The Ottomans and the Ismaʿilis (1850-1920): Imperial relations with an inter-imperial community

Thesis

This thesis examines the changing relationship between the Ottoman state and the Ismaʿilis of Syria from the middle of the 19th century until the end of World War I. It approaches the Ismaʿili community’s new links with an imam in Bombay, the Aga Khan III, by entangling local society and politics with larger interregional trends, such as Pan-Islam, religious networks, and imperial citizenship. The Ismaʿilis attempted to refashion themselves through their newfound belonging to an emerging global religious community and also sought to present themselves as loyal Ottoman citizens entitled to constitutional rights and protections. The Ottoman state, however, viewed the community and their connection to the Aga Khan with suspicion, much as it had other groups with ties to foreign powers, like the Iraqi Shiʿa, Maronites, or the Armenians. The Aga Khan, meanwhile, continued his centralising reforms of the disparate Ismaʿili communities across Asia and Africa. These machinations came to a head at the outbreak of World War I, when the Aga Khan, as an Allied wartime propagandist, and the Ottomans, on the side of the Central Powers, each demanded clear signs of loyalty from the Syrian Ismaʿilis, who ultimately negotiated the dilemma on their own terms. It is overall the history of a local community negotiating inter-imperial rivalries, which offers a wider lens to explore Muslim networks and self-fashioning across political and ideological fault lines.

Authors: Merali, A

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-j0kkngq1k
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: Syria; Aga Khan; Salamiyya; Ottoman; India; Ismaʿili
• Subjects: Aga Khans; Middle East; Ismailites; British--India--History; Turkey--History--Ottoman Empire, 1288-1918; History, Modern