Isma‘ili-Ottoman Petitioners in the Second Constitutional Period

Abstract This article examines a series of petitions written by the greater Syrian Shi‘i Isma‘ilis between 1909 and 1911. This is the only correspondence between the Isma‘ilis and Ottoman officials during the Second Constitutional Period. Once officials discovered the Isma‘ilis’ newfound allegiance to a reformist imam in Bombay, the Aga Khan III, they began to suspect them of divided loyalties of faith and state. The administration and judiciary soon persecuted the Isma‘ilis, who in turn petitioned the sultan, the grand vizier, and others for justice. The Isma‘ilis argued that, as full members of the Ottoman patria, they were entitled to newly restored constitutional rights and freedoms and used Pan-Islamic rhetoric to place their beliefs within Muslim orthodoxy. Istanbul considered the petitions, but ultimately concerns over fifth columns outweighed constitutional promises. The article narrates late Ottoman political and legal reforms through the Isma‘ilis’ petitions, which offers a lens onto wider questions of imperial governance, contested subjecthood, and religious collectivity. The article concludes that, despite other avenues through which to seek justice, the Isma‘ilis relied on petitions to hold officials to account, claim reparations, and in the process present the community as loyal Ottomans.