Diese Arbeit untersucht die Bedeutung der Konzepte Panislamismus und Dschihad innerhalb der deutschsprachigen Islamwissenschaft, der deutschen Außenpolitik des Kaiserreichs, sowie des Werks Max von Oppenheims zwischen 1896 und 1918. Primär wurden hierfür Berichte des Auswärtigen Amtes, Veröffentlichungen und Briefwechsel zeitgenössischer deutschsprachiger Islamwissenschaftler, das Werk und der Nachlass Max von Oppenheims sowie zeitgenössische Zeitungen analysiert. Zunächst wurden die Quellen der verschiedenen Bereiche innerhalb ihres jeweiligen Gebiets untersucht, sowie anschließend innerhalb ihres Themenbereichs verglichen. Anschließend wurden die Aufzeichnungen Oppenheims mit den Berichten des Auswärtigen Amtes und der Islamwissenschaft dahingehend verglichen, welche Bedeutung die Konzepte Panislamismus und Dschihad innerhalb ihres jeweiligen Bereiches hatten und welche Relevanz den Konzepten für antikoloniale Bewegungen und mögliche Aufstände in den europäischen Kolonien zugestanden wurden. Abschließend wurde Oppenheims Schrift „Denkschrift betreffend die Revolutionierung der islamischen Gebiete unserer Feinde“ im Lichte der gewonnenen Erkenntnisse analysiert und versucht die Entstehung der Schrift zu rekonstruieren. Die Untersuchung zeigt, dass Max von Oppenheim - entgegen der bisherigen Forschung - nicht bedingungslos vom Konzept des Panislamismus in der Form überzeugt war, dass lediglich der Aufruf des Kalifen zum Dschihad genüge, um muslimische Aufstände in den Kolonien der Entete auszulösen. Vielmehr erweist sich Oppenheim als exzellenter Kenner der islamischen Welt sowie seiner religiösen und gesellschaftlichen Entwicklungen. Die Arbeit erweitert das Verständnis der Rolle des Panislamismus innerhalb seiner Rezeption in der Außenpolitik und Islamwissenschaft des Deutschen Kaiserreichs im historischen Kontext sowie dessen tatsächlicher Bedeutung für seinen Einfluss auf die deutsche Propaganda- und Kriegsstrategie im Ersten Weltkrieg. / This work examines the significance of the concepts of pan-Islamism and jihad within German-speaking Islamic studies, German foreign policy during the German Kaiserreich (German Empire 1871 – 1918), and the work of Max von Oppenheim between 1896 and 1918. The primary sources analyzed include reports from the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, publications and correspondence of contemporary German-speaking Islamic scholars, the work and estate of Max von Oppenheim, as well as publications in contemporary newspapers. First, the sources from the various areas were examined within their respective fields and then compared within their subject areas. Oppenheim's notes were then compared with the reports of the Foreign Office and Islamic studies to determine the significance of the concepts of pan-Islamism and jihad within their respective contexts and their relevance of the concepts for anti-colonial movements and possible uprisings in the European colonies. Finally, Oppenheim's document Denkschrift betreffend die Revolutionierung der islamischen Gebiete unserer Feinde (Memorandum concerning the revolutionization of the Islamic territories of our enemies) was analyzed in the light of the findings obtained and an attempt was made to reconstruct the document. The study demonstrates that Max von Oppenheim - contrary to previous research - was not unconditionally convinced of the concept of pan-Islamism in the sense that the Caliph's call to jihad would be enough to trigger Muslim uprisings in the colonies of the Entete. It was shown that Oppenheim was an excellent expert on the Islamic world and its religious and social developments. This work expands the understanding of the role of pan-Islamism within its reception in the foreign policy and Islamic studies of the German Kaiserreich in the historical context as well as its actual significance for its influence on German propaganda and war strategy in the First World War.

Since the early days of 1979, the Islamic Revolution of Iran has been seen as a phenomenon unique in history, one which must be viewed as somehow separate from other political Islamic movements in the 20th century. In chapter 1, this thesis problematizes this interpretation of the Revolution by analyzing it through the lens of an earlier ideological movement, pan-Islamism, and applying methods from the study of conceptual history to draw linkages between this movement and the Islamic Revolution, rooting it more deeply in the region’s political and intellectual history, and casting light on the poorly-understood pan-Islamic aspects of Iran’s Revolutionary ideology. In chapter 2, it applies methodological innovations from the digital humanities, more specifically corpus linguistics, in carrying out a series of five case studies to examine the transformation of Iranian ideology over time, by analyzing a set of five text corpora comprised of individual leaders’ writings and speeches. It further illustrates how theoretical advances in discourse analysis and history seem to be moving towards the same point, and how the application of corpus linguistic methods advances these bodies of theory. Chapters 3 through 7 comprise the case studies, which are, in order: Ruhollah Khomeini and Ali Khamenei, the two Supreme Leaders; Ali Akbar Hashemi Rasfanjani, Mohammad Khatami, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the three Presidents since 1989. These chapters illustrate through analysis of the textual data how each political leader has adapted the received political discourse to the exigencies of their times, and how pan-Islamism itself has remained a consistent, albeit dynamic, linking thread running through the period 1979-2009. By studying pan-Islamism in the Iranian context, we can explain several features of Iranian political discourse which otherwise seem incomprehensible, and better situate the Islamic Republic within the political and discursive transformations taking place at the regional level of the Middle East, and the global level of the Muslim umma.