Imperial Muslims: Islam, Community and Authority in the Indian Ocean, 1839-1937 - Hardcover

"In Imperial Muslims we have a tremendously valuable and highly readable contribution, one that has filled a serious gap in our reading of modern Indian Ocean history, and that has also added significant depth to our understanding of Muslim religious life under colonial rule... It is beautifully written, deeply textured, and eminently accessible." -- Fahad Ahmad Bishara, Die Welt des Islams "In Imperial Muslims, the author's ingenious use of British archival sources and Arabic contemporary publications make 19th and early 20th century Aden come alive in front of the readers' eyes. His assertion that at the turn of the century Britain ruled over forty percent of the global Muslim population is enough to explain why Aden is an important case study in providing a window into the social and spiritual life of a Muslim community within the British Empire." -- THANOS PETOURIS, BYS newsletter "A complex and compelling...Reese's insightful exposition has the possibility of stimulating new discussions of issues of concern to those of us working on configurations of Muslim community and modernizing transformations much further afield."-- R. Michael Feener, Journal of Islamic Studies

The webs, nodes and networks created by Britain's Indian Ocean Empire during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries are here explored in the context of their personal and social impact. Using the British Settlement of Aden as its focus, the book examines the development of a local community within the spaces created by imperial rule. It explores how individuals from widely disparate backgrounds brought together by the networks of empire created a cohesive community utilizing the one commonality at their disposal: their faith. Specifically, it examines how religious institutions and spiritual ideas served as parameters for the creation of community and the kinds of symbolic and cultural capital an individual needed to attain communal membership and influence within the confines of imperial rule.