Missionaries and the Making of the Native Modern Physician in the 19th-Century Levant

The 19th century was a period of major transformations in the institution and practice of medicine in the Ottoman Empire, with penetration of foreign influence into the empire not escaping medical education and practice. Two of the four modern medical schools in the Ottoman Empire were established in Beirut by foreign missionary institutions competing for influence in the region and on the local population. The native graduate physicians of these schools were instrumental to the battle for influence in the region that involved the missionaries, colonial powers, and the Ottoman state. These institutions were meant to produce a new class of physicians educated based on Western medical models, and missionary ideals to act as ties to the local population.

The analysis of Arabic medical journals and missionary records reveals a much more complex picture. Through a detailed study of the articles written by local physicians, I will demonstrate how these physicians were not passive actors in the fight for power, rather active participants as they negotiated and debated European medical knowledge, developed new treatments, and engaged in local knowledge production. The physicians navigated and utilized the state and missionary interests in advancing their careers and interests. A professional class of modern and native physicians emerged by the end of the 19th century, a class that differentiated itself from traditional practitioners, and considered itself part of a global network of physicians on par with their American and European colleagues. This paper demonstrates how these physicians viewed themselves as part of the new emerging professional class, navigated their relationship with the state and foreign institutions, and formed transnational networks of knowledge production and exchange. Their practice, knowledge production, status negotiations, and networks produced the medical authority and practice in the region that would influence the emerging healthcare systems.