"A Dark State of Affairs": Hajj Networks, Pan-Islamism, and Dutch Colonial Surveillance during the Interwar Period

During the 1920′s and 30's, the Dutch colonial government worked together with the Dutch-owned shipping conglomerate Kongsi Tiga to control hajj maritime networks linking the Netherlands East Indies and the Middle East. This was a period of increasing Dutch anxiety over weakening imperial dominion in Southeast Asia and both the colonial administration and colonial businesses feared Muslim religious networks would expose colonial subjects to anti-imperial and pan-Islamic ideas while abroad. It was vital for Dutch shipping companies to maintain segregated and highly policed spaces onboard to uph... Mehr ...