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Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6” x 9” black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. ProQuest Information and Leaming 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 UMI* ESCHATOLOGY AS POLITICS, ESCHATOLOGY AS THEORY: MODERN SUNNI ARAB MAHDISM IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Timothy R. Furnish, M.A.R. The Ohio State University 2001 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Professor Jane Hathaway, Adviser Professor Sam Meier viser Professor Joseph Zeidan " Department of Histdry UMI Number: 3011060 UMI UMI Microform 3011060 Copyright 2001 by Bell & Howell Information and Leaming Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Bell & Howell Information and Leaming Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Copyright by Timothy R. Furnish 2001 ABSTRACT Mahdism, the nearest Islamic analog to messianism. Is generally seen by scholars as operative within Shî'Ism but not within Sunnlsm. To the extent that the existence of Mahdism within Sunnî Islam Is acknowledged. It Is usually portrayed as being primarily the province of the past, and/or of only marginal elements In the modern Islamic world. These stereotypes are false. There Is a continuing belief among many of the world's Sunnî Muslims In the Mahdl—the "rightly-gulded one"—who will come near the end of time to cooperate with the returned prophet Jesus In combating the forces of evil and usher In a world-wide Islamic state. The evidence marshaled for this observation Is drawn from an analytical survey of a selected number of modem Arablc-language works dealing with the Mahdl written since the defining event of modern Arab history, the Six-Days War of 1967. An examination of such books, both pro- and antl-Mahdlst, reveals that the Idea of the Mahdl Is very much alive and well In the Sunnî Arab world today. An evaluation of the most Influential and successful Mahdlst movements In Islamic history—the 'Abbâsids, Fâtimids, Muwahhlds and Sudanese Mahdlsts— II reveals a nine-point paradigm for analyzing such movements across space and time: overt Mahdist claims, eschatological/utopian tenor, attempts to seize political power, Shî'î influences, peripheral origins, social justice orientation, 'ulamâ'^ leadership, sufi involvement and conscious recapitulation of Prophetic models (particularly the hijrah). Modern Sunnî Arab Mahdism exhibits some of these characteristics but, since the last Mahdist attempt to seize power felled in 1979, the belief has been relegated to the realm of abstraction. As such, it can be seen in a number of different ways: as a brand of fundamentalist Islam; as an eschatological meta­ conspiracy theory; as a means of politically empowering those on the Islamic peripheries; as a yearning for social justice; as a religious fentasy; and as a malleable ideology for opposing any regime. Besides its abstraction, modern Mahdism exhibits two other characteristics that distinguish it from its articulation in the past: utilization of Christian, particularly Protestant, eschatological theorizing; and a heavy dose of anti-'Zionist" propaganda. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my adviser Jane Hathaway for her time, invaluable suggestions and incisive criticism, as well as for exhibiting the patience of Job. I also owe a great debt of gratitude to Dona Straley and Pat Visel. Their assistance in finding Mahdist-related works, and in chasing down cites both elusive and obscure, was vital; so, too, was their moral support. Leila Rupp provided encouragement and assistance when I was at the lowest period of my graduate study. For that, I am grateful. Thanks to Joby Abernathy for taking care of the requisite paperwork and other bureaucratic hurdles long-distance. The prayers, encouragement and motivation of all my friends have been critical, but I particularly wish to thank Randy and Cassie Kline, Dan Hanson and Fr. Chuck Treadwell in this respect. This dissertation would never have been completed without the love, support, motivation and formatting skills of my wife, Davina. Thank you, dear. Thomas à Kempis wrote, "On the day of judgment we will not be asked what we have read." I f that happens to change, I am now prepared. Most of all I wish to thank God for His grace and support. iv VITA August 10, 1960..........................................Born - Covington, Kentucky 1989 ............................................................M.A.R. Religion, Concordia Seminary 2000 to present ...........................................Adjunct Instructor, World History Georgia Perimeter College Dunwoody, Geogia 1995 to 1999............................................... Graduate Teaching Associate The Ohio State University 1991 to 1994............................................... Title V I Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellow The Ohio State University PUBLICATIONS 1. T. Furnish, "Islam ." Encyclopedia o f M illennialism and M illennial Movements. New York and London: Routledge, 2000. Pp. 187-192. 2. T. Furnish, "Islam ic Eschatology and Politics Since the Six-Days War." Bulletin o f die Institute fo r the Study o f Islam in the Modem Worid. IV, 22. 3. T. Furnish, "Ibn Khaldun on the Mahdl: Skeptic or Believer?" Journai o f the Association o f Graduates in Near Eastern Studies. VII, 1 (Fall/Winter 1997): 16-22. FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: History Minor Fields: Islamic History African History World History VI LIST OF FIGURES Figure Pace 1. The Family of the Prophet Mul^ammad ................................................ 15 2. The S hi'ite Imams ............................................................................... 18 3. The 'Abbâsld Caliphate c. 800 CE ........................................................26 4. The Fâtimid Caliphate ........................................................................... 29 5. The Murâbit State and the Muwahhid Mahdîyah ..................................32 6. The Fâbmid, Murâbit and Muwahhid States in Geographical Perspective... 36 7. Egyptian Expansion into Sudan in the Nineteenth Century ......................... 99 8. The Sudan under Egyptian Rule ................................................................ 103 9. West African Jihads .................................................................................... 112 10. Nineteenth Century African Jihad States ................................................. 114 11. The Modern Sudan ...................................................................................143 12. Juhaymân al-' ütaybî. Leader of the Abortive Mahdist Takeover in Sa' ûdî Arabia .................................................................................................... 245 13. Muhammad Abd al-Qahtânî, Deceased Mahdist Claimant ...................... 247 14. Sa'ûdî Arabia in its Middle Eastern Context .............................................254 VII LIST OF SCHEMES Scheme Page 1. Typology of Muslim Approaches to Mahdist B elief ........................................8 vmi TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ........................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments .......................................................................................... iv Vita ................................................................................. V List of Figures ................................................................................................ vii List of Schemes ............................................................................................ vlii Chapters: One.....................................................................................................................1 I. Purpose, Scope, Sources and Methodology ....................................... 1 II. Sources and Development of Mahdism ............................................. 13 III. The Realization of Mahdism in Islamic H istory ................................ 21 IV. Ibn Khaldun on the Mahdi ................................................................ 35 V. The Concept o f Jihad in Mahdism .................................................... 46 VI. The Sudanese Mahdi: A Brief Overview .........................................