Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University History Theses Department of History 7-16-2007 Empire of the Hajj: Pilgrims, Plagues, and Pan-Islam under British Surveillance,1865-1926 Michael Christopher Low Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/history_theses Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Low, Michael Christopher, "Empire of the Hajj: Pilgrims, Plagues, and Pan-Islam under British Surveillance,1865-1926." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2007. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/history_theses/22 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of History at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in History Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. EMPIRE OF THE HAJJ: PILGRIMS, PLAGUES, AND PAN-ISLAM UNDER BRITISH SURVEILLANCE, 1865-1926 by MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER LOW Under the Direction of Stephen H. Rapp ABSTRACT From roughly 1865 to 1926, the forces of European imperialism brought the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca under the scrutiny of non-Muslim interests. The driving force behind this dramatic change was the expansion of the British Empire’s maritime supremacy in the Indian Ocean basin. With the development of steamship travel and the opening of the Suez Canal, colonial authorities became increasingly involved in the surveillance of seaborne pilgrims. During this period, the hajj came to be recognized as both the primary conduit for the spread of epidemic diseases, such as cholera and plague, and a critical outlet for the growth of Pan-Islamic networks being forged between Indian dissidents, pilgrims, and the Ottoman Empire. As a result, the British and Ottoman empires engaged in a struggle for control of the hajj, which would ultimately reshape both the hajj and the political landscapes of the Middle East and South Asia. INDEX WORDS: Anjuman-i Khuddam-i Ka‘ba, British Empire, Caliphate Cholera, Hajj, Hijaz, India, Indian Ocean World, International Sanitary Conferences, Islamic World, Kamaran Island, Khilafat Movement, Mecca, Ottoman Empire, Pan-Islam, Pilgrimage, Plague, Quarantine, Red Sea, Saudi Arabia, Sultan Abdul Hamid II, Yemen, World History, World War I EMPIRE OF THE HAJJ: PILGRIMS, PLAGUES, AND PAN-ISLAM UNDER BRITISH SURVEILLANCE, 1865-1926 by MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER LOW A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University 2007 Copyright by Michael Christopher Low 2007 EMPIRE OF THE HAJJ: PILGRIMS, PLAGUES, AND PAN-ISLAM UNDER BRITISH SURVEILLANCE, 1865-1926 by MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER LOW Major Professor: Stephen H. Rapp Committee: Donald M. Reid Electronic Version Approved: Office of Graduate Studies College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University August 2007 iv To the barefooted believer who, trapped in the toils of existence, remains thirsty for Zamzam To the awakened soul who, having seen the vision of an umma rising from the plain of Arafat, remains locked out of the Haram To the son of Abraham who, having declared the liberation from idols of the East and West, is forced to silent obedience before the gatekeepers of the Ka‘ba To the daughter of Hagar who Cannot find her footprints To the sister of Khadija who Searches her threshold in vain To the forgotten brother of Bilal who Longs for his voice To the cast-down gaze that seeks the path of the Prophets And to the expectant hands that rise in supplication. -‘Al ī Shar ī‘at ī, Hajj: Reflections on its Rituals v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Over the years I have accrued quite a long list of intellectual debts, for which mere words are undoubtedly an inadequate method of repayment. My intellectual curiosity was first kindled during my undergraduate years at the University of West Georgia under the tutelage of Ron Love. Through Ron’s efforts I became familiar with the fundaments of the historian’s craft and the history of European exploration and expansion, and became fascinated by the history of British imperialism in India and the Indian Ocean basin. As a result of his patient and fatherly encouragement, my eyes were also opened to the possibility of pursuing these interests at the graduate level. My interests were further nurtured and substantially altered by the three years that I spent as a secondary school educator in the DeKalb County School System, during which time I taught a course on the history and geography of Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. During these years I benefited greatly from summers spent traveling throughout Britain, Europe, Turkey, India, and West Africa. Perhaps more important, however, was the influence of my students, a high percentage of whom were immigrants and refugees hailing from Bosnia, Ethiopia, Somalia, Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Burma, and almost every corner of the globe. Many of these students were Muslims, bravely struggling to find their way in the Islamophobic atmosphere that prevailed in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. As I sought to combat the constant barrage of negative depictions of Islam in the media, I became something of an unofficial vi mentor for the school’s Muslim community. This valuable experience has irrevocably turned my intellectual interests toward the history and culture of Islamic civilization. Despite my naïve enthusiasm, when I entered the Master’s program at Georgia State University in 2003-2004, I would have never imagined taking on a project as ambitious as this thesis. I had originally intended to focus my attention primarily on Britain and imperialism, hoping that it would allow me to at least dabble in the history of India and the Islamic world later in my career. Fortunately, however, the first seminar that I attended at Georgia State was taught by Donald M. Reid, under whom I received first-rate training in both historiography and modern Middle Eastern history. Equally important was his willingness to nurture my interest in both the Middle East and India. He allowed me to construct a directed readings course, which largely revolved around a comparison between Britain’s colonial influence in Egypt and India. It was during this course that I stumbled upon the reference that ultimately led me to embark upon my current project. His long experience dealing with Thomas Cook’s operations in Egypt had made him aware of their role in the colonial-era pilgrimage trade. Don was immediately interested and supportive of my proposed line of research, and I also credit him for inspiring what has been the most life-altering decision of my academic career. As a result of his wise counsel and encouragement, I mustered the courage to begin studying Persian. After successfully surviving one year of Persian, I felt confident enough to begin my training in Arabic. Simply put, this decision has opened doors to research topics, fellowships, and travel opportunities that would have been unthinkable before. vii Similarly, my research would not have been possible without the constant intellectual companionship and friendship provided by Stephen H. Rapp, the director of our department’s program in World History and Cultures, whose dedication to thinking outside of conventional national and regional frameworks has been indispensable. Through him I have been initiated into the wider community of world historians interested in large-scale themes, such as cross-cultural exchanges, environmental and epidemiological histories, and seascapes. Our numerous conversations about the advantages and limitations of the area-studies system have also exerted an incredible amount of creative influence over this project’s purposeful transgression of the metageographical boundaries between the Middle East and South Asia. In addition to his position as an intellectual role model and trusted advisor, Steve has been my greatest advocate, constantly providing valuable introductions, writing countless letters of recommendation, nominating my work for awards, and assisting me in securing funding for overseas research. It is my sincerest hope that one day I can continue the silsila after the example that you have set for me. In addition to my two primary readers, I have benefited greatly from a large supporting cast of Georgia State faculty members, who have commented on this project at various stages of its development. In particular, John Iskander of the Religious Studies department has exerted significant influence over my research. Large sections of this work were written under his direction. Moreover, in many ways he has been my murshid to the subject of pilgrimage. His course on “Pilgrimage Across Religious Traditions,” which introduced me to the works of Victor Turner, lay at the heart of my theoretical conceptualization of the hajj . And in much the same way as Professor Rapp, John has viii become both a friend and mentor, always eager to help with recommendations, a sympathetic ear for my struggles with Arabic and Persian, long-term career advice, or a much-appreciated word of praise. Ian C. Fletcher and the members of the Trans-Empire Research Cluster have also provided valuable comments and sense of intellectual community. Christine Skwiot provided much-needed criticisms of the fellowship proposals that ultimately allowed me to conduct research in Yemen. A word of thanks is also due to my language professors. My Arabic instructors at Georgia State, Khalil Abdur Rashid and Teirab Ash-Shareef have given me a strong foundation in Arabic, which will undoubtedly allow me to expand this project during my doctoral studies. However, the greatest credit for my linguistic training goes to Emory University’s Hossein Samei, whose countless hours of patient and compassionate tutoring have been the decisive factor in my maturation as a student of Persian. For many months I half-heartedly joked that the difficulty of his class, in which I was the only non-heritage speaker, made him my greatest zālim (oppressor).