Pan-Islamism: Indian Muslims, the Ottomans and Britain (1877-1924) (Ottoman Empire and Its Heritage - Politics, Society and Economy , No 12) (Hardcover)

by Azmi Ozcan (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
'"There are a few works on the relations between the Ottomans and the Indian muslims. The existing ones however, mainly based on the English sources. The fact that the Ottoman archival material used for the first time in a study dealing also with the modern history of the Indian muslims vis a vi the British and the Ottomans, makes this study indispensable for those who are interested in the history of respective lands. Therefore Dr. Ozcan's work is a great contribution and deserves every credit.'
Prof. Dr. Nejat Gvy]ng, "The Journal of the Ottoman Studies, 1988.


Product Description
This important study examines the Indo-Muslim attitude towards the Ottomans from the start of the Russo-Turkish war in 1877 until the end of the Caliphate in 1924. The period treated coincides with what is commonly described as the Pan-Islamic Movement; the British reaction to the Pan-Islamic developments is also discussed extensively. No comprehensive study to date has dealt with the nature of the relations between the Ottomans and other Muslims, and therefore this work provides new historical, religious and political perspectives on the modern history of Indian Muslims. In addition to Indian, Pakistani, Ottoman and British archival material, publications such as diaries, memoirs, newspapers and books have been incorporated, including writings in Urdu which are generally inaccessible to most historians studying late nineteenth-century Ottoman history.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 226 pages
• Publisher: Brill Academic Publishers (May 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9004106324
• ISBN-13: 978-9004106321
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,527,764 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Its a great contribution and an indispensable source., June 21, 1999

By A Customer

...There are a few works on the relations between the Ottomans and the Indian muslims. The existing ones however, mainly based on the English sources. The fact that the Ottoman archival material used for the first time in a study dealing also with the modern history of the Indian muslims vis a vi the British and the Ottomans, makes this study indispensable for those who are interested in the history of respective lands. Therefore Dr. Ozcan's work is a great contribution and deserves every credit....

Prof. Dr. Nejat Göyünç The Journal of the Ottoman Studies, XVIII, 1988, pp 285-288. (Book Reviews)

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pan-Islamism, August 5, 2001

By	Daniel Pipes, Middle East Forum, Philadelphia (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews

The Indian romance with the Ottoman Empire has been known from British and Indian sources, but Özcan fleshes out the story - and a fascinating one it is - with information from the Turkish archives. First, he shows that the Indian connection did not begin, as is usually thought, in the 1870s, but goes back to the 1530s, when the Ottomans sent a fleet of two thousand men to Diu and Indian Muslims expressed a desire for Ottoman suzerainty. By the 1550s, a cultural nexus had also grown up, so that a renowned Turkish architect was building in Agra and Delhi. It then continued; inn 1777, for example, the sultan of Malabar sought financial help from Istanbul.

Second, Özcan shows how the Ottoman Empire filled this same role for a variety of other Muslim countries-such as the khanates of Central Asia and distant Atjeh (in today's Indonesia). Interestingly, these states not only asked for Ottoman help (which they sometimes got-twenty battleships to Atjeh to fight the Portuguese in 1556) but also offered their own services (the khan of Bukhara offered all help in 1719 against Russia).

With the collapse of Muslim power in India in 1857, a longing developed there for the symbols of Turkish sovereignty, which the British agilely exploited their own purposes (for example, prevailing on the Ottoman sultan to encourage Indians to accept British rule). Sultan Abdülhamit II (r. 1876-1908) put great stress on his pan-Islamic role, going so far as to assert that "one word" from him "would be enough for starting a jehad against ... the Christians." Of course, when war came in 1914, that "one word" proved not to be enough, and although the Indian Muslims remained attached to their Turkish coreligionists, they did not revolt against British rule. Contrarily, the Indians could do nothing to stop Kemal Atatürk from abolishing the caliphate in 1924, an act that effectively cut the links between Turkey's and India's Muslims.

Middle East Quarterly, June 1999