Pan-Islamism and Modernisation During the Reign of Sultan Abdulhamid II, 1876--190

The reign of Sultan Abdulhamid II (r. 1876-1909) is one of the most controversial in today's historiography. Historians often depict him as a tyrant who instrumentalised Islam as a means of enhancing and expanding his personal authority. In this dissertation, I argue that such views of Abdulhamid are inadequate and fail to explain two aspects of his reign: the modernisation of Ottoman institutions and infrastructure he undertook at home and his immense prestige among Muslims abroad. A close reading of Abdulhamid's own religious views reveals that, to him, Islam and the state were meant to support each other at home and abroad. To that end, the Sultan embarked on a campaign to expand Ottoman influence among the Muslims of the Indian Ocean world, challenging British hegemony in the region. He built alliances with Islamic institutions such as Sufi orders, while transforming and modernising Ottoman institutions and enhancing their Islamic character. His efforts were capped with the construction of the Hijaz Railway, a signal of Ottoman independence and the mobilising capacity of the international Islamic community.