UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Santa Barbara Protestant Missions, Seminaries and the Academic Study of Islam in the United States A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Religious Studies by Caleb D. McCarthy Committee in charge: Professor Juan E. Campo, Chair Professor Kathleen M. Moore Professor Ann Taves June 2018 The dissertation of Caleb D. McCarthy is approved. _____________________________________________ Kathleen M. Moore _____________________________________________ Ann Taves _____________________________________________ Juan E. Campo, Committee Chair June 2018 Protestant Missions, Seminaries and the Academic Study of Islam in the United States Copyright © 2018 by Caleb D. McCarthy iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS While the production of a dissertation is commonly idealized as a solitary act of scholarly virtuosity, the reality might be better expressed with slight emendation to the oft- quoted proverb, “it takes a village to write a dissertation.” This particular dissertation at least exists only in light of the significant support I have received over the years. To my dissertation committee Ann Taves, Kathleen Moore and, especially, advisor Juan Campo, I extend my thanks for their productive advice and critique along the way. They are the most prominent among many faculty members who have encouraged my scholarly development. I am also indebted to the Council on Information and Library Research of the Andrew C. Mellon Foundation, which funded the bulk of my archival research – without their support this project would not have been possible. Likewise, I am grateful to the numerous librarians and archivists who guided me through their collections – in particular, UCSB’s retired Middle East librarian Meryle Gaston, and the Near East School of Theology in Beriut’s former librarian Christine Linder. Additionally worthy of mention are the numerous colleagues and friends who offered not only scholarly support, but also commiseration and reminders of joy amidst the doldrums of writing. There are too many to name, but I make special mention of Aaron, Rico, Josh, Peter, Liz, Gwen and Andrew. Finally, I thank my wonderful parents who have encouraged me tirelessly, not only on this project, but in general to live a life full of curiosity and empathy in whatever forms that might take. احلمد هلل iv VITA OF CALEB D. MCCARTHY March 2018 EDUCATION 2018 PhD, Religious Studies, University of California Santa Barbara. 2011 MA, Religious Studies, University of California Santa Barbara. 2007 BA, History; Middle Eastern Studies (Hebrew), University of Utah. TEACHING EXPERIENCE University of California Santa Barbara Teaching Associate (Instructor of Record) Islamic Traditions (Upper Division), Department of Religious Studies, 2015, 2017, 2018. Introduction to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (Lower Division), Department of Religious Studies, 2013 & 2014. California Lutheran University Adjunct Instructor Muslims in the Modern World (Upper Division), Department of Religion, 2017. GRANTS, FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS Research Fellowships 2014 Graduate Division Dissertation Fellowship, University of California Santa Barbara. 2013 Andrew Mellon Fellowship for Dissertation Research in Original Sources, CLIR, 2013-14. 2013 Humanities Research Assistantship, University of California Santa Barbara, 2013-14 (accepted in part). Honors and Awards 2015 The Professor Charles Wendell Memorial Award for Academic Achievement in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies. Religious Studies, UCSB. PUBLICATIONS Peer Reviewed Articles 2016 “‘The Islamic State is not Islamic:’ Terrorism, Sovereignty, and Declarations of Unbelief,” Critical Research on Religion 4:2, 2016; pp. 158-170. v ABSTRACT Protestant Missions, Seminaries and the Academic Study of Islam in the United States by Caleb D. McCarthy “Protestant Missions, Seminaries and the Academic Study of Islam in the United States” presents an institutional history of the influence of Christian missionaries on the development of Islamic Studies as an academic field during the late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century. The dissertation -- based on extensive archival research in the U.S. and Middle East -- argues that missionaries through their interactions with Muslims provided significant direction to both the theoretical and institutional foundations of Islamic studies in U.S. universities and seminaries, connecting American studies of Islam with European Orientalism, while simultaneously framing the study within their confessional and national horizons. This missionary scholarship, unlike most of that which came before it, valued religion as its primary analytical category and in turn emphasized Islam as a contemporary and globally diverse religion. Additionally, the missionary side of Islamic studies was instrumental in facilitating the participation of women and immigrant scholars, while also limiting the range of their involvement to particular dimensions of that study. Understanding the roots of Islamic Studies in the U.S. is essential to mapping its trajectory to the present, and is also instructive as a historical consideration of the relationship between Muslims and the West. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements …………………………………………………………………...…… iv List of Abbreviations …………………………………………………………………...… viii Introduction: The Study of Islam in the U.S. …………………………………………….…. 1 Chapter 1: The “Research Missionary” and the Study of Islam ...………………………… 24 Chapter 2: Islamic Studies in U.S. Seminaries and Colleges …….………..……………… 66 Chapter 3: Missionary Scholarship and the Study of Islam as Religion .………………... 107 Chapter 4: Missionary Women and the “Moslem Woman” ……………………………... 158 Chapter 5: “Voices from the Near East” and the Diversification of the Field ……………200 Conclusion: The Study of Islam in America ………………………………………….…. 249 Bibliography ……………………………………………………….…………………….. 258 vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ABCFM American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions AOS American Oriental Society CMS Church Mission Society IMC International Missionary Council PCUSA Presbyterian Church of the United States of America RCA Reformed Church of America SPG Society for Propagation of the Gospel UMC United Missionary Council UPCNA United Presbyterian Church of North America WBM Women’s Board of Missions ACFGC American College for Girls, Constantinople AUB American University of Beirut (originally SPC) AUC American University at Cairo CSC Cairo Study Center (renamed SOS) NBTS New Brunswick Theological Seminary NEST Near East School of Theology PTS Princeton Theological Seminary SOR School of Religion (Athens/Constantinople) SOS School of Oriental Studies (AUC) SPC Syrian Protestant College (renamed AUB) JAOS Journal of the American Oriental Society JRAS Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society MW The Moslem World (The Muslim World) RMM Revue du Monde Musulman viii INTRODUCTION THE STUDY OF ISLAM IN THE UNITED STATES On a warm July day in 1911, a middle-aged missionary opened with some trepidation a letter from the renowned Hungarian Islamicist Ignaz Goldziher. The letter extended an invitation for the missionary to join Goldziher in the afternoons and engage in a leisurely course of study – sure to include conversational walks in the nearby woods and mountains – on things Islamic.1 By 1911, Goldziher was recognized among the top tier of European scholars studying Islam and especially Islamic law and hadith. The missionary, Canon W.H.T. Gairdner, was in Germany having come precisely in search of such specialized knowledge at the encouragement of another prominent scholar, Duncan Black Macdonald, who had by that year established the first dedicated program for the study of Islam in the United States. Macdonald had introduced Gairdner to Dutch colonialist scholar Claude Snouck Hurgronje, who in turn had written an introduction to Goldziher suggesting Gairdner as a suitable pupil. This series of personal introductions highlights not only the network of connections between scholars of Islam in Europe and America, but more substantially its link to missionary training on the topic of Islam. Thirty years prior to that day in July, Islamic studies in America was virtually non- existent. A handful of schools offered coursework in Arabic that at times would assign the reading of Islamic texts such as the Qur’an and Hadith. Occasional articles appeared in the 1 Letter from Gairdner to Macdonald (July 17, 1911), Macdonald Collection Box 93: Folder 1918, 49125 [Hartford Seminary]. 1 pages of journals such as the Journal of the American Oriental Society (JAOS) discussing the tradition in some limited facet. In the popular realm, Islam served largely as a point of comparison to use in polemics against political and religious rivals. Thirty years following the letter, the study of Islam was embedded in an increasing number of academic departments within American colleges. There was an American-led English-language journal dedicated significantly to the topic of Muslims and their religious traditions: The Moslem World. And, while Islam was often still maligned in popular mediums, there were the beginnings of a push for interfaith discussion and dialogue within the United States. In what follows I argue that the dramatic changes in the academic landscape of American Islamic Studies were to a large degree directly linked to the history of Protestant missions to Muslims and related implementation of missionary training programs. Considering the connections between missions and scholarship serves as a