Palestinian Hamidian Ulama: A Network in Defense of Tradition

Scholarship on modern Islam has largely focused on Egypt and South Asia, overlooking Palestine’s intellectual history. This paper integrates Palestine into broader Islamic networks by examining three late Ottoman Nabulsi ulama: Yousef al-Nabahani, Bakr al-Tamimi, and Abdullah Sufan al-Qaddumi. These scholars, rooted in established religious lineages, defended traditionalist thought against reformist, missionary, and Wahhabi challenges during Sultan Abdulhamid II’s reign. Their efforts centered on preserving Ash‘ari and Maturidi theology, traditional four schools of law, and Sufi traditions. Applying network theory, this study demonstrates that their discourse evolved through intellectual exchanges across Istanbul, Damascus, Aleppo, and Cairo, though Palestinian ulama placed unique emphasis on countering Christian missionary activities. By positioning them within the Hamidian traditionalist network, this paper argues that Palestinian scholars were not passive provincial figures but active participants in shaping Ottoman religious and political discourse, contributing to a more nuanced understanding of Islamic traditionalism in the Ottoman empire.