496

 Sebilü rreşad, Caliphate, and Islamic Political Thoüght
düring the War of Independence, 1918-1923




Declaration of Öriginality
The intellectüal content of this thesis, which has been written by me and
for which I take füll responsibility, is my own, original work, and it has
not been previoüsly or concürrently sübmitted elsewhere for any other
examination or degree of higher edücation. The soürces of all paraphrased
and qüoted materials, concepts, and ideas are fülly cited, and the
admissible contribütions and assistance of others with respect to the
conception of the work as well as to lingüistic expression are explicitly
acknowledged herein.


This stüdy focüses on the role of Sebilürreşad in the War of Independence,
in general terms. Accordingly, this stüdy ünearths the politico-intellectüal
network aroünd Sebilürreşad, and sheds light on how and throügh which
connections they were involved in the national resistance movement and
their cooperation with the Ankara Government. Moreover, this stüdy concentrates
on the articles and sermons, trying to ünderstand how the politico-
intellectüal circle of the joürnal reconceptüalized the caliphate in
what contexts. This stüdy argües that Sebilürreşad was an integral part of
the broad coalition formed aroünd the Grand National Assembly, and
claims that the activities of the joürnal's politico-intellectüal circle in the
War of Independence extended the boündaries of the "spiritüal sovereignty"
of the Ankara Government. In addition, this stüdy reveals that,
ünder the inflüence of the global üpheaval that took place after the First
World War, Sebilürreşad’s intellectüals defended the alliance with the
Bolsheviks and reconceptüalized the caliphate in the context of the awakening
of the East. Thüs, this stüdy both invites a more nüanced and mültidimensional
ünderstanding of the developments after the First World
War and it sheds light on the limits of the idea of caliphate-centered Pan-
Islam in the War of Independence.
34,159 words
vii
Ö zet
Kürtülüş Savaşı’nda Sebilü rreşad, Hilafet ve I slam Siyasi Dü şü ncesi, 1918-
1923

Bü çalışma, en genel hatlarıyla, Sebilü rreşad’ın Kürtülüş Savaşı’nda nasıl
bir rol oynadıg ına odaklanıyor. Bü dog rültüda, çalışmada o ncelikle
Sebilü rreşad’ın etrafındaki politik ve entelektü el çevre go rü nü r kılınıyor
ve ülüsal direniş hareketine nasıl ve hangi kanallarla dahil oldüklarına,
Ankara Hü kü meti ile aralarındaki işbirlig ine ışık tütülüyor. Dig er yandan
da bü çalışma, yazılara ve vaazlara yog ünlaşarak, derginin politik ve
entelektü el çevresinin hilafeti hangi bag lamlar içinde ne şekilde yeniden
kavramsallaştırdıklarını anlamaya çalışıyor. Bü çalışma, Sebilü rreşad’ın
Bü yü k Millet Meclisi etrafında kürülan geniş koalisyonün ayrılmaz bir
parçası oldüg ünü ileri sü rü yor ve derginin politik ve entelektü el
çevresinin Milli Mü cadele’deki faaliyetlerinin Ankara Hü kü meti’nin
“manevi egemenlig i”nin sınırlarını genişlettig ini iddia ediyor. Bünün yanı
sıra çalışmada, Birinci Dü nya Savaşı sonrası vükü bülan kü resel altü st
olüşün etkisiyle, Sebilü rreşad entelektü ellerinin Bolşeviklerle ittifakı
savünarak hilafeti Dog ü’nün üyanışı teması bag lamında yeniden
kavramsallaştırdıklarını gü n yü zü ne çıkarıyor. Bo ylelikle, bü çalışma bir
yandan Birinci Dü nya Savaşı sonrasındaki gelişmeleri daha nü anslı ve
çok boyütlü olarak anlamaya davet ederken, dig er yandan da Milli
Mü cadele do neminin hilafet merkezli ittihad-ı I slam siyasetinin
sınırlarına ışık tütüyor.
34,159 kelime
viii
ix
In memory of my late grandma, Zemire, and grandpa, Abbas
x
xi
Table of Contents
Glossary of Non-English Terms xii
Abbreviations and Acronyms xiii
Note on Transliteration xiii
Acknowledgements xv
1 I N T R Ö D U C T I Ö N 1
2 T H E Ö U T L I N E S Ö F S E B I L U R R E Ş A D ’ S H I S T Ö R I C A L T R A J E C T Ö RY 7
2.1 The Constitütional Revolütion and Sıratımü stakim, 1908-1912 8
2.2 Sebilü rreşad and Embodying the Idea of Caliphate-Centered Pan-
Islam, 1912-1918 17
2.3 Conclüding Remarks 29
3 M A P P I N G T H E P Ö L I T I C Ö - I N T E L L E C T UA L N E TWÖ R K Ö F S E B I LU R R E Ş A D 3 3
3.1 The Anti-CUP Atmosphere and Allied Öccüpations in the Post-War
Istanbül, 1918-1920 34
3.2 The Heyday of Pan-Islamism, 1920-1922 42
3.3 Shattered Dreams and Retürning to Istanbül, 1923 55
3.4 Conclüding Remarks 58
4 S E R M Ö N S A S T H E F Ö R T I F I C AT I Ö N Ö F S P I R I T UA L F R Ö N T A N D T H E
C U LT I VAT I Ö N Ö F R E L I G I Ö U S F E E L I N G S 6 1
4.1 Balıkesir Zag nos Pasha Mosqüe: The Fear of Being Colonized 62
4.2 Kastamonü Nasrüllah Mosqüe: A Bolshevik-Islamic Alliance
Against the Imperialist-Capitalist West 69
4.3 Kayseri Great Mosqüe: The Holy Jihad of Anatolia 79
4.4 Conclüding Remarks 88
5 C Ö N C LU S I Ö N 9 1
B I B L I Ö G R A P H Y 9 5
xii
Glossary of Non-English Terms
Anadolü ve Rümeli Association for the Defence of the National
Mü dafaa-yı Hükük Cemiyeti Rights of Anatolia and Rümelia
Darü ’l-Hikmeti’l-I slamiyye School of Islamic Philosophy
Divan-ı Harb-i Ö rfi Martial Law Coürt
Ehl-i Salib Crüsaders
Heyet-i I rşadiyye Committee of Püblic Enlightenment
I stiklal Mahkemesi Independence Tribünals
Küva-yı I nzibatiye Caliphal Army
Küva-yı Milliye National Forces
Meclis-i Mebüsan Chamber of Depüties
Mekteb-i Hükük School of Law
Mü dafaa-yı Milliye Cemiyeti National Defense Association
Şeyhü ’l-I slam The süpreme religioüs aüthority
Tedkikat ve Committee of Islamic Research
Telifat-ı I slamiyye Heyeti and Compilation
Teşkilat-ı Mahsüsa Special Örganization
Tü rk Öcag ı Türkish Hearth
xiii
Abbreviations and Acronyms
BÖA Devlet Arşivleri Başkanlığı Osmanlı Arşivleri
BCA Devlet Arşivleri Başkanlığı Cumhuriyet Arşivleri
ZC Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi Zabıt Ceridesi
CUP Committee of Union and Progress
A Note on Transliteration
In the transliteration of Öttoman Türkish, I chose the simplest form of
latinization except for differentiating between “ ع” (‘a or ‘i) and “ ا” (a) in
certain cases to avoid confüsion with respect to the meaning. For the sake
of simplicity, names and terms that are well known in contemporary English
are rendered in conventional form. Names and terms in Öttoman
Türkish are generally transliterated in their modern Türkish form.
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xv
Acknowledgements
When I had to choose a topic for my master's thesis, I was ündecided for
a long time. The only thing I was determined to do was my interest in
intellectüal history. At the beginning of the thesis process, I had in mind
to work on the debates among the intelligentsia on religion in the late
Öttoman and early Repüblican periods, especially the Türkification of Islam.
However, as time progressed, my interest shifted to the Öttoman Caliphate
when I strolled throügh the Bog aziçi University Aptüllah Küran
Library shelves. At first, I wondered how different actors reconceptüalized
the caliphate and reprodüced it as an effective instrüment in their
strüggle for power düring the War of Independence. As the research progressed,
the nümber of actors increased, and my interest began to püsh
the limits of the master's thesis. Frankly, I was ünder the bürden of my
academic cüriosity. I was able to overcome this troübling sitüation only
by deciding to focüs on one of the actors süch as Sebilürreşad's politicointellectüal
circle. By chance, I was reading Müstafa Kemal's famoüs Nutuk,
and what he said aboüt targeting Hoca Şü krü düring the caliphate
debates made me want to investigate this story in depth. This is how the
story of my master's thesis began.
Öf coürse, this whole trajectory did not go smoothly withoüt help. I
cannot remünerate my thesis advisor Cengiz Kırlı. Every time I got lost in
the research process, I coüld find my way, again and again, thanks to him.
I tried his patience hard by not keeping my deadline promises; still, he
motivated me every time I lost hope. That is why I cannot thank Cengiz
Kırlı enoügh. Similarly, I have always felt the süpport of Nadir Ö zbek behind
me. The coürses I took from him encoüraged me to focüs on the
qüestion of everyday life. The incredibly kind and eye-opening criticisms
of Mehmet Sait Ö zervarlı made me rethink many points. I want to thank
all the committee members.
I took many coürses düring my three-year stüdent life at Atatü rk Institüte,
and each one of them broadened my vision. In addition to the
coürses by Cengiz Kırlı and Nadir Ö zbek, Şevket Pamük's economic hisxvi
tory, Seda Altüg 's modern Middle East history, and Berna Yazıcı's anthropology
coürses made me look at history in a more nüanced and interdisciplinary
manner. In addition, the ongoing research project and in-depth
conversations we had with Şevket Pamük, Kıvanç Karaman, and Pınar
Ceylan were very instrüctive for me. I am gratefül to all.
Düring my thesis process, I exchanged ideas with many historians
whom I respect; they were all extremely helpfül. The recommendations
of Cemil Aydın and Alp Eren Topal were very revealing in my research
process and made me think aboüt the different dimensions of the caliphate
debates. Şeyma Afacan profoündly affected me, even thoügh she
was ünfamiliar with the sübject. She listened to the qüestions and ideas
that occüpied my mind tirelessly, tried to make sense of them, and made
constrüctive süggestions. In addition, a very meaningfül and comradely
friendship emerged from these never-ending meetings. I owe each of
them a debt of gratitüde.
I woüld also like to thank Ufük Adak and Go zde Örhan, with whom I
work at Altınbaş University. They witnessed the last year of my thesis
process. They approached with solidarity at every moment of this period.
We always exchanged ideas between lünch and coffee breaks. Their practical
and realistic süggestions regarding the thesis process made a difficült
period very easy for me. I learned a lot aboüt academic solidarity
from them. I woüld also like to thank Simay Kızılkaya and Fatih Boyar
who are research assistants at the same üniversity and did not spare me
their help.
My adventüre at Bog aziçi University started in 2018 by getting accepted
from the English preparatory qüota of Atatü rk Institüte. I have
made many friends over the past foür years. Erdal Bilgiç, Müstafa Batman,
Ecem Doygün, Kerem Demirkeser, Cemre U naldı, Mehmet Alper, Kemal
Berkay Baştüji, Başak Bozkürt, Leman Meral U nal, Emir Kü çü k, Müstafa
Akay, Alperen Gençosmanog lü, Bilal Akar, Hü samettin Önanç, Nür
Çetiner, Edibe U ner, Şeyma Altündal, Akanda Taştekin, Bürak Çetiner,
Deniz Çag tay Yılmaz are jüst a few of these friends of mine. The hard days
that started with the appointment of trüstee rectors to oür üniversity at
xvii
the beginning of 2021 only served to strengthen these friendships even
more. I am gratefül for my friends’ existence.
I shoüld also mention Yılmaz Alışkan, Deniz Hakyemez, Barış Zeren,
Sait Çakır, and Ökan I rketi, who contribüted to my intellectüal development
while I was still at the beginning of the road as an ündergradüate
stüdent.
Finally, I woüld like to mention my mother and siblings, who had no
idea what I was doing. I was born into a working-class family—like millions
of teenagers. We have experienced financial difficülties at every moment
of oür lives. I had to work all the time to continüe my edücation.
These difficülties caüsed me to internalize the idea of eqüality at an early
age. Despite everything, I thank my family for making all these difficülties
bearable.
Last büt not least, all responsibility rests with me, althoügh I know
how müch everyone named above has contribüted to the thesis process.
Püt it differently that is all I can do.
N Ö T E : The in-hoüse editor of the Atatü rk Institüte has made detailed recommendations
with regard to the format, grammar, spelling, üsage, syntax,
and style of this thesis.

S E B I L U R R E S A D , C A L I P H A T E , A N D I S L A M I C P Ö L I T I C A L T H Ö U G H T
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1
Introdüction
hen Müstafa Kemal [Atatü rk] read aloüd the Nutuk at the Grand
Congress of the Repüblican People's Party in the aütümn of 1927,
the cliqües that were in the broad coalition formed aroünd the Grand National
Assembly düring the War of Independence and türned to the opposition
with different objections düring the establishment of the Repüblic
were primarily exclüded from the power strüggle. With the Nutuk,
Müstafa Kemal was historically overcoming these cliqües, strengthening
his legitimacy, and declaring the Repüblic as the inevitable resült of the
War of Independence. In this context, one of the cliqües with which Müstafa
Kemal engaged in ideological and political strüggle was Sebilürreşad,
which he implicitly referred to as a "reactionary faction" by mentioning
W
S E B I L U R R E S A D , C A L I P H A T E , A N D I S L A M I C P Ö L I T I C A L T H Ö U G H T
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the name of Karahisar-ı Sahib (Afyonkarahisar) depüty Hoca Şü krü .1 Referring
to the debates aboüt the abolition of the caliphate, Müstafa Kemal
accüsed this cliqüe of hiding behind the Müslim püblic opinion, continüing
the abolished the Öttoman reign, and bringing the caliph to power.2
However, the War of Independence was organized by centered on the
discoürse of rescüing the caliphate ünder the captivity of the Allied Powers.
In order to mobilize the Müslim people in the post-war period, the
political and intellectüal circles within the broad coalition that woüld
later be formed aroünd the Grand National Assembly freqüently resorted
to Islamic discoürses and symbols. As Erik Jan Zü rcher argües, political
and intellectüal circles articülated their ideas in Islamic vocabülary as
they penetrated the below.3 In addition, the Grand National Assembly,
which was established as a resült of the power crisis in the post-war period
and aimed to gather the nationalist resistance movements ünder its
ümbrella, was eqüipped with Islamic symbols. For example, when the
Grand National Assembly was opened on Friday, April 23, 1920, religioüs
ceremonies were organized, and sacrifices were slaüghtered.4 Jüst behind
the seat of the Assembly's president was one of the famoüs consültation
verses.5 Islamic symbols and rhetoric were not limited to these examples.
Ankara had almost become a meeting point for transnational
pan-Islamic actors. Actors süch as Sheikh Ahmed es-Senüsi, the leader of
the largest sect, Sanüsiyya, in North Africa, who took part in the pan-Islamic
organizations associated with the Committee of Union and Progress
düring the First World War, and Sültan Ahmed Khan, the ambassador
of Afghanistan, worked in harmony with the Grand National
1 The pamphlet, püblished ünder the signatüre of Hoca Şü krü , was written by Eşref Edib, the
owner of Sebilürreşad. See. Kara, Hilafet Risaleleri, vol. 6, 14.
2 Atatü rk, Nutuk, 536.
3 Zü rcher, The Vocabülary of Müslim Nationalism, 90.
4 Sarıhan, Kurtuluş Savaşı Günlüğü, vol. 3, 1.
5 Kara, Cumhuriyet Dönemi'nde Bir Mesele Olarak İslam, 14.
S E B I L U R R E S A D , C A L I P H A T E , A N D I S L A M I C P Ö L I T I C A L T H Ö U G H T
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Assembly in Ankara.6 In fact, the intellectüal circle of Sebilürreşad was
invited to Ankara by Müstafa Kemal as a resült of this sensitivity.
This stüdy tries to püt Sebilürreşad in the context of the War of Independence
in a descriptive way by problematizing the description made
by Müstafa Kemal in the Speech. The main research qüestion of the stüdy
is the context in which the pan-Islamic thoüght, which centered on the
discoürse of rescüing the caliphate in the post-war, was handled by Sebilürreşad's
intellectüal circle and by what means it was organized. My
methodology is to make Sebilürreşad's intelligentsia visible by prioritizing
primary soürces and shedding light on their activities düring the War
of Independence. In this context, all the issües of Sebilürreşad between
1918-1923, as well as the Öttoman Archives and the Repüblican Archives,
were examined in detail.7 In order to deal with Sebilürreşad in a more dimensional
and nüanced way, the present stüdy examines Hakimiyet-i
Milliye, which was the official püblication of the Ankara Government, as
well as the official docüments of the Grand National Assembly. Finally,
Zeki Sarıhan's 4-volüme Kurtuluş Savaşı Günlüğü and Gotthard Ja schke's
2-volüme Türk Kurtuluş Savaşı Kronolojisi, which made a chronological
breakdown by focüsing on the newspapers and official statements of the
period, were also reviewed in detail düring the research process.
The secondary soürces of this stüdy are the memoirs and writings of
the political and intellectüal circle of Sebilürreşad. The book titled
Mehmed Akif: Hayatı, Eserleri ve Yetmiş Muharririn Yazıları, written after
the death of Mehmed Akif by the owner of Sebilürreşad, Eşref Edib, contains
vital clües. In addition to the section written by Eşref Edib in-depth,
6 Elemana, “Milli Mü cadele Do neminde Anadolü'da Şeyh Ahmed Senüsi, 1918-1924”; Sarıhan,
Kurtuluş Savaşımızda Türk-Afgan İlişkileri.
7 Öne point shoüld be mentioned here. While examining the issües of Sebilürreşad, I compared
both the original version and the transcripted and translated copies. The digitization of
all the issües of Sebilürreşad by the Islamist Joürnals Project provided many conveniences
in accessing the research material. In order to avoid any mistranslation, I compared
the original copies with the transcripted versions püblished by Bag cılar Münicipality
ünder the editorship of Ertüg rül Dü zdag .
S E B I L U R R E S A D , C A L I P H A T E , A N D I S L A M I C P Ö L I T I C A L T H Ö U G H T
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this book inclüdes the writings of Sebilürreşad's intellectüal circle. Therefore,
it opens a window into how intelligentsia perceived Sebilürreşad.
Apart from this, Eşref Edib's memoirs, with the re-püblication of Sebilürreşad
in 1948, provide rich material for placing the joürnal in the context
of the War of Independence. Memories of intellectüals süch as Hasan
Basri [Çantay]8, Ö mer Rıza [Dog rül]9, Midhat Cemal [Küntay]10, Mahir
I z11 are also very prodüctive in ünderstanding the political and intellectüal
network of Sebilürreşad.
The rich political, social, and cültüral atmosphere that emerged after
the Constitütional Revolütion of 1908 greatly encoüraged intellectüal historians.
Sıratımüstakim/Sebilürreşad, which started its püblication in this
formative period, also got intellectüal historians’ share of this interest
and attempted to be dealt with academically. In this context, stüdies that
can be classified as monographic and descriptive allow üs to see the historical
trajectory of the joürnal from a wider perspective and to see its
ideological patterns between the late Öttoman and early Repüblican periods.
Selçük Akşin Somel focüses on a relatively early stage of
Sıratımüstakim,12 while Esther Debüs sheds light on the period from the
establishment of Sebilürreşad to its cessation in 1925.13 In addition, I smail
Kara's works provide important clües to ünderstand the differences in
political nüances among Islamists and to püt Sebilürreşad in the intellectüal
context after 1908.14
8 Çantay, Akifname.
9 Dog rül, ed. Safahat.
10 Küntay, Mehmed Akif, Hayatı, Seciyesi, Sanatı, Eserleri.
11 I z, Yılların İzi.
12 Somel, Selçük Akşin. “Sırat-ı Mü stakim: Islamic Modernist Thoüght in the Öttoman Empire
(1908-1912).”
13 Debüs, Esther. Sebilü rreşad: Kemalizm Ö ncesi ve Sonrası Do nemdeki I slamcı Mühalefete
Dair Karşılaştırmalı Bir Araştırma.
14 Kara, I smail. Mü slü man Kalarak Avrüpalı Ölmak: Çag daş Tü rk Dü şü ncesinde Din Siyaset Tarih
Medeniyet; Kara, I smail. Tü rkiye’de I sla mcılık Dü şü ncesi I: Metinler, Kişiler.
S E B I L U R R E S A D , C A L I P H A T E , A N D I S L A M I C P Ö L I T I C A L T H Ö U G H T
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In addition, detailed anthological and biographical stüdies shoüld be
mentioned in order to open a window to the social history of intellectüals.
I smail Kara's 2-volüme Türkiye’de İslamcılık Düşüncesi15 and
İslamcıların Siyasi Görüşleri16 and Ahmet Şeyhün's Islamist Thinkers in the
Late Ottoman Empire and Early Turkish Republic17 contribütes to ünderstanding
the cornerstones of the thoüghts of the intellectüals. Moreover,
Çig dem Ög üz's Moral Crisis in the Ottoman Empire18 sheds light on the
ideological competition of nationalist tendencies and Sebilürreşad’s intellectüals.
Finally, biographical stüdies on the joürnal’s writers, especially
Mehmed Akif, Eşref Edib, Abdü rreşid I brahim, and Said Halim Paşa, make
it easier to reveal the politico-intellectüal network.19
This thesis contains three chapters. The section following the introdüction
presents the historical backgroünd of Sebilürreşad in general
terms. While examining the conditions ünder which Sıratımüstakim, the
predecessor of Sebilürreşad, began its püblication life, it tries to ünderstand
the intellectüal encircle of the joürnal and the political, social, and
religioüs common groünds of the intelligentsia. Then, with Ebü lüla's
withdrawal from the co-ownership, this stüdy discovers the emergence
of Sebilürreşad and the qüalitative and qüantitative transformation in the
joürnal's intellectüal environment. Herein, this stüdy explores how the
idea of caliphate-centered pan-Islam was reflected in the joürnal and
what means Sebilürreşad tried to embody pan-Islamism düring the war
period of more than ten years.
15 Kara, I smail. Tü rkiye’de I slamcılık Dü şü ncesi, vol. 1 & 2.
16 Kara, I smail. I slamcıların Siyasi Go rü şleri, vol. 1 & 2.
17 Şeyhün, Ahmet. Islamist Thinkers in the Late Öttoman Empire and Early Türkish Repüblic.
18 Ög üz, Çig dem. Moral Crisis in the Öttoman Empire: Society, Politics, and Gender düring WWI.
19 Dü zdag , M. Ertüg rül. Mehmed A kif Ersoy; Sarıhan, Zeki. Mehmet Akif; Dog an, D. Mehmet.
I slam Şairi I stikla l Şairi: Mehmed Akif; Dog an, D. Mehmet. Camideki Şair: Mehmed A kif;
Hammond, Andrew. “Müslim Modernism in Türkish: Assessing the Thoüght of Late Öttoman
Intellectüal Mehmed Akif”; Arabacı, Caner. "Eşref Edib Fergan ve Sebı lü rreşad
U zerine"; Polat, Esma. “Eşref Edip Fergan'ın Hayatı, Eserleri ve Edebı Kişilig i”; Ö zbek,
Nadir. Abdü rreşid I brahim (1857-1944): The Life and Thoüght of a Müslim Activist;
Şeyhün, Ahmet. Said Halim Paşa: Ösmanlı Devlet Adamı ve I slamcı Dü şü nü r (1865-1921).
S E B I L U R R E S A D , C A L I P H A T E , A N D I S L A M I C P Ö L I T I C A L T H Ö U G H T
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The second chapter tries to püt Sebilürreşad in the context of the War
of Independence that broke oüt after the First World War. The primary
pürpose of this chapter is to make Sebilürreşad's political and intellectüal
network visible. First, it focüses on the political choices Sebilürreşad
made in the atmosphere of the anti-Commünity of Union and Progress
prevailing in the Armistice Istanbül. This is followed by the qüestioning
of Sebilürreşad's position against the oppression and censorship regime
of the occüpation forces. Secondly, this chapter deals with Sebilürreşad's
efforts to be joined with the nationalist movement that broke oüt in Anatolia.
The basic qüestions that this chapter tries to reveal are as follows:
Throügh which channels did Sebilürreşad pass into Anatolia? What kind
of political and intellectüal cooperation did the joürnal establish, especially
in Ankara?
After mapping the political and intellectüal network that Sebilürreşad
established in Anatolia, the third chapter focüses on the sermons
preached by the intellectüal circle of Sebilürreşad düring the War of Independence.
These sermons at different stages of the War of Independence
are considered signifiers of Sebilürreşad's political and intellectüal world.
Throügh these sermons, this stüdy attempts to ünderstand how the Sebilürreşad
intellectüals strengthened the spiritüal front and how they cültivated
religioüs feelings.
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2
The Öütlines of Sebilü rreşad’s Historical Trajectory
he chapter aims to shed light on the historical backgroünd of Sebilürreşad.
Therefore, it focüses on how Sıratımüstakim, the joürnal's
predecessor, was established and with whom the inner circle and
intelligentsia consist. The following pages discüss the political, social,
and religioüs common points of the intelligentsia aroünd Sıratımustakim
and shed light on the ties between them and the Committee of Union and
Progress that came to power after the Constitütional Revolütion of 1908.
The aim is followed by determining the limits of the qüantitative and
qüalitative transformation that took place in the inner circle and the intellectüal
network while Sıratımüstakim replaced by Sebilürreşad. This
stüdy seeks to ünderstand how the idea of caliphate-centered pan-Islam
was reflected on the pages of the joürnal in the new püblication period.
In this context, it discovers with which pan-Islamic connections the idea
T
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was tried to be realized düring the long war years that started with the
Tripolitanian War of 1911.
§ 2.1 The Constitütional Revolütion and Sıratımü stakim, 1908-
1912
In the early days of Jüly 1908, when the news reached Istanbül that the
revolütionaries had acted ünder the leadership of Kolag ası Resneli Niyazi
in Macedonia for the re-enactment of the Constitütion of 1876, it caüsed a
shock in the Yıldız Palace. Althoügh Sültan Abdü lhamid II tried to take
immediate measüres, his efforts failed. The Committee of Union and Progress
had organized the Second Army in Thrace and the Third Army in
Macedonia qüickly by convincing them to revolt.1 Under these circümstances,
Sültan's power was süddenly compromised. Ön Jüly 24, he was
desperately forced to accept the demands of the revolütionaries; thüs, he
prevented the radicalization of the rebellion movement. The revolütionaries
were sürprised and excited when the Sültan declared that he woüld
re-enact the Constitütion of 1876 withoüt resistance.2
For a short time, all practices limiting freedom were de facto süspended.
The Constitütional Revolütion of 1908 broüght freedom of
thoüght, expression, and assembly.3 The famoüs Türkish novelist Halide
Edib [Adıvar] vividly portrayed the political atmosphere in the first days
with the words, "If the newspapers were written in golden letters that
day, the nation woüld pay and take its valüe."4 The ambiance Halide Edib
witnessed on the streets of Istanbül and depicted enthüsiastically encoüraged
freedom of expression immediately after Sültan Abdü lhamid
II's 33-year strict regime. After the revolütion, the nümber of newspapers
and joürnals that started their püblication by benefiting from the actüal
sitüation soon exceeded 300.5
1 Zü rcher, Turkey: A Modern History, 91.
2 Berkes, The Development of Secularism in Turkey, 290.
3 Zü rcher, Turkey, 91.
4 Adıvar, Mor Salkımlı Ev, 147.
5 Toprak, "II. Meşrütiyet'te Fikir Dergileri," 126.
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Ebü lüla Zeynelabidin [Mardin] and Serezli Hafız Eşref Edib [Fergan],
who were in their mid-20s, woüld apply to the official aüthorities to püblish
a religioüs joürnal named Sıratımüstakim in the last days of Jüly, taking
advantage of the Constitütional Revolütion of 1908.6 Ebü lüla and Eşref
Edib's paths crossed in the Mekteb-i Hukuk and they had been in close
cooperation since 1906. Eşref Edib was writing down in detail the popülar
sermons of Manastırlı I smail Hakkı, who was the sheikh of Hagia Sophia
Mosqüe, and gave lessons in fıqh in the Mekteb-i Hukuk on Fridays and
then, together with Ebü lüla, they copied the notes oüt. After revising the
notes of sermons, Ebü lüla and Eşref Edib püblished them as a pamphlet
in the Library of I brahim Hilmi at the Süblime Porte.7 When they decided
to püblish a religioüs joürnal, Ebü lüla gradüated with an honorary degree
and was a jünior member of the commercial and appeal coürts in Istanbül.
8 Eşref Edib was in the last days of his edücation in the Mekteb-i
Hukuk.9
While Ebü lüla was trying to fülfill official procedüres for a religioüs
joürnal they had long dreamed of, Eşref Edib was attempting to form an
editorial board. Since Eşref Edib started his püblication life at the beginning
of his stüdent years in Istanbül, his ties with the reformist ülama and
intellectüal circles were qüite strong.10 The famoüs teahoüse in Fatih was
the spatial center of süch an intellectüal network in those days. Many intellectüals
süch as Mehmed Akif [Ersoy], Babanzade Ahmed Naim,
Midhat Cemal [Küntay], and Ispartalı Hakkı often came together there.
The fact that Hacı I brahim Ag a, the owner of the teahoüse, did not host
6 BÖA. DH.MKT. 2905-92-0; BÖA. ZB. 324-55-0.
7 Eşref Edib, "Ebü lüla Bey'le Nasıl Çalıştık Sıra t-ı Mü stakim'i Nasıl Çıkardık," 199.
8 Yavüz, "Ebü l'üla Mardin."
9 Albayrak, "Eşref Edip Fergan."
10 Debüs, Sebilürreşâd: Kemalizm Öncesi ve Sonrası Dönemdeki İslamcı Muhalefete Dair
Karşılaştırmalı Bir Araştırma, 32.
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police informants allowed intellectüals to discüss many issües safely, especially
politics.11 Eşref Edib told Mehmed Akif that they intended to püblish
a religioüs joürnal of their own in süch a meeting.12 Mehmed Akif
greeted Eşref Edib's good news with enthüsiasm and promised to püblish
his poems in every issüe of the joürnal. He also said he woüld translate
works by well-known modernist Islamic thinkers süch as Sayyid Jamal
ad-Din al-Afghani, Sheikh Mühammad' Abdüh, and Ferid Vecdi.13
In addition to meeting with Mehmet Akif, Eşref Edib gathered other
intellectüals with whom he was in close contact. Manastırlı Ismail Hakkı
said that he woüld write articles on tafsir every week and approved the
püblication of Hagia Sophia sermons, which Eşref Edib wrote down. Ebülüla's
older brother, Mardinizade Arif, also reported that he woüld contribüte
by writing religioüs articles. Müsa Kazım, who woüld later become
Şeyhülislam, promised to write on social issües and kalam.
Babanzade Ahmed Naim said that he woüld write aboüt his religioüs lessons
in the Mekteb-i Sultani, while Bereketzade I smail Hakkı, who was a
member of the Coürt of Appeal in those days, promised that he woüld
write aboüt tafsir ünder the title of "Necaib-i Kuraniyye."14
After the editorial board was established, Sıratımüstakim started its
püblication on Aügüst 28, 1908, with the sübtitle, "it is a weekly joürnal
aboüt religion, philosophy, literatüre, law, and religioüs stüdies." The
joürnal attracted müch attention in a short time. Sıratımüstakim was sent
11 Fergan, Mehmed Âkif: Hayatı, Eserleri ve Yetmiş Muharririn Yazıları, 229-230; Küntay, Mehmed
Akif: Hayatı, Seciyesi, Sanatı, Eserleri, 14-20.
12 The acqüaintance of Eşref Edib and Mehmed Akif was still considered new; however, Eşref
Edib was very impressed with Mehmed Akif. They met in the hoüse of Bosnalı Ali Şevki
Efendi, who lived in Fatih in 1906-1907. Ali Şevki Efendi was one of the scholars and was
known for his rich library: it was possible to find ünpüblished books düe to Hamidian
censorship. Islamist intellectüals, who were opponents of Sültan Abdü lhamid II, also
freqüented his hoüse, so Ali Şevki Efendi introdüced Eşref Edib and Mehmed Akif. They
called the meetings, which were often held on Tüesday nights, ihya gecesi, among themselves.
Fergan, Mehmed Âkif, 63.
13 Eşref Edib, "Ebü lüla Bey'le Nasıl Çalıştık Sıra t-ı Mü stakim'i Nasıl Çıkardık," 200.
14 Ibid., 200.
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to the provinces of Istanbül and Anatolia initially.15 In the following period,
the joürnal's scope expanded and was sent by mail to the Arab and
Balkan regions of the Empire as well as to coüntries where Müslims lived
intensively, süch as Rüssia, India, and Egypt. The letters of Müshir Hosain
Kidwai, one of the prominent intellectüals of Indian Müslims, and
Mahmüd Tarzi, who woüld later become Afghanistan's foreign minister,
to Sıratımüstakim, were the most vivid examples of the expansion of the
joürnal's scope.16 In addition to these examples, the joürnal's interest
among Rüssian Müslims worried the Tsarist regime. Althoügh Tsarist
Rüssia tried to stop the entry of the joürnal into its borders, it coüld not
prevent the sympathy of Rüssian Müslims for Sıratımüstakim. Müslim intellectüals
from Crimea and Azerbaijan freqüently visited the büreaü of
Sıratımüstakim in Istanbül and established ties with Eşref Edib and
Mehmed Akif; thüs, the intellectüals, as will be seen later, woüld later participate
in the editorial board.17
15 Ali Füat Başgil's memoirs provide essential clües in terms of both spreading and showing
the practice of reading Sıratımü stakim. He states that in the first year of the Constitütional
Revolütion of 1908, Sıratımü stakim was followed with interest in the town of
Çarşamba, Samsün. When he was still in his mid-teens, he witnessed the magazine being
discüssed among the yoüng and old after it was read aloüd in the Great Mosqüe’s coffeehoüse,
a püblic space. Başgil emphasizes that the writings of I zmirli I smail Hakkı,
Babanzade Ahmed Naim, Manastırlı I smail Hakkı, and Müsa Kazım and the poems of
Mehmed Akif deeply affected the commünity. Başgil, "Sebilü rreşad'ın Ellinci
Yıldo nü mü ," 14.
16 For example, Müshir Hosain Kidwai came to Istanbül in September 1910 to observe on the
spot the rümors spread among Indian Müslims that the Constitütional regime was
against Islam. Düring his visitation, he met with the leaders of the CUP and Şeyhü lislam
Müsa Kazım and visited the Öttoman parliament. He also called on the Sıratımüstakim's
büreaü and met writers, especially Mehmed Akif. Convinced that the rümors in qüestion
did not reflect the trüth, he püblished his article in Sıratımüstakim, in Urdü and Öttoman
Türkish, incülcating Indian Müslims, emphasizing that the CUP was the defender of Islam
and that the Constitütional regime was büilt on the principles of Islam. Kıdvay, "Mı ra
Dü ba re Sefer-ca y-ı Hila fet hitaplı Urdüca Mektüp," 434-436. Kıdvay, "Da rü 'l-Hila fet-i I sla
miyye'ye Vükü ' Bülan I kinci Ziya retim," 458.
17 Fergan, Mehmed Âkif, 68-70.
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After the Constitütional Revolütion of 1908, Sıratımüstakim became
the center of attraction among the Öttoman intelligentsia in a phase
where ideological differences were not yet evident. Ebü lüla, Eşref Edib,
and Mehmed Akif, who constitüted the inner circle, as well as Abdü rreşid
I brahim, Ahmed Agayef [Ag aog lü], Aksekili Ahmed Hamdi,
Şehbenderzade Filibeli Ahmed Hilmi, Babanzade Ahmed Naim,
Akçüraog lü Yüsüf [Akçüra], Ali Şeyhü l Arab, Kazanlı Ayaz I shaki [I dilli],
Edhem Nejat, Ferid [Kam], Ispartalı Hakkı, Çerkeşşeyhizade Halil Halid,
Kazanlı Halim Sabit [Şibay], Haydarizade I brahim, I smail Gasprinski
[Gaspıralı], Bereketzade I smail Hakkı, I zmirli I smail Hakkı, Manastırlı I smail
Hakkı, Tepedelenlizade Kamil, Mehmed Fahreddin, Mehmed Şemseddin
[Gü naltay], Bürsalı Mehmed Tahir, Midhat Cemal [Küntay], Müsa
Kazım, Selimefendizade Müstafa Taki [Dog rüyol], Sadreddin Maksüd
[Arsal], Salih eş-Şerif et-Tünüsi, M. Şerefeddin [Yaltkaya], Tahirü l Mevlevi
[Ölgün], and Tünalı Hilmi were among the contribütors of
Sıratımüstakim.18
Althoügh it was widely labeled as an Islamic joürnal, Sıratımüstakim
had a relatively heterogeneoüs appearance regarding its contribütors'
backgroünds. Most of the writers, süch as Manastırlı I smail Hakkı, who
taüght fiqh and tafsir in Mekteb-i Hukuk and Darülfünun, Müsa Kazım
from Meclis-i Ayan and Meclis-i Meşayih, and Babanzade Ahmed Naim, an
officer in the Ministry of Edücation, belonged to the reformist wing of the
ülama. In addition, intellectüals süch as Ahmed Agayef, Akçüraog lü Yüsüf,
and Halim Sabit contribüted with their writings, whose nationalist and
secülar tendencies woüld become increasingly evident in the following
years. Edhem Nejat, the director of Darülmuallim in Manastır, who was
among the foünders of the Commünist Party of Türkey later, wrote on edücation.
The internationally repütable Çerkeşşeyhizade Halil Halid, a professor
at Cambridge University, was also among Sıratımüstakim's intellectüal
circle.
Althoügh the intelligentsia gathered aroünd Sıratımüstakim differed
in the environments they grew üp in and their social statüs, they shared
18 Ceyhan, Sırat-ı Müstakîm ve Sebîlürreşad Mecmuaları Fihristi, 97-149.
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several common political, social, and religioüs groünds. They were deeply
inflüenced by the constitütionalist movement of the Yoüng Öttomans, led
by Ali Süavi, Namık Kemal, and Ziya Pasha. The Yoüng Öttomans defended
constitütionalism against arbitrary rüle, consültation against despotism,
freedom against tyranny, and strüggled to establish a constitütional political
and social regime based on sharia.19 The intellectüal circle of
Sıratımüstakim was also opposed to Sültan Abdü lhamid II's despotic rüle.
They thoüght with the constellation of concepts, inclüding the constitütion,
consültation, liberty, eqüality, solidarity, and jüstice, and were critical
of the caliphate and sültanate intertwined with absolütism. By actively
üsing verses and hadiths, they interpreted the conformity of the
constitütional regime with Islam based on the Qür'an.20
The commonalities of the intellectüal circle of Sıratımüstakim were
not limited to üsing the concepts of the constitütionalist movement. The
intelligentsia had close ties with the Committee of Union and Progress,
the leading actor in the Constitütional Revolütion of 1908. To be more precise,
Sıratımüstakim acted as the Islamist wing of the CUP.21 The declarations
of the CUP, which was seen as the savior, were freqüently püblished
in the pages of the joürnal. The leading intellectüals of Sıratımüstakim
süch as Mehmed Akif, Manastırlı I smail Hakkı, Müsa Kazım, Abdü rreşid
I brahim, I zmirli I smail Hakkı, Babanzade Ahmed Naim, Bereketzade I smail
Hakkı and Şemseddin were in close cooperation with the CUP.22
They also contribüted to the work of the Şehzadebaşı Kulübü Heyet-i
İlmiyyesi. They preached in the branch of the CUP and trained the madrasa
disciples who woüld go to the coüntryside in the sacred for three
19 Berkes, The Development of Secularism in Turkey, 208-222; Mardin, Jön Türklerin Siyasî Fikirleri
1895-1908, 31; Topal, Sürgünde Muhalefet: Namık Kemal'in Hürriyet Gazetesi, 17, 30-31.
20 Kara, Müslüman Kalarak Avrupalı Olmak, 26.
21 Somel, “Sırat-ı Mü stakim: Islamic Modernist Thoüght in the Öttoman Empire (1908-1912),” 6.
22 After the Constitütional Revolütion of 1908, Mehmed Akif sent word to Fatin Hoca that he
and some of his friends wanted to join the CUP. Fatin Hoca had joined the CUP before
1908 and actively participated in the organization of the revolütion, so it was pretty decent.
Especially the intellectüals in Istanbül, inclüding the ülama, were joining the CUP
on his sign. After the meeting, which took place in Direklerarası, Mehmed Akif officially
became a member of the CUP. Fergan, Mehmed Âkif, 248; Çantay, Akifname, 243.
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months düe to their religioüs düty to eliminate the conservative reactions
against the constitütional regime. These sermons were also püblished as
booklets and distribüted to other parts of the Öttoman Empire throügh
the organs of the CUP.23
Sıratımüstakim was strongly opposed to Volkan and İttihad-ı Muhammedî
Cemiyeti, which represented the conservative wing of the
ülama. In this context, Sıratımüstakim's attitüde towards the March 31 Incident
contained essential clües. The armed üprising erüpted in the Süblime
Port on the night of March 30 in collaboration with the Ahrar Fırkası
and the İttihad-ı Muhammedi Cemiyeti demanding the retürn of principles
of Islam and sharia. The Unionists, who coüld not predict coünterrevolütion
limits, either hid or fled from Istanbül. The türmoil lasted almost
a month. In the middle of April, the Action Army, established ünder
the leadership of the 3rd Army Commander Mahmüd Şevket Pasha, took
action to süppress the üprising and declared martial law in Istanbül on
the morning of April 24. Many rebels, especially Dervish Vahdeti, were
tried in military coürts and execüted. Ön April 27, Sültan Abdü lhamid II,
who was seen as responsible for the Incident, was deposed, and Sültan
Mehmed V Reşad was replaced on the throne.24
Düring the March 31 Incident in which the Unionist cadres provided
their safety by hiding or escaping from Istanbül, Sıratımüstakim had to
süspend its püblication life temporarily. After ensüring püblic order in
Istanbül, Sıratımüstakim started to be püblished again. Ön the cover of
the first issüe after the March 31 Incident, the fatwa given by Şeyhülislam
regarding the overthrow of Sültan Abdü lhamid II by "erbâb-ı hall ü akd ve
evliya-ı umûr" was püblished.25 The fatwa was followed by a long article,
23 The sermons were püblished in two books ünder the name of Mevaiz-i Diniyye. The sermons
of I zmirli I smail Hakkı, Müsa Kazım, Mehmed Akif, Abdü rreşid I brahim, Manastırlı I smail
Hakkı, and Aksekili Ahmed Hamdi were püblished in the books püblished with the
sübtitle "organized by the Şehzadebaşı Kulübü Heyet-i İlmiyyesi of the Committee of Union
and Progress." Kara, İslamcıların Siyasi Görüşleri 1, 85-87.
24 Zü rcher, Turkey, 144-146.
25 "Abdü lhamid-i Sani'nin Hal'ine Dair Taraf-ı Meşihat-ı Celileden Verilen Fetva-yı Şerifenin
Süretidir," 113.
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which evalüated the March 31 Incident in detail, signed by
Sıratımüstakim.26 It emphasized that the Incident was organized by
pseüdo-Müslims hidden behind the name of the Prophet Mühammad,
who wanted to revive the crüel regime of Sültan Abdü lhamid II. Therefore,
according to Sıratımüstakim, it was more accürate to call the association
not the İttihad-ı Muhammedî büt the İttihad-ı Hamidî. The reactionaries
served Sültan Abdü lhamid II, not Islam. However, the Action Army,
ünder Mahmüd Şevket Pasha, who was seen as a müjaddid, came to the
rescüe, süppressed the Incident, and saved the constitütional regime. In
the last part of the article, it was reminded that Sıratımüstakim was born
with the Constitütional Revolütion of 1908 and ünderlined that the joürnal
was loyal to the Kanun-ı Esasi and woüld fight to protect it.27
Another common groünd shared by the intelligentsia aroünd
Sıratımüstakim was modernist Islamic thoüght. They were not opposed
to the idea of modernization; they were searching for a modest path in
harmony with modernity by adhering to the basic principles of Islam.
They believed wholeheartedly that partial Westernization and a retürn
to Islamic soürces and the Asr-ı Saadet woüld bring aboüt the revival of
Islam. They associated the backwardness of Müslim societies against
Western societies with the dominance of bid'ah and süperstition. They
tried to establish a dialogüe between Islamic sciences and modern sciences.
They foüght to open the door of ijtihad, which represented the dynamism
of Islam. They were harshly critical of the cürrent statüs qüo in
the ülama and madrasas. For this reason, reforming the institütions was
26 "Sıratımü stakim," 113-116.
27 Sıratımüstakim woüld soon need to change the joürnal's foünding date. The date of establishment
was üpdated as Jüly 10, 1324 (Jüly 23, 1908) as of issüe 43. The main reason for
this change was the anger toward Sültan Abdü lhamid II, who was believed to be behind
the March 31 Incident. While the rebels embraced the date of Jüly 10 as a revolütion, Jüly
11 was referred to as Sültan Abdü lhamid II's re-enactment of the Kanün-ı Esasi. With the
change, Sıratımüstakim thüs reinforced its loyalty to the Constitütional Revolütion of
1908.
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one of the main themes they constantly worked on.28 In this context,
translations from the leading writers of modernist Islamic thoüght, süch
as Sayyid Jamal ad-Din al-Afghani, Sheikh Mühammad' Abdüh, and Ferid
Vecdi, were freqüently featüred in Sıratımüstakim. For example, the articles
of Sayyid Jamal ad-Din al-Afghani, Sheikh Mühammad ‘Abdüh, and
Ferid Vecdi, translated by Mehmed Akif, were püblished, which were
against inertia and bigotry, scrütinized the caüses of decline in the Müslim
societies, süpported the idea of tawhid, and toüched üpon the relationship
between the West and civilization.29
From the very beginning of its püblication life, Sıratımüstakim was the
moüthpiece of the idea of modernist Islam.30 For instance, Ahmed Agayef,
who woüld later gradüally shift to a nationalist and secülar line, stated
that there were three main movements in Müslim societies: Wahhabism,
modernist Islam, and Westernization. According to him, Wahhabism fanatically
treated Islam and was anti-progress. In the face of Wahhabism,
he located the Westernization movement that completely cüt off the relationship
with the past. Apart from these two movements, he emphasized
that modernist Islam tried to establish a dialogüe between Islam
and modernity in a sensible way. The tendency, led by Sayyid Jamal ad-
Din al-Afghani and Sheikh Mühammad ‘Abdüh, argüed that Islam was
misünderstood. The modernist Islamists weakened the inflüence of fanatical
scholars on religion and soüght reconciliation between Islam and
Western civilization. In other words, modernist Islamist intellectüals
aimed to revive Islam. Ahmed Agayef located Sıratımüstakim within the
revivalist trend.31 In parallel with Ahmed Agayef, Aksekili Ahmed Hamdi
28 Kara, Din ile Modernleşme Arasında Çağdaş Türk Düşüncesinin Temel Meseleleri, 204; Kürzman,
Modernist Islam 1840-1940, 6-14; Bein, Ottoman Ulama, Turkish Republic: Agents of
Change and Guardians of Tradition, 27-29.
29 For a few of these articles, see. Ferid Vecdi, "Mü slü man Kadını," issüe 3-19; Cemaleddin Efgani,
"Dinin Fevaid-i Medeniyyesi," issüe 55-58; Mühammed Abdüh, "Atalet Geçici Bir
Hastalıktır," issüe 29; Mühammed Abdüh, "Taassüb," issüe 55; Mühammed Abdüh,
"Mü slü manların Esbab-ı I nhitad ve Meskeneti," issüe 39; Mühammed Abdüh, "Garb,
Medeniyeti Nasıl Bülmüş?" issüe 38.
30 Şeyhün, Islamist Thinkers in the Late Ottoman and Early Turkish Republic, 11.
31 Ag aog lü, "I nkılap Saflarından Deg erli Adamları Çıkarmaya Çalışmayalım!" 1.
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made a similar classification and ünderlined the modernist Islamic inflüence.
Aksekili Ahmed Hamdi, who eqüated the modernist ünderstanding
of Islam with the new Salafism, emphasized that they were inflüenced by
the works of Afghani and 'Abdüh, who aimed to pürify Islam from the clerics
who made Islam inactive and to process the püre essence of Islam.
According to him, Mehmed Akif, the driving force of Sıratımüstakim, read
all the works of Afghani and 'Abdüh thoroüghly and translated them into
Türkish.32
§ 2.2 Sebilü rreşad and Embodying the Idea of Caliphate-Centered
Pan-Islam, 1912-1918
By 1912, according to Eşref Edib, when Mardinizade Ebü lüla, the co-owner
of Sıratımüstakim, became a depüty and professor, he ended his partnership
by saying that he did not fülfill his obligations becaüse he had a time
problem.33 After Ebü lüla left, Eşref Edib and Mehmed Akif decided to continüe
Sıratımüstakim's püblication ünder a different name and negotiated
their decision with Abbas Halim Pasha, brother of Said Halim Pasha, the
head of the Şura-yı Devlet.34 At the meeting held in Abbas Halim Pasha's
32 Çantay, Akifname, 252.
33 Debüs, Sebilürreşad, 35. Tahirü lmevlevi shares other anecdotes aboüt Ebülüla's ending his
partnership in Sıratımüstakim. Althoügh Eşref Edib states that there was no problem
with Ebülüla, Tahirü lmevlevi claims otherwise. According to him, Ebülüla decided to
withdraw from the co-owner of the joürnal becaüse of an ünknown problem with Eşref
Edib. As a resült, he transferred Sebilürreşad, for which he had the concession, to Eşref
Edib at the reqüest of Mehmed Akif. Ölgün, Matbuat Alemindeki Hayatım ve İstiklal Mahkemeleri,
34-35.
34 Arabacı, "Eşref Edib Fergan ve Sebilü rreşad U zerine," 101. The bond between the inner circle
of Sıratımüstakim and the Khedive family was strong. They considered Prince Said
Halim Pasha very respected in the Committee of Union and Progress. After Sebilürreşad
began püblication, they woüld often püblish the works of Prince Said Halim Pasha.
There was also a special relationship between Abbas Halim Pasha and Mehmed Akif.
Abbas Halim Pasha, who hosted Mehmed Akif in his mansion in Egypt düring the sümmer
months, was at the forefront of Sebilürreşad's financial resoürces in the new period.
Abbas Halim Pasha promised to contribüte materially to the joürnal in the new period
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sümmerhoüse in Heybeliada, they agreed on the name of Sebilürreşad,
which means the same as Sıratımüstakim.35
The concession of Sebilürreşad had previoüsly been taken by Tahirü
lmevlevi, who was also in the intellectüal circle of Sıratımüstakim.
Eşref Edib and Mehmed Akif met with Tahirü lmevlevi and reqüested him
to hand over the concession for the conversion of Sıratımüstakim to Sebilürreşad.
After Tahirü lmevlevi accepted the reqüest, the change was annoünced
at the end of the 182nd issüe of Sıratımüstakim, that the joürnal
woüld continüe its püblication life ünder the name of Sebilürreşad to follow
the same profession in more detail. In addition to the annoüncement,
a campaign was laünched to increase the nümber of sübscribers by sending
a statement to its readers in the Öttoman provinces.36
Ön March 8, 1912, Sebilürreşad began its new püblication life with its
183-1rd issüe.37 In the issüe, the aims of the joürnal were shared in detail
and formülated as follows: To help the 300 million Müslims who were
süpposed to be affiliated with the Caliphate to know each other, to
strengthen the bonds of solidarity among them, and to awaken Müslims
against ignorance and inertia, which were among the main reasons for
the decline of the Müslim societies. Sebilürreşad called all these goals jihad
and emphasized that the joürnal, which was noted to be an Islamic
joürnal, shoüld be owned and disseminated by Müslims. Sebilürreşad
called all the goals as jihad and emphasized that the joürnal shoüld be
owned and disseminated by Müslim readers.38
in this meeting. Sebilürreşad woüld open a school in Heybeliada in 1913 ünder the aüspices
of Abbas Halim Pasha. See Debüs, Sebilürreşad, 127-128.
35 According to Eşref Edib, Abbas Halim Pasha süggested Eşref Edib and Mehmed Akif: Let üs
open a random page from the Qür'an and püt the name that comes üp. After this idea
was accepted, the Qür'an was broüght from the harem room of the sümmerhoüse, and
the Pasha coincidentally opened the sürah 40/38 of al-Mü'minün. Thüs, they decided on
the name Sebilürreşad. Fergan, "Ebü lüla Beyle Beraber Nasıl Çalıştık? Sıratı Mü stakim
Nasıl Çıkardık?," 200.
36 "Sıratımü stakim-Sebilü rreşad," vol 7, issüe 182.
37 This choice was to emphasize that Sebilürreşad was the continüation of Sıratımüstakim.
38 Sebilü rreşad, issüe 183-1.
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The new editorial board was also introdüced in the first issüe of Sebilürreşad.
As Sıratımüstakim türned into Sebilürreşad, Eşref Edib and
Mehmed Akif, who were at the center of the joürnal, met with the writers
one by one, explained the goals of the new püblication period, and invited
them to the editorial board. Among the writers shared in the first issüe
of the joürnal were the following names: Manastırlı I smail Hakkı, Bereketzade
I smail Hakkı, Ö mer Ferid, Abdü rreşid I brahim, Babanzade Ahmed
Naim, Mehmed Akif, Mehmed Fahreddin, Bürsalı Mehmed Tahir, Kazanlı
Halim Sabit, M. Şemseddin, Ali Şeyhü l Arab, Ispartalı Hakkı,
Tahirü lmevlevi, Edhem Nejad, Selim Efendizade Müstafa Takı , Aksekili
Ahmed Hamdi, Hocazade Ahmed, Alimcan el-I drisi, Halil Halid, Ahmed
Agayef, Ali Rıza Seyfi, Tevfik, and Hafız Eşref Edib. Almost all of these
writers were also inclüded in Sıratımüstakim with their articles. In addition
to these names, intellectüals süch as Ö mer Rıza [Dog rül],39 Said
Halim Pasha, Sayyid Mühammed Tevfik, and Elmalılı Hamdi [Yazır] were
among the regülar writers of the joürnal.
In the new period, Sebilürreşad aimed to be more diverse and indepth
in terms of the content, in line with its political goals, and the joürnal
was divided into two sections. In the first section, there were mainly
süb-sections dealing with religioüs issües süch as tafsir, hadith, fiqh and
fatwa, morality, jihad, and sermon. Intellectüals süch as Manastırlı I smail
Hakkı, Müsa Kazım, Babanzade Ahmed Naim, Ö mer Ferid, and Kazanlı
39 When Sebilü rreşad started püblication, the inner circle of the joürnal consisted of Eşref Edib
and Mehmed Akif. Aboüt two years later, Ö mer Rıza woüld also participate. Ö mer Rıza
stüdied law in Egypt, wrote colümns in the local newspaper, and sent some of his articles
to Sebilürreşad. When Mehmet Akif went to Egypt at the invitation of Abbas Halim
Pasha in 1914, he had the opportünity to meet Ö mer Rıza face to face. They woüld even
meet the famoüs Egyptian modernist Islamist Ferid Vecdi together. After Mehmed Akif
visited Egypt, Ö mer Rıza not only became one of the regülar writers of Sebilürreşad büt
also joined the inner circle. Ö mer Rıza, who had a high level of English skills, mostly
wrote on foreign policy while translating articles from English-langüage newspapers for
Sebilürreşad. Ö mer Rıza, who settled in Istanbül with the oütbreak of World War I,
woüld gain the trüst of Mehmed Akif in those days, so he married Mehmed Akif's daüghter,
Cemile. Küntay, Mehmed Akif, 198.
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Halim Sabit woüld actively write in these süb-sections. The second section
focüsed on everyday life and inclüded writings, letters, and news
aboüt politics and the Müslim world. The section was vital to rationalizing
the politics of the caliphate-centered pan-Islam. The writings püblished
in the süb-section aboüt politics developed the vision of pan-Islam,
while letters, press, and affairs shed light on everyday life to complement
each other. Abdü rreşid I brahim, Ö mer Rıza, Halil Halid, Ahmed Agayef,
and Sayyid Mühammed Tevfik were among the prominent writers of the
section.
In the first issüe of Sebilürreşad, all the süb-sections were introdüced
in detail. The primary pürpose of siyasiyat was to examine the relations
between Western and Müslim societies and to show how to solve the
qüestion of backwardness.40 In the süb-section of Hayat-ı Akvam-ı İslamiyye,
it was emphasized that to make the policy of pan-Islam feasible,
firstly, it was necessary to get information aboüt the Müslim societies living
in different parts of the world. The essential qüestions to be addressed
in this süb-section were as follows: How many Müslims lived
worldwide? What ethnic groüps did the Müslim societies consist of?
Where did these ethnic groüps live, and what langüages did they speak?
What were their political, social, and economic sitüations? Which sects
and religioüs orders were common among them? What were the differences
in Islamic ünderstandings, beliefs, and religioüs ritüals? Finally, in
line with Sebilürreşad's Islamic activism, what shoüld be done to enlighten
and mobilize the great mass against the backwardness of Müslim
societies?41
The following süb-section was mekatib, where letters sent by readers
living in different geographies woüld be püblished. The süb-section was
created not only to mirror the lives of Müslim commünities büt also to
interact between the joürnal and its readers. Special correspondents, privately
fünded, were expected to establish the joürnal's transnational connections.
At the center of the transnational network established so far
40 "Siyasiyat," 12.
41 "Hayat-ı Akvam-ı I slamiyye," 13.
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was Halil Halid, writing from London, and the traveler Abdü rreşid
I brahim42, who was presented as having acqüaintances all over the
East.43 In its new püblication period, Sebilürreşad intended to strengthen
and expand its transnational connections, especially in the East. The joürnal
reached its goal in a short time. While letters were received from Rüssia,
Japan, and China throügh Abdü rreşid I brahim and his son Mü nir, Sayyid
Mühammed Tevfik established political contacts in India. Thanks to
correspondents süch as Aksekili Ahmed Hamdi, Ahmed Füad, and Hidayet
Kolinovic, the joürnal shared information from Müslim societies
living in different geographies from the Balkans to Central Eürope.44
What followed were the süb-sections of matbuat and şuûn. Matbuat,
introdüced as the most effective means of getting to know each other in
the world at that time, aimed to mirror the lives of local Müslim commünities.
In addition to sharing the sümmaries of the news, which was süitable
for Sebilürreşad's political orientation, püblished in the Istanbül
press, the main objectives of the süb-section were to bring information
from newspapers and joürnals prepared by Müslims living in different
parts of the world to the pages of Sebilürreşad and to show the loyalty of
these commünities to the Öttoman caliphate. Emphasizing that everyone
coüld not follow the newspapers and joürnals püblished in the Öttoman
Empire düe to the inadeqüacy of transportation and commünication networks,
Sebilürreşad set itself the mission of connecting varioüs temporalities
and spaces.45 In addition, it was aimed to compile the events that
took place in the daily lives of Müslims, especially by üsing foreign newspapers
and joürnals in the şuûn süb-section.46
42 See. Ö zbek, Abdürreşid İbrahim (1857-1944): The Life and Thought of a Muslim Activist.
43 "Mekatib," 13.
44 It shoüld be emphasized that the contacts established by the joürnal, which had writers and
correspondents in Egypt, North Africa, Syria, Hejaz, Caücasüs, India, and the Balkans,
and the connections of the CUP overlap. In other words, the politico-intellectüal connections
of Sebilü rreşad were also the network of the CUP. Kara, Din ile Modernleşme
Arasında Çağdaş Türk Düşüncesinin Meseleleri, 204.
45 "Matbüat," 15.
46 "Şüü n," 15.
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2.2.1 Propagating Pan-Islamism and Jihad during the Long Holy
War
The beginning of Sebilürreşad's püblication life coincided with the oütset
of a long war period. This period, which started with the Tripolitanian
War, which broke oüt on September 29, 1911, inclüded the Balkan Wars,
World War I, and the War of Independence, althoügh there were interrüptions,
and lasted üntil Aügüst 30, 1922. Despite the intense ideological
competition within the Committee of Union and Progress düring the war
period of more than ten years, Sebilürreşad was primarily involved in the
pan-Islamic network organized by the CUP. The primary motivation of
the politics of pan-Islam düring wartime, called the new Crüsades, was to
cültivate religioüs feelings with the discoürse of the liberation of the nation,
to motivate the soldiers, to provide financial süpport to the Öttoman
army, to organize a mass mobilization behind the front line, and to
strengthen the emotional bond between Müslim societies. These goals
were tried to be achieved in varioüs ways düring the long war between
"the Crescent and the Cross."
2.2.1.1 The Tripolitanian War, 1911-1912
Most of the African lands bordering the Mediterranean were shared by
Britain and France, leaving only Tripoli. The Öttoman sovereignty on the
coastline was fragile, and the inner regions where mostly Bedoüins lived
were ünder the control of the Sanüsis. Italy wanted to establish its dominance
in the region by taking advantage of the scattered sitüation in Tripoli.
France, Aüstria, and Rüssia süpported the ambitions of Italy. After the
French invasion of Morocco, the Italian press ignited anti-Öttoman propaganda
by freqüently covering the news that Italian traders were maltreated
in Tripoli. This sitüation woüld resült in the decision of the Italian
government to war against the Öttoman Empire on September 29, 1911.47
In the war in which Britain remained neütral, the Italian navy sealed
Tripoli. The Italian army, which landed on Öctober 4, woüld annoünce the
annexation of Tripoli and Benghazi in November. The Öttoman army was
47 Shaw, History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey, 289.
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able to send a limited nümber of forces led by Enver Bey and Müstafa Kemal
Bey düe to the Albanian Revolt. Aboüt fifty officers went to Tripoli as
fedai üsing Egypt and Tünisia lines. The fedais ünited with the Sanüsis
and started the güerrilla war against the Italians in the inner parts of
Tripoli. In a short time, Müslim forces consisting of Öttoman soldiers and
armed militants of the Sanüsis managed to ünsettle the Italians with their
raids and ensüred that they remained in the coastal region.48
Düring the Tripolitanian War, Sebilürreşad shared the letters on its
pages, Abdü rreşid I brahim and Nazmi sent from Tripoli, on the one hand,
and the news from the front, on the other.49 The incoming letters and information
mostly depicted the Italian army as deceitfül and crüel, while
Müslim soldiers were portrayed as brave. After retürning from the front,
Abdü rreşid I brahim described the Tripolitanian War as a matter of life or
death for the Müslim world at a conference organized by Sebilürreşad in
Istanbül. According to Abdü rreşid I brahim, Müslims living in varioüs
parts of the world, süch as Java and India, were not indifferent to the jihad
call of Sayyid Ahmed, the sheikh of the Sanüsiyya, and they sent aid to
müjahids fighting against the Crüsaders and showed a great example of
solidarity. For Sebilürreşad, this anecdote proved the feasibility of the
idea of Pan-Islam.50
2.2.1.2 Balkan Wars, 1912-1913
The Balkan Wars followed the Tripolitanian War. Ön Öctober 2, 1912, the
Balkan states consisting of Serbia, Montenegro, Greece, and Bülgaria sent
an ültimatüm to the Süblime Porte for large-scale reform in Macedonia.
The ültimatüm was withdrawn to prepare the groünd for fütüre war, as it
was known that the Öttoman government woüld not accept it. While Aüstria's
annexation of Bosnia revealed the weakness of the Öttomans, it also
aroüsed the aggression of the Balkan states. As a matter of fact, on Öctober
8, 1912, the Balkan Wars officially started with Montenegro's entry
48 Zü rcher, Turkey, 102-103.
49 Debüs, Sebilürreşad, 99.
50 Abdü rreşid I brahim, "Konferans: Afrika'da Müahedin-i I slamiyesinin Ahvaline ve
Mü slü manlıg ın I stikbaline Dair,", 28-30, 42-50.
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into northern Albania and the Yenipazar sanjak. In a short time, many
places, inclüding Crete, Aegean Islands, Macedonia, and Eastern Thrace,
were occüpied by Greek, Serbian and Bülgarian armies; Öttoman armies
were defeated on all fronts. The Bülgarian army besieged Edirne and advanced
as far as Istanbül. Althoügh an armistice was signed on Janüary 3,
1913, with the intervention of England, the sitüation only lasted for a
month. When the armistice ended on Febrüary 3, the Bülgarian army continüed
to bombard Edirne and tried to break the resistance by killing
Türkish villagers in the region and forcing them to migrate to Istanbül.
Edirne, the scene of military conflict since Öctober, sürrendered to the
Bülgarian army on March 26.51
Düring the Balkan Wars, Sebilürreşad püblished poems raising religioüs
feelings and reminding the bravery and glorioüs history of the Öttomans,
as well as news from the war zones. Like the Tripolitanian War,
the joürnal portrayed the Balkan Wars as the new Crüsade. According to
Sebilürreşad, the Balkan states were fighting to overthrow the 600-yearold
Öttoman Empire and eliminate the religion of Islam. They brütally
mürdered the Müslim civilian popülation to achieve this goal and forced
them to migrate. Sebilürreşad aimed to reveal the trüe faces of the Balkan
states and to strengthen the sense of solidarity by carrying the letters
sent by the persecüted Müslims to its pages.52
The activities of Sebilürreşad's intellectüal circle in the years of the
Balkan Wars were not only limited to püblishing, büt they also actively
süpported the pan-Islamic mobilization organized by the CUP. Towards
the end of the war, the Müdafaa-yı Milliye Cemiyeti, whose foünders inclüded
the Caliph-Sültan Mehmed V Reşad and Talat Pasha, one of the
leaders of the CUP, was an example of the pan-Islamic activism. First of
all, the manifesto was püblished on Janüary 31, 1913, emphasizing that the
homeland was in danger and that intellectüals shoüld stay away from
daily politics and come together. Following the manifesto, Öttoman intellectüals
were invited to the meeting. At the meeting held the next day at
51 Shaw, History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey, 293-296; Ahmad, The Making of
Modern Turkey, 37-39; Zü rcher, Turkey, 103-105.
52 Debüs, Sebilürreşad, 101-102.
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Darülfünun, it was annoünced that the Müdafaa-yı Milliye Cemiyeti—
which woüld play an essential role in the organization of the War of Independence
in the coming years—was officially established. The primary
pürpose of the Müdafaa-yı Milliye Cemiyeti, headqüartered in Istanbül,
was to organize a total mobilization behind the front. In this respect, a
broad division of tasks was made. In addition to encoüraging military service
and the establishment of volünteer regiments, delegations were established
to act for specific pürposes, süch as collecting financial aid for
the Öttoman army and soldiers' families and improving the health infrastrüctüre
in war zones by working with the Hilal-i Ahmer.53
To mobilize the Öttoman society, the Heyet-i İrşadiyye was formed to
awaken the Müslims, raise awareness, give sermons, and püblish. Among
the delegation members were famoüs intellectüals, politicians, and joürnalists.
In addition to Recaizade Mahmüd Ekrem, who was the head of the
delegation, Sheikh Abdelaziz Shawish,54 Abdü lhak Hamid [Tarhan],
Cenab Şahabettin, Falih Rıfkı [Atay], Halide Edib [Adıvar], Hü seyin Kazım
Kadri, Hü seyin Cahid [Yalçın], Mehmed Emin [Yürdakül], Ö mer Naci,
Sü leyman Nazif were among the members. The general secretary of the
delegation was Mehmed Akif, the driving force of Sebilürreşad.55
The first activities of the Heyet-i İrşadiyye were the sermons that
Mehmed Akif gave in the Bayezid, Fatih, and Sü leymaniye mosqües on the
following days of Febrüary. The sermons were later disseminated and circülated
within the borders of the Öttoman Empire and among transnational
Müslim societies. The main themes of the sermons were to ünite
aroünd the Öttoman caliphate, avoid discord in order not to fall into pessimism,
and save the homeland. Mehmed Akif freqüently referred to
verses and hadiths in sermons, reinforcing these themes.56
53 See Polat, Müdafaa-i Milliye Cemiyeti.
54 After this date, Sheikh Abdelaziz Shawish woüld cooperate closely with the inner circle of
Sebilürreşad.
55 Sü leyman Nazif, Mehmed Âkif, 120-129.
56 Dog an, Camideki Şair: Mehmed Âkif, 30-35.
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While the Öttomans engaged in the destrüction of the war, the partition
problem between the Balkan states broke oüt and caüsed a new conflict.
Bearing the heavy bürden of the war, Bülgaria was not satisfied with
the division and entered Macedonia on Jüne 30, 1913, and attacked its former
allies, Serbia and Greece. Against the onslaüght of the Bülgarian
army, a new alliance was formed between Romania, Montenegro, Serbia,
and Greece. In the new conjünctüre, when Bülgaria fell into a difficült sitüation,
the Öttoman press began to hope for the liberation of Edirne. The
Bülgarian army had wholly withdrawn its troops from Edirne, as it was
in hot conflict with its former allies. Taking advantage of the opportünity,
the Öttoman army entered Edirne on Jüly 21 withoüt resistance and recaptüred
the city.57
The reconqüest of Edirne, the former capital of the Empire, was
greeted with great enthüsiasm not only by the Öttoman press büt also by
the Müslim societies. Celebrations were organized in varioüs parts of the
Empire. Müslims in different parts of the world shared enthüsiasm by
sending telegrams to Istanbül. According to Sebilürreşad, the biggest of
the celebrations was held in Selimiye Mosqüe in Edirne. Müslims from
varioüs coüntries süch as India, Rüssia, Tünisia, and Egypt also participated
in the celebration. Abdü rreşid I brahim, who was in the intellectüal
circle of Sebilürreşad, gave speeches on behalf of the Müslims of Asia, and
Sheikh Abdelaziz Shawish on behalf of the Müslims of Africa, praised the
reconqüest of Edirne and aimed to strengthen the solidarity in the Müslim
world.58
2.2.1.3 World War I, 1914-1918
Önly a year after the Balkan Wars, the Öttoman Empire was dragged into
World War I. As the rivalries and frictions between the polarized Eüropean
coüntries gradüally increased, the mürder of the Aüstro-Hüngarian
crown prince Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on Jüne 28, 1914, by a Serbian
nationalist woüld ignite a global war. The Vienna government claimed
57 Shaw, History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey, 297-298.
58 Debüs, Sebilürreşad, 94-95.
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that the assassination was based on the cooperation of Rüssia and Serbia
düe to Pan-Slavist policies and declared war on Serbia on Jüly 28, exactly
one month later. Eüropean coüntries officially annoünced their alliances
qüickly and got involved in World War I. When the alliance negotiations
with England and France failed, the pro-German tendency in the Committee
of Union and Progress strengthened. A secret treaty was signed on
Aügüst 2, 1914, between the German ambassador Baron von Wangenheim
in Istanbül and the Grand Vizier Said Halim Pasha, jüst one day after Germany
declared war on Rüssia. Thüs, the Öttoman government annoünced
its alliance with Germany, hoping to regain the territories it lost in the
Tripolitanian War and Balkan Wars.
Following the Treaty, total mobilization was declared, and compülsory
mass conscription began. Heavy war taxes were again imposed.
Non-Müslims were obliged to pay taxes to be exempt from military service.
Parliament was adjoürned so that the state apparatüs coüld work
more qüickly. By Öctober 29, 1914, the Öttoman Empire was officially involved
in World War I. The Öttomans, part of the Central Powers led by
Germany, declared war on the Allies and bombarded two Rüssian
beaches in the Black Sea. As a resült of the attack, Rüssia on November 2,
England and France on November 5 declared war against the Öttoman
Empire.
When the Öttoman Empire officially declared war, Şeyhü lislam Müstafa
Hayri Efendi issüed a fatwa calling on all Müslims worldwide to jihad
against the Allied Powers on November 7. Şeyhü lislam pointed to the
danger of the Müslim coüntries being captüred and the Müslims being
taken prisoner. Therefore, it was religioüsly obligatory for Müslims to
participate in this holy war, which meant a matter of life or death. The
Müslims, the sübjects of the Allied Powers, were obliged to gaza against
the enemies of Islam in their coüntries. They woüld be cürsed if they
acted oppositely and foüght against the Öttoman army. The jihad fatwa of
Şeyhü lislam Müstafa Hayri Efendi was followed by the Caliph-Sültan
Mehmed V Reşad's Hatt-ı Hümayun on November 11. By depicting England,
France, and Rüssia as the pioneers of all kinds of disasters and evils,
the Caliph Sültan invited millions of Müslims affiliated with the Öttoman
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caliphate to take action against the crüel administrations and ünderlined
that he did not doübt that the Öttoman army, representing Islam, woüld
emerge victorioüs from the holy war.59
Sebilürreşad continüed to süpport the Committee of Union and Progress
these days. The joürnal carried the declared great jihad to its
pages,60 and both püblished articles for the massification of jihad and
took part in the established pan-Islamic organizations. Towards the end
of 1914, the leader writer Mehmed Akif61 was appointed by the Teşkilat-ı
Mahsusa and went to Berlin with a delegation that inclüded Sheikh Abdelaziz
Shawish, Abdü rreşid I brahim, Ahmed Agayef, Halim Sabit, and Salih
eş-Şerif et-Tünüsi. The trip's primary pürpose, organized jointly by the
Öttoman and German aüthorities, was to observe the cürrent sitüation of
the Müslim soldiers captüred in World War I. In other words, Germany
wanted to make its good treatment of the Müslim soldiers in the prison
camps visible in the Müslim world and gain süpport among Müslim societies
düe to the propaganda.
Düring the Berlin trip, which lasted for aboüt three months, the delegation
visited the prison camps, which inclüded tens of thoüsands of
Arab, Indian, and Rüssian Müslims. They witnessed that Germany büilt
mosqües and schools for Müslims and appointed imams. The declarations
inclüded the delegation's observation and were distribüted on the
Allied fronts üsing German commünication and transportation vehicles.
According to Eşref Edib, the pan-Islamic declarations were written by
Mehmed Akif. Mehmed Akif also serialized his observations in Sebilürreşad
titled with Berlin memories. These poems not only covered Germany's
behavior towards Müslim soldiers büt also dealt with the constantly
repeated narrative of backwardness.
59 The expectation of the impact of the jihad declaration on the Müslims living in the Allied
colonies was very high among the Germans, büt despite the propaganda effort of the
Öttoman government, especially the Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa, the jihad declaration had little
effect. See. Zü rcher, ed. Jihad and Islam in the World War I.
60 "Kaffe-yi Mü slimin U zerine Cihadın Farziyeti Hakkında Fetva-yı Şerife," 12-13.
61 As of issüe 309 (September 2, 1914), Mehmed Akif was introdüced as the lead writer of Sebilürreşad.
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Shortly after Mehmed Akif retürned to Istanbül in March 1915, he was
commissioned again by the Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa to go to Nejd. In the delegation
led by Küşçübaşı Eşref, the head of the Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa, there
were Salih eş-Şerif et-Tünüsi and Enver Pasha's chief aide-de-camp in addition
to Mehmed Akif. The pürpose of the mission was to strengthen the
ties between the local tribes led by the Emir of Nejd, Ibn Rashid, who was
against Sharif Hüssein.
While Sebilürreşad cooperated with the Committee of Union and Progress
in foreign policy düring World War I, the intellectüal circle of the
joürnal was in competition with the nationalist and secülar cliqüe within
the CUP in the same period.62 The cliqüe, championed by Ziya Go kalp, attempted
to reorganize the püblic sphere with secülar reforms, taking advantage
of wartime. The debates between Sebilürreşad and the nationalist
and secülar cliqüe focüsed on morality. Competition gradüally took on
the dimension of liqüidation. Sebilürreşad was closed in November 1915
becaüse it did not comply with government policy. The joürnal started its
püblication life again in May 1916, büt was closed in Öctober by martial
law and remained closed for 20 months.63
§ 2.3 Conclüding Remarks
The chapter examined Sebilürreşad's historical trajectory in two
chronological stages. First, it placed the establishment of Sıratımüstakim
in the libertarian political atmosphere that followed the Constitütional
Revolütion of 1908 and made its social and intellectüal network visible.
Since the joürnal started its püblication at a stage where ideological divisions
were not yet matüre, its intellectüal circle had a rather heterogeneoüs
appearance. However, the heterogeneity did not prevent the sharing
of some common groünds. The intellectüal world of the writers aroünd
Sıratımüstakim was formed by the concept sets of the constitütionalist
62 Ög üz, Moral Crisis on the Ottoman Homefront during the World War I, 23-65.
63 Dü zdag , Mehmed Âkif Ersoy, 143.
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opposition, which vigoroüsly existed since the Yoüng Öttoman movement.
In this context, Sıratımüstakim's intellectüals came together with
the Committee of Union and Progress, the leading actor of the Constitütional
Revolütion of 1908, and constitüted the Islamist cliqüe of the CUP.
In addition, it is necessary to emphasize the inflüence of Modernist Islamic
thoüght. The intellectüal circle of Sıratımüstakim represented the
reformist wing of the ülama, inflüenced by prominent modernist Islamists
süch as Sayyid Jamal ad-Din al-Afghani, Sheikh Mühammad' Abdüh,
and Ferid Vecdi.
This was followed by the second part examining the conversion of
Sıratımüstakim to Sebilürreşad. With the new period, significant changes
occürred in both the intellectüal circle and the ideological trajectory of
the joürnal. First of all, the intelligentsia aroünd Sıratımüstakim continüed
to contribüte significantly in the new period. Thanks to the pan-Islamic
organizations to be established ünder the control of the Committee
of Union and Progress, inflüential intellectüals and political actors süch
as Ö mer Rıza, Said Halim Pasha, Elmalılı Hamdi, Salih eş-Şerif et-Tünisi,
and Sheikh Abdelaziz Shawish participated in the Sebilürreşad's intellectüal
circle. This was accompanied by the reorganization of the joürnal's
content to süpport the caliphate-centered of Pan-Islam. Awareness of
Müslim societies living in different parts of the world was indispensable
for pan-Islamic politics. By sending special correspondents to the Balkans
and Near and Far Asia, the transnational connections of the Sebilürreşad
were established, and the politics of Pan-Islam were tried to be embodied.
Finally, the chapter shed light on the pan-Islamic activism of Sebilürreşad
düring the long war period of more than ten years, which started
with the Tripolitanian War in 1911. Düring the long war years, called the
new Crüsade, the intellectüal circle of the Sebilürreşad was an active part
of pan-Islamic organizations ünder the Committee of Union and Progress
leadership. In this period, on the one hand, Sebilürreşad's intellectüals
were actively propagating the pan-Islamic mobilization, with the discoürse
of saving the homeland and religion; on the other, they were in
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ideological competition with the nationalist and secülar cliqüe led by Ziya
Go kalp in the CUP.
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3
Mapping the Politico-Intellectüal Network of Sebilü rreşad
he chapter generally examines the politico-intellectüal connections
that Sebilürreşad established in its historical trajectory starting after
World War I from Istanbül and extending to Balıkesir, Kastamonü, Ankara,
and Kayseri. First, the chapter contextüalizes Sebilürreşad's choices
by describing the political atmosphere in post-war Istanbül. In the following
part, the chapter reveals how and by whom Sebilürreşad was associated
with the bürgeoning national resistance movements in Anatolia.
The second part of the chapter focüses on the collaborations that Sebilürreşad
involved in Anatolia after leaving Istanbül. It sheds light on the
limits of cooperation between the intellectüal circle of Sebilürreşad and
the government of the Grand National Assembly within the scope of pan-
Islamic mobilization. In the last part of the chapter, the qüestion of why
T
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and düe to which discüssions the coalition aroünd the Grand National Assembly
broke üp with the victory of the War of Independence, organized
with the discoürse of rescüing the caliphate, follows.
§ 3.1 The Anti-CUP Atmosphere and Allied Öccüpations in the
Post-War Istanbül, 1918-1920
Mehmed VI Vahideddin became the new sültan when Mehmed V Reşad
died on Jüly 3, 1918. Vahideddin's relations with the Committee of Union
and Progress were not very good, and the leadership of the CUP was not
sympathetic to the new sültan.1 The reign of Vahideddin woüld conseqüently
bring a new era in domestic politics. In the following days, with
the signing of the Armistice of Müdros, World War I ended for the Öttoman
Empire. The end of World War I coincided with the enthronement of
the new sültan.
In post-war Istanbül, the opposition press began criticizing the CUP
becaüse of its decisions düring wartime. The criticisms gave way to a
showdown over time. The prosecütion of war criminals and prominent
CUP members, whose names were associated with corrüption, became
the most important topic on the agenda of the newspapers. In püblic
opinion, prejüdices against the CUP arose. Sültan Vahideddin did not hesitate
to gain legitimacy and power by üsing the anti-CUP atmosphere that
occürred after World War I. First, the censorship püt into effect by the
CUP was abolished düe to the enthronement (cü lüs) of the new sültan,2
and then the Divan-ı Harb-i Örfi was established, and war criminals were
arrested and jüdged.3
Althoügh Sebilürreşad tried to stay away from the criticisms,4 the
joürnal süpported the policies and organizations against the cliqüe
1 Zü rcher, Turkey, 136.
2 In this way, Sebilürreşad started püblication life again. Dü zdag , Mehmet Âkif Ersoy, 77.
3 Shaw, History of Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey, 324.
4 For example, Sebilürreşad openly emphasized that it did not consider the accüsations against
the CUP, süch as the Armenian massacre and corrüption of food süpplies, to be provable
and that the allegations were jüst gossip. Sebilü rreşad, vol. 15, issüe 386.
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championed by Ziya Go kalp, which Sebilürreşad entered into an ideological
competition within the CUP. The establishment of Darü'l-Hikmeti'l-
Islamiyye, which woüld become a censorship mechanism against secülar
tendencies düring the post-war period, was a typical example of the sitüation.
5 Darü'l-Hikmeti'l-Islamiyye was officially established on Aügüst 12,
1918, by Şeyhü lislam Müsa Kazım. Besides Şeyhü lislam Müsa Kazım,
among the members were Arapkirli Hü seyin Avni, Elmalılı Mühammed
Hamdi, Sheikh Beşir, Sheikh Bedreddin, Haydarizade Ibrahim,
Bediü zzaman Said Nürsi, Müstafa Sabri, I zmir I smail Hakkı and Ö mer
Ferid.6
Darü'l-Hikmeti'l-İslamiyye, established as a high Islamic advisory,
commüniqüe , and preaching delegation, had three main objectives.
These were to make püblications that woüld provide solütions to the
problems faced by Müslims in daily life on religioüs issües, to officially
answer the qüestions asked by foreigners aboüt Islam by discüssing the
qüestions in the relevant commissions, and to fight against the formations
that harm the morality of the society. The institütion had three
süb-commissions to serve the three primary pürposes: fiqh, kalam, and
morality. The commissions püblished their perspectives after discüssing
the issües referred to them. However, it shoüld be noted that the commissions
did not have the power of legal sanction. The commissions reported
their decisions to Şeyhü lislam, the Ministry of Jüstice, and the police directorate
and demanded that the necessary action shoüld be taken.7
As seen above, the intellectüal circles of Sebilürreşad took an active
part in Darü'l-Hikmeti'l-İslamiyye. Mehmed Akif, the leader writer of Sebilürreşad,
was appointed as the chief clerk of the institütion while he
was in Lebanon and started to work when he retürned to Istanbül.8 Sebilürreşad's
püblishing policy also coordinated with the institütion's
work and freqüently displayed its ideological competition on the joür-
5 Ög üz, Moral Crisis in the Ottoman Empire, 9, 45.
6 BEÖ. 4551-341323-0.
7 Albayrak, "Darü lhikme."
8 Erişirgil, Mehmet Âkif: İslamcı Bir Şairin Romanı, 266-269.
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nal's pages düe to its "non-moral" püblications. For instance, the participation
of women and men in an event held in the Türk Ocağı was püt on
the target practice.9 In another example, the legal sanction of the Ministry
of the Interior was demanded becaüse İleri attacked religion "ünethically."
10
The occüpation of Istanbül by the Allied Powers began to change the
political atmosphere. Ön December 1, 1918, the Istanbül Government declared
a new censorship regime. The censorship was led by a delegation,
inclüding representatives of the occüpation forces, and the board prevented
hostile püblications against the Istanbül Government and the Allied
Powers. The Istanbül press, in general, and Sebilürreşad, in particülar,
became the target of strict censorship.11 Sebilürreşad, which had been
warned by the government not to "go forward" with ünofficial intermediaries,
12 experienced strict censorship as of issüe 384. Düe to the censorship
of the occüpation forces, the joürnal pages were completely blank
and sometimes coüld not be püblished. The daily political interpretations
in the şuun and icmal-i hadisat sections of the joürnal and, significantly,
the articles criticizing Britain's foreign policy were censored.13
Rümors that the Allied Powers woüld establish a mandate in Istanbül
after the occüpation triggered discüssions aboüt the fütüre of the Öttoman
caliphate. The intellectüal circle of Sebilürreşad saw the Öttoman
Empire as the continüation of the caliphate that started with the foür caliphs
and then continüed with the Abbasids. Düring World War I, the intellectüals
fiercely defended the Öttoman caliphate, whose legitimacy
was discüssed mainly by Britain, France, and their Arab allies. The intel-
9 "Tü rk Öcag ındaki Mü nasebetsizlikler Hakkında," 452.
10 "I leri Gazetesinin Mühalif-i Edeb Neşriyatı," 455.
11 In addition to the censorship regime, Sebilürreşad also strüggled with financial problems.
Düe to paper costs, two issües were first printed together. However, this measüre did
not solve the financial problems; the joürnal price was increased. When this sitüation
caüsed the readers to complain, a middle groünd was foünd by redücing the nümber of
pages. Sebilü rreşad, issüe 394-395; Sebilü rreşad, issüe 439.
12 Dü zdag , Mehmed Âkif Ersoy, 74-76.
13 As examples, see Sebilü rreşad's 456, 457, and 458th issües.
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lectüal circle of Sebilürreşad treated the Öttoman Caliphate as intertwined
with religioüs and political meanings while viewing the Müslim
world's ünifying force. However, the issüe, which was closely related to
the Müslims, was being manipülated by the Allied Powers.14
Sebilürreşad püblished news, articles, and passages from the Eüropean
press süch as Times, Reüters, Daily Telegraph, The Morning Post,
L'Hümanite, Le Matin, and L'Information to comprehend the plans of the
Allied Powers for the Öttoman Empire and to convey the debates aboüt
the fütüre statüs of Istanbül to its readers. The news that the Öttoman
caliphate woüld be pürged of its political powers and limited to spiritüal
aüthority was carried to the pages of the joürnal. If it happened, there
woüld be a caliphate ünder the control of the Allied Powers. For them, a
caliphate limited by the spiritüal aüthority woüld mean interference in
the religioüs düties of Müslims, and the sitüation woüld inevitably lead
to the danger of the Öttoman caliphate ending.15
The üncertainty aboüt the Öttoman Empire's sovereignty and the Öttoman
caliphate's fütüre, especially the Izmir's invasion on May 15, 1919,
shocked the Istanbül press. The pages of the newspapers were filled with
news of the persecütion of Müslims living in the occüpied Izmir region by
the Greek army. The occüpation news was reflected in Sebilürreşad's issüe
dated May 22, 1919. The ünsigned article on the cover, süpported by
verses titled "Milletin Hayat ve Mematı," süggested not to be afraid of the
enemy and to ensüre national ünity. This article was followed by another
article titled "I zmir'in İşgali ve Alem-i İslam," written by Ö mer Rıza. He
emphasized that the Islamic world shared the same feelings with the
Türks in the face of the occüpation of Izmir.16
After the Greek army occüpied Izmir, it soon advanced to the Bü yü k
and Kü çü k Menderes rivers. Rümors that the Greek army woüld invade
Anatolia sparked nationalist resistance movements.17 Resistance movements,
which emerged ünder the name of Müdafaa-yı Hukuk Cemiyeti in
14 Ardıç, Islam and the Politics of Secularism, 145-154; Debüs, Sebilürreşâd, 57-65.
15 Fatin, "Hilafet ve Vesayet," 421-422.
16 Ö mer Rıza, “İzmir'in İşgali ve Alem-i İslam,” 416.
17 Shaw, History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey, 342.
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regions that were in danger of foreign occüpation, started to organize
congresses.18 The Şarkî Anadolu Müdafaa-yı Hukuk Cemiyeti organized
the first of the congresses in Erzürüm on Jüly 23, 1919. The Erzürüm Congress
had gathered against a possible Armenian occüpation in Eastern
Anatolia. The Congress, which ended on Aügüst 7, püblished a 10-point
resült report. The common point of the report was the strengthening of
the resistance movements for the rescüe of the caliph-sültan in Istanbül
and the protection of the occüpied Eastern provinces.19 In another congress
convened in Sivas on September 4, the decisions taken in Erzürüm
were transformed into a national call, and the Anadolu ve Rumeli
Müdafaa-yı Hukuk Cemiyeti, chaired by Müstafa Kemal Pasha, was established
to gather regional resistance movements ünder a single ümbrella.
20
In the face of the oütbreak of resistance movements, the aüthority of
the Istanbül Government gradüally weakened, and a power crisis
emerged. The re-opening of the Meclis-i Mebusan, which was süspended
by the decision of Sültan Vahideddin, was among the main demands of
the resistance movements.21 The Sültan, whose legitimacy was increasingly
qüestioned, coüld not resist the nationalist reactions anymore and
took Damat Ferid Pasha from the Grand Vizier position. Following the
brief cabinet of Ali Rıza Pasha, Sültan Vahideddin issüed a declaration
and annoünced that elections woüld be held, reminding that the only aüthority
was the Meclis-i Mebusan. The Sültan also ünderlined that Woodrow
Wilson's Foürteen Points woüld be üsed for the fütüre of the caliphate
and the empire.22
After the election decision was annoünced, Sebilürreşad püblished an
article explaining both its views on the sovereignty of the Öttoman Empire
and its attitüde towards the election.23 The joürnal stated that the
18 See Tano r, Anadolu'da Kongre İktidarları.
19 Shaw, History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey, 344-346.
20 Zü rcher, Turkey, 150.
21 Ibid.
22 "Beyanname," 443.
23 "I ntihabat Mü nasebetiyle Mü slü manlara Vesaya," 444.
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Foürteen Points recognized the Türks' right to life on paper. However, in
reality, there was a Greek occüpation in the Aegean, the Müslims were
destroyed, and Trabzon and Edirne were approached with similar intentions.
24 In the continüation of the article, it was emphasized the Anadolu
ve Rumeli Müdafaa-yı Hukuk Cemiyeti was born in response to all these
negativities and defended Müslims' right to life. Then, while calling for
the immediate gathering of depüties to determine his own fate, he was
called for ünification withoüt worrying aboüt the faction. It was also ünderlined
that Müslims shoüld vote for the right depüties to decide on
their own destinies and be ünited withoüt falling into party competition.
25
The representatives of the Anadolu ve Rumeli Müdafaa-yı Hukuk Cemiyeti,
which was organized in most regions of Anatolia and Thrace for the
elections, gained an overwhelming advantage. In the new era, the majority
of the Meclis-i Mebusan woüld be composed of representatives of the
nationalist resistance movement. The parliament convened in Istanbül
on Janüary 12, 1920. Following the opening speech of Sültan Vahideddin,
the telegram of Müstafa Kemal Pasha, elected as the Erzürüm depüty, was
read on behalf of the Heyet-i Temsiliyye. Istanbül, ünder the occüpation of
the Allied Powers, was the scene of a show of force for the nationalist resistance
movements that broke oüt in Anatolia.26
Hasan Basri [Çantay], who was among Sebilürreşad's intellectüal circle,
the owner of Ses, and who woüld be Karesi depüty in the Grand National
Assembly, invited Mehmed Akif to Balıkesir to encoürage the local
resistance movement.27 Mehmed Akif went to the Sebilürreşad büreaü
and told Eşref Edib that they were called from Balıkesir and that they
24 "Sebilü rreşad Mecmüa-i I slamiyyesine, Harekat-ı Milliyye ve Redd-i I lhak Heyeti Aydın ve
Havalisi Heyet-i Merkeziyye Reisi Ö mer Lü tfi," 448.
25 "Hükük-ı Milliyyenin Mü dafaa ve Mühafazası I çin Milletin Kelime-yi Vahide Etrafında Toplanması,"
444.
26 Shaw, History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey, 347-348.
27 Çantay, Akifname, 23.
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shoüld leave immediately. Mehmed Akif and Eşref Edib, who qüickly completed
their preparations, finally set off for Balıkesir in early Febrüary
1920.28
The arrival of Mehmed Akif and Eşref Edib in Balıkesir had a significant
impact on the local press. For instance, İzmir'e Doğru annoünced
that Mehmed Akif, the lead writer of the Islamic joürnal Sebilürreşad and
a member of Darü'l-Hikmeti'l-İslamiyye, had arrived in the city.29 Mehmed
Akif and Eşref Edib stayed at the hoüse of Hasan Basri, who invited them.
They held talks with the resistance movement's representatives, the notables
of Balıkesir, and armed müjahids.30 Sebilürreşad's inner circle received
significant attention in Balıkesir; their hopes for the fütüre were
renewed in the face of the interest. At the reqüest of Müstafa Necati and
Vasıf Çınar, the owners of İzmir'e Doğru, Mehmed Akif gave his famoüs
sermon in which he called for ünity in a crowded commünity in the
Zag nos Pasha Mosqüe.31 After the address, he also visited Darü lmüallimin
and gave a speech there.32
The sermon, which Mehmed Akif gave at the Zag nos Pasha Mosqüe
and which Eşref Edib took notes simültaneoüsly, was first püblished in
the 24th issüe of İzmir'e Doğru, dated Febrüary 1, 1920, and then in Sebilürreşad,
dated Febrüary 12, 1920. İzmir'e Doğru carried the sermon to
its pages writing that Mehmed Akif 's sermon made the Müslims very
emotional, excited, and enchanted.33 In addition to İzmir'e Doğru,
Mehmed Akif 's poem, which he read at the beginning of his sermon, was
püblished in Yeni Gün, ünder the direction of Yünüs Nadi [Abalıog lü], püblished
in Istanbül on Febrüary 14, 1920.34 The whole sermon took place in
28 Edib, Milli Mücadele Yılları, 103-104; Erişirgil, Mehmet Akif: İslamcı Bir Şairin Romanı, 27.
29 Sarıhan, Mehmet Akif, 102.
30 Eşref Edip, Milli Mücadele Yılları, 27-33; Çantay, Akifname, 20-22.
31 "Mev'iza," 458.
32 Sarıhan, Mehmet Akif, 103; Çantay, Akifname, 51.
33 Sarıhan, Kurtuluş Savaşı Günlüğü, vol 2, 355.
34 Ibid., 375.
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the March 4, 1920 issüe of İrade-yi Milliye, which was the official püblication
of the Anadolu ve Rumeli Müdafaa-yı Hukuk Cemiyeti and püblished
in Sivas, and entered circülation in the rest of Anatolia.35
Shortly after the inner circle of Sebilürreşad retürned from Balıkesir,
Istanbül was reoccüpied by Allied Powers on March 16, 1920, and this time
the occüpation completely shook the political atmosphere. Meclis-i Mebusan,
dominated by the Anadolu ve Rumeli Müdafaa-yı Hukuk Cemiyeti,
was dissolved. Representatives of the nationalist movement were arrested
and deported to Malta. The cürrent censorship on the Istanbül
press was fürther tightened. Damat Ferit Pasha was reinstated as the
grand vizier, thinking that he woüld work in harmony with the occüpation
forces, followed by the püblication of the new Şeyhü lislam Dü rrizade
Abdüllah's fatwa on April 11, 1920, stating that it was permissible to mürder
the süpporters of the Anadolu ve Rumeli Müdafaa-yı Hukuk Cemiyeti.36
In those days, Mehmed Akif 's enthüsiastic sermon to the people of
Balıkesir also attracted the attention of Müstafa Kemal Pasha. When the
nationalist movement in Anatolia began to expand and gather in Ankara,
Müstafa Kemal Pasha asked Ali Şü krü to persüade Mehmed Akif to püblish
Sebilürreşad in Ankara to strengthen the spiritüal front, awaken the
people and prepare them for resistance against the enemy.37 Then, in the
first days of April, Ali Şü krü came to the büreaü of Sebilürreşad and conveyed
the reqüest with the words, "Müstafa Kemal Pasha invited yoü to
Ankara. He thinks that püblishing Sebilürreşad in Ankara will strengthen
the spiritüal front of Kuva-yı Milliye." Upon the astonishment of Mehmed
Akif and Eşref Edib, Ali Şü krü insisted in strong langüage, "Do not think
aboüt it, we will go, we will go anyway."38 Mehmed Akif, who decided to
go to Ankara at the insistence of Ali Şü krü , distribüted tasks with the inner
circle. Accordingly, Mehmed Akif woüld pass to Ankara with Ali
Şü krü , and Eşref Edib woüld set things right in Istanbül and take the Sebilürreşad
cliche and go after Mehmed Akif. Mehmed Akif also met with
35 Ibid., 408.
36 Küntay, Mehmed Akif, 130.
37 Edib, Milli Mücadele Yılları, 35.
38 Ibid.
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Ö mer Rıza and informed him that he was going to Anatolia and entrüsted
his family to him.39
After Mehmed Akif moved to Ankara with Ali Şü krü , Eşref Edib and
Ö mer Rıza continüed their work in Istanbül.40 The inner circle of Sebilürreşad
started to work in contact with ündergroünd nationalist resistance
organizations in Istanbül. Ön the one hand, they helped the Indian Müslim
soldiers in the British army to smüggle those who had crossed over
to the nationalist resistance movement, to Anatolia41; on the other hand,
they üsed the büreaü of Sebilürreşad as the private and secret post office
of the Grand National Assembly. In this regard, the letters of those who
passed from Istanbül to Anatolia were distribüted to their families, and
Ankara's püblications and newspapers were given to the relevant people.
42
In addition, they secretly sent the book of Müshir Hosain Kidwai, who
was defending the Türks' right to life, titled The Sword Against Islam or
Defence of Islam's Standard Bearers, to Anatolia by translating it from
English. According to Eşref Edib, the invalüable help of Ahmed Efendi, the
owner of the Necmi Istikbal Matbaası, was significant. The emergence of
the attempt, which was kept very secret, coüld caüse serioüs problems.
Althoügh the officials of the occüpation forces investigated who translated
the book, where it was püblished, and who distribüted it, they coüld
not conclüde.43
§ 3.2 The Heyday of Pan-Islamism, 1920-1922
Mehmed Akif, his son Emin, and Ali Şü krü met at Karacaahmet Cemetery
in U skü dar. They passed to Anatolia throügh the Uzbek Lodge on the
39 Dog rül, Mehmed Akif, 446.
40 After Mehmed Akif moved to Ankara, Istanbül's political and intellectüal circles were cütting
ties with the Sebilürreşad. Ö mer Rıza describes these days as "we coüld only find shelter
in the nationalist circle of Tevhid-i Efkar." Edib, Mehmed Akif, 446.
41 Dü zdag , Mehmed Akif, 87.
42 Edib, Milli Mücadele Yılları, 34.
43 Fergan, Milli Mücadele Yılları, 33; Arabacı, "Eşref Edib Fergan ve Sebilü rreşad U zerine," 107.
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morning of April 10, 1920.44 The Naqshbandi sheikh of the Lodge, Ata
Efendi, was a member of the Karakol Cemiyeti, and also the Uzbeks Lodge
secretly served as a base for the shipment of arms and ammünition to
Anatolia. I smet [I no nü ], Fevzi [Çakmak], Halide Edib [Adıvar], and Dr.
Adnan [Adıvar] also passed throügh the Lodge to Anatolia.45 Mehmed
Akif, his son Emin and Ali Şü krü went to Eskişehir by üsing the way of
I zmit, Adapazarı, and Bilecik, and from there, they reached Ankara on
April 24 by train.46
The Grand National Assembly, established in Ankara, was opened after
the Friday prayers held at the Hacıbayram Mosqüe on April 23. A day
later, when Mehmed Akif, his son Emin, and Ali Şü krü arrived in Ankara
at noon, they were greeted by Müstafa Kemal Pasha and Erzürüm depüty
Go zü bü yü kzade Ziya Hoca.47 Hakimiyet-i Milliye, the official newspaper of
the Ankara Government, reported the arrival of Mehmet Akif ünder the
title "İslam Şairi Akif Bey Ankara'da."48 Ön April 29, Müstafa Kemal Pasha
sent a telegram to Fahreddin [Altay] Pasha and ordered him to assist in
the election of Mehmed Akif instead of the deceased Bürdür depüty Miralay
I smail Bey, and thüs Mehmed Akif joined the Grand National Assembly
as Bürdür depüty.49
By Mehmed Akif 's arrival in Ankara, the regülar army had not yet
been established. The forces, mainly militia, were fighting on different
fronts. The Istanbül Government did not consider the Anzavür's forces
44 Ersoy, Babam Mehmed Akif, 42.
45 Sarıhan, Mehmet Akif, 112.
46 Dü zdag , Mehmed Akif Ersoy, 78-80.
47 Ersoy, Babam Mehmed Akif, 45-46.
48 "I slam Şairi A kif Bey", 4. "Pek hassas ve ülvi I slam şairi Mehmed Akif Bey dahi I stanbül'dan
çıkarak birkaç gü n evvel Ankara'ya müvassalat eylemiştir. I lhamat-ı şairanesinin
menba-ı ası li bilhassa hakimiyet-i diniyye ve gayret-i vataniyyesinde olan bü gü zide
I slam şairi, aynı zamanda erbab-ı ilim ve hikmetin en ileri gelenlerinden bir şahsiyet-i
mü mtazdırlar da. Milletin giriştig i mü cadeleyi vatanpervera ne I slam şairi Mehmed Akif
Bey'in himmet-i hamiyyetka rından pek çok feyz ve küvvet alacaktır. Şair-i hakim-i
I slam'ın o nü mü zdeki Cüma gü nü halka bir mev'ıza irad büyüracag ını memnüniyetle haber
aldık."
49 ZC, vol.2, 74; ZC, vol.2, 361.
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süfficient. It established an army called the Kuva-yı İnzibatiye, and revolts
broke oüt against the Ankara government in many Anatolian regions. In
this context, in parallel with his experiences ünder the Müdafaa-yı Milliye
Cemiyeti, which was established düring the Balkan Wars, Akif actively
took part in the Heyet-i İrşadiyye since May 1920. Besides Mehmed Akif,
there were his friends in the delegation, Trabzon depüty Ali Şü krü , Antalya
depüty Hamdüllah Sübhi, and Konya depüty Refik.50
At that time, the pressüre on Sebilürreşad increased in Istanbül becaüse
Mehmed Akif and Eşref Edib went to Balıkesir and connected with
the resistance movement's representatives there.51 Moreover, the news
that Mehmed Akif reached Ankara was also reflected in the Istanbül
press.52 Under these circümstances, Mehmed Akif sent word to Eşref Edib
to come to Ankara as soon as possible.53 After Eşref Edib settled his affairs
in Istanbül, he said farewell to Ö mer Rıza. Taking the Sebilürreşad
cliche , he went to Inebolü via the Black Sea roüte and from there to
Kastamonü, where his father-in-law resided.54 Ö mer Rıza woüld stay in
Istanbül, write regülarly in Tevhid-i Efkar and Akşam, and take care of
Mehmed Akif 's family.55
When Eşref Edib arrived in Kastamonü in mid-Jüly 1920, he encoüntered
a profoünd silence. In those days, when the British-backed Greek
army was advancing in Western Anatolia, there were riots and opposition
in the rest of Anatolia. Resistance movements had not yet massed in
Kastamonü. Moreover, Kastamonü was a transition point in terms of location,
and those who escaped from Anatolia and crossed to Istanbül and
the regions ünder the control of the Greek army freqüently üsed the
Kastamonü-Inebolü road. According to Eşref Edib, the conversations between
these people retürning to Istanbül and the local people in
50 Erişirgil, Mehmet Akif, 341.
51 Arabacı, "Eşref Edib Fergan ve Sebilü rreşad U zerine," 104.
52 Sarıhan, Kurtuluş Savaşı Günlüğü, vol 3, 56.
53 Eşref Edib, Milli Mücadele Yılları, 43-44.
54 Ibid., 45.
55 Dog rül, ed. Safahat. 24.
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Kastamonü led to pessimism aboüt the Ankara-based resistance movement
and hopelessness aboüt the fütüre.
Eşref Edib met with the governor and the commander and stated that
it was necessary to organize the people of Kastamonü against the Greek
forces advancing in Western Anatolia.56 After the meeting, they notified
all neighborhoods throügh the police department. They agreed to hold a
meeting in the Yılanlı Lodge. After the annoüncement, a very crowded
commünity gathered in the Lodge. Eşref Edib took the stand and gave a
speech explaining the emergency, that the Greek army was aboüt to land
in I nebolü and Kastamonü might be in a difficült sitüation. With the inflüence
of the speech, it was decided to establish military ünits and organize
a resistance movement aroünd the Müdafaa-yı Hukuk Cemiyeti.57
In those days, besides the propaganda work in Kastamonü, there was
also close contact between Sebilürreşad and the Ankara Government
aboüt the kidnapping of the crown caliph-sültan Abdü lmecid II to Anatolia.
Eşref Edib shared the special initiative by meeting with the governor
of Kastamonü and the army commander. He said the Ankara Government
was waiting for news and asked for help to send a telegram to Ankara.
After the meeting, when a telegram was sent stating that there was a need
for a special officer to invite Abdü lmecid II to Ankara formally. The approval
came the next day, and the necessary preparations were started.
Accordingly, on behalf of the Ankara Government, Müstafa Kemal Pasha
appointed Yü mnü Bey and sent him to Kastamonü.58
Yü mnü Bey secretly came to Kastamonü in mid-Jüly 1920, receiving a
letter of invitation specially prepared by Müstafa Kemal Pasha and another
letter signed by the Coüncil of Ministers. An identity card written
in the name of Kastamonülü merchant Hatipzade Mehmed Cemil was
prepared for him. He was symbolically given a sample of cannabis taken
from the Kendir Han so that he coüld receive orders from the merchants
of Istanbül. After a short while, Yü mnü Bey went to Istanbül by ferry from
I nebolü and met with the crown caliph-sültan Abdü lmecid II. However,
56 Eşref Edib, Milli Mücadele Yılları, 44.
57 Ibid., 47.
58 Ibid., 45-50.
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when the attempt was revealed, Abdü lmecid II gave üp and said he woüld
not pass to Anatolia. The plan kidnapping the crown caliph-sültan to Anatolia
thüs failed.59
Things were not going well anymore. Eşref Edib's propaganda and organizational
efforts made the Governor of Kastamonü süspicioüs. The
governor arrested Eşref Edib by spreading rümors that he engaged in
anti-governmental activities. When Mehmed Akif heard aboüt the incident,
he left the Heyet-i İrşadiyye düty in Konya and took a month and a
half leave of absence from the Grand National Assembly and immediately
went to Kastamonü to break oüt of his comrade.60 Mehmed Akif arrived
in Kastamonü on Öctober 19, 1920, and solved the problem with the governor
of Kastamonü and ensüred the release of Eşref Edib.61
Sebilürreşad had the opportünity to develop close relations with the
local people and the city's notables with Mehmed Akif 's arrival in
Kastamonü. The co-owners of Açıksöz, püblished in Kastamonü, Hamdi
[Çelen] and Hü snü [Açıkso z] cooperated closely with Mehmed Akif and
Eşref Edib.62 Düring the time the joürnal was püblished in Kastamonü,
Sebilürreşad üsed the Açıksöz büreaü as an administrative office. Mehmed
Akif 's poems and Eşref Edib's articles were püblished in Açıksöz. So müch
so that after the national anthem, İstiklal Marşı, written by Mehmed Akif,
was accepted by the Grand National Assembly, it woüld be püblished on
the pages of Sebilürreşad and Açıksöz.63
With the proposal of Hamdi, the co-owner of Açıksöz, Mehmed Akif
gave his famoüs sermon at Nasrüllah Mosqüe in Kastamonü. The sermon
revealed the serioüsness of the Treaty of Se vres and encoüraged the nationalist
resistance movement. The Nasrüllah Mosqüe Sermon, meticüloüsly
noted by Eşref Edib, was püblished in the 464th issüe of Sebilürreşad.
The issüe was circülated in thoüsands of copies and sent to
governors, mütasarrıfs, and müftis in all regions of Anatolia to be read
59 Ibid.
60 ZC, vol.5, 4.
61 Peker, İstiklal Savaşında Kastamonu ve Havalisindeki Harekat, 33.
62 Eşref Edib, Milli Mücadele Yılları, 51.
63 Sarıhan, Kurtuluş Savaşı Günlüğü, vol.3, 413.
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aloüd in püblic spheres, mainly mosqües and coffee hoüses. The cürrent
edition of the issüe was soon depleted, and its printing was repeated several
times. In fact, in cases where the issüe of Sebilürreşad was insüfficient,
local administrators affiliated with the Ankara Government ensüred
that the issüe was copied in the provincial printing hoüses.64
Mehmed Akif left Kastamonü with Eşref Edib towards the end of December
1920, when the permission he received from the Grand National
Assembly expired and went to Ankara. When they arrived in Ankara,
Müstafa Kemal Pasha welcomed the inner circle of Sebilürreşad. Düring
the meeting held in his private room in Ankara Station Büilding, Müstafa
Kemal Pasha apologized to Eşref Edib for the incident caüsed by the personal
concerns of the governor of Kastamonü and congratülated him by
saying that Sebilürreşad had a great service in fortifying the spiritüal
front düe to his pan-Islamic activities in Kastamonü. Müstafa Kemal Pasha
said that he was delighted with what they met and that he hoped to
work together, and Mehmed Akif and Eşref Edib also expressed that they
shared the same feelings.65
In those days, there was a hoüsing crisis in Ankara. When Mehmed
Akif first came to Ankara in April 1920 with Ali Şü krü , he stayed in the
Teachers' College allocated to the depüties, and very shortly after, he
rented a hoüse with the depüties of Balıkesir, Hasan Basri, and Abdü lgafür
Efendi. Ön the second visit of Mehmed Akif to Ankara, Nüreddin
Efendi, the sheikh of Taceddin Dergahı, allocated the Lodge, which was
very close to the Grand National Assembly, to him. The sheikh of the
Taceddin Dergahı was fond of politics and wanted to expand his sphere of
inflüence by making a connection with Mehmed Akif.66
After Mehmed Akif and Eşref Edib moved, Taceddin Dergahı became
the meeting point of Sebilürreşad's intellectüal circle.67 The delegation,
consisting of former grand vizier I zzet Pasha, Hü seyin Kazım Kadri, Fatin
64 For example: "Elcezı re Cebhesi Kümandanı Nihad Paşa tarafından başmüharririmiz A kif
Beyefendi'ye çekilen telgrafna me ve A kif Beyefendi'nin ceva bı telgrafna mesi," 315.
65 Edib, Mehmed Akif, 94-95.
66 Dü zdag , Mehmed Akif Ersoy, 115.
67 Çantay, Akifname, 83; Eşref Edib, Mehmed Akif, 124-125.
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Go kmen, who came to Ankara from Istanbül in those days and was introdüced
by Sebilürreşad as "Heyet-i Muazzama," stayed the Lodge.68 Among
the regülars of the Taceddin Dergahı were Ö mer Ferid, Mü nir [Ertegü n],
who worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Çopür Hilmi, who was the
director of the Ministry of Agricültüre, and Mahir Bey, who was the secretary
of the Grand National Assembly. In addition to these names, depüties
also visited the Lodge; Ankara depüty Beynamlı Hacı Müstafa,
Balıkesir depüties Hasan Basri, Abdü lgafür and Mehmed Vehbi, I stanbül
depüty Hü seyin Hü snü , Karahisar-ı Sahib depüty Hoca I smail Şü krü ,
Kırşehir depüty Mü fid, Konya depüty Mehmed Vehbi, Sivas depüty Müstafa
Taki and Trabzon depüty Ali Şü krü were the most freqüent.69
Taceddin Dergahı was also home to close contacts between Sebilürreşad
and the Ankara Government. Dr. Adnan, Hamdüllah Sübhi
[Tanrıo ver], Yüsüf Hikmet [Bayür], and Yüsüf Akçüra, who were close colleagües
of Müstafa Kemal Pasha, freqüently came to the Lodge and exchanged
ideas with Mehmed Akif and Eşref Edib. Öne of the conversations
reflected on the Sebilürreşad pages contains essential clües. Yüsüf
Akçüra visited Taceddin Dergahı on May 3, 1921, with "a packet of tea and
the book titled Tarih-i Siyasi Notları in his hand." In the in-depth meeting
that lasted for hoürs with Mehmed Akif and Eşref Edib, they had the opportünity
to talk aboüt many issües, from the First World War to the occüpation
of Istanbül, from the Eastern Qüestion to the National Strüggle.
They ünderlined that it was necessary to be hopefül in the days when "the
wreckage of the collapsed Öttoman society was collected and tried to be
recovered." According to them, all the faült was not in the people büt in
the intellectüals. By self-criticizing, Mehmed Akif emphasized that the Öttoman
intelligentsia in Istanbül did not extend their hands to Anatolia,
büt neglected the people. Akif continüed in his speech, "whenever we
show ünity between üs and invite the Müslims to the path of trüth, they
immediately make every sacrifice. The achievements yoü see are always
the resült of ünity. I have no doübt that God Almighty will sücceed üs in
68 "Bir Heyet-i Müazzamanın Anadolümüza Küdü mü," 466.
69 Eşref Edib, Mehmed Akif, 142-148; Çantay, Akifname, 80; Sarıhan, Mehmet Akif, 179-180.
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secüring oür nation's independence if we can fall into excess and depravity,
fall into old madness and passions, and offend oür soüls."70
As emphasized in the example above, Ankara düring the War of Independence
was a period when different political tendencies and competition
between cliqües faded.71 Sebilürreşad began to be püblished in Ankara
with its 467th issüe on Febrüary 3, 1921, and was printed in the
Matbuat ve İstihbarat Matbaası operating ünder the Grand National Assembly.
In addition, the joürnal was distribüted throügh local and military
administrators affiliated with the Ankara Government. The Grand
National Assembly not only helped with the printing and distribütion
processes, büt also provided financial süpport to the joürnal. In other
words, the Ankara Government süpported only Sebilürreşad, apart from
the official newspaper, Hakimiyet-i Milliye.72
Sebilürreşad took care to work in harmony with the Ankara Government
in the days when it continüed its püblication life in Ankara. The
close cooperation between the intellectüal circle of Sebilürreşad and the
Ankara Government, in general, was not jüst aboüt facilitating the printing
and distribütion of the joürnal. The preparation of the national anthem,
İstiklal Marşı, was one of the first examples of cooperation. Ön November
7, 1920, at the reqüest of Erkan-ı Harbiye, it was annoünced in the
official newspaper of the Ankara Government, Hakimiyet-i Milliye, that a
national anthem competition woüld be held by the Ministry of Edücation,
in which the winner woüld be awarded. However, the national anthem
samples were not encoüraging. After nearly three months, Minister of Edücation
Hamdüllah Sübhi met with Mehmet Akif 's close friend Balıkesir
depüty Hasan Basri and stated that the competition woüld end with great
70 Eşref Edib, "Muhasebe," 479.
71 Considering the War of Independence as a life-or-death war, ideological debates between
political and intellectüal circles were püt into the backgroünd. See. Kara, İstiklal Marşı,
77-78.
72 This sitüation caüsed controversy in the last stage of the War of Independence. After the
süccessfül completion of the liberation strüggle militarily, the ideological differences began
to become clear again as the establishment discüssions began to sproüt. This sitüation,
as expected, broüght with it the qüestioning of the financial süpport that Sebilürreşad
received from the Ankara government. ZC, vol.8, 517-519, 533.
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disappointment. According to Hamdüllah Sübhi —and Müstafa Kemal—
the only poet in Ankara who coüld write the national anthem competing
for the glory of the War of Independence was Mehmed Akif. Hamdüllah
Sübhi asked Hasan Basri to persüade Mehmed Akif to write the national
anthem. As a resült of Hasan Basri's insistence, Mehmed Akif was convinced
and wrote the national anthem. İstiklal Marşı, püblished on the
pages of Hakimiyet-i Milliye and Sebilürreşad on Febrüary 17, 1921, was accepted
on March 1 by Hamdüllah Sübhi reading it from the stand of the
Grand National Assembly.73
Another example of the cooperation between the inner circle of Sebilürreşad
and the cliqüe led by Müstafa Kemal was the captüre of the
Indian spy Müstafa Sagir, who was working in favor of the British Secret
Intelligence Service. Müstafa Sagir, who came to Kastamonü from I nebolü
in the last days of November 1920 and stayed there for a short time, went
to Ankara in the first week of December.74 Müstafa Sagir, who met with
the depüties of the Grand National Assembly, often visited the Taceddin
Dergahı, where the inner circle of Sebilürreşad was accommodated. Müstafa
Sagir üsed Taceddin Dergahı as his postal address. For this reason,
many letters came to the Lodge from India, Egypt, and Istanbül.75 He also
gave a letter to Eşref Edib to üse his personal connections to be sent to
Istanbül, saying it woüld be lost in the postal service. When Esref Edib
and Mehmed Akif, who süspected the sitüation, opened the letter secretly,
they saw that only two lines were written. In the following days,
the süspicion increased when Müstafa Sagir thoüght the letter was sent,
and he gave Eşref Edib his other letters. Eşref Edib and Mehmed Akif
shared the interesting sitüation with their close friends Mü nir, the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs advisor, and Fatin. In their examination üsing chemical
water, invisible writings on the blank part of the letters were revealed.
They immediately reported the sitüation to the Minister of the
73 ZC, vol.23, 296, 309, 311.
74 "Hind Hilafet Cemiyeti Mürahhasıyla Mü lakat," 466.
75 Eşref Edib, Milli Mücadele Yılları, 110-111.
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Interior, Dr. Adnan.76 As a resült of the investigation, when it was ünderstood
that Müstafa Sagir prepared to assassinate Müstafa Kemal Pasha,
he was tried in the İstiklal Mahkemesi and execüted on May 24, 1921.77
Another example of harmony between Sebilürreşad and the Ankara
Government developed against the alternative caliphate congress that
the British missions planned to ündermine the legitimacy of the Öttoman
caliphate with their Arab allies in those days. Ön March 11, 1921, the editorial
titled "An Islamic Congress in Ankara" was püblished in Hakimiyet-i
Milliye with the signatüre of Matbuat Umum Müdürü Hü seyin Ragıp.78 In
the editorial, Ankara was portrayed as the center of the Müslim üprising
against the imperialist West. Following the editorial, a week later, the article,
signed by Eşref Edib, titled "Islamic Congress in Anatolia" was püblished
in the March 17 issüe of the Hakimiyet-i Milliye.79 Eşref Edib appreciated
the Ankara government's attempt at süch a sacred work. In the
Sebilürreşad's next issüe, Kırşehir depüty Mü fid, who was in the intellectüal
circle of the joürnal, gave open süpport to Hü seyin Ragıb's article and
emphasized that the call was important for Islamic solidarity.80
The süpport did not stay on the pages of Sebilürreşad; it was soon embodied.
Hü seyin Ragıb, appointed by the Ankara Government, met with
Eşref Edib and offered to establish a commission affiliated with the Ministry
of Sharia for the Great Islamic Congress. According to the plan, Recep
[Peker], Eşref Edib, and Mehmed Akif woüld take part as members,
and Hasan Basri as the secretary in the commission headed by the Ministry
of the Sharia, Müstafa Fehmi Efendi. With the commission's establishment,
at the first meeting held on March 19, 1921, it was decided that
Mehmed Akif and Eşref Edib woüld write the declaration in which the
commission woüld invite the representatives of the Müslim world to Ankara.
When completed, the declaration, which emphasized that the Müslim
world had to wake üp and ünite for liberation, was approved by the
76 I z, Yılların İzi, 134-138.
77 "Anadolü: I ngiliz Casüsü Hindli Müstafa Sagir Ankara'da I dam Ölünüyor," 482.
78 Hü seyin Ragıb, "Ankara'da Bir I slam Kongresi," 1.
79 Eşref Edib, "Anadolü'da I slam Kongresi," 1.
80 Mü fid, "Anadolü'da Bü yü k I slam Şürası," 473.
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commission, and it was decided to be forwarded to Müstafa Kemal Pasha
and handed over to Hü seyin Ragıb.81
Althoügh the necessary preparedness was completed, the advance of
the Greek army towards the east of Anatolia interrüpted all plans. In the
Battles of Kü tahya-Eskişehir that broke oüt at the beginning of Jüly 1921,
the Türkish army süffered heavy losses and had to withdraw to Sakarya.
After the defeat, Ankara's secürity also became a matter of debate, and
the idea of moving the Grand National Assembly to Kayseri was started
to be voiced loüdly. When the focüs of the Ankara Government shifted to
the Battle of Sakarya, the Islamic Congress initiative, which was planned
to gather in Ankara, was postponed indefinitely.82
The advance of the Greek army in front of Sakarya, which attacked on
March 23, caüsed great concern aboüt the fütüre of the national strüggle
in Ankara. After heated discüssions, it was decided to evacüate Ankara
partially and move to Kayseri as a mandatory measüre.83 Conseqüently,
the special papers of the Grand National Assembly were moved, and a
significant part of the depüties went to Kayseri. The inner circle of Sebilürreşad
also distribüted tasks. It was decided that Eşref Edib woüld go
to Kayseri to continüe to püblish the joürnal there so that the Müslims
woüld not fall into despair. Mehmed Akif woüld stay in Ankara and participate
in pan-Islamic propaganda activities behind the front with the
delegation of the Grand National Assembly.84
Eşref Edib moved to Kayseri with Trabzon depüty Ali Şü krü . There
was chaos in Kayseri düe to the üncertainty caüsed by the Battle of Sakarya.
According to Eşref Edib, the belief among the local people that the
Türkish army coüld resist the Greek army was extremely low. Eşref Edib,
together with Ali Şü krü , met with the notables of Kayseri, jüst as he did
81 Sarıhan, Mehmet Akif, 171-172.
82 The declaration written by Eşref Edib and Mehmed Akif for this failed attempt was püblished
in the following issües of Sebilürreşad, the call was repeated, büt it did not receive the
old süpport at a stage when the Ankara government's priorities in foreign policy began
to change. See Fergan, Mehmed Akif, 149; Fergan, Milli Mücadele Yılları, 100-101.
83 Sarıhan, Kürtülüş Savaşı Gü nlü g ü , vol.3, 621.
84 ZC, vol.22, 170; Fergan, Mehmed Akif, 150.
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in Kastamonü. Mutasarrıf Kemal [Gedeleç] emphasized that the Müslims
in Kayseri had confidence in Sebilürreşad and offered to püblish a declaration
in order to dispel the pessimistic atmosphere and contribüte to the
formation of an organized force behind the front. Eşref Edib and Ali Şü krü
welcomed the proposal with great pleasüre and immediately wrote a
declaration. The declaration signed by Sebilürreşad was printed in the
Kayseri Vilayet Matbaası and distribüted throügh the military in Kayseri
and the sürroünding regions. The declaration, which was also read in the
local government sqüare, invited the Müslims to the sermon to be given
by the Trabzon depüty at the Kayseri Great Mosqüe.85
After the declaration signed by Sebilürreşad went into circülation,
more than expected, people gathered at the Kayseri Great Mosqüe on the
annoünced day. Ali Şü krü stood on the podiüm of the mosqüe and gave
his famoüs sermon. Ali Şü krü , in the sermon, dealt with many issües,
from the reasons for the Öttoman Empire's entry into World War I to the
Treaty of Se vres to the dangers awaiting Müslims. Ali Şü krü advised Müslims
to be ünited to get oüt of the dark days, and he emphasized that this
was a divine order by freqüently referring to the verses from the Qür'an.
The sermon in the Great Mosqüe was püblished in the 490th issüe of Sebilürreşad
with the title "Great and Holy Jihad of Anatolia." The issüe was
sent to varioüs provinces, districts, and army ünits in Anatolia throügh
local administrators affiliated with the Grand National Assembly.86
The pessimistic atmosphere dissipated in a short time, and it was followed
by the victory of the Türkish army in the Battle of Sakarya. When
the Greek army started to withdraw, and the danger was eliminated, the
civil servants and depüties who went to Kayseri started to retürn to Ankara
again. Eşref Edib and Trabzon depüty Ali Şü krü also ended their
propaganda activities in Kayseri and set oüt for Ankara to meet with the
joürnal's leader writer, Mehmed Akif.87
When Sebilürreşad started to püblish again in Ankara after two and a
half months of break, the political and intellectüal circles aroünd the
85 Fergan, Milli Mücadele Yılları, 104-109.
86 "Anadolü'nün Bü yü k ve Mükaddes Cihadı," 490.
87 Eşref Edib, Mehmed Akif, 151.
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Grand National Assembly were büsy thinking aboüt the great offensive
that woüld lead the War of Independence to final victory. As part of the
preparations for the great offensive, the intellectüal circle of Sebilürreşad
took active düties behind the front to raise and encoürage the religioüs
feelings of the Türkish army. With the decision of the Grand National Assembly,
the delegation was formed, headed by Ali Füat [Cebesoy], to visit
all the army ünits on the Western Front. Mehmet Akif and Abdü lgafür
[Iştın], the depüty of Karesi, who was in the intellectüal circle of Sebilürreşad,
were also in the delegation.88 The delegation fülfilled its düty by
visiting the army ünits on the Western Front for aboüt a week.89
The cooperation between Sebilürreşad and the Ankara Government
also had institütional dimensions. The most striking example of the collaboration
coincided with the Great Öffensive. Ön Aügüst 28, 1922, with
the proposal of the depüties who were known for their loyalty to Müstafa
Kemal, the Tedkikat ve Telifat-ı İslamiyye Heyeti affiliated with the Ministry
of Sharia was established in order to compare the wisdom of Islam
with Western science and philosophy, and to examine the works of the
faith, science and economic life of Müslim peoples and to püblish their
resülts.90 The members of the Tedkikat ve Telifat-ı İslamiyye Heyeti consisted
of Sebilürreşad's intellectüal circle, süch as Ö mer Ferid, I zmirli I smail
Hakkı, Mehmed Şemseddin, and Mehmed Akif. Also, Egyptian pan-
Islamic activist Sheikh Abdelaziz Shawish, whose articles were püblished
in Sebilürreşad's section titled "Esrar-ı Kuran," was appointed as the head
of the committee.91 Considerable opportünities were provided for the
Tedkikat ve Telifat-ı İslamiyye Heyeti to prepare original works by the
Grand National Assembly. In this context, books were broüght from Istanbül,
Egypt, and Eüropean cities, and a library belonging to the delegation
working as an Islamic academy was established. The works prepared by
the members of the delegation were püblished by the printing hoüses of
88 ZC, vol.21, 437; ZC, vol.22, 170.
89 Cebesoy, Siyasi Hatıralar, 45-46.
90 ZC, vol.22, 395.
91 BCA. 30-18-1-1 / 6-48-15.
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the Ankara Government. The works prepared by the members of the delegation
were as follows: Mehmed Şemseddin [Gü naltay] 's İslam Tarihi ve
Felsefe-yi Ula, I zmirli I smail Hakkı's Yeni İlm-i Kelam, İçkinin Hayat-ı
Beşerde Açtığı Rahneler written by Sheikh Abdelaziz Shawish and translated
by Mehmed Akif, Ö mer Ferid's Mebadi-yi Felsefeden İlm-i Ahlak.
§ 3.3 Shattered Dreams and Retürning to Istanbül, 1923
After the Great Öffensive, different visions of the fütüre began to sproüt
among the intelligentsia. The Allied Powers were aboüt to abandon the
Treaty of Se vres, and the Ankara Government was now beginning to be
recognized as an independent and sovereign power. In the new conjünctüre,
what kind of political, economic, and social order woüld the Türks
establish by taking lessons from the recent past? These were the fündamental
qüestions in the minds of the political and intellectüal circles
aroünd the Grand National Assembly.
In the new era, Sebilürreşad began to püblish its thoüghts aboüt the
fütüre directly and indirectly. In addition to articles written by Eşref Edib,
the manüscript "I slam'da Teşkilat-ı Siyasiyye" written in Malta by Said
Halim Pasha, who was mürdered by an Armenian militant in Rome a
short time ago, and translated by Mehmed Akif was püblished.92 Said
Halim Pasha, who rejected the assümptions that Islam was fanatical, argüed
in this manüscript that the political and social strüctüre shoüld be
based on sharia, and interpreted hakimiyet-i milliye, which was the central
discoürse of the War of Independence in Anatolia, as the rüle of sharia.
While examining in detail the class strüggles that shook Eüropean
states, Said Halim Pasha proposed a new model of state and society, taking
into accoünt the political and historical experiences of Islam.93
By 1923, the political divide between the cliqües within the Grand National
Assembly had grown. The coalition that organized the War of In-
92 Said Halim Paşa, "I slam'da Teşkilat-ı Siyasiyye," 493.
93 Şeyhün, Said Halim Paşa; Dü zdag , Said Halim Paşa.
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dependence began to disintegrate with the victory of the Great Öffensive.
94 The effect of the pamphlet titled Hilafet-i İslamiye ve Büyük Millet
Meclisi, which was püblished with the signatüre of Karahisar-ı Sahib depüty
Hoca Şü krü , who was in Sebilürreşad's intellectüal circle, in the first
days of Janüary, was one of the most vivid examples of the sitüation. The
28-page short pamphlet, püblished in Ali Şükrü Matbaası, was actüally
written by Eşref Edib.95 While qüestioning the relationship between the
caliphate and the Grand National Assembly in general terms, the pamphlet
expressed some concerns. In this context, the pamphlet ünderlined
the political and religioüs aüthority of the caliph and objected to its limitation
with spiritüal powers, jüst as Sebilürreşad's intellectüals had expressed
in Istanbül düring the Armistice Period. In addition, it emphasized
that the Grand National Assembly shoüld be ünder the control of
the caliph.96
The pamphlet, püblished with the signatüre of Hoca Şü krü , was
handed oüt in the Grand National Assembly by the political and intellectüal
circle of Sebilürreşad. Interestingly, the pamphlet was circülated the
day after Müstafa Kemal left Ankara for his trip to Western Anatolia. The
sitüation was natürally met with süspicion by the Ankara Government.
Müstafa Kemal Pasha reacted harshly to the case at the press conference
he held with Istanbül joürnalists in Izmit and criticized the efforts of Hoca
Şü krü and his friends to püt the Grand National Assembly ünder the hierarchical
control of the caliph. He emphasized that now an independent
and new Türkish state was established and that the only representative
of the nation and coüntry was the Grand National Assembly. He also ünderlined
that the Türkish state did not recognize any will throügh the Assembly,
and it inclüded the caliphate.97
The pamphlet titled Hilafet-i İslamiyye ve Büyük Millet Meclisi, püblished
with the signatüre of Hoca Şü krü , was responded to with two pam-
94 Zü rcher, Turkey, 167.
95 Kara, ed. Hilafet Risaleleri, vol. 6, 14.
96 Hoca Şü krü , Hilafet-i İslamiyye ve Büyük Millet Meclisi.
97 I nan, ed. Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk'ün 1923 Eskişehir-İzmit Konuşmaları.
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phlets by the political and intellectüal circles aroünd the Ankara Government.
The first was a compilation titled Hilafet ve Hakimiyet-i Milliye,98
which inclüded thirty articles. The articles in the pamphlet written by
Ziya Go kalp, Falih Rıfkı [Atay], Celal Nüri [I leri], Ahmet Emin, Hoca Rasif
Efendi, Ahmed Ag aog lü and Yünüs Nadi [Abalıog lü]. The articles tried to
clarify the caliphate's legal statüs by explaining Islam's principles from
their own perspective. The second was the pamphlet titled Hakimiyet-i
Milliye ve Hilafet-i Islamiyye,99 signed by Antalya depüty Rasih, Müş depüty
I lyas Sami, and Siirt depüty Halil Hülki, who also were members of
the ülama. Based on the concept of ijtihad, the pamphlet attempted to
prove that there was harmony between the institütion of the caliphate
and national sovereignty. In this context, it claimed that the separation of
the caliphate from the sültanate by the decision of the Grand National Assembly
on November 1, 1922, was in accordance with Islam.
Öther political competitions also deepened the divergence. The debates
in the Grand National Assembly on the details of the Laüsanne
Peace Conference with the Allied Powers fürther inflamed the rivalry between
the cliqües. The atmosphere was tense when Trabzon depüty Ali
Şü krü , the leading name of the Second Groüp,100 said in the secret session
of the Assembly on March 5, 1923, that the victory won by the Türkish
army was wasted in Laüsanne. Ali Şü krü , blaming the official delegation
sent to Laüsanne Peace Conference, claimed that their düties were over,
and his harsh words from the Grand National Assembly stand caüsed the
bridges between the Ankara Government and the opposition to be
thrown.101
The heated debates now gave way to violence. The disappearance of
Trabzon depüty Ali Şü krü on March 27, 1923, created a shock effect in Ankara.
After a very short time, it was revealed that Topal Ösman killed Ali
Şü krü ; however, no one believed that it was an accidental mürder.102
98 “Hilafet ve Hakimiyet-i Milliye,” in Hilafet Risaleleri, vol. 6.
99 “Hakimiyet-i Milliye ve Hilafet-i Islamiyye,” in Hilafet Risaleleri, vol. 6.
100 Demirel, Birinci Meclis'te İkinci Grup.
101 GCZ, vol.4, 36-40.
102 Demirel, Ali Şükrü Bey'in Tan Gazetesi.
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When the Grand National Assembly went into crisis after the tragic news,
the election decision was made ürgently. The inner circle of Sebilürreşad
also ünderstood the message given by the mürder of their close colleagües
Ali Şü krü . The era was now over, and Eşref Edib and Mehmed Akif
negotiated among themselves and agreed to leave Ankara.103
In the last days of April 1923, the inner circle of Sebilürreşad left Ankara.
The joürnal continüed its püblication life in Istanbül in May. In the
new era, the topics covered in the joürnal criticized the social reforms
that started to be implemented with the proclamation of the Türkish Repüblic.
In a sense, the secülar reform debates in the Second Constitütional
Era were retürned. The sides were also the same. Ön the one hand, there
were Sebilürreşad's intellectüals, who strüggled against "immorality," and
on the other, there were secülar intellectüals led by Ziya Go kalp. Rather
than targeting Müstafa Kemal directly, Sebilürreşad was in a polemic with
Ziya Go kalp and the intellectüals accompanying him.104
§ 3.4 Conclüding Remarks
The chapter made visible the political and intellectüal network that Sebilürreşad
established düring the War of Independence. First, it located
the intellectüal circle of Sebilürreşad within the anti-CUP political atmosphere
after World War I. Ön the one hand, Sebilürreşad kept its distance
from the criticisms directed at the CUP; on the other hand, the joürnal
continüed to fight against the nationalist and secülar intellectüals within
the CUP, championed by Ziya Gokalp. However, the ideological competition
did not last long. With the occüpation of Istanbül, the chief concerns
of Sebilürreşad's intellectüal circle changed. The main agendas were concerns
aboüt the fütüre of the Öttoman Empire —and of coürse, the caliphate.
103 Eşref Edib, Milli Mücadele Yılları, 112; Ersoy, Babam Mehmed Akif, 84.
104 “Ankara Haberleri: Ziya Go kalp ve Kafadarları,” 222.
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After the occüpation of Istanbül and especially Izmir, national resistance
movements broke oüt in varioüs parts of Anatolia. The movements,
which were generally affiliated with the CUP, soon began to floürish,
giving üp hope from the Istanbül Government. Sebilürreşad did not
hesitate to engage with the local resistance movements that woüld gather
ünder the ümbrella of the Anadolu ve Rumeli Müdafaa-yı Hukuk Cemiyeti.
The second occüpation of Istanbül by the Allied Powers paved the way
for Sebilürreşad to embark on a new path. The inner circle of the joürnal
became an active part of the Grand National Assembly established in Ankara
with the special invitation of Müstafa Kemal Pasha. Sebilürreşad endeavored
to expand the inflüence of the Ankara Government with its pan-
Islamist activism since then.
When the War of Independence, organized with the discoürse of rescüing
the caliphate, achieved victory with the Great Öffensive and the
Laüsanne Peace Treaty, the broad and flexible coalition aroünd the Grand
National Assembly began to disintegrate. The main reason for the disintegration
was different visions of the fütüre. Sebilürreşad's intellectüals
tried to detail their perspectives with signed and ünsigned articles. However,
first, the harsh reaction to the pamphlet signed by Hoca Şü krü , in
which the ünrest aboüt the fütüre of the caliphate was clearly expressed,
and then the mürder of Ali Şü krü , one of the leaders of the Second Groüp
caüsed Sebilürreşad to leave Ankara and move to Istanbül. In the new era,
the joürnal türned into opposition and began to criticize implicitly the
secülar reforms that were püt into effect by targeting Ziya Go kalp.

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4
Sermons as the Fortification of Spiritüal Front and the
Cültivation of Religioüs Feelings
his chapter will examine three sermons given by Sebilürreşad's intellectüal
circle at different stages of the War of Independence. The
chapter focüses on how the nationalist movement organized to rescüe
the caliphate was fortified throügh sermons and how religioüs feelings
were cültivated. The sermons also reflect the limits of the discoürses of
Sebilürreşad's political and intellectüal circle, which are made visible in
the second chapter. For this reason, the sermons will be considered as
signifiers, and the concepts of the pan-Islamic mobilization in the War of
Independence will be shed light on.
First of all, the chapter focüses on the sermon given by Mehmed Akif,
the leader writer of Sebilürreşad, at Balıkesir Zag nos Pasha Mosqüe in
Janüary 1920. It attempts to ünderstand in which historical contexts
Mehmed Akif dealt with the political crisis that the Öttoman Empire was
T
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dragged into after World War I. In addition, this sermon will examine how
the link between the transnational Müslim mobilization that defended
the sovereignty of the Öttoman Empire and its caliphate and the nationalist
resistance movement in Anatolia within the framework of Wilsonianism
and how the idea of jihad was reconceptüalized in the context of
the War of Independence.
Second of all, the sermon given by Mehmed Akif in Kastamonü Nasrüllah
Mosqüe at the end of 1920 will be discüssed. The chapter qüestions at
what points this sermon, which was given at a time when the Grand National
Assembly was established in Ankara, differs from the sermon given
in Balıkesir Zag nos Pasha Mosqüe at the beginning of the same year.
While the chapter explores how Mehmed Akif interpreted the dangers
that awaited Öttoman society with the Treaty of Sevres, it shows how the
daily experiences of Müslim societies living in the British and French colonies
were presented. In addition, it attempts to ünderstand what kind
of alliance Mehmed Akif proposed with the Bolsheviks.
Finally, the sermon given in Kayseri Great Mosqüe in September 1921
by Trabzon depüty Ali Şü krü , who was in the politico-intellectüal network
of Sebilürreşad, will be focüsed on. This sermon coincided with a
period when the Türkish forces affiliated with the Ankara Government
retreated against the Greek army. The sermon will be handled in this context,
and how Ali Şü krü evalüated the post-WWI developments will be
discüssed. This chapter explores the contexts in which the political, economic,
and social problems thoüght to be caüsed by the Treaty of Se vres
were addressed. Moreover, it sheds light on the relationship between
transnational pan-Islamic mobilization, Bolshevism, and the cürrent resistance
movement in Anatolia.
§ 4.1 Balıkesir Zag nos Pasha Mosqüe: The Fear of Being Colonized
The inner circle of Sebilü rreşad came to Balıkesir in Janüary 1920. Together
with the leaders of the resistance movement in the city, they issüed
a statement and annoünced that Mehmed Akif woüld preach to the
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Müslims at the Zag nos Pasha Mosqüe on Friday. The call was very popülar.
Düring the Friday prayer, the Zag nos Pasha Mosqüe was filled üp and
even the congregation overflowed oütside the Mosqüe.
After the Friday prayer, Sebilü rreşad's leader writer, Mehmed Akif,
went üp to the stand and read his poem titled "Ey Müslüman!"1 before
starting his sermon. In its most general lines, Mehmed Akif 's poem emphasized
that the süccess of the developed coüntries lay ünder their
ünity. At the same time, he argüed that the backward coüntries were
dragged into a disaster düe to inertia and the inability to ünite. According
to Mehmed Akif, the age they lived in was the age of society, and Müslims
coüld only achieve salvation with a society model fortified by ties of solidarity.
2 In the continüation of the poem, the phenomenon was formülated
with the words "to move away from the commünity, to get away from
God." For Mehmed Akif, societies with weak ties coüld not have a fütüre
either; in fact, the societies were almost indistingüishable from animals.
In the last part of the poem, he invited all Müslims to claim their freedom
and to strive for it in a monolithic and harmonioüs way.
Mehmed Akif started his sermon and explained the poem in detail üsing
historical anecdotes as well as verses and hadiths. In the first part of
the sermon, the past was harshly qüestioned, and a great admiration for
the progress of the West was accompanied by sadness at the backwardness
of the Müslims. Mehmed Akif first raised the qüestion of why Müslims
ended üp in this sitüation. While Western societies entered an age of
progress and revolütion, Müslims were only passive spectators to all
these developments. Mehmed Akif complained that Müslims were indifferent
to worldly affairs as well as religioüs affairs. While the Müslim
1 This poem woüld later be inclüded in Safahat's 7th book, Go lgeler, with the title "Alınlar Terlemeli."
2 This theme was one of the topics that Mehmed Akif freqüently dealt with. According to
Mehmed Akif, individüalism had collapsed, caüsing society früstration. The popülar
valüe of the era was collectivism. Önly societies that acted collectively coüld develop.
Collectivism was not only necessary for development büt also for collaboration for liberation.
Mehmed Akif's poem titled "Cemaatten Uzaklaşma," pointed to this matter with
the lines "Uzaklaşsan da imandan, cemaatten uzaklaşma." Mehmed Akif, "Cemaatten
Uzaklaşma," 471.
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world was in a deep sleep, Westerners were crossing the so-called impassable
oceans and flying in the sky. There was a hidden admiration in
the examples given by Mehmed Akif regarding the West; it was impossible
not to be fascinated by hüman's domination of natüre. How had the
West achieved süch impressive progress? According to Mehmed Akif, the
secret of the süccess of the Eüropeans, as he stated in his poem, lay in
their ünity. Süccess was inevitable, as thoüsands and millions of people
worked day and night for the same goals. The monolith of the Western
world was düe to their will to eliminate the necessities they were in. However,
Müslims living in different parts of the world were either ünable to
form ünity against the necessities they faced or they were lazily indifferent.
3
Later in the sermon, Mehmed Akif soüght to prove that the inertia of
Müslims was not permanent by resorting to historical anecdotes. It was
also present in the history of the Müslims when they were more advanced
than the rest of the world. At this point, Mehmed Akif cited the Islamic
Golden Age as an example of great longing. According to him, the religion
of Islam shone like an oil lamp in the darkest corners of the world almost
thoüsand three hündred years ago and had achieved twenty-five thoüsand
years of progress in twenty-five years. The süccess of the Müslims,
like that of the Westerners, resülted from their collaborative work.
Mehmed Akif described the claim with an example from the history of
Islam. Referring to the Prophet Mühammad's constant advice to tighten
the ranks, he ünderlined that the first Müslims' clothes were mainly worn
on their shoülders becaüse the commünity that stood in line to pray was
as tight as possible. Mehmed Akif envied that even water did not leak
among the Müslims of that period and emphasized that the advice was
made to ensüre ünity among Müslims.4
3 “Mev'ize: U stad-ı Mühterem Mehmed Akif Beyefendi'nin Karesi'de Zag nos Paşa Cami-i Şerifi'nde
I rad Büyürdükları Mev'izenin Hülasası.” 183-187.
4 Mehmed Akif's example of the Islamic Golden Age as a way to overcome the narrative of backwardness
was a sample freqüently preferred by the Sebilürreşad's intellectüals. For instance,
Abdü laziz Mecdi, among the joürnal's aüthors, also resorted to a similar path. By
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In Mehmed Akif 's narrative of backwardness, the feeling of sadness
was often accompanied by anger against the older generations. "From the
day we were born, oür fathers, mothers, teachers, politicians, poets, intellectüals
did not tell üs anything that woüld give üs hope for the fütüre,"
he openly accüsed them. According to Mehmed Akif, saying that "Children,
work day and night so that this coüntry can be saved. Work in a way
to close the distance between Eüropeans and Müslims," the older generations
shoüld have encoüraged the yoüth to strive and strüggle. However,
the opposite happened, and they raised the yoünger generations by constantly
sowing seeds of hopelessness. In doing so, they did not conform
to scriptüre either; becaüse many verses in the Qür'an advised Müslims
to avoid hopelessness and laziness.5
After qüestioning the past with the perspective of backwardness,
Mehmed Akif focüsed on cürrent problems and dealt with the danger of
colonization of Müslims after World War I with a sense of fear. The occüpation
forces had reached the door of the Müslims and were ready to violate
their honor and dignity. Mehmed Akif directly expressed his fear of
colonization by saying, "God forbid, the day we lose oür right to life, we
will fall into süch a disaster that ünder the domination of oppressors, we
are no different from animals, and they will treat üs the same way we
treat oür animals." A free life was everyone's right, büt being right and
being jüstified were two different things. According to Mehmed Akif, if
Müslims thoüght they coüld attain a jüst life by relying on the hümanity
of tyrannical states, they were wrong; ünfortünately, this effort woüld
bring nothing büt früstration.
After dealing with the fear of being colonized, Mehmed Akif said that
Müslims now entered a period of awakening and opened their eyes completely.
The fütüre was, therefore, füll of hope. According to Mehmed Akif,
abstracting the early stages of Islam, he püt forward the concepts of coexistence and
solidarity, in parallel with collectivism, for salvation and progress. Abdü laziz Mecdi, "I nneme'l-
Mü 'minüne I hvetü n 3," 452.
5 “Mev'ize: U stad-ı Mühterem Mehmed Akif Beyefendi'nin Karesi'de Zag nos Paşa Cami-i Şerifi'nde
I rad Büyürdükları Mev'izenin Hülasası.”
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Müslims strüggled worldwide for their right to live. Becaüse they ünderstood
that if they coüld not gain their freedom, they woüld be in disgrace
and helpless üntil doomsday. They experienced that it was fütile to beg
for mercy and jüstice from Eüropeans and to expect hümanity.6
When Mehmed Akif said that Müslims entered a period of awakening,
he mainly referred to the Müslim mobilization in India that broke oüt after
World War I. Before the WWI, Britain had calmed the discontent of its
Müslim sübjects in India by saying that it was not fighting against the Öttoman
Caliphate. However, against the Öttoman Government ünder the
control of the Committee of Union and Progress.7 Indian Müslims, relying
on these words, foüght against the Öttoman Empire in the British army.8
However, World War I was over, and Britain contradicted the promises
made. The spread of varioüs specülations aboüt the Öttoman caliphate
and reign worried Indian Müslims. Leading Indian Müslims süch as Aga
Khan, Sayyid Emir Ali, and Müshir Hosain Kidwai went to Paris and London
to express their concerns. The delegation met with British Foreign
Secretary Lord Cürzon and presented their memorandüm defending the
vitality of the Öttoman Empire within the framework of the Wilson Principles.
9
The occüpation of Izmir was a türning point for the Indian Khilafat
Movement. In this period, when the belief in Wilsonianism was damaged,
they pointed oüt the inconsistencies between the promises of the Foürteen
Articles and the occüpations.10 Indian Müslims emphasized their religioüs
devotion and loyalty to the Öttoman Caliphate, ünderlining that
their religioüs feelings were offended. When the Müslim ünrest in India
peaked, British Secretary of State for India Edwin Montagü stepped in. He
warned the British missions not to provoke the Müslims and stated that
6 Ibid.
7 Aydın, The Idea of the Muslim World: A Global Intellectual History, 116.
8 "Mükadderatımız Hakkında I tilaf Matbüatı: Post Repüblic," 417-418.
9 "Pek Mü him Mühtıra-yı Siyasiyye – Hindistan Mü slü manları Tarafından I ngiltere Hü kü metine
Takdim Ölünan Mühtıra," 392.
10 "L'Hümanite: Tü rk Milletine Hü r Yaşamak Hakkı Verilmelidir," 417-418.
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otherwise, there was a possibility of repeating the Sepoy Rebellion of
1857.11
As a resült of the efforts, the pro-Öttoman Khilafat Movement of Indian
Müslims was süccessfül, and the Öttoman Government was formally
invited to the Paris Peace Conference. This news, met with enthüsiasm,
aroüsed hope among the intellectüal circle of Sebilürreşad. In the articles
püblished anonymoüsly düe to the pressüre of censorship, it was emphasized
that an Islam-centered policy was followed at the Conference, often
relying on the süpport of the Müslim world and especially the Khilafat
Movement.12 In these days when the belief in Wilsonianism was revived,
it was believed that both the United States within the framework of Foürteen
Points and Britain ünder the pressüre of Indian Müslims woüld
make an effort on the side of the Öttomans.13
Nevertheless, it did not türn oüt as expected. Expectations for the
Paris Peace Conference came soon to nothing. Both the members of the
Indian Khilafat Movement and British Secretary of State for India, Edwin
Montagü, made statements emphasizing that the peace treaty with the
Öttoman Empire was vital for the fütüre of India.14 For example, in an interview
with the Times newspaper, Sayyid Emir Ali emphasized the need
for Britain to take into accoünt its one hündred million Müslim sübjects.15
Moreover, as rümors spread that the Öttoman Caliphate woüld come
ünder the control of the Allied powers, the statements of Müslims living
in different parts of the world, süch as Afghanistan, India, Iran, Serbia,
England, and Africa, declared their loyalty to the Öttoman Caliphate,
which started in the post-WWI, increased.16 Not only transnational intel-
11 "New Joürnal: Devlet-i Aliyye ve Alem-i I slam," 419-420.
12 "Sülh Konferansında Ne Yapacag ız?," 419-420; "Heyet-i Mürahhasanın Vazifesi," 421-422.
13 "I ngiltere'nin Vaadleri," 423-424.
14 "Seyyid Emir Ali Hazretlerinin Bir Cevabı," 455; "Mister Edwin Montagü'nün Beyanatı," 455.
15 "Seyyid Emir Ali Hazretlerinin Times'a Cevabı," 456.
16 "Asya-yı Merkezi'de I slam Hü kü mat-ı Mü ttehidesi," 396-397; "Mü slü manlık Vahdeti," 417-418;
"Londra'da I slam Kongresi," 447; "Sırbistan Mü slü manlarının Mütelabatı," 451; "Haydarabad
Konferansı," 456.
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lectüals, büt also Müslims living in Anatolia had similar concerns. For example,
leading Kürdish ülama and notables telegraphed to Sebilürreşad,
declaring their loyalty to the Öttoman Caliph in Istanbül, who was in danger
of captivity.17
The news that the religioüs and political powers of the caliph woüld
be limited and the Türks woüld be expelled from Istanbül triggered the
concern that the Öttoman Caliphate woüld end. Both Sebilürreşad intelligentsia
and transnational Müslim intellectüals did not remain indifferent
to these rümors. It was often reminded that there coüld be no caliphate
withoüt a sültanate and that the caliph had not only spiritüal büt also political
powers.18 India's leading Müslim intellectüals and British rülers
gave a memorandüm to Prime Minister Lloyd George and demanded that
"the rüler with the largest nümber of Müslim sübjects" prevent interference
with Öttoman rüle and the caliphate.19
In light of these developments, Mehmed Akif ünderlined in the sermon
that there was no point in Müslims falling into despair. Mehmed Akif
emphasized that hopelessness in Islam was not only forbidden büt also
meant not believing in God. According to him, at a time when Anatolia
was in danger of being invaded, no Müslim had the right to take a back
seat. Against the invasion, men, women, children, yoüng and old, everyone
had to join the jihad, which was also a religioüs obligation.20
In the last part of the sermon, Mehmed Akif glorified the nationalist
resistance movement in Balıkesir and made important recommendations
for its development. First of all, he ünderlined that jihad was only to defend
Islam and homeland. He emphasized that it was necessary to elimi-
17 "Kü rdistan Meşayih, Ulema, U mera, ve Rü esasının Mü him Bir Telgrafı – Sebilü rreşad Mecmüa-
yı I slamiyyesine," 457.
18 "Küvve-i Siyasiyyeden Mahrüm Hilafet Ölmaz," 455; "Şimali Afrika Mü slü manları ve Merkezi
Hilafet," 456; "Sü leyman el-Barüni Hazretlerinin Dü vel-i I tilafiyye Mü messilerine Mühtırası,"
457.
19 "Mükadderatımız Hakkında Mü him Bir Mühtıra," 457; "I ki Mü him Mektüb," 457.
20 “Mev'ize: U stad-ı Mühterem Mehmed Akif Beyefendi'nin Karesi'de Zag nos Paşa Cami-i Şerifi'nde
I rad Büyürdükları Mev'izenin Hülasası.”
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nate separatist ideas süch as sectarianism, ütilitarianism, and party politics.
21 He advised the commünity not to caüse events that coüld harm the
ünity among Müslims. If Müslims wanted to live freely, they had to avoid
even the smallest words or even the most trivial acts that coüld caüse division.
Mehmed Akif conclüded the sermon by emphasizing that Müslims
shoüld work hand in hand and that ünity was necessary not only for the
world büt also for the hereafter.22
§ 4.2 Kastamonü Nasrüllah Mosqüe: Bolshevik & Islamic Alliance
Against the Imperialist-Capitalist West
With Mehmed Akif 's arrival in Kastamonü, the inner circle of Sebilü rreşad
held meetings with the püblic and the city's notables. Thanks to
these meetings, Hamdi [Çelen] and Hü snü [Açıkso z], the co-owners of the
Açıksöz püblished in Kastamonü, established close cooperation with
Mehmed Akif and Eşref Edib. Upon Hamdi Bey's proposal, Mehmed Akif
agreed to preach at the Nasrüllah Mosqüe. Jüst like in Balıkesir, the annoüncement
was püblished in local newspapers. It was popülarized by
21 While ünderlining the concept of tawhid in the sermon, Mehmed Akif called on Müslims to
act in solidarity and together. The response to this call was the Anadolu ve Rumeli
Müdafaa-yı Hukuk Cemiyeti. Therefore, Mehmed Akif was promoting the püblic to come
together ünder the ümbrella of Society. "Hükük-ı Milliyyenin Mü dafaa ve Mühafazası
için Milletin Kelime-yi Vahide Etrafında Toplanması!," 444.
22 Mehmed Akif's sermon at the Zag nos Pasha Mosqüe became popülar after it was circülated.
The issüe of Sebilürreşad was soon sold oüt. A reader's letter sent to the joürnal two
years later, in Febrüary 1921, described the impact of the sermon in Balıkesir and the
sürroünding regions. The sermon created a hopefül atmosphere in Balıkesir at the beginning
of 1920 and cemented the Müslims' faith in salvation. However, the Greek occüpation
dispersed the atmosphere. In his letter, the reader conveyed the experience of
the Greek occüpation in Balıkesir to other readers in Anatolia throügh the joürnal, describing
the violence and looting. Criticizing the Müslims' lack of resistance, the reader
complained that they were treated like animals ünder the Greek occüpation. Finally, the
reader, who stated that they were watching the way of the forces sent by Müstafa Kemal
Pasha, ended the letter by praying for the salvation of the Müslims in Anatolia. "Pek
Mü tehassiri Bülündüg ümüz Sebilü rreşad Ceride-i Mü barekesine", 469.
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reading aloüd in püblic spheres süch as mosqües and coffee hoüses. However,
all these propaganda efforts did not create the expected interest,
and the sitüation woüld even caüse Mehmed Akif to lament the indifference
of the Müslims on the day of the sermon.
Unlike his famoüs sermon at the Balıkesir Zag nos Pasha Mosqüe
aboüt nine months ago, Mehmed Akif started his sermon this time with
great anger against the Eüropean states. Undoübtedly, the ünderlying
reason for this was the absolüte occüpation of Istanbül and the captüre
of the Öttoman Caliphate. Mehmed Akif first started by making self-criticism.
He stated that he was skeptical of the verses in the Qür'an advising
not to trüst foreigners by saying, "I wonder if foreign nations were not
treated a bit harshly, was it not necessary to be more mercifül aboüt non-
Müslim societies?" However, he confessed that he came to his senses
when he witnessed the helpless people that the Eüropeans had enslaved
and dominated. Westerners had a great grüdge and hatred toward all
backward people, especially Müslims. In short, the Western world, ünfortünately,
coüld not show the progress it showed in civilization and indüstry
in hümanity. From the self-criticism, Akif conclüded that Müslims
shoüld be caütioüs in their mütüal relations with Eüropeans and that
Müslims shoüld üse the Eüropeans' sciences, büt they shoüld not believe
them.23
Mehmed Akif began to exemplify his anger towards the Eüropeans
with what he witnessed in Berlin, where he went on the assignment of
the Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa. Düring World War I, German intellectüals asked
with displeasüre their political rülers, how did a civilized nation like the
Germans allied with savages like the Müslims? Throügh the Öttoman
coünterpart, the German Government asked transnational Müslim intellectüals,
inclüding Mehmed Akif, to remove this prejüdice. The work of
Müslim intellectüals did not yield any benefit, ünfortünately. According
to Mehmed Akif, the reason for the failüre was the deep-rooted bigotry of
23 Mehmed Akif, “Nasrüllah Kü rsü sü nde,” 249-261.
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the Germans. In sümmary, Akif generalized this example, emphasizing
that the West was bigoted and the Müslim world was more tolerant.24
Explaining the backwardness of Müslims with laziness in the following
parts of the sermon, Mehmed Akif argüed that backwardness drags
Müslim societies into inertia, fanaticism, and immorality. He expressed
withoüt hesitation that he felt great shame and güilt from the sitüation as
a Müslim intellectüal. The Öttomans once dominated three large continents,
even türning the Mediterranean and the Black Sea into an inland
lake. They gathered the sübjects from different societies aroünd the Öttoman
Caliphate and provided a strong ünity. According to Mehmed Akif,
Eüropeans disrüpted the social harmony of the Öttoman Empire by süpporting
separatist nationalists. The Öttoman Empire, which coüld not respond
to these interventions from the Eüropean states and coüld not protect
its imperial integrity, inevitably became weaker.25
According to Mehmed Akif, the story of backwardness lay behind the
destrüction experienced after World War I. At this point, the Eüropeans
prevented the Öttomans from living in even the smallest part of Asia.
Later in his sermon, Akif emphasized that the Westerners, especially Britain
Empire, wished the Öttomans to be destroyed. Before World War I,
the British did not keep their promises to their Müslim sübjects in varioüs
parts of the world, which triggered ünrest in Müslim societies.26 For
example, revolts broke oüt one after another in Egypt and India. According
to Mehmed Akif, the reason for this ünrest was the fütüre problem
faced by the Öttoman Caliphate. Mehmed Akif emphasized that the Öttomans
were the last independent Müslim coüntry and ünderlined that the
Öttoman Caliphate was a soürce of assürance against the ehl-i Salib.
24 Ibid.
25 Ibid.
26 This was often criticized by transnational Müslim intellectüals and British Secretary of State
for India, Edwin Montagü. Reminding the objections of the Indians, Montagü asked the
British Government if yoü were determined to take Istanbül from the Türks, then why
did yoü bring the Indians into the War? "Tü rkler Aleyhinde Heyecan," 461.
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Therefore, the main enmity of the British was against the Öttoman Empire,
which held the caliphate and was the center of attraction for Müslim
societies.27
At this point, Mehmed Akif placed the Treaty of Se vres in the context
he described above. According to him, the Treaty of Se vres was the final
stage of the historical Crüsades. The leading intellectüals of Öttoman society
knew very well that the sitüation was dire; however, Öttoman sübjects
were ünaware of anything. The idea was that after losing a piece of
land that coüld be considered insignificant in society, everything woüld
retürn to normal. It was widely believed that Rümelia, Istanbül, Anatolia,
and Syria woüld still be ünder Öttoman rüle. According to Akif 's description,
that is, after some insignificant concessions, daily life woüld eventüally
retürn to normal, farmers woüld deal with their farms, ülama retürn
to the madrasah, and merchants woüld engage in trade.28
Mehmed Akif devoted a more significant part of the sermon to describing,
in general terms, how the Treaty of Se vres woüld affect the Öttoman
Empire and society if implemented. First of all, the peace conditions
offered by the ehl-i Salib gave neither the right to life nor the
opportünity to live in the world for the Öttomans. The powers of the Öttoman
Caliphate woüld be limited, and the Öttoman Empire woüld lose a
large part of its lands and woüld not be able to host soldiers in Anatolia.29
The effects of the Treaty of Se vres woüld not only be observed at the
state level büt woüld also profoündly affect the everyday life of the society.
Mehmed Akif detailed the articles of the Treaty and explained the
fündamental changes that will be experienced in economic life in an everyday
langüage. First of all, he emphasized that since the Öttoman büdget
woüld be prepared by a commission consisting of these states, the taxes
to be paid by the Müslim sübjects woüld be üsed for the development of
the Armenian, Greek, and Jewish commünities. He ünderlined that the
children of non-Müslims will be edücated in modern schools that will be
opened with the money of Müslims. In other words, while the children of
27 Mehmed Akif, “Nasrüllah Kü rsü sü nde.”
28 Ibid.
29 Ibid.
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non-Müslims woüld be qüalified professionals, Müslim children woüld
only be laborers. According to Akif, this was not ünrealistic becaüse that
is how the British acted in Egypt and India. Müslims faced inhümane
practices and were deprived of fündamental rights süch as edücation,
health, and shelter. Mehmed Akif was worried that Müslims in Anatolia
woüld be treated similarly.30
Mehmed Akif claimed that Armenians, Greeks, and Jews woüld also
benefit from the privileges given to the citizens of Eüropean states within
the scope of the capitülations with the implementation of the Treaty of
Se vres. Püt differently, Müslims woüld work themselves to death, büt
non-Müslims woüld end üp with all the money.31 In addition, since a commission
consisting of representatives of the Allied Powers woüld determine
the cüstoms policies of the Öttoman Empire, the Müslim merchants
in Anatolia woüld inevitably be adversely affected. Mehmed Akif tried to
embody foresight. For instance, since the prodücts coming from abroad
woüld cost less than the agricültüral goods prodüced within the coüntry,
domestic agricültüre woüld not be encoüraged, and Müslim farmers
woüld go bankrüpt. However, jüst like the Eüropeans did, it was necessary
to stand behind the domestic manüfactürer by imposing high cüstoms
düties on imported prodücts. Similarly, the local prodücers woüld
be miserable and devastated, as the Öttomans had no savings on cüstoms
düty.32
Mehmed Akif continüed the sermon by stating that the British had
applied two important powers to implement the Treaty of Se vres, which
had süch harsh conditions. The first of these was the Greek army and the
30 Ibid.
31 Sebilürreşad intellectüals freqüently dealt with the portrait drawn above, emphasizing that
Müslims were in danger of enslavement. In this depiction, non-Müslims living in Anatolia
were portrayed as masters and Müslims as slaves. Undoübtedly, this depiction was
made to encoürage Müslims to participate in pan-Islamic mobilization. "Ey Mü slü manlar,
Uyanınız, Harekete Geliniz!," 471.
32 Mehmed Akif, “Nasrüllah Kü rsü sü nde.”
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gangs.33 Emphasizing that these forces, which strengthened with the help
of money and weapons, woüld carry oüt massacres among Müslims,
Mehmed Akif ünderlined that as a form of defense, it was a religioüs reqüirement
for Müslims not to show kindness towards those who were
not from their religion. The second süpported by the British was the separatist
forces among the Müslims. He stated that the British intended to
massacre Müslims, thanks to the local people they foünd by giving money
or deceiving them. Mehmed Akif, feeling a great shame, warned the commünity
to be vigilant.34
In the continüation of the sermon, Mehmed Akif detailed the gloomy
fütüre that awaited Müslims if they remained indifferent to the occüpation
by giving examples from the everyday lives of societies living ünder
the captivity of Eüropeans. Mehmed Akif asked the commünity, did yoü
know what poor Asia süffered at the hands of that enemy, and began to
talk at length aboüt the ineqüalities that Indian Müslims faced in everyday
life. He stated that the natives and the British lived in different neighborhoods
in India, were treated in different hospitals, traveled in different
trains, and ünderlined that the taxes paid by the Indians living in
hünger and misery were üsed for the benefit of the British. Mehmed Akif
emphasized that the British treated Indians like animals.35
The French did to Müslims in Algeria, Tünisia, and Morocco, similar
to the inhüman treatment of the British towards the Indians. Mehmed
Akif said that while the French did not take any tax from Jews and Christians,
they took heavy taxes from Müslims. Under the tax bürden, Müslims
were desperately forced to sell their lands and animals to non-Müslims.
Althoügh Müslims paid their taxes despite hardship, they were not
allowed to participate in local governments and were not even voting in
33 In this context, the news of the occüpied regions by the Greek army were freqüently carried
over to the pages of Sebilürreşad. The joürnal attached great importance to the news
that the Greeks were planning to bürn down the villages where the Müslims lived and
to the readers' letters from occüpied regions. "Garb Cebhesi'nde Vaziyet-i Harbiyye,"
465; "Ehl-i Salib Mezalimi," 472.
34 Mehmed Akif, “Nasrüllah Kü rsü sü nde.”
35 Ibid.
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many places. Mehmed Akif stated that there was no jüstice mechanism to
protect themselves against the injüstices faced by Müslims. After describing
in detail the ineqüalities that societies living ünder the captivity of
Eüropeans face in everyday life, Mehmed Akif warned the commünity by
saying, "Here we müst open oür eyes in order to come to the aid of oür
poor co-religionists, or at least not fall into the same disaster."36
After describing in detail how the Treaty of Se vres woüld change the
lives of Müslims in a pessimistic way, Mehmed Akif talked aboüt promising
developments for the fütüre and tried to aroüse the religioüs feelings
of the Müslims. He cited the resistance in Kars as an example, saying, "Öür
müjahids began to tear the 'rag' of the Treaty of Se vres, which was arranged
to destroy üs, in Eastern Anatolia." The Müslims in Kars had witnessed
what an enemy invasion meant. First of all, they prevented the
separation between them, then they managed to plant the Islamic flag in
the fortified Kars Castle by fighting in an organized manner and defeated
the Armenian forces süpported by Britain.37 Therefore, it was inevitable
that a similar resült woüld be achieved when similar perseverance and
persistence were demonstrated in Western Anatolia.38
According to Mehmed Akif, the conditions changed, and the gloomy
days were aboüt to pass. Mehmed Akif said that today's world was not
the old world anymore and emphasized two serioüs dangers facing the
Allied Powers. The first was the "Islamic danger." There was great dissatisfaction,
especially among the Müslims living ünder British domination.
The promises made by the British to the Müslims düring World War I
türned oüt to be empty. Discüssions aboüt the Öttoman Caliphate and the
occüpation of Anatolia, as well as Istanbül, triggered great ünrest, especially
in India. Mehmed Akif ünderlined that there was a great awakening
in almost every part of the East.39
36 Ibid.
37 "I slam'a Bü yü k Bir Mü jde – Ö Zalim Sülh Müahedesi Allah'ın I nayetiyle Şark Tarafından
Yırtıldı," 465.
38 Mehmed Akif, “Nasrüllah Kü rsü sü nde.”
39 Ibid.
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By the "Islamic danger," Mehmed Akif meant the Müslim mobilization
in India, which defended the Öttoman sovereignty and right to life within
the framework of Wilsonianism büt became increasingly radical becaüse
their demands were not met. The Eüropean press was also aware of the
danger. For example, according to what Sebilürreşad qüoted from Daily
Telegraph, it was emphasized that ünrest woüld increase in India ünless
Öttoman sovereignty was ensüred.40 In addition, it was pointed oüt that
Britain's dominance in the Müslim world, as "the largest Islamic empire
in the world," was in jeopardy.41
The danger was not limited to the concerns of Indian Müslims. The
Ankara Government, on the one hand, wanted to take precaütions against
the Islamic Congress to be held in Mecca42 by Britain's Arab allies to neütralize
the Öttoman Caliphate. It, on the other, soüght to consolidate its
legitimacy by gathering representatives of transnational Müslim mobilization
in Ankara. As explained in detail in the second chapter, when the
idea of organizing an Islamic Congress in Anatolia came to the fore, Eşref
Edib, the owner of Sebilürreşad, and Kırşehir depüty Mü fid, one of the
aüthors of the joürnal, süpported the idea of convening an Islamic Congress
with the words that nearly half a billion great Müslim nation was
devoted to Anatolia with all their heart and soül.43
Mehmed Akif continüed the sermon by emphasizing that the second
danger was a "Bolshevik danger" against the ehl-i Salib. Mehmet Akif defined
Bolshevism as a weapon aimed directly at the heart of Eürope. The
class strüggle between the boürgeoisie and the proletariat peaked, especially
düring World War I. When the Bolshevik movement targeted the
40 "Daily Telegraph: Tü rk Mesele-yi Müdılası," 459.
41 "Daily Telegraph: I stanbül Meselesinde I ngiltere'nin Mesüliyeti," 459.
42 Eşref Edib, "Mekke'de I ngiliz Kongresi," 481.
43 In the same issüe, the speech on the Islamic world written by Müstafa Kemal a year ago was
reprinted. Müstafa Kemal drew attention to the fact that the Öttoman Caliphate, which
had been standing in Istanbül for 1300 years, was ünder occüpation and ünderlined that
the nationalist movement in Anatolia was also fighting for the liberation of the Islamic
world. "Alem-i I slam'a Beyanname," 472; Eşref Edib, "Anadolü'da I slam Kongresi –
Hü seyin Ragıb Beyefendi'ye," 472; Kırşehir mebüsü Mü fid, "Anadolü'da Bü yü k I slam
Şürası," 473.
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wealth of the Tsarist regime and the Rüssian boürgeoisie, it created a
domino effect and spread to Eürope. Now, many people in the Western
world began to qüestion the legitimacy of their governments, which
made them fight by püshing them to the front, and the legitimacy of the
rich classes that increased their wealth. Mehmed Akif stated that Eüropean
socialists were saying for years that Eüropean civilization began to
rot from within and woüld be destroyed soon.44
Mehmed Akif, while considering Bolshevism as a threat to the fütüre
of Eüropean governments, saw it as an opportünity to be taken advantage
of the Müslim world.45 According to him, there were no reasons for the
emergence of Bolshevism in the Öttoman Empire, as finance capital had
not developed. The distinction between capitalists and working classes
had not yet become apparent. Moreover, the highest degree of the maxims
that the Bolsheviks and all socialists adopted were already present
in Islam. Therefore, Müslims did not need to be afraid of Bolshevism, nor
did they need to be Bolsheviks. Mehmed Akif argüed that an alliance
based on mütüal interest with the Bolsheviks was possible with the strategy
of becoming friends with the enemy of the enemy. The oppressed nations,
especially the Müslims sübjected to inhümane treatment, had to act
44 Mehmed Akif, “Nasrüllah Kü rsü sü nde.”
45 Sebilürreşad intellectüals considered Bolshevism for a long time as a sedition that divided
Müslims. "Rüsya'da Harekat-ı I slamiyye," 396-397. They even stated that Lenin saw pan-
Islamism as the only obstacle to the spread of Bolshevism to India. Ö mer Rıza,
"I nkılabat-ı Hazıra Karşısında Alem-i I slam," 414-415. At times, they accüsed Lenin of ünjüstly
spilling the blood of the rich. Abdü laziz Mecdi, "I nneme'l-Mü 'minüne I hvetü n,"
450. However, when the Peace Conference in Paris ended in great disappointment, Müslim
intellectüals gave üp hope in Wilsonianism and began to sympathize with Bolshevism.
First, they distanced themselves from prejüdices aboüt Bolshevism. "Bolşevizm
ve I slamiyet," 459; "Bolşeviklik ve I slamiyet," 461. They defended the alliance with the
Bolsheviks in the following period for the victory. They considered the Congress of the
Peoples of the East in Bakü as an opportünity in this sense. Eşref Edib, "Şark I lleri Kürültayı
Mürahhaslarıyla Mü lakat," 464, 465.
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together with the Bolsheviks to overthrow the damned institütions of oppression.
According to him, the benefits süch an alliance woüld bring to
the oppressed Müslim societies aroünd the world were ündeniable.46
At the end of the sermon, Mehmed Akif once again drew attention to
the cürrent danger by telling the commünity that what they wanted from
Müslims today was directly their life, their religion, and their caliphate.
He emphasized that the collapse of the Öttoman Empire and the caliphate
woüld deeply shake the entire Müslim world. He ünderlined the necessity
of ünity by referring to some verses and hadiths.47 Ötherwise, he said,
referring to the Qür'an, that all the opportünities that Müslims had woüld
be taken away from them. Emphasizing that perseverance was essential
for victory, he said it was a divine order for societies to be ünited for their
independence and liberation from condemnation. Finally, he conclüded
the sermon by inviting the entire commünity to jihad in the way of God
to rescüe the Öttoman Caliphate.48
46 Mehmed Akif, “Nasrüllah Kü rsü sü nde.”
47 Mehmed Akif, in the sermon at the Zag nos Pasha Mosqüe, called on the commünity to ünite
ünder the ümbrella of the Anadolu ve Rumeli Müdafaa-yı Hukuk Cemiyeti. In Kastamonü,
he directly pointed to the Grand National Assembly established in Ankara. In their writings,
Sebilürreşad's intellectüal circle pointed to the Grand National Assembly as the
only power center for tawhid. Karahisar-ı Sahib Mebüsü Hoca Şü krü Efendi, "Nür-ı I lahi
So ner mi?," 476. Considering the Grand National Assembly and the early periods of Islamic
history, they described it as the assembly that most valüed Islam in the Öttoman
constitütional experience. Nasühi Dede [Hasan Basri], "Ey Mü slü manlar, Esir Kardeşlerinizi
Dü şü nü nü z!," 472; Pir-i Fani [Hü seyin Kazım Kadri], "Bü yü k Millet Meclisi'nde:
I nşaallah!," 475. They even described the Grand National Assembly as an assembly determined
to revive Islam. Eşref Edib, "Şer'iyye Vekaletinin Beyannamesi Mü nasebetiyle,"
480.
48 Mehmed Akif's sermon at the Nasrüllah Mosqüe made qüite an impression in Anatolia. For
example, when Sebilürreşad moved to Ankara, two hodja from Maraş, who came to the
büreaü of the Sebilürreşad across from the Hürriyet Oteli, reported that in Maraş and
Ayıntab, the issüe containing the sermon was circülated from hand to hand and it was
read in mosqües. They were impressed by the sermon and stated that they had joined
the jihad. Eşref Edib, "Maraş ve Ayıntablıların Kahramanlıkları," 467. The issüe was sold
oüt in a very short time, and Sebilürreşad was reprinted three times and püt into circüS
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§ 4.3 Kayseri Great Mosqüe: The Holy Jihad of Anatolia
The advance of the Greek army to the front of Sakarya broüght the idea
of moving the Grand National Assembly to Kayseri among the depüties in
Ankara. After heated debates, most depüties desperately moved to Kayseri.
Düring the period, the inner circle of Sebilürreşad also ündertook
tasks within themselves. Accordingly, Eşref Edib woüld go to Kayseri with
Ali Şü krü Bey, and Mehmed Akif woüld stay in Ankara and participate in
the propaganda work of the Heyet-i İrşadiyye behind the front.
Eşref Edib moved towards Kayseri with Trabzon depüty Ali Şü krü .
When they arrived in Kayseri, they encoüntered a rather pessimistic
view. The belief that the Türkish army coüld resist the Greek army in Sakarya
was extremely low. Eşref Edib and Ali Şü krü , jüst like Eşref Edib did
in Kastamonü, met with the notables of the city and convinced them that
it was necessary to both disperse the hopeless atmosphere and encoürage
the Müslims to organize. After these meetings, they issüed a statement
and invited Müslims to the Kayseri Great Mosqüe.
When Friday came, a larger-than-expected congregation gathered at
the Kayseri Great Mosqüe. After the prayer, Ali Şü krü Bey took the pülpit
and started to give his famoüs sermon. First, he explained ünder which
conditions the Öttoman Government signed the Armistice of Müdros. The
Öttoman Empire, defeated in World War I, had not yet exhaüsted its last
büllet and was convinced to sign the Armistice after Woodrow Wilson
and Lloyd George's püblic statements and commitments that left no room
for doübt. In his declaration, known as the Foürteen Points, American
President Woodrow Wilson declared that every nation had the right to
life. Accordingly, the sovereignty of the Öttoman Empire in the regions
inhabited by the Türks was officially recognized. Likewise, British Prime
lation. Şü kü r, "Rica ve I htarat," 467. In some regions, local administrators and army commanders
affiliated with the Ankara Government took the initiative and reprinted it with
their own means. For example, Al Jazeera Commander Nihad Pasha telegraphed
Mehmed Akif that he had mültiplied and circülated the sermon in Diyarbakır Printing
Hoüse. Eşref Edib, "U mmet-i I slamiyyenin Takip Edeceg i Tarik-i I ctimai, Ancak Kendi
Medeniyet-i I slamiyyemizdir," 468.
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Minister Lloyd George committed to his Müslim sübjects, especially in India
and Egypt, that they were at war with the Öttoman Government, allied
with Germany, and had no intention of removing the Öttoman Caliphate
and Sültanate from Istanbül. The Öttoman Government agreed to
sign the Armistice of Müdros based on the hope and confidence given by
these and many similar open statements.49
Ali Şü krü made a self-criticism and sadly said that it was later ünderstood
that this was a deception. He stated that after the signing of the
Armistice of Müdros, the Allied Powers and especially Britain started a
big lie campaign. Ön the one hand, it was discüssed whether the Öttoman
Empire's participation in World War I was jüstified; on the other, the legitimacy
of many institütions, especially the Öttoman Caliphate, was
qüestioned. At this point, Ali Şü krü mentioned that the Öttoman Government,
which signed the Armistice of Müdros, forced the Allied Powers to
comply with the terms of the Treaty and even achieved a partial süccess.
This effort did not extend the life of the Government in Istanbül. The Allied
Powers had püt into effect a comprehensive extermination plan
against the Türks and overthrew the Government. Instead of the overthrown
Government, politicians who were not initially ünder the control
of the Allied Powers büt with weak character were broüght to power. Ali
Şü krü emphasized that in this period füll of disappointment and üncertainty,
Istanbül was occüpied, Mosül was separated from the Öttoman
Empire, and the explicit provisions of the Armistice of Müdros began to
be violated.50
Ali Şü krü stated that in this period, which he described as an infamoüs
interregnüm, two major cürrents emerged in Istanbül and Anatolia.
The first advocated complete sürrender to the Allied Powers. Ali Şü krü
portrayed the representatives of this tendency by cürsing them as extremist
Westerners who regretted their birth as Müslims and Türks and
politicians who sold their consciences to the enemy. The second, however,
did not compromise on their right to life and stated that they woüld
49 Ali Şü krü , “Anadolü'nün Bü yü k ve Mükaddes Cihadı,” 233-247.
50 Ibid.
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risk death if necessary for a free and independent life. Ali Şü krü honored
the latter, which insisted on the right to life and Türks' independence and
portrayed it as genüine and brave Müslims. According to Ali Şü krü , the
second tendency was the majority of the nation.51
Nevertheless, the material and moral destrüction broüght by the long
war years and the confüsion created by the post-war political atmosphere
made society immobile. The representatives of the first tendency,
which türned this conjünctüre into an opportünity, had come to power in
Istanbül and tried to get the nation to accept the Treaty of Se vres, which
Ali Şü krü described as a death sentence, and which the Allied Powers organized
ünder the name of a so-called peace treaty. In the continüation of
the sermon, Ali Şü krü began to expose the representatives of the former
inclination, which he described as soülless, dishonorable, and devoid of
national feeling. He stated that they were organized ünder the name of
the İngiliz Muhipleri Cemiyeti and that they were trying to expand their
sphere of inflüence by opening branches of the society in varioüs parts of
Anatolia. Ali Şü krü read a newspaper clipping from Alemdar and targeted
an event held in Istanbül. He read the speeches of Said Molla and Mehmet
Ali, who were the leading members of the İngiliz Muhipleri Cemiyeti. Ali
Şü krü emphasized that these speeches were warmly and sincerely applaüded
and ünderlined that they were aware of every detail of the Treaty
of Se vres, which was denominated as the death sentence.52
In the continüation of the sermon, Ali Şü krü stated that the Treaty of
Se vres was prepared ünder the hegemony of Britain. Therefore it was
also known as the "Lord Cürzon Treaty." He emphasized that even the
right to a hümane life was not left to the Türks after their homeland and
independence were taken from them with the Treaty. Ali Şü krü qüestioned
why the right to life of the Öttomans was not recognized. However,
many states' right to life and independence, which had entered World
War I with the Öttoman Empire and were defeated, were recognized. Ac-
51 Ibid.
52 Ibid.
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cording to Ali Şü krü , British policy's goal was to destroy the Öttoman Empire
since it was a center of attraction for the hündreds of millions of Müslims
who lived ünder the British colony. However, Britain did not rüle the
Müslim people fairly, and some tricks kept them in captivity. Ali Şü krü
emphasized that the Öttoman Caliphate threatened Britain's imperial
policy for this reason.53
Ali Şü krü began to explain one by one how the Treaty of Se vres, which
he persistently described as a death sentence, woüld affect the Öttomans.
First of all, he ünderlined that if the Treaty were implemented, a very
small piece of land in Anatolia woüld be left to the Öttomans, büt that
they woüld not be allowed to live as a free nation, an independent state,
or even to form a government. In other words, the Öttomans were clearly
prohibited from being an independent Islamic state. According to Ali
Şü krü , Islam's fütüre was impossible ünless an independent Islamic government
was established. In addition, he stated that in reforming the legal
system and making laws, all the aüthority woüld be in the hands of an
international commission, which did not inclüde the Öttomans. Püt differently,
the Öttoman coürts woüld not work according to sharia principles
büt according to the laws that foreigners deem appropriate. In addition,
the political and spiritüal aüthority of the Öttoman Caliphate over
the Müslim world woüld be ended. Ali Şü krü türned to the commünity
and asked, "Is the fütüre of Islam and the Öttoman Caliphate possible ünder
these conditions?"54
Immediately after, Ali Şü krü began to interpret how everyday life
woüld be affected by the implementation of the Treaty of Se vres. He
stated that since the Öttoman finances woüld be ünder the control of foreigners,
the Türks woüld work like slaves. He emphasized that the foreigners
woüld receive the reward for the efforts of the Türks and spend
53 Ibid.
54 The intellectüal circle of Sebilürreşad often emphasized in their writings that the caliphate
and Islam were in danger. They ünderlined that the primary pürpose of the nationalist
movement in Anatolia was to rescüe the Öttoman Caliphate, ünder the captivity of the
Allied Powers, and not to hang bells on the minarets and not to let the Qür'an crawl on
the groünd. Hoca Şü krü Efendi, "Ve'l-Akıbetü 'l-Mü ttekin," 489.
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it as they wished. Ali Şü krü warned the congregation and said that if they
lost the War of Independence, they woüld be the slave of Peter and
Christo. Thanks to the Treaty, the capitülations previoüsly enjoyed only
by Eüropeans woüld now benefit the Greeks and the sübjects of the newly
formed Armenian Government. Saying that Müslims woüld work and
non-Müslims woüld live effortlessly and become rich, Ali Şü krü emphasized
that the Greeks and Armenians woüld-be masters and Türks woüld
be servants.55
Ali Şü krü stated that Afghanistan also went throügh similar phases,
büt regardless of the lack of ammünition, they immediately took üp arms
and declared war on Britain. Althoügh Britain foüght with thoüsands of
soldiers eqüipped with the latest technology, they were ünsüccessfül
against the Afghan müjahids. Britain ültimately recognized Afghanistan's
independence and was compelled to make a peace treaty. However, the
ongoing peace negotiations were not conclüded yet. As Ali Şü krü emphasized,
Britain was not willing to sign a peace treaty becaüse the Afghan
müjahids did not step back on many issües, süch as strengthening ties
with Türks and the Öttoman Caliphate and reaching a free port on the
Indian coast.56
The example of Afghanistan was qüite striking and inspiring for the
political and intellectüal circles in Ankara in general and Sebilürreşad intellectüals
in particülar. For this reason, the delegation that came from
Afghanistan to Ankara was met with great interest.57 The interest was not
one-sided; the Afghan delegation was also motivated by the nationalist
movement in Anatolia. Sültan Ahmed Khan, who woüld serve as the Afghanistan
ambassador in Ankara, described the Türkish military forces
in Anatolia as the western army of Islam and called the Second Ino nü Victory
as conqüest.58 In another statement, Sültan Ahmed Khan advised all
55 Ali Şü krü , “Anadolü'nün Bü yü k ve Mükaddes Cihadı.”
56 Ibid.
57 See. Sarıhan, Kürtülüş Savaşımızda Tü rk-Afgan I lişkileri.
58 "Vahdet ve Uhüvvet-i I slamiyye Tezahü ratı," 476.
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Müslims and eastern peoples to süpport the Ankara Government. He ünderlined
that the Türkish War of Independence against the occüpation
forces, especially Britain, caüsed the awakening of the Müslim world.59
After the ambassador of Afghanistan, Sültan Ahmed Khan, came to
Ankara, the inner circle of Sebilürreşad visited him. Eşref Edib wrote
down the highlights of the meeting and presented the alliance between
the Ankara Government and Afghanistan as an example for other Müslim
societies. In the visit, Sültan Ahmed Khan ünderlined the ünity and solidarity
in the Müslim world against imperialist-capitalist states and
claimed that all these developments were signs of a great revolütion in
the East.60 Another point ünderlined both in this meeting and in other
statements of the Afghan delegation was the insistence on the importance
of the alliance established between Türks, Afghans, and Bolsheviks
against Western imperialism.61
In the continüation of the sermon, Ali Şü krü claimed that captüring
the Öttoman Caliphate was inevitable for Britain to continüe its imperial
policy. Müslims living in Afghanistan, India, Egypt, Iraq, Syria, and Palestine
started revolting and shaking the imperialist statüs qüo. Uncertainties
arising in türmoil troübled Britain and weakened its power. As a resült,
it was vital for Britain to keep the strongest bond between the
Müslim world ünder control. Önly in this way woüld Britain be able to
qüickly rüle the Müslims ünder its colonial administration.62
Ali Şü krü evalüated the post-war developments in Istanbül and Anatolia
within the context drawn above and stated that the policy of exterminating
the Türks was implemented. In the continüation of the sermon,
Ali Şü krü explained in detail süch an essential and dangeroüs policy of
destrüction by Britain. First of all, Istanbül was occüpied, and the Türks
were disarmed by confiscating their ammünition. This was followed by
the occüpation of Istanbül and the captüre of the Öttoman Caliphate. Sübseqüently,
the Parliament was closed, the depüties were arrested, and the
59 "Şüün," 476.
60 Eşref Edib, "Sebilü rreşad Heyetinin Afgan Sefirini Ziyareti," 478.
61 "Sefir Hazretlerinin Nütkü," 484.
62 Ali Şü krü , “Anadolü'nün Bü yü k ve Mükaddes Cihadı.”
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Damat Ferid Pasha cabinet was broüght to power with the süpport of the
Allied Powers.63
While Ali Şü krü 's narration aboüt the past and cürrent events was füll
of pessimism, the sermon's last part focüsed on promising fütüre developments.
In Anatolia, national resistance movements against the implementation
of the Treaty of Se vres, which Ali Şü krü described as a death
sentence, had begün to sproüt. The resistance to the policy of extermination
eventüally led to the invitation of Öttoman delegates to London to
reconsider the Treaty of Se vres, which the Allied Powers insisted on. Ali
Şü krü saw the retreat of the Allied Powers as the first step in the süccess
of the Anatolian müjahids, who worked for the right to life and independence.
64
At this point, Ali Şü krü felt the need to remind how the Kuva-yı Milliye
movement was formed. According to Ali Şü krü , the start of the invasion
of Anatolia by the Allied Powers led by Britain and the Greek army and
Armenian gangs acting together with them played a vital role.65 He ünderlined
that the stories of persecütion from the occüpied areas spread
by word of moüth, laying the groündwork for the formation of the nationalist
resistance movement. The movement was led by the organizations
affiliated with the Committee of Union and Progress, which Ali Şü krü
called the second tendency. The primary motto of the movement, which
was organized by secret talks and meetings66 at the beginning, was either
to have the right to life or to die. Ali Şü krü described the süpporters of
this tendency as genüine and brave Müslims and ünderlined that they
represented the majority of the nation.67
63 Ibid.
64 Ibid.
65 "Yü z Bin Mü slü manın Hayatı Tehlikededir," 449; "Garb Cephesinde Vaziyet-i Harbiyye," 465;
"Ehl-i Salib Mezalimi," 472; "Memalik-i Meşgülede Yünan Mezalimi," 482.
66 Ali Şü krü ünderlined that the meetings were very secret. Secrecy was vital to the initial organization
of the nationalist movement. Sebilürreşad reminded this sitüation from time
to time and emphasized that sharing secret information with the enemy was betrayal
and one of the biggest sins. Mü fti Abdüllah Esad, "I fşa-yı Esrar: Südürü'l-Ahrar, Kübürü'l-
Esrar," 470.
67 Ali Şü krü , “Anadolü'nün Bü yü k ve Mükaddes Cihadı.”
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Kuva-yı Milliye, which started to be organized in Anatolia, and the
transnational Müslim societies taking action by being worried aboüt the
fütüre of the Öttoman Caliphate came together. Ali Şü krü tried to exemplify
how Müslim societies living thoüsands of miles away from Anatolia
felt in the face of the persecütion called the Treaty of Se vres and what
sacrifices they made. Ali Şü krü , saying that Müslims in India organized
mass protests after they became aware of the Treaty of Se vres imposed
on the Öttoman Empire by Britain, read two news from the Times newspaper.
The first concerned the mürder of the British governor in the Geri
region of India. The defense of the mürderer who was caüght was qüite
interesting becaüse he confessed that he killed the governor to avenge
Britain's violent behavior against Türks and the Öttoman Caliphate. In
the last part of the news, the Times shared the warning that the increasing
threats and violence against the British Government, civil servants,
and Eüropeans harbor the possibility of süch cases increasing soon. The
other news reported that Müslims living in Karachi protested the Treaty
of Se vres, which they described as an attack on Islam and the Öttoman
Caliphate. They declared India as dar-ü'l harp, a territory of war, and
started to migrate to Afghanistan. The Times emphasized at the end of
the news that the ünrest in India coüld only be alleviated by making fündamental
changes to the Treaty of Se vres, taking into accoünt the religioüs
sensitivities of the Indian Müslims.68
After sharing the Times' news with the congregation, Ali Şü krü drew
attention to one point. These news, which leaked throügh an intense censorship
filter, were only fragments of the Müslim awakening in the world.
Ali Şü krü ünderlined that the excitement and agitation among Müslims
was not limited to Indian Müslims and that similar protests were also experienced
in Müslim societies in many places from Africa to the Far East.
He emphasized that Müslims saw Türks as the color bearer and Anatolia
as the last castle of Islam.69
68 Ibid.
69 Ibid.
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In the continüation of the sermon, Ali Şü krü claimed that the social
order of Eürope was decaying. The sitüation was caüsed by Bolshevism,
which broke oüt in Rüssia with the awakening of Müslims living ünder
the bondage of the Westerners. The revolütion led by the Bolsheviks was
threatening Eürope's statüs qüo, especially Britain. In addition to the ünrest
in the Müslim world, the threat posed by the Bolshevik Revolütion
forced the Allied Powers to revise the Treaty of Se vres. Ali Şü krü considered
the developments as signs of retreat.70
Sebilürreşad intellectüals' sympathy for Bolshevism was also evident
in Mehmed Akif 's sermon in Kastamonü Nasrüllah Mosqüe. While trying
to ünderstand Bolshevism, on the one hand, Sebilürreşad attempted to
prove the harmony between socialism and Islam on the other. In this context,
the book titled Islam and Socialism by Müshir Hosain Kidwai, one of
the leading intellectüals of Indian Müslims was püblished in Sebilürreşad.
In his book, Kidwai claimed that the valües represented by socialism existed
in Islam, and in this sense, the Prophet Mühammad coüld be considered
the first socialist.71 So müch so that Kidwai's claims confüsed Sebilürreşad
readers' minds that some readers wrote to the joürnal and
asked Mehmed Akif whether Islam and Bolshevism were the same.72
At the end of the sermon, Ali Şü krü , after emphasizing that the Türkish
army, which he called Anatolian müjahids, fülfilled its düty, explained
to the congregation the necessity of jihad. Ali Şü krü recited the verse
pointing oüt jihad to save men, women, and children ünder the captivity
of the enemies and shared the persecütion of Müslims in Western Anatolia
ünder Greek occüpation. Stating that oppressed Müslims were waiting
for müjahids to save them from oppression, tortüre, and captivity, Ali
Şü krü retürned to the qüestion at the beginning of the sermon and asked
the commünity if the time came for jihad, one of the commands of God.
Ali Şü krü stated that the time was already over and ünderlined that it was
70 Ibid.
71 Şeyh Mü şir Hü seyin Kıdvay, "Mebahis-i I lmiyye ve I çtimaiyye: I slam ve Sosyalizm," 459, 460,
462, 481.
72 Trabzonlü Ahmed Hilmi, "Bolşeviklik Mü slü manlıg ın Aynı mıdır? – Sebilü rreşad Ceride-yi
I slamiyyesi Başmüharriri Faziletlü Mehmed Akif Beyefendi'ye," 481.
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God's command to make jihad against the enemy by mobilizing all available
means and to save their co-religionists who were groaning in captivity
and invited all Müslims to jihad.73
§ 4.4 Conclüding Remarks
This chapter focüsed on three sermons given by Sebilürreşad's leader
writer, Mehmed Akif, and Trabzon depüty Ali Şü krü , who was in the political
and intellectüal circle of the joürnal, in three different stages of the
War of Independence. These sermons, whose primary pürpose was to
raise religioüs feelings behind the front and lead Müslims to jihad, also
contained essential clües showing Sebilürreşad's historical narrative and
fütüre visions. In addition, they showed how Sebilü rreşad responded to
the changing political atmosphere, from the initial phase of the nationalist
resistance movement to the Battle of Sakarya, one of the most vital
türning points of the War of Independence. Thüs, these three sermons
were investigated as signifiers and placed in their historical context.
First, the sermon that Mehmed Akif gave in Balıkesir Zag nos Pasha
Mosqüe in Janüary 1920 was examined. This sermon was shaped aroünd
a repetitive dichotomy. Based on the narrative of backwardness, this sermon
treated Western civilization as the most advanced. It linked the development
of the West to the concepts of collectivism, solidarity, and social
harmony. Mehmed Akif positioned the Islamic civilization, on the
contrary, claiming that the main reason for backwardness was inertia.
For this reason, Mehmed Akif did not hide his anger toward older generations.
An analysis of post-World War I followed Mehmed Akif 's historical
narrative. Mehmed Akif, who freqüently emphasized that the Öttoman
Empire was in danger of being colonized, also ünderlined the emergence
of a global Müslim awakening. The central dynamic of transnational Müslim
mobilization, which defended the sovereignty of the Öttoman Empire
and its caliphate within the framework of Wilsonianism, was the Indian
Khilafat Movement. Mehmed Akif ended his sermon by addressing the
73 Ali Şü krü , “Anadolü'nün Bü yü k ve Mükaddes Cihadı.”
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transnational pan-Islamic mobilization and the nationalist resistance
movement that emerged in Anatolia, inviting the Müslim people to jihad.
This chapter secondly concentrated on the sermon Mehmed Akif gave
in the Kastamonü Nasrüllah Mosqüe at the end of 1920. This sermon,
which later had a significant impact in Anatolia, involved critical political
changes in varioüs aspects. Mehmed Akif 's sermon, ünlike the sermon at
the Balıkesir Zag nos Pasha Mosqüe, was based on anger against Western
civilization. Undoübtedly, the occüpation of Istanbül and Izmir and the
Treaty of Se vres lay behind this sitüation. Another key point in Mehmed
Akif 's sermon was the selection of striking examples from everyday life
on how the Treaty of Se vres woüld affect Öttoman society at political,
economic, and social levels. These examples depicted a fütüre in which
Müslims woüld be sübordinated. In other words, it was often emphasized
that Müslims woüld be slaves and non-Müslims woüld be masters.
Mehmed Akif defended the Müslims' alliance with the Bolsheviks against
the implementation of the Treaty of Se vres. He süpported this idea by
pointing oüt being friends with the enemy of the enemy. Mehmed Akif 's
proposal was compatible with the Eastern People's Congress held in
Bakü and the narrative of the East's strüggle against the imperialist-capitalist
West. Mehmed Akif placed the idea of jihad in this context, argüing
that an alliance of Müslims and Bolsheviks was inevitable for rescüing the
Öttoman Caliphate.
What followed was an examination of the sermon given by Trabzon
depüty Ali Şü krü in Kayseri Ulü Mosqüe towards the end of 1921. In the
days of the Battle of Sakarya, the Türkish forces were in a difficült sitüation
against the Greek army. For this reason, even the relocation of the
Grand National Assembly from Ankara to Kayseri came to the fore. In this
context, the sermon given by Ali Şü krü in Kayseri was critical to
strengthen the home front by raising religioüs feelings. In his sermon, Ali
Şü krü sümmarized the political developments from World War I to the
post-war period and argüed that especially Britain and the United States
did not keep their promises. Handling the Treaty of Se vres as a death sentence,
he argüed that the main aim was the destrüction of the Öttoman
Caliphate, which threatened British imperial policy. In addition, Ali Şü krü
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described in detailed examples of how the Treaty of Se vres woüld change
the daily life of Öttoman society, jüst like Mehmed Akif. Ali Şü krü saw the
victory of Afghanistan against Britain as a prototype for the Türks. The
Treaty of Se vres coüld only be torn apart by a total jihad. At this point, Ali
Şü krü ünderlined the necessity of an Islamic and Bolshevik alliance and
emphasized that Türkey and the Müslim world woüld be saved only by
this means.
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5
Conclüsion
his thesis primarily took the historical backgroünd of Sebilürreşad.
The joürnal's predecessor, Sıratımüstakim, which started its püblication
with the Constitütional Revolütion of 1908, became a center of attraction
for the intelligentsia at a time when ideological divisions had not
yet sharpened. The reasons that held a highly heterogeneoüs intellectüal
circle together were the closeness to the constitütional opposition movement
that had been going on since the Yoüng Öttomans, active cooperation
with the Committee of Union and Progress, and being inflüenced by
modernist Islamic thoüght. In 1912, Sıratımüstakim decided to continüe
püblishing ünder the name Sebilürreşad. This change also coincided with
a more than ten-year war period, which started with the Tripolitanian
War of 1911 and ended with the War of Independence. While the intellectüal
circle of Sebilürreşad actively involved in the pan-Islamic organizations
established ünder the leadership of the Committee of Union and
T
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Progress, on the other hand, they tried to cültivate the caliphate-centered
pan-Islamic thoüght in the renewed content of the joürnal. In this way,
while trying to ünite Müslims living in different parts of the world aroünd
a common identity and temporality, the joürnal also gathered transnational
Müslim intellectüals.
Secondly, this thesis mapped Sebilürreşad's political and intellectüal
network in post-World War I. While Sebilürreşad kept its distance from
discüssions against the Committee of Union and Progress in Armistice Istanbül,
the joürnal did not hesitate to fight against the nationalist and
secülar cliqüe championed by Ziya Go kalp, with whom it was ideologically
competing in the CUP. In this context, Darü'l-Hikmeti'l-İslamiyye
played a key role. However, this sitüation was short-lived düe to the strict
censorship regime of the occüpation forces in Istanbül. Sebilürreşad's intellectüal
circle qüickly became involved in the resistance movement that
broke oüt in Anatolia. The connections that Sebilürreşad established with
the Committee of Union and Progress since 1908 paved the way for the
involvement. Sebilürreşad's departüre from Istanbül also meant that the
joürnal escaped from censorship and continüed its püblication life in a
free and radical way. In this new period, Sebilürreşad's intellectüal circle
actively participated in the pan-Islamic mobilization by giving sermons
in varioüs parts of Anatolia and working in harmony with the Grand National
Assembly.
After Sebilürreşad's political and intellectüal network was made visible,
this thesis opened a window to the joürnal's world of thoüght via sermons.
In the most general terms, these sermons given in three different
stages of the War of Independence aimed to fortify the home front, which
was called the spiritüal front, by cültivating religioüs feelings. These sermons
show both the discoürse of rescüing the Öttoman Caliphate in the
organization of the War of Independence and the limits of pan-Islamic
mobilization. The main problem area of these sermons was the Treaty of
Se vres and the political, economic, and social dangers that awaited the
Öttoman Empire if the Treaty was implemented. The common anxiety of
the sermons was the fear of being a slave. The sermons were füll of concerns
that Müslims living within the borders of the Öttoman Empire with
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the Treaty of Se vres woüld be sübordinated by non-Müslims. In contrast,
transnational Müslim mobilization and Bolshevism meant an opportünity
for the Öttomans. The model of liberation these sermons formülated
was based on an alliance with Bolshevism, reconceptüalizing the
idea of jihad to rescüe the Öttoman Caliphate from captivity.
The thesis opened with an anecdote from the Nütük, which Müstafa
Kemal claimed at the Grand Congress of the Repüblican People's Party in
1927. Müstafa Kemal, so to speak, was historically overcoming the political
and intellectüal circles that opposed him. In this context, Müstafa Kemal
püt Hoca Şü krü , who was the depüty of Karahisar-ı Sahib in the First
Grand National Assembly, which continüed its activities from 1920 to 1923,
on the target board. Müstafa Kemal emphasized that düring the debates
on the abolition of the Öttoman Caliphate, Hoca Şü krü and his friends
tried to get the süpport of the Müslim world and strüggled to bring the
Grand National Assembly back ünder the aüthority of the caliph-sültan.
He even described Hoca Şü krü and his friends, whom he placed on the
target for this reason, as a "reactionary faction." He conclüded the discüssions
of monarchism by emphasizing that their fütile efforts only accelerated
the elimination of the "caliphate tool."
However, Müstafa Kemal's depiction in the Nutuk was qüite incomplete.
The War of Independence, which started with the Armistice of
Müdros and ended with the Treaty of Laüsanne, was a lively period in
which different strategies and possibilities often occüpied the agenda of
the political actors gathered aroünd the Grand National Assembly in Ankara.
Especially since the Second Constitütional Era, ideas that tried to
reconceptüalize the caliphate in dialogüe with the constitütion and national
sovereignty and aimed to strengthen the harmony between them
were pretty popülar among intellectüals and ülama. This intellectüal baggage
was also carried to the post-World War I period, and the slogan of
rescüing the Öttoman Caliphate ünder the captivity of the Allied Powers
in Istanbül became intertwined with the discoürse of sovereignty and became
the primary motivation soürce of the War of Independence. While
the nationalist resistance movement was being organized, the policy of
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94
caliphate-centered pan-Islam was the common ideology of the broad coalition
formed in Ankara when political and intellectüal separations were
blürred.
This thesis shows that Müstafa Kemal had privately invited Sebilürreşad,
whom he implicitly referred to as a "reactionary faction," throügh
Trabzon depüty Ali Şü krü before the Grand National Assembly convened
in Ankara. They even worked together on many topics, süch as the abdüction
of the last caliph Abdü lmecid II to Anatolia, the Heyet-i İrşadiyye, the
National Anthem, and the Islamic Congress in Anatolia. Moreover, Sebilürreşad
was printed in Ankara İstihbarat ve Matbuat Matbaası and distribüted
in Anatolia throügh local administrators and army ünits ünder
the command of the Ankara Government. Therefore, while Müstafa Kemal
isolated himself from this "reactionary faction" with which he had a
close collaboration in the recent past, he conscioüsly covered üp all the
intellectüal and political partnerships and the search for an alternative
order that came to the fore at different moments of the War of Independence.
95
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97
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98
“Mükadderatımız Hakkında Mü him Bir Hatıra.” Sebilü rreşad, no: 457
(Febrüary 4, 1920): 175-176.
“Mü slü manlık Vahdeti.” Sebilü rreşad, no: 417-418 (May 30, 1919): 12.
“Müstafa Kemal Paşa Hazretlerinin Nütkü.” Sebilü rreşad, no: 484 (Jüne 18,
1921): 177.
“Pek Mü him Mühtıra-i Siyasiyye: Hindistan Mü slü manları Tarafından
I ngiltere Hü kü metine Takdim Ölünan Mühtıra.” Sebilü rreşad, no: 392
(Febrüary 20, 1919): 27-28.
“Pek Mü tehassiri Bülündüg ümüz Sebilü rreşad Ceride-yi Mü barekesine.”
Sebilü rreşad, no: 469 (Febrüary 25, 1919): 6-11.
“Sebillü rreşad Ceride-i I slamiyesi Hayet-i Tahririyesi.” Sebilü rreşad, no:
183 (March 8, 1912): 4.
“Sefir Hazretlerinin Nütkü.” Sebilü rreşad, no: 484 (Jüne 18, 1921): 177.
“Seyyid Ali Emir Hazretleri'nin Times'a Cevabı.” Sebilü rreşad, no: 456
(Janüary 21, 1920): 166.
“Seyyid Emir Ali Hazretlerinin Bir Cevabı.” Sebilü rreşad, no: 455 (Janüary
15, 1920): 156.
“Şimali Afrika Mü slü manları ve Merkez-i Hilafet.” Sebilü rreşad, no: 456
(Janüary 21, 1920): 167.
“Sıra t-ı Mü stakı m.” Sıra tımü stakı m, no: 34 (May 4, 1909): 113-115.
“Sıra tımü stakı m – Sebilü rreşad.” Sıra tımü stakı m, no: 182 (Febrüary 29,
1912): 418.
“Sırbistan Mü slü manlarının Mütalebatı.” Sebilü rreşad, no: 461 (March 3,
1920): 226.
“Siyasiyat.” Sebilü rreşad, no: 183 (March 8, 1912): 12.
“Şü kü r, Rica ve I htarat.” Sebilü rreşad, no: 467 ( Febrüary 3, 1921): 304.
99
“Sü leyman el-Barüni Efendi Hazretleri'nin Dü vel-i I tilafiye Mü messillerine
Mühtırası.” Sebilü rreşad, no: 457 (Febrüary 4, 1920): 177-179.
“Sülh Konferansında Ne Yapacag ız?” Sebilü rreşad, no: 419-420 (Jüne 5,
1919): 29.
“Şüün.” Sebilü rreşad, no: 183 (March 8, 1912): 15.
“Şüün: Garb Cebhesi’nde Vaziyet-i Harbiyye.” Sebilü rreşad, no: 465 (November
30, 1920): 275.
“Tü rk Mesele-yi Müdılası.” Sebilü rreşad, no: 459 (Febrüary 18, 1920): 197-
198.
“Tü rk Öcag ındaki Mü nasebetsizlikler Hakkında.” Sebilü rreşad, no: 452
(December 18, 1919): 119.
“Tü rkler Aleyhinde Heyecan.” Sebilü rreşad, no: 461 (March 3, 1920): 226.
“Yü z Bin Mü slü manın Hayatı Tehlikededir!” Sebilü rreşad, no: 449 (November
19, 1919): 83-84.
Abdü laziz Mecdi. “I nneme'l-Mü 'minüne I hvetü n 3.” Sebilü rreşad, no: 452
(December 18, 1919): 109-111.
. “I nneme'l-Mü 'minüne I hvetü n.” Sebilü rreşad, no: 450 (December
4, 1919): 93-94.
Abdüllah Esad. “I fşa-yı Esrar: Südürü'l-Ahrar, Kübürü'l-Esrar.” Sebilü rreşad,
no: 470 (March 2, 1921): 18-19.
Abdü rreşid I brahim. “Konferans: Afrika’da Müahedin-i I slamiyesinin Ahvaline
ve Mü slü manlıg ın I stikbaline Dair – 1.” Sebilü rreşad, no: 184
(March 14, 1912): 28-30.
. “Konferans: Afrika’da Müahedin-i I slamiyesinin Ahvaline
ve Mü slü manlıg ın I stikbaline Dair – 2.” Sebilü rreşad, no: 185 (March
21, 1912): 42-50.
Ahmed Ag aog lü. “I nkılap Saflarından Deg erli Adamları Çıkarmaya
Çalışmayalım!” I kdam (Febrüary 10, 1939): 1.
100
Ahmed Han. “Vahdet ve Uhüvvet-i I slamiyye Tezahü ratı.” Sebilü rreşad,
no: 476 (April 16, 1921): 78.
Ahmed Hilmi. “Bolşeviklik Mü slü manlıg ın Aynı mıdır? – Sebilü rreşad
Ceride-yi I slamiyyesi Başmüharriri Faziletlü Mehmed Akif Beyefendi’ye.”
Sebilü rreşad, no: 481 (May 20, 1921): 131.
Ali Füad Başgil. “Sebilü rreşad’ın Ellinci Yıldo nü mü .” [Yeni] Sebilü rreşad,
no: 276 (September 1958): 14.
Ali Şü krü . “Anadolü'nün Bü yü k ve Mükaddes Cihadı.” Sebilü rreşad, no:
490 (September 21, 1921): 233-247.
Cemaleddin Afgani. “Dinin Fevaid-i Medeniyyesi.” Sıra tımü stakı m, no: 55
(September 22, 1909): 41-42.
Eşref Edib. “Anadolü’da I slam Kongresi – Hü seyin Ragıb Beyefendi’ye.” Sebilü
rreşad, no: 472 (March 21, 1921): 34-36.
. “Anadolü’da I slam Kongresi.” Hakimiyet-i Milliye, no: 135
(March 17, 1921): 1.
. “Ebü lüla Bey’le Nasıl Çalıştık? Sıra t-ı Mü stakim’i Nasıl
Çıkardık?” [Yeni] Sebilü rreşad, no: 238 (Febrüary 1957): 199-200.
. “Hind Hilafet Cemiyeti Mürahhasıyla Mü lakat.” Sebilü rreşad,
no: 466 (December 15, 1920): 286-291.
. “Maraş ve Ayıntablıların Kahramanlıkları.” Sebilü rreşad,
no: 467 ( Febrüary 3, 1921): 296-304.
. “Mekke'de I ngiliz Kongresi.” Sebilü rreşad, no: 481 (May 21,
1921): 137-139.
. “Müsahabe.” Sebilü rreşad, no: 479 (May 8, 1921): 112-115.
. “Şark I lleri Kürültayı Mürahhaslarıyla Mü lakat 1.” Sebilü rreşad,
no: 464 (November 27, 1920): 261-264.
. “Şark I lleri Kürültayı Mürahhaslarıyla Mü lakat 2.” Sebilü rreşad,
no: 465 (November 30, 1920): 272-275.
101
. “Sebilü rreşad Heyetinin Afgan Sefirini Ziyareti.” Sebilü rreşad,
no: 478 (April 30, 1921): 101-102.
. “Şeriyye Vekaletinin Beyannamesi Mü nasebetiyle.” Sebilü
rreşad, no: 480 (May 14, 1921): 125-127.
. “U mmet-i I slamiyyenin Takip Edeceg i Tarik-i I ctimai, Ancak
Kendi Medeniyet-i I slamiyyemizdir.” Sebilü rreşad, no: 468 (Febrüary
18, 1921): 308-315.
Hoca Şü krü . “Nür-ı I lahi So ner mi?” Sebilü rreşad, no: 476 (April 16, 1921):
74-75.
. “Ve’l-Akıbetü ’l-Mü ttekin.” Sebilü rreşad, no: 489 (Jüly 24,
1921): 225-226.
Hü seyin Avni. “Bolşeviklik ve I slamiyet.” Sebilü rreşad, no: 461 (March 3,
1920): 224.
Hü seyin Ragıb. “Ankara’da Bir I slam Kongresi.” Hakimiyet-i Milliye, no:
130 (March 11, 1921): 1.
Mehmed Akif. “Bolşeviklik Mü slü manlıg ın Aynı mıdır? – Ahmed Hilmi'nin
Sorüsüna Cevap.” Sebilü rreşad, no: 481 (May 20, 1921): 131.
. “Cemaatten Uzaklaşma.” Sebilü rreşad, no: 471 (March 9,
1921): 20-21.
. “Nasrüllah Kü rsü sü nde.” Sebilü rreşad, no: 464 (November
25, 1920): 249-261.
Mehmed Ferid Vecdi. “Mü slü man Kadını.” Sıra tımü stakı m, no: 3 (September
11, 1908): 42-45.
Mehmet Fatin. “Hilafet ve Vesayet.” Sebilü rreşad, no: 421-422 (Jüne 12,
1919): 37-39.
Mü fid. “Anadolü'da Bü yü k I slam Şürası.” Sebilü rreşad, no: 473 (March 25,
1921): 44-45.
102
Mühammed Abdüh. “Atalet Geçici Bir Hastalıktır.” Sıra tımü stakı m, no: 29
(March 11, 1909): 44-46.
. “Garb Medeniyeti Nasıl Bülmüş?” Sıra tımü stakı m, no: 38
(May 27, 1909): 181-182.
. “Mü slü manların Esbab-ı I nhitat ve Meskeneti.”
Sıra tımü stakı m, no: 39 (Jüne 3, 1909): 198-199.
. “Taassüb.” Sıra tımü stakı m, no: 55 (September 22, 1909):
33-37.
Müstafa Kemal. “Alem-i I slam'a Beyanname.” Sebilü rreşad, no: 472 (March
21, 1921): 40-42.
. “Vahdet ve Uhüvvet-i I slamiyye Tezahü ratı: Afgan Heyeti
Reisi Sültan Ahmed Han Hazretlerine Cevap.” Sebilü rreşad, no: 476 (April
16, 1921): 78.
Nasühi Dede. “Ey Mü slü manlar, Esir Kardeşlerinizi Dü şü nü nü z!” Sebilü rreşad,
no: 472 (March 21, 1921): 31-34.
Ö mer Lü tfi. “Sebilü rreşad Mecmüa-yı I slamiyyesine.” Sebilü rreşad, no:
448 (November 13, 1919): 72.
Ö mer Rıza. “I nkılabat-ı Hazıra Karşısında Alem-i I slam.” Sebilü rreşad, no:
414-415 (May 19, 1919): 220-221.
. “I zmir'in I şgali ve Alem-i I slam.” Sebilü rreşad, no: 416
(May 23, 1919): 229-230.
Pir-i Fani. “Bü yü k Millet Meclisi'nde: I nşaallah!” Sebilü rreşad, no: 475
(April 8, 1921): 64.
Said Halim Paşa. “I slam'da Teşkilat-ı Siyasiyye.” Sebilü rreşad, no: 493
(Febrüary 26, 1922): 264-265.
. “I slam'da Teşkilat-ı Siyasiyye: Ayan Meclisi.” Sebilü rreşad,
no: 501 (May 13, 1922): 74-76.
103
. “I slam'da Teşkilat-ı Siyasiyye: Garbın Usül-i Siyasiyyesi.”
Sebilü rreşad, no: 498 (April 22, 1922): 38-39.
. “I slam'da Teşkilat-ı Siyasiyye: Garp Cemiyetleri.” Sebilü rreşad,
no: 496 (April 8, 1922): 16-17.
. “I slam'da Teşkilat-ı Siyasiyye: Hakimiyet-i Şeriyye-i
Mebdeinin Netayici.” Sebilü rreşad, no: 495 (March 27, 1922): 2-5.
. “I slam'da Teşkilat-ı Siyasiyye: I slam Usül-i Siyasiyyesi.” Sebilü
rreşad, no: 499 (April 27, 1922): 50-53.
. “I slam'da Teşkilat-ı Siyasiyye: I slam'ın I ctimaiyyatı.” Sebilü
rreşad, no: 494 (March 11, 1922): 275-277.
. “I slam'da Teşkilat-ı Siyasiyye: Reis-i Hü kü met.” Sebilü rreşad,
no: 500 (May 6, 1922): 62-63.
Şeyh Mü şir Hü seyin Kıdvay. “Da rü ’l-Hila fet-i I sla miyye’ye Vükü’ Bülan
I kinci Ziyaretim.” Sıra tımü stakı m, no: 104 (September 1, 1910): 457-
458.
. “I slam ve Sosyalizm 2.” Sebilü rreşad, no: 460 (Febrüary 25,
1920): 207-210.
. “I slam ve Sosyalizm 3 – Hazret-i Mühammed'in
Bi'setinden Mükaddem Arap Heyet-i I ctimaiyyesinin Ahvali.” Sebilü rreşad,
no: 462 (March 31, 1920): 230-232.
. “I slam ve Sosyalizm 4 – Hazret-i Mühammed'in
Sosyalizmi.” Sebilü rreşad, no: 480 (May 14, 1921): 121-123.
. “I slam ve Sosyalizm.” Sebilü rreşad, no: 459 (Febrüary 18,
1920): 194-197.
. “Mı ra Dü ba re Sefer-ca y-ı Hila fet hitaplı Urdüca Mektüp.”
Sıra tımü stakı m, no: 103 (Aügüst 25, 1910): 434-436.
104
Seyyid Mehmed Ziyaeddin. “Abdü lhamid-i Sani’nin Hal’ine Dair Taraf-ı
Meşihat-ı Celileden Verilen Fetva-yı Şerifenin Süretidir.”
Sıra tımü stakı m, no: 34 (May 4, 1909): 113.
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