Empire and Jihad: The Anglo-Arab Wars of 1870-1920

Neil Faulkner

Hardback, 440 pages

9780300227499

A panoramic, provocative account of the clash between British imperialism and Arab jihadism in Africa between 1870 and 1920

The Ottoman Sultan called for a 'Great Jihad' against the Entente powers at the start of the First World War. He was building on half a century of conflict between British colonialism and the people of the Middle East and North Africa. Resistance to Western violence increasingly took the form of radical Islamic insurgency.

Ranging from the forests of Central Africa to the deserts of Egypt, Sudan, and Somaliland, Neil Faulkner explores a fatal collision between two forms of oppression, one rooted in the ancient slave trade, the other in modern 'coolie' capitalism. He reveals the complex interactions between anti-slavery humanitarianism, British hostility to embryonic Arab nationalism, 'war on terror' moral panics, and Islamist revolt. Far from being an enduring remnant of the medieval past, or an essential expression of Muslim identity, Faulkner argues that 'Holy War' was a reactionary response to the violence of modern imperialism.

Contents

Part 1: Black Ivory, White Nile

1. Heart of Darkness

2. The Mountains of the Moon

3. A Ruckle of Bones

Part 2: Star and Crescent

4. Baker Pasha

5. Gordon Pasha

6. Egypt for the Egyptians?

7. All Sir Garnet

Part 3: The Black Flag

8. A Muslim Prophet

9. A Christian Mystic

10. A Modern Crusader

Part 4: The Spectre of Jihad

11. An Islamic Caliphate

12. Omdurman

13. A Mad Mullah

14. The Kaiser's War