personal memories revolutionary states and indian ocean migrations

especially among Arabs, and galvanized the support of a large sector of Arab
intellectual and political elites.
The Omani elite was among them and though its cordial relationship with
the Ottomans dated back to the eighteenth century, it seemed to have gained an
unprecedented significance under Sultan ‘Abd al-Ḥamīd II. His long rule of thirty
three years coincided with that of five Zanzibari Sultans, from Barghash to ‘Alī and
with the firm establishment of British control over Zanzibar. It is not surprising
that during that period, ties between Zanzibar and the Ottomans were strengthened
and visits were exchanged between members of the Zanzibari elite and Ottoman
officials. Cordial ties with Istanbul culminated eventually in the official visit of
Sultan ‘Alī (r. 1902-1911) to Istanbul in November 1907 and where he was received
by ‘Abd al-Ḥamīd himself. 50 ‘Alī had officially acknowledged ‘Abd al-Ḥamīd as the
Caliph of Muslims, as had the many Muslims in Zanzibar and the East African
coast who used to praise his name during Friday prayer. 51 In that same year, ‘Alī
offered to act as a mediator between the Ottoman Sultan and some Yemeni rebels.
His aim was “to pull together the parts of a warring Islamic commonwealth and
halt a conflict between Muslims.” 52 The following year, ‘Alī received in Zanzibar
the Ottoman Grand Vizier and other dignitaries sent on behalf of ‘Abd al-Ḥamīd. 53
Sultans in Zanzibar were not alone in harboring sympathetic feelings
toward the Ottomans. The general public shared those feelings as well, which
manifested themselves in a public manner at times when the Ottoman Empire was
challenged or threatened. For example, Zanzibaris held public demonstrations and
boycotted Italian goods after the Italian invasion of Tripoli, then under Ottoman
rule. 54 This sympathy made it difficult for the British to win public support of
Muslims in Zanzibar and East Africa during World War I. 55 It also prompted the
docile Sultan Khalīfa bin Ḥārib (r. 1911-1960), in order to counter the Ottoman
Sultan’s call for jihād against the British, to issue a statement on November 6, 1914
urging Zanzibaris and Muslims on the East African coast to cease their support for
the ‘Turks’ and show loyalty to the British instead. 56 It is not clear what effect
Sultan Khalīfa’s statement had on Muslims in Zanzibar and East Africa and to what
degree he was able to change their allegiance by publicly announcing his loyalty to
the British. While Sa‘īd al-Mughayrī spoke about letters of support to the Sultan
from Arab leaders in East Africa in response to this statement, 57 he also spoke
about the many Arabs, most notably Omanis, who gathered in Tabora to support
the exiled former rebellious Sultan, Khālid bin Barghash, in his efforts to aid the
Germans – then allies to the Ottomans -- against the British. 58 Khālid remained “a
leading spirit” of anti-British activities in East Africa and of pan-Islamic
propaganda until his capture in 1917. 59 More than three years after the Ottoman
Sultan’s jihad declaration, its effect on Muslims in East Africa remained worrisome
to the British. “Mohammedans of the Swahili speaking area,” an intelligence report
explained, “have been ‘given furiously to think’ by the declaration of the JIHAD
from STAMBOUL.” 60
THE ZANZIBAR OF THE MASHRIQ:
THE OMANI ELITE AND THE ARAB NAHḌA
For the Omani elite, however, it was the birth of a cultural nahḍa in the
Mashriq that was most engaging. That was an Arab literary renaissance which
focused on the leading role of Arab culture, language, history and people. The
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