Mehmed Ali’s prostitution ban was not a concession to religious pressure.

Evidence

Tucker attributes this sudden prohibition to public pressure led by the ‘ulamā’ which convinced the Pasha to ban all prostitution in Cairo, “thereby assuaging public opinion and adding another feather to his cap of reform.” This could hardly be the reason why Mehmed Ali gave up a considerable source of government revenue. For one thing Mehmed Ali could not have been so keen to assuage the ‘ulamā’ and he could, and did, disregard their opinion on various other occasions. It is significant, for example, that during the deliberations that were held in the Department of Civil Affairs concerning the abolition of the tax, it was suggested that the punishment stipulated in the Islamic religious law be applied to prostitutes. In the event it was decided on the punishment mentioned above and it was the civil administrators, not the shaykhs, who were to execute these punishments. — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 1168

Categorization

• XREF: Reinforces the reader’s understanding of Mehmed Ali’s autonomy from the ulama and religious institutions, connecting to his broader reforms that subordinated religious authority to state administration.