided easily and proved to be no issue for the British government of India. An example of this was how the Muslims of the Subcontinent sent physicians, nurses, and material support to the front lines of the Russo-Turkish war as part of the Red Crescent Mission. As Britain was at best neutral (if not outright on the Turkish side) during this war, there was no conflict between the Muslims’ national and spiritual citizenship. However, near the end of the Ottoman Empire as it was being parceled out by Britain and other European powers, the Muslim support for their co-religionists proved to be an agitating and problematic presence for the British. Although the extent to which Muslim opposition to European designs on Ottoman lands had on actual policy is debatable, it nonetheless warranted official responses from the British Government. In many cases, England was forced to make concessions to its Muslim subjects such as guaranteeing the safeguard of the Haramayn. Additionally, this book argues that this support of the last great Muslim power amongst the Muslims of the Subcontinent was a unifying factor in an otherwise divisive time. Sunnis, Shias and other subgroups within each (Deobandis, “Moderates”, and even Loyalists to an extent) rallied around this issue in the interest of preservation of the Ottoman Empire. It is worth noting that this “Pan-Islamist” wave came at a time when the Ottoman and Muslim power in general was at a historic low. Many point to this as a way to downplay the significance of the Khilafat Movement and other related movements. However, I believe it highlights the exact opposite. It shows the sincerity of this kind of solidarity. At a time when Sultan Abdul Hamid’s Hijaz Railway was being blown to pieces by European backed militias in Arabia, members of the Muslim intelligentsia traveled from Lahore to London to desperately lobby for the protection and preservation of the Ottomans. At a time when most of the Muslim world happily erased Islam from their governing modus operandi, Muslims of the subcontinent were striving earnestly to figure out how it was to play a part in their future politics. In a land separated by so many thousands of miles, a spiritual bond behooved the Muslims to test the limits of their subject status. Although these movements didn’t necessarily result in the saving of the Ottoman Empire or stop secularization of the Muslim World, some of the brightest minds of Islam penned invaluable works about these issues that continue to be relevant to us today. The scholarly output of this tumultuous period left us with the some of the best works of Iqbal, Maulana Azad and so many others. This book argues that it was this cultivation of thought regarding a modern Islamic polity that acted as the catalyst for the future formation of Pakistan. However it was not just scholarly activity that resulted. This book shows multiple records of the very real and material support from the Muslims of the Subcontinent to Turkey. The support from Subcontinent was so sincere and at times even desperate that it continued even until the early stages of Ataturk’s reign. Although initially supportive of him as “Saif ul Islam”, Ataturk’s true nature quickly turned Muslims world-wide away. During a recent visit to Istanbul, a friend pointed to the National Bank of Istanbul building (the first interest-bearing bank in Anatolia’s history established by Ataturk) and mentioned that ironically much of the initial funding came from the donations from Muslims of the subcontinent. Of course, these people did not know (and could not have wanted) their hard earned money going to such an institution. However, it underscores the deep historical ties between the two nations. To this day, one can go to Maulana Rumi’s Mazar in Konya and visit an honorary tomb for “Muhammed Ikbal”. Although much has changed since poor widows from Peshawar were sending their bangles to Istanbul as donations to the Hijaz Railway, the spiritual solidarity that animated those acts of charity remain. It is a solidarity that transcends nationalism, culture, language, and at times even apparent self interest.

[J.M. Hushour · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a very messy book. There is no clearly stated goal or intent here so one can only infer from the juicy tidbits sprinkled throughout the book that this is an attempt to write a history of the relationship between Indian and Ottoman Muslims during the last half century of the latter's existence within an empire. The "pan-Islamism" of the title is a shill for the mess. Ozcan disputes the existence of such a concept throughout the entire book (Abdulhamid used it as a clever power play against the British;the British and other Europeans made most of it up as an fake existential threat to Europe, read: imperialism, etc) but then talks about pan-Islamism delineated the Indian-Ottoman relationship? Huh? Confusing and badly edited, with errors in dates and many unreadable sentences. Come to this with a lot of background on Indian Islamism. That said, the guy did a shitload of research in archives and has some awesome bits: Abdulhamid reaching out to Shi'a? The Real Al-Afghani, etc.

[Mutefennin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Azmi Ozcan's book is an admirable example of this new approach to late ottoman history... Ozcan's book is through. It covers every relevant detail to its topic and puts these details into a well thoughtout framework. Sükrü Hanioglu. IJMES VOl.31, No1, Feb 1999.

The Indian romance with the Ottoman Empire has been known from British and Indian sources, but Özcan fleshes out the story - and a fascinating one it is - with information from the Turkish archives. Second, Özcan shows how the Ottoman Empire filled this same role for a variety of other Muslim countries-such as the khanates of Central Asia and distant Atjeh (in today's Indonesia).
Daniel Pipes,Middle East Quarterly,June 1999