Table Of ContentRELIGION, SOCIETY
AND THE STATE IN ARABIA
e
IRELIGION, SOCIETY
AND THE STATE IN ARABIA
THE HIJAZ UNDER OTTOMAN CONTROL, 1840-1908
WILLIAM OCHSENWALD
OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY PRESS * COLUMBUS
An earlier version of a portion of chapter 5, under the title “The
Commercial History of the Hijaz Vilayet, 1840-1908,” appeared in
Arabian Studies 6 (1982): 57-76; it is reprinted herein by permis
sion.
An earlier version of a portion of chapter 6, under the title “The
Slave Trade Controversy, 1840 1895,” appeared in Middle Eastern
Studies 16 (1980): 115-26; it is reprinted herein by permission.
An earlier version of a portion of chapter 7, under the title “The
Midda Massacre of 1858,” appeared in Middle Eastern Studies 13
(1977): 314-26; it is reprinted herein by permission.
Copyright© 1984 by the Ohio State Iniversity Press
All Rights Reserved.
LIBRARY OK CONGRESS CATALOGING IN \>\ IBI.ICATION DA TA
Ochsenwald, William.
Religion, society, and the state in Arabia.
Bibliography: p.
1. Heja/—History. I. Title.
DS248.H47028 1984 953'.8 84 7498
ISBN 0-8142-0366-3
CONTENTS
Preface ix
Abbreviations xv
PART I:
The Religious, Social, and Economic History of the Hijaz
Introduction: Religion, the Ottomans, and the Hijaz 3
Chapter 1: People and Places 10
Chapter 2: Religion 39
Chapter 3: Pilgrimage and Health 58
Chapter 4: Learning and Law 74
Chapter 5: Commerce 92
Chapter 6: Social Organization 113
PART II:
The Political History of the Hijaz
Chapter 7: Restoration and Rebellion, 1840-1858 131
Chapter 8: The Tranquil Amirate, 1859-1882 153
Chapter 9: Compromise Challenged, Established,
and Threatened Anew, 1883-1908 186
Conclusions 220
Appendix: Amirs of the Hijaz, 1840-1908 227
Glossary 228
Bibliography 229
Index 235
TABLES
1. Sufi Zawiyahs 43
2. Sheikhs of the Medina Haram 51
3. Numbers of Pilgrims , 61
4. Value ofjidda Imports and Exports to the Nearest
T.L. 1,000 94
5. Value of the Chief Jidda Imports to the Nearest T.L. 1,000 97
6. Steam Vessels at Jidda 100
7. Total Income and Expenditure for the Hijaz, in
Ottoman Pounds 171
8. Expenditures of the Jidda Eyalet, 1862/63, in Ottoman
Pounds 173
MAPS
11
The Hijaz and Nearby Areas
Towns, Villages, and Tribes of the Hijaz 25
PREFACE
RELIGION WAS THE CHIEF MOTIVATING FORCE in the social,
and perhaps in the political, history of western Arabia in the nine
teenth century. Secularizing European .reforms had little impact in
the period between 1840, when Egypt withdrew from the Hijaz and
the Ottomans reoccupied it, and 1908, when the future leader of
the Arab Revolt of 1916 became amir of Mecca.
The first pupose of this book is to examine the social and po
litical expressions of religion as seen in the region of Mecca, Jidda,
and Medina in order to establish the shape of human experience
in a setting dedicated to the transcendental. In this milieu where
Islam originated, it was at its most intense, for much of life was
determined by it. In a continuum based upon religious versus sec
ular values in society, the Hijaz was at the religious end. Others
have studied Middle Eastern societies dominated in the nineteenth
century by secularizers and dedicated to the restriction of the place
of religion in social activity and politics to a minor role. I hope to
present a picture of a society and its political structures in a chron
ological setting and geographical area that was unique but that
nevertheless can be useful for a deeper understanding of the Is
lamic faith in both the past and present.
Second, I hope to illuminate the nature of Ottoman imperial
rule in its Arab provinces in the last decades of its existence and,
in the process, shed some light on a major alternative to national
ism. The Ottoman Empire succumbed to secular, ethnic national
ism and to the armed might of the Entente Powers in World War I.
Yet if nineteenth-century Middle Eastern history is seen solely as a
prelude to the growth of twentieth-century nationalisms, the posi
tive aspects of the Ottoman Empire may be ignored. In its central
Arab lands, Ottoman provincial administration endured for four
centuries despite increasing external attacks, decentralization, de
population, and economic decay. Ottoman rule had supporters
and provided some benefits. The other side of the coin of modern
nationalism in the Middle East is the history of the prior successful
functioning of Ottoman institutions. To understand either the final
collapse of the empire or its long existence necessitates analyses
of the empire with attention both to the failings and to the suc
cesses of Ottoman rule. To date, most studies of Ottoman history
x PREFACE
that have dealt with provincial governments have not linked suc
cess with failure, or they have been so colored by nationalist prej
udice as to be nearly useless.
Modern nationalism has been the major cause of two world
wars and most of the extraordinary suffering and brutality that have
afflicted the twentieth century. The pro-nationalist views of Arab,
Turkish, and Western historians have denigrated Ottoman rule
and, by implication, its anti-national policies and religious loyal
ties. However, once again in the Middle East the possibility of large
political units being organized on religious rather than national
lines is being raised. The lessons of the past may be useful to those
engaged in analyzing this resurgence of Islam.
Although the Hijaz was both the birthplace of Arab political
independence and the religious center of the Muslim world, its
political history in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries is
nearly unknown. Trying to reconstruct the history of the Hijaz
brings to mind the fable of the blind seers and the elephant: each
perceives a different kind of being depending upon the informa
tion available to him. The rare Christian traveler who managed to
evade local authorities saw the holy cities during the pilgrimage as
religious centers; European consuls, who were restricted to Jidda,
knew merchants engaged in international trade; chroniclers and
later Arab nationalists concentrated on the rulers of Mecca from the
point of view of their later leadership of the Arab Revolt in 1916. If
the Hijaz in the modern period is to be properly understood, these
facets must be combined and two missing ingredients added: the
Ottoman part in Hijazi history and the religious, social, economic,
and health aspects of the life of the Hijaz. It is, however, easier to
prescribe such an approach than to follow it, particularly for a non-
Muslim who is not able to visit Mecca and Medina. Also, though
Ottoman records provide a rich source of information, they have
been difficult of access and poorly organized until recently.
I have not yet been able to locate the court records of Mecca,
Medina, and Jidda. Until these records are located, much of the
social, legal, and economic history of the Hijaz must remain un
known. Nor have I been able to use the manuscripts by Arifi Bey
cited by Ehud Toledano in his recent work on slavery. The Egyp
tian archives have not been consulted for this work; they undoubt
edly will be found to have much useful material that may alter
