An empire of many cultures

Bahá'ís, Muslims, Jews and the British state, 1900–20

Diane Robinson-Dunn

• Publisher: Manchester University Press
• Year: 2024
• Print ISBN: 9781526169211
• eBook ISBN: 9781526169204
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Modern British History
• Index: History

Based upon extensive archival research and bringing to life the words and actions of extraordinary individuals from the early 20th century, this book calls into question contemporary assumptions about the appreciation of diversity as a solely postcolonial phenomenon. It shows how Bahá'í, Muslim, and Jewish leaders prior to and during WWI found value in the existence of many different religions, races, languages, nations, and ethnicities within the British Empire. Recognition of this heterogeneity combined with sympathy for certain liberal traditions allowed those historical actors to engage with that imperial state and culture in ways that would have an impact on future generations and relevance to modern debates.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of figures
• Preface and acknowledgements
• Abbreviations
• Notes on language
• Introduction: valuing diversity in an empire of many cultures
• 1 From precarity to prominence: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and the cultivation of British–Bahá’í networks in England and the Middle East
• 2 Planting the “banner of Islam” in the “heart of the British Empire”: Muslim missionaries from India solidify their new base in England during a time of crisis
• 3 Zionist debates among Jews in England take a new imperial turn
• Conclusion: some comparisons, some reflections
• Index