Haifa in the Late Ottoman Period 1864-1914: A Muslim Town in Transition

280 Pages·1998·5.717 MB·English

by  Mahmud Yazbak

HAIFA IN THE LATE OTTOMAN PERIOD
1864-1914
THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE
AND ITS HERITAGE
,
Politics Society and Economy
EDITED BY
SURAIYA FaROQHI AND H aLIL InALCIK
Advisory Board
Fikret Adanir * Idris Bostan * Amnon Cohen * Cornell Fleischer
Barbara Flemming * Alexander de Groot * Klaus Kreiser
Hans Georg Majer * Irène MélikofT * Ahmet Yaçar Ocak
Abdeljelil Temimi * Gilles Veinstein * Elizabeth Zachariadou
VOLUME 16
✓ s
'«8*
HAIFA IN THE LATE
OTTOMAN PERIOD
1864-1914
A Muslim Town in Transition
MAHMOUD YAZBAK
' f 68*'
BRILL
LEIDEN • BOSTON • KÖLN
1998
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Yazbak, Mahmud.
Haifa in the late Ottoman period, 1864-1914 : a Muslim town in
transition / by Mahmoud Yazbak.
p. cm. — (The Ottoman Empire and its heritage, ISSN
1380-6076 ; v. 16)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 9004110518 (alk. paper)
1. Haifa (Israel)—History—19th century. 2. Palestinian Arabs-
-Israel—Haifa—History—19th century. I. Title. II. Series.
DSI 10.H28Y39 1998
956.94*603—dc21 98-14405
CIP
Die Deutsche Bibliothek - dP-Einheitsaufhahme
Yazbak, Mahmoud:
Haifa in the late Ottoman period, 1864-1914 ; a Muslim town in
transition / by Mahmoud Yazbak. - Leiden ; Boston ; Köln : Brill, 1998
(llie Ottoman Empire and its heritage ; Vd. 16)
ISBN 90-04-11051-8
ISSN 1380-6076
ISBN 90 04 11051 8
O Copyright 1998 by Koninklijke Brill nv, Leiden, The Netherlands
AU rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written
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Fees are subject to change.
PRINTED IN THE NETHERLANDS
For Kawthar, ‘Abdallah, ‘Ammär, Hiba and Haya

CONTENTS
Preface......................................................................................... xi
List of Tables............................................................................... xiii
List of Maps................................................................................ xiv
Note on Transliteration............................................................. xv
Introduction................................................................................. 1
Chapter One: Haifa Prior to 1864 ........................................... 7
Early History......................................................................... 7
Dähir al-TJmar...................................................................... 13
Ahmad Päshä al-Jazzär......................................................... 16
Ibrahim Päshä and the Egyptian Occupation..................... 18
Support of the non-Muslim Population........................... 20
Administrative Reforms.................................................... 22
Toward the Vilayets Law........................................................ 25
Chapter Two: The Haifa Qadä* Administration....................... 28
The Vilayets Law of 1864...................................................... 28
The Qâ’imaqâm........................................................................ 31
The Treasury......................................................................... 32
The Administrative Council—Majlis idarat al-qadä’.............. 33
Establishment.................................................................... 33
Spheres of Activity............................................................ 36
Composition...................................................................... 39
Elected Muslim Members............................................. 40
Elected Christian Members.......................................... 42
The Judiciary......................................................................... 45
The Sharfa Court.............................................................. 46
Officers of the Court.................................................... 46
Promotion Procedures.................................................. 51
Capacity........................................................................ 55
The Mçâmi Court............................................................. 64
Composition.................................................................. 65
Officers of the Court.................................................... 67
Central Government Institutions.......................................... 68
vin CONTENTS
Finançai Administration................................................... 68
The Registry for Population {nußs) and Property (amlâk) 73
The Board of Education................................................... 74
Numerical Expansion....................................................... 75
The Municipality................................................................... 76
The Municipal Council.................................................... 76
Spheres of Activity............................................................ 77
Municipal Council Members by Religious Affiliation .... 81
The Mukhtâr............................................................................ 83
The Council of Elders........................................................... 86
Chapter Three: Demography.................................................... 89
The Population of the Qadä*................................................. 89
According to the Sälnämes................................................. 89
According to Ottoman Censuses..................................... 94
According to the Schumacher Census............................. 96
According to the Sijill of the Haifa Shari'a Court............. 98
The Population of the Town................................................ 99
According to the Sälnämes and Schumacher................... 99
According to Consular Reports....................................... 102
According to Travelogues................................................. 103
According to Local Sources............................................. 104
According to Secondary Sources..................................... 106
Expansion: Natural Growth and Immigration..................... 109
Chapter Four: Elite Society....................................................... 112
Methodology.......................................................................... 115
Muslim Elite Families........................................................... 119
Officeholders by Place of Origin..................................... 120
Social Standing and Place of Origin............................... 123
'Ulamä* Elite Families........................................................ 127
Non-'Ulamä* Elite Families............................................... 139
Social Mobility—Between <Ilmiyya and QaUmiyya................ 153
Christian Elite Families......................................................... 158
Chapter Five: The Social Status of Muslim Women.............. 163
Marriage and Divorce........................................................... 167
Inheritance............................................................................. 177
Economic Activities............................................................... 182
CONTENTS IX
Chapter Six: Intercommunal Relations.................................... 189
Neighborhoods....................................................................... 189
Settlement and Expansion................................................ 189
1830-1870...................................................................... 189
1870-1905...................................................................... 194
1905-1914...................................................................... 199
Neighbors................................................................................ 201
Wedged Apart: Muslims and Christians.......................... 201
Similar/Dissimilar: Muslims and Jews............................. 212
Collision: Muslims and Templars.................................... 222
Epilogue....................................................................................... 232
Glossary....................................................................................... 235
Bibliography................................................................................ 243
Index............................................................................................ 251