An Ottoman Imam in Brazil | Ali Kulez

Ottoman History Podcast

E565 | In 1866, a series of unexpected events led to an Ottoman imam by the name of Abd al-Rahman al-Baghdadi ending up in Rio de Janeiro. In this episode, Ali Kulez explains how he got there, and what happened when al-Baghdadi became close with enslaved and free Afro-Brazilian Muslims, and attempted to teach them his vision of Islamic orthodoxy. In addition to exploring themes of Islam and race in Brazil, Kulez also traces how the translation of al-Baghdadi's travel narrative can offer a window onto the history of South-South relations into the present. In closing, he discusses the challenge of evaluating past solidarities and differentiating them from those we might want to see. More at https://www.ottomanhistorypodcast.com/2024/04/kulez.html Ali Kulez is an Assistant Professor of Hispanic Studies at Boston College, where he specializes in the literary and cultural history of modern Latin America. Dr. Kulez is currently working on two book projects: he is completing a manuscript on the intersections of food and identity in Cuban and Brazilian literature, and starting another on Brazil’s cultural encounters with Turkey and the Ottoman Empire. His work has appeared in, among other places, Luso-Brazilian Review, Revista de Estudios Hispánicos, CR: The New Centennial Review, and Middle Eastern Literatures. Sam Dolbee is Assistant Professor of History at Vanderbilt University, where he teaches classes on environment, disease, and the modern Middle East. His book Locusts of Power is out now with Cambridge University Press. CREDITS Episode No. 565 Release Date: 11 April 2024 Recording location: Beşiktaş, Istanbul Sound production by Sam Dolbee Music: Zé Trigueiros, "Big Road of Burravoe," "Chiaroscuro" Images, bibliography, and captions courtesy of Ali Kulez available at https://www.ottomanhistorypodcast.com/2024/04/kulez.html