Muslim Scholars and the Public Sphere in Mehmed Ali Pasha's
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Muslim Scholars and the Public Sphere in Mehmed Ali Pasha’s Egypt, 1801-1841 DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Patrick Scharfe Graduate Program in History The Ohio State University 2015 Dissertation Committee: Jane Hathaway, Advisor Carter Findley Scott Levi Copyright by Patrick Scharfe 2015 Abstract Although it is universally acknowledged that Islam was one of the pillars of the Ottoman Empire, modern scholars have placed little emphasis on Muslim scholars or the contested interpretations of sacred law (sharīʿa) in describing the empire’s political dynamics. In the early nineteenth century, however, both played a significant role in the debates that pervaded the empire and its provinces, especially those surrounding European-inspired military reform. Indeed, although often studied without regard for the Ottoman context, the case of early nineteenth-century Egypt exemplifies many of these trends. After the withdrawal of Napoleonic forces from Egypt in 1801, a series of Ottoman governors sought to impose a local analog to the reforms known as the nizam-ı cedid (“new order”), spearheaded in Istanbul by Sultan Selim III. Due partly to the opposition of many Muslim scholars (ʿulamāʾ), these efforts lacked legitimacy and fell victim to a popular uprising in 1805, led by scholars such as ʿUmar Makram. Rather than advocating a rejection of Ottoman rule by “native” Egyptians, the protestors acted on Ottoman religio-political ideology and opposed the ostensibly arbitrary rule of the reformists, for reasons similar to those of the rebels who overthrew Selim III in 1807. Many believed that the next governor, Mehmed Ali (governor of Egypt, 1805-1848), would govern in a more limited and just fashion, but Mehmed Ali’s regime was much more radical and invasive than any before. He succeeded in defanging public opinion by turning elite scholars against ii populist ones, particularly ʿUmar Makram, a man of obscure background who had become the head of the Prophet’s descendants in Egypt (naqīb al-ashrāf). Imposing military reform and peasant conscription, Mehmed Ali depended on sympathetic scholars to woo public opinion, which they did through manuscript chronicles and treatises; these treatises, written according to the logic of Islamic scholarship, attempted to convince a skeptical public of the regime’s compliance with sharīʿa. At least one treatise on behalf of military reform, written by an Algerian scholar visiting Cairo named Ibn al-ʿAnnābī (d. 1851), influenced Sultan Mahmud II’s chief scholarly ideologue, Esad Efendi, who translated the work shortly after it was written. Thus, although Mehmed Ali is often considered irreligious and credited with putting Egypt on a separate path, his official ideology was thoroughly dependent on religio-political appeals (including Turcophone Sufism) with pan-Ottoman validity. Mehmed Ali’s government still faced opposition from many Muslim scholars, such as Ḥasan al-Quwaysnī (d. 1838), who believed the new order was at odds with sacred law; however, earlier forms of public debate were no longer possible. Before 1830, scholars such as the chronicler al-Jabartī maintained their autonomy by relying on the wealth of countless endowments (Arabic waqf), the growth of which had been a symptom of decentralization and privatization in the empire. Under Mehmed Ali, such possessions were curbed, and many classically trained Muslim scholars had to enter government service in such fields as printing, writing for the official gazette, education, and medicine. Egypt had entered nineteenth-century modernity, but at great cost to the autonomy of its intellectuals. iii Dedication To my parents, for their love and encouragement iv Acknowledgments This dissertation would not have not been possible without the help of many very generous and intellectually stimulating friends and mentors. Long before I began this project, I benefited in many ways large and small from the academic environment at Ohio State University as a doctoral student. Since the very beginning of my graduate education, my advisor Jane Hathaway has been the formative influence on my academic and professional life, and she has influenced me in countless other ways too. I arrived at Ohio State at a young age, and I was fortunate to be able to absorb her insights not only in class, but also in many more conversations where I observed how a mature scholar approaches Egypt and the Ottomans specifically. I thank Prof. Hathaway especially for her painstaking comments and suggestions on my drafts, in addition to help with documents and concepts. Needless to say, this project would not have happened without her guidance. Carter Findley has also been a very influential presence in my graduate education. Prof. Findley took the time to voluntarily tutor a group of graduate students in Ottoman language and paleography, helping us look at some of the most interesting documents I have yet seen. Without this experience, I would have arrived in the Egyptian archives unable to read vast swathes of documents. Prof. Findley has also helped with specific documents since then, for which I am grateful. v Prior to my dissertation, I did not have the chance to work with Prof. Scott Levi, my third committee member, as much as I would have liked, but I have always appreciated his insights and genuineness. Another academic mentor whom I have benefited from is Selim Kuru of the University of Washington. Prof. Kuru is incredibly skilled at teaching paleography (at the beloved Ottoman and Turkish Summer School, on Cunda Island); he also helped me with certain documents that are significant for this dissertation. Professors John Brooke and Ying Zhang, both at Ohio State, also provided me with helpful guidance. The archival research contained in this dissertation was made possible by a year- long fellowship from the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE), administered by the wonderful Djodi Deutsch. In the Egyptian National Archives, Radi Mohamed Gouda was my indispensable key to survival in a sometimes alienating bureaucratic world. It was through Dr. Gouda’s expertise in reading very difficult court records that I was able to gain proficiency in that inexact science. His friendship and insights in a time of Egyptian instability, but also of hope, will not be forgotten. Prof. Sayyid Ashmawy of Cairo University served as my academic advisor during my time at ARCE (2011-2012) and provided me with useful references. Further grants from Ohio State’s Mershon Center allowed me to follow up the research that I began under the aegis of ARCE. Many other doctoral students also contributed to this project through their ideas, conversation, and generous help: Mohamed Abdou, Semra Bayraktar, Irfana Hashmi, Stephanie Honchell, Sanja Kadric, Ian Lanzilotti, Oscar Aguirre-Mandujano, Saba Nasseri, Doğa Öztürk, Junaid Quadri, Nir Shafir, and Ali Gibran Siddiqui. vi Vita June 2003 .......................................................William J. Fremd High School June 2007 .......................................................B.A. History, Northwestern University June 2010 .......................................................M.A. History, Ohio State University 2010 to present ..............................................Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of History, The Ohio State University Publications “Portrayals of the Later Abbasid Caliphate: A Reappraisal of the Buyid-Era Caliphs in Arabic Chronicles, 334/945-447/1055.” Journal of Abbasid Studies 1, no. 2 (2014): 108- 142. Fields of Study Major Field: History vii Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Dedication .......................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgments............................................................................................................... v Vita .................................................................................................................................... vii Note on Transliteration ....................................................................................................... 1 Introduction: Conceptualizing Islam in Ottoman Politics .................................................. 3 Chapter 1: Al-Azhar at the Beginning of the Nineteenth Century.................................... 39 Chapter 2: Religious Authority and Reform in Egypt, 1801-1805 ................................... 78 Chapter 3: Muslim Scholars in Power? Mehmed Ali’s Early Years .............................. 105 Chapter 4: Return to Centralization: Remaking Egypt’s Endowments .......................... 138 Chapter 5: Military and Political Reform in Islamic Discourse ..................................... 171 Chapter 6: The Pasha’s ʿUlamāʾ: Scholars and Sufis Linked to Mehmed Ali ............... 203 Chapter 7: Al-Azhar Under a Reforming Government ................................................... 234 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 256 Bibliography ................................................................................................................... 261 viii Note on Transliteration As a multilingual society, Ottoman Egypt had two dominant languages – Arabic and Ottoman