Muslim Imperial Entanglements: The Hajj under the British Empire

In terms of geographical breadth no less than population numbers, the British Empire was the largest ‘empire of Muslims’ in history, reaching from West to East Africa via Egypt and Palestine through India (and what is now Pakistan) to the Maldives and Malaysia. Right in the middle – in easy reach of the colonial transport hubs of Aden and Suez – lay the holy cities of Arabia, under Ottoman then Saudi jurisdiction. Taking the hajj as its focus, in this podcast we unravel the policies and compromises of empire that enabled larger numbers of pilgrims than ever to make the journey to Mecca. Nile Green talks to John Slight, the author of The British Empire and the Hajj, 1865-1956 (Harvard University Press, 2015).