Challenging the Caliphate : Wahhabism and Mahdism in the late Ottoman empire / Ömer Koçyiit.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Koçyiit, Ömer, Author.

Series:

Global Middle East (Cambridge, England)

The global Middle East

Standardized Title:

Travel of ideas in the age of steam and print

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Caliphate--History--19th century.

Caliphate.

Technology and civilization--Turkey--History--19th century.

Technology and civilization.

Wahhbyah--Political aspects--Turkey--History--19th century.

Wahhbyah.

Mahdism--Political aspects--Turkey--History--19th century.

Mahdism.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xi, 294 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2026.

Summary:

How did steam transportation and print culture reshape the Ottoman Empire's centre-periphery relations in the nineteenth century? Challenging the Caliphate offers a fresh perspective on modernization in the Muslim world, exploring how these developments in infrastructure, technology, and communications impacted ideas of the Caliphate, Wahhabism, and Mahdism. Through rich archival research and microhistorical examples, Ömer Koçyiğit demonstrates how new technologies influenced political authority, religious movements, and the spread of ideas. Koçyiğit further explores how the Ottoman Empire dealt with the rise of the Wahhabi movement in the Najd and the Mahdi movement in Sudan. This study situates the Ottoman experience within global transformations, offering a deeper understanding of state, resistance, and connectivity while highlighting how emerging technologies shaped the modern Muslim world.

Contents:

Cover

Half-title

Series information

Title page

Imprints page

Table of Contents

List of Figures

Acknowledgements

Note on Translation, Transliteration and Dates

Introduction

The Transformations of the Age of Steam and Print

Framework of the Work

The Trajectory of the Book

Part I The Caliphate and Its Dissenters

1 The Caliphate: The Ottoman State as the Guardian of Islam

An Âlim on His Speedy Way from Istanbul to South Africa

The Emergence of the Global Caliphate

Transnational and Intercontinental Networks of the Caliphate

The Printing Press in the Service of the Caliphate

Discussions of the Caliphate in a Global World

The Hejaz as a Centre of Travelling People and Ideas

Conclusion

2 Wahhabism and Mahdism: Two Rebellious Movements

A Brief History of the Wahhabi and Sudanese Mahdi Movements

The Challenge of Wahhabism and Mahdism to ''the Infidel Turks/Ottomans''

The Networks of Wahhabism and Mahdism in the Age of Steam and Print

Wahhabism and Mahdism as Symbols of Rebellion

3 Wahhabism as a Local Matter in the Age of Caravans and Manuscripts

An Âlim on a Long Journey from Istanbul to the Wahhabis

A Pamphlet That Cevdet Pasha Ignores

The Hajj Prohibition as a Turning Point

Part II Ottoman Ideological Reactions to Wahhabism and Mahdism in the Age of Steam and Print

4 The Ideological Reactions of the Centre to Wahhabism

The Printing Press as a Game-Changer

Men of the Printing Press

Accounts of the Publications Concerning Wahhabism

Ibn Khaldunism versus Ibn Taymiyyaism: Civilized People and Bedouins

Polemics about Wahhabism in the Leiden-Cairo-Istanbul Triangle

5 The Ottoman Mindset versus Sudanese Mahdism

The Age of Mahdis

The Printing Press in the Hands of the Sudanese Mahdi.

The Mahdi in the Newspapers: From America to India and from England to Russia

The Ottoman Struggle with Technologies of Steam and Print

Istanbul Printing Presses in Opposition to Mahdism

A Fatwa from Liverpool to Istanbul about Fighting the Mahdists

Part III Ottoman Political Measures Targeting Two Rebellious Movements

6 Maintaining Public Order: The Surveillance of Mobility

Vigilance in the Centre: The Case of a Suspicious Mahdist in Istanbul

Public Order in the Holy Land: Wahhabis and Mahdists in the Hejaz

Alarm in the Core Region: Wahhabi Sermons in Anatolia

Reduced Penalties in the Periphery: The Wahhabis of Baghdad and Damascus

7 Censoring the ''Pernicious Publications'' of Wahhabism and Mahdism

The Censorship Policies of the Ottoman State

The Role of the Ulema in Publication Censorship

Central versus Peripheral Ulema: The Case of Two Wahhabi Books

The Ulema of Istanbul Strike Back: A Refutation against Wahhabism

Political Reactions against the Anti-Caliphal and Mahdist Publications

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 18 Dec 2025).

ISBN:

1-009-66347-X

1-009-66348-8

1-009-66344-5