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Ulama' in the 18Th Century

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Ulama' in the 18Th Century THE POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC FUNCTIONS OF THE 'ULAMA' IN THE 18TH CENTURY BY AFAF LUTFI AL-SAYYID MARSOT (Los Angeles) The late 1 8th century in Egypt was a turbulent and unsettled period which witnessed the rapid rise and fall of various mamluk beys. One of the noteworthy features of that age was the rise in the political and economic importance of the <ulam3' , which was to last until the advent of Muhammad "All in 1 80j . The "ulamd' therefore present a focal point for a socio-historical study of the age, and of a group which though belonging to the elite nonetheless had no direct authority in the state, save in religious and legal matters, and which while stemming from the people yet was not identified either with the mass or with the rulers. The intermediate status between the rulers and the ruled to which the ulama belonged made them unique, and characteristic of Islamic society, indeed intrinsic to it. Once muslim society began to transform itself and acquired western, secular traits, such as happened under Muham- mad 'All, it began to lose that feature of its social structure and the (ulamà' consequently declined in standing and in influence 1). In this brief study we shall attempt to examine the reasons for the increasing political and economic importance of the `ulama', which are closely related aspects, and also to examine at greater length the means by which the 'ulamd' acquired wealth. It is perhaps appropriate here to add a word of warning and explain that since one cannot study all levels of the 'ulamd' class because of an obvious dearth of material, we shall therefore concentrate on the ' 1) See author's articles, "The Role of the Ulamd) in Egypt during the Early Nineteenth Century", in P. M. Holt, Political and Social Change in Modern Egypt (London: 1968), and "The :Ulamd, of Cairo in the i8th and 19th Centuries", in N. Keddie ed., Scholars, Saints and Sufi.r (Los Angeles : 1972) for a more extensive treatment of the subject. 131 Cairene high "ulamal, notably those with some degree of influence in the city, for they were the ones to be mentioned in the chronicles, the biographies, and in the archives of the Cairo Nlabkama Sbar`iyya 1), our three main sources of information pertaining to these periods. The high "ulamd' comprised the rector of al-Azhar, the muftis of the schools, and other prominent scholars as well as the occupants of three positions which do not really pertain to the scholarly tradition but which form part of the religious hierarchy, namely the Marshal of the Notables, naqib al-asbrif, and the incumbent Shaikh al-Bakri and Shaikh the heads of two sufi orders, about whom we shall have more to add below. Since this is one of the first studies to be carried out with such an approach, the conclusions will necessarily have to be of a tentative nature, and hopefully they will stimulate interest in the subject, and further studies. The multiple roles the 'ulamd' played in muslim society varied with time and the conditions of government, but they were fairly consistent so that one can regard them as intrinsic to their functions and every bit as valuable as their primary roles of acting as educators, judges, muftis and the purveyors of religion in general. Their secondary roles, which were byproducts of their religious function within a muslim framework were politically those of advisors, confidantes, official messengers and negotiators, and public opinion makers and manipul- ators. Socially they served the whole population in as many different roles as were possible and necessary, from acting as guardians and bankers, to comforting the bereaved and entertaining the high and the mighty. Economically they also played a role which has not yet been fully explored, but which we shall sketch out here. a) Political Role Having already treated that aspect of the functions at greater length in other articles 2), I shall briefly summarize the s 1) The archives of the Mahkama Sharliyya in Cairo are an inexhaustible source of information for the social history of Egypt that has yet to be tapped. 2) See my articles in footnote 1 p. 130 and also "The Beginnings of Modernization .
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