Empire of the Hajj: Pilgrims, Plagues, and Pan-Islam under British Surveillance,1865-1926

211 Pages·2017·5.82 MB·English

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History Theses Department of History
7-16-2007
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Michael Christopher Low
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Low, Michael Christopher, "Empire of the Hajj: Pilgrims, Plagues, and Pan-Islam under British
Surveillance,1865-1926." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2007.
doi: https://doi.org/10.57709/1059628
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
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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.

-‘Alī Sharī‘atī, 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). In reality, however, my affection and
admiration for him are tremendous. His assistance in locating pilgrimage-related verses
from among the masters of classical Persian poetry as well as his guidance in the
translation of the plague-related portions of Safarnāmih-i Mīrzā ‘Alī Khān Amīn al-
Dawlah have been particularly vital to this project.
Along the way, I have also been fortunate enough to have received critical
comments and support from a variety of leading world historians and specialists of
Middle Eastern studies from other universities across the country. During my first
presentation of the research that would ultimately become Chapter 3 at Columbia
University’s graduate student conference, “Crossing Boundaries, Spanning Regions: