the islamic prism 69tions, were infl uenced and at times dominated by the Islamic factor.
While its cultural interactions and trade links with the region were cen-
turies old, modern po liti cal involvement with the region began when the
Muslim world over rallied around the caliph, the title then held by the
Ottoman sultan.
The Khilafat Struggle
The Congress Party fi rst became involved in a Middle Eastern
issue with the Khilafat question, an issue that dominated India until the
mid- 1920s.^1 This was the fi rst major occasion when the Indian national-
ists showed a direct interest in foreign events.^2 Up until then, their inter-
ests were confi ned to the welfare and conditions of Indians overseas. The
treatment of the Ottoman Empire by the Allies during World War I was
strongly resented by Indian Muslims. The Eu ro pe an campaign was seen
not merely as an aggression against the Ottoman Empire but as an attack
against Islam, because the sultan of Turkey was also the caliph, the titular
head of the Sunni Islamic community.^3 The most vociferous demonstra-
tions in support of the caliph and Islamic solidarity with the Ottoman
rulers were to be found among the Indian Muslims.^4 From 1919 to 1924,
the Khilafat struggle dominated the Indian po liti cal scene, and the Mus-
lim elite discovered in it an issue that could unite the masses against the
British. Rallies and other forms of po liti cal protests were held throughout
the country.
The Indian National Congress and its leaders saw this pan- Islamic
solidarity as an opportunity to solidify nationalist feelings among the
Muslim masses. For diff erent reasons, both the Hindus and the Muslims
resented the British. While nationalist sentiments were slowly growing,
the Muslims had an additional grievance: the British had ended Islamic
rule in India and deposed the last Mughal ruler. This mutual hatred to-
ward the foreigner, however, was insuffi cient to overcome their mutual
suspicions and fears of one another. Even though Hinduism is not a mono-
lithic religion, for the Muslims it represented a single large homoge-
neous group of nonbelievers.^5 Many Muslims had misgivings over the
motives of the Hindu- dominated Congress Party. Participation in the
INC- led struggle, they feared, would undermine and even diminish their
distinct Islamic identity. Though latent, these fears were real, as the sub-
sequent partition of the subcontinent demonstrated. In some ways, the