Arabophobia and the 'war against mysticism': "How Sayyid Uthman became the advisor to the Netherlands colonial administration"

Abstract

In his own day the well-known scholar of Arab descent, Sayyid `Uthmân ibn `Abd Allah ibn `Aqîl ibn Yahyâ al-`Alawî of Batavia (1822-1914), was one of the most productive ulama in the Netherlands East Indies. He wrote more than 150 books and brochures in Arabic and Malay, which he published on his own lithograph press. As his names shows Sayyid `Uthmân was a so-called sayyid, which is a honorific title for a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, and in this capacity he belonged to the religious nobility which was held in high esteem among the Muslim masses in the Netherlands East Indies, and in the Muslim world at large.