Islam Under the Palestine Mandate

265 Pages·2017·3.56 MB·English

by  Nicholas E. Roberts

NicholasE.RobertsisAssociateProfessorofHistoryandco-chairofthe
InternationalandGlobalStudiesprogramatTheUniversityoftheSouth,
Sewanee, Tennessee.Heholds a PhD fromthe joint HistoryandMiddle
East and Islamic Studies program at New York University. His research
articles have appeared in the Journal of Palestine Studies, the Arab Studies
JournalandHistoryCompass,andhehasreceivedseveralawards,including
aFulbrightfellowshipandaLadyDavisfellowshiptoconductresearchin
IsraelandPalestine.
“Islam under the Palestine Mandate lucidly explores why and how the British
establishedanewsetofIslamicinstitutionsinmandatoryPalestine,including
the Supreme Muslim Council and the position of Grand Mufti. A valuable
contributiontoscholarshiponmodernPalestine,thisstudyalsoilluminatesthe
linksbetweencolonialruleandsectarianism.”
ZacharyLockman,ProfessorofMiddleEasternand
IslamicStudiesandofHistory,NewYorkUniversity
“OnemightwellaskifyetanotherbookonBritishmandatePalestineisneeded.
Inthiscase,theverdictisverymuch‘yes.’NicholasE.Roberts’bookprovidesa
much-needed corrective to a topic too often understood solely in the context
of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Roberts resituates Palestine’s mandatory
history within a contemporaneous context, one reflective of British imperial
policiesaimedatcontrollingMuslimmajoritysubjectpopulations – ofwhich
Palestinians were but one. British colonial actors understood Islam as
constitutingbothapotentialbasisofoppositionthatneededtobemanaged,and
ameansofcounteringburgeoningnationalistmovements,oftenenough,viathe
creation of religious institutions (such as the Supreme Muslim Council) that
reifiedreligiouscommunitiesandtraditions.”
ErikFreas,AssistantProfessorofModernMiddleEastHistory,
BoroughofManhattanCommunityCollege,
CityUniversityofNewYork
“Writers on the modern Middle East still too often assume that ethno-
nationalistconflictinpre-1948Palestineisbestunderstoodasauniquecase,
inisolationfromdevelopmentselsewhereinthecolonialworld.Buckingthis
trend, Nicholas E. Roberts places the Palestine Mandate authority’s
machinations squarely in dialogue with those of British administrators
elsewhereintheempire.Indoingso,heexposeshowcolonialstrategiesofrule
embracing Muslim socio-political institutions criss-crossed the globe. In
Palestine, these strategies would exacerbate fault lines both within the
Palestinian Arab community and, ultimately, between Palestinians and
Zionists. The success with which Roberts has mined the archives to cast
lightonthesemanifoldconnectionsmakesthisbookamust-readnotonlyfor
MiddleEastscholars,butallthoseinterestedintheintersectionofIslamand
nationalismincontemporarypolitics.”
PaulSedra,AssociateProfessor, DepartmentofHistory,
SimonFraserUniversity
ISLAM UNDER
THE PALESTINE
MANDATE
Colonialism and the Supreme
Muslim Council
N E. R
ICHOLAS OBERTS
For Mary, Will, and Jack, whose love sustains me
Publishedin2017by
I.B.Tauris&Co.Ltd
London•NewYork
www.ibtauris.com
Copyrightq2017NicholasE.Roberts
TherightofNicholasE.Robertstobeidentifiedastheauthorofthisworkhasbeen
assertedbytheauthorinaccordancewiththeCopyright,DesignsandPatentsAct1988.
Allrightsreserved.Exceptforbriefquotationsinareview,thisbook,oranypartthereof,
maynotbereproduced,storedinorintroducedintoaretrievalsystem,ortransmitted,
inanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recordingorotherwise,
withoutthepriorwrittenpermissionofthepublisher.
Everyattempthasbeenmadetogainpermissionfortheuseoftheimagesinthisbook.
Anyomissionswillberectifiedinfutureeditions.
Referencestowebsiteswerecorrectatthetimeofwriting.
LibraryofModernMiddleEastStudies57
ISBN:9781784531355
eISBN:9781786721273
ePDF:9781786731272
AfullCIPrecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
AfullCIPrecordisavailablefromtheLibraryofCongress
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PrintedandboundbyCPIGroup(UK)Ltd,Croydon,CR04YY
CONTENTS
List of Plates vi
A Note on Transliteration viii
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction 1
1. Islam under Empire 19
2. Building a Religious System 42
3. Islam and Politics in Palestine 66
4. The Mufti and the Supreme Muslim Council 96
5. Religion and Politics at the Western Wall 118
6. The Fall of the Supreme Muslim Council 149
Conclusion 169
Notes 177
Bibliography 225
Index 239
LIST OF PLATES
Plate1A erialview of Jerusalem in1931 with al-Aqsa mosque and the
Dome of the Rock in the foreground. Library of Congress, Prints &
Photographs Division, LC-USZ62-137058.
Plate2TheDomeoftheRockfromtheNortheast.LibraryofCongress,
Prints & Photographs Division, LC-M361-375A.
Plate3LibraryofCongress,Prints&PhotographsDivision,LC-M32-P-46.
Plate 4T he British arrival in Jerusalem, December 1917. Library of
Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-M31- 1844.
Plate 5T hree “fathers” of mandatory Palestine: Field-Marshall Lord
EdmundAllenby (l.),LordArthurBalfour(c.),andHighCommissioner
Sir Herbert Samuel (r.) at the dedication of Hebrew University,
March 1925. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division,
LC-M32- B-430.
Plate 6M uhammad Hajj Amin al-Husayni, mufti of Jerusalem,
1921–37 and president of the Supreme Muslim Council, 1922–37.
Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-M33-4150.
Plate 7T he calm before the storm: the Yorkshire military band
preceding the Nabi Musa procession, April 1920. Library of Congress,
Prints & Photographs Division, LC-M31-14636.
LISTOF PLATES vii
Plate8BritishshowofforceinJerusalemaftertheWesternWallriotsof
1929.LibraryofCongress,Prints&PhotographsDivision,LC-M33-4138.
Plate 9Notable politicsinaction:the 1930ArabDelegationtoLondon.
LibraryofCongress,Prints& PhotographsDivision,LC-M32-4149.
Plate10 MembersoftheArabHigherCommitteein1936,ayearbefore
the mufti’s escape from the country. Library of Congress, Prints &
PhotographsDivision,LCM33-9157.
A NOTE ON TRANSLITERATION
ThisworkgenerallyfollowstheInternationalJournalofMiddleEastStudies
systemoftransliterationfromArabicintoEnglish.Forthesakeofclarity,
I have used commonly accepted Anglicized versions of Arabic words,
personal names and place names, while typically providing an IJMES
transliterationinbrackets ontheirfirst use.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thisbookwouldnothavebeenpossiblewithouttheencouragementand
generosity of many people. At New York University, where this project
began, I benefited greatly from the inspiration and encouragement of
KhaledFahmy,MichaelGilsenan,YonniKotsonis,andespeciallyZachary
Lockman whose support and advice were essential for the completion of
thisbook.IwouldalsoliketothankLaurenBentonandManuGoswami
fortheirilluminatingandusefulcommentsonmydissertation.Iamalso
grateful to my fellow students at NYU for pushing me to defend and
rethink my ideas and for motivating me with theirown research. I have
particularly cherished the friendship, advice, and assistance that I have
receivedovertheyearsfromPaulSedra,NoahHaiduc-Dale,LiatKozma,
and Shana Minkin.
MuchofthewritingforthisbookwasdonewhileItaughtatCarroll
University (ne´e Carroll College) and at Sewanee: The University of the
South,whereIcurrentlywork.Besideshelpingmeestablishacareerasa
professor of Middle Eastern history during a time of great difficulty in
the academic job market, I am forever grateful to these institutions for
surrounding me with such inspiring and supportive colleagues. While
therearemanypeoplewhohavehelpedmeattheseinstitutions,Iwould
particularly like to thank the departmental chairs who have supported
myresearchandteaching:KimberlyReddingatCarrollandJohnWillis,
Harold Goldberg, and Woody Register at Sewanee. Most importantly,
my work has been immeasurably improved by the friendship and close
working relationship I have with Roger Levine and Kelly Whitmer at
Sewanee.Theirgoodcheer,unfailingsupport,andcriticalinsightshave
made me a better scholar and teacher.