From the Ottoman Twilight to the Roaring Twenties: The Early Career of Sharif Muhiuddin Haidar (2024)
Abstract:
Sharif Mohamad Muhiuddin Haidar Targan (1892–1967), more commonly known as Sharif Muhiuddin, was one of the most important twentieth-century musical educators, innovators, and performers throughout Turkey and the Arab world, yet almost no comprehensive studies of his early career have been published in English. This lacuna is surprising given that Muhiuddin actually lived in the United States for nearly a decade between 1924 and 1932 working as a professional oudist and cellist. As his title “Sharif” indicates, Muhiuddin hailed from one of the eminent Hashemite families descended from the Prophet Muhammad that historically ruled the city of Mecca and the Hejaz region of Western Arabia. Notably, and despite the fact he was raised in Ottoman Istanbul, it was Sharif Muhiuddin’s ancestral connection to Mecca and noble Arab pedigree that anchored his musical persona in 1920s America. Drawing on diverse archival sources including memoirs, American newspapers, and Arabic accounts of Hejazi history, this essay explores how Sharif Muhiuddin’s early career and move to New York City were shaped by his tumultuous family history in the Islamic holy land and similarly by his family’s role in politics and court diplomacy during the final decades of the Ottoman Empire.
