The years between 1914 and 1922 were war times in the Ottoman Empire.
Besides, changes in the bureaucracy and institutions brought about innovations as
Şeyhülislam. Therefore although Şeyhülislam was a minister, he had a direct link with the sultan. See:
Ziya Kazıcı, “Osmanlılarda Şeyhülislamlık Müessesesi” İslam Medeniyetleri Mecmuası, 2(1981): 54.
558 Ebu’l Ula Mardin, Medeni Hukuku Cephesinde Ahmet Cevdet Paşa (1822-1895), (İstanbul:
İstanbul Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi, 1946), 106-111.
559 Ömer Nasuhi Bilmen, Hukuki İslamiyye ve Istılahati Fikhiyye Kamusu I, 4.
560 Ibid., 1-2.
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well as hardship, and sorrow in people’s lives.561 In these years the Meşihat worked hard, for people needed a spiritual boost and guidance more than ever to survive in these harsh conditions of war.
In 1914, the Meşihat started publishing a journal, Ceride-i İlmiyye, which was its official journal.562 However, it played a crucial role in the late Ottoman Empire, for it provided people with moral support and answers to their questions around issues like marriage, polygamy, divorce, missing husband, commerce, and problems encountered in daily life. Besides, the fetvas covered in the journal were not only for Muslim people; there were also answers to the questions of non-Muslims.563
The journal was revolutionary in that the Meşihat used a modern method of communication to gather together legal specialists and perhaps provide answers to some people’s problems and questions. Providing answers via a publication obviously suited the “modern” times well.
In the Ceride-i İlmiyye, questions were mostly asked about family law issues.564 How a wife could get alimony from a missing husband’s assets was the most common problem dealt with in the journal.565 The journal also stated that a wife could be divorced by letter, which relieved women who were suffering as a result of husbands living abroad. Polygamy was not problematized in the journal; when it was
561 İsmail Cebeci, “Ceride-i İlmiye’de Yer Alan Fetvalar,” (M.A. thesis, Marmara University, 2001), 45.
562 Nesimi Yazıcı, “Ceride-i İlmiyye”, DİA VII, İstanbul, 1993, 407-409.
563 İsmail Cebeci, “Ceride-i İlmiye’de Yer Alan Fetvalar,” 41.
564 Saliha Okur, “Ceride-i İlmiyye’deki Bozma Kararlarının Hukuki Tahlili,” (M.A. thesis, Marmara University, 2001), 29.
565 İsmail Cebeci, 57.
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mentioned, it was indirectly.566 Clearly, the social and economic situation of the late Ottoman Empire was reflected in the journal.
Dar’ül Hikmet’il İslamiyye (hereafter DHİ),567 the Academy of Islamic Sciences, was founded on August 12, 1918.568 by the Meşihat for examining the problems in the Muslim countries in general and the problems of Muslims and non-Muslims in the Ottoman Empire in particular.569 The DHİ had commissions on fıqh (canon law), ahlak (ethics) and kelam (theology). The ulema gathered in these commissions worked meticulously to find answers to people’s questions.570 In the Sebil’ül-Reşat published on August 15, 1918, it was mentioned that the academy was responsible for the unity of Islam and for doing scientific research. To warm people’s heart to Islamic rules and to make people understand the real Islam was apparently one of the responsibilities of the DHİ.571
In wartime conditions, family matters again loomed large in the commissions of the DHİ. People usually did not know how to accommodate change and reforms in society within their belief system. The ulema in the DHİ issued many fetvas regarding marriage, divorce, and inheritance. These fetvas were published in the official journal of the Meşihat, the Ceride-i İlmiye. The Ceride-i İlmiye made the fetvas available to specialists and to common people.572 In that, the establishment of the DHİ was a relief, for many remained clueless on how to perform their religious duties especially during wartime.
566 Ibid., 55.
567 I hereby use the acronym DHİ for Dar’ül Hikmet’il İslamiyye.
568 For the Nizamname of the DHİ see: Düstur 2. Cilt, 10. Tertip, İstanbul, Evkaf Matbaası, 1928, 505.
569 Sadık Albayrak, Son Devrin İslam Akademisi Dar’ül Hikmet’il İslamiyye, (İstanbul: İz Yayıncılık, 1998), 10-12.
570 Sadık Albayrak, Son Devrin İslam Akademisi, 9–11.
571 Sebil’ür-Reşat, “Dar’ül Hikmet’il İslamiyye,” Volume 15, Number 365-368, 15 August 1918.
572 İsmail Cebeci, 37-39.
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The DHİ also kept an eye on the media for publications that were disrespectful of Islam. For instance, in an official letter written from the Meşihat to the Chancellor of the State, Başkitabet Celilesi, the authorities were asked to take measures against an article, “Kadın Zihniyeti” (Woman’s Mentality) published in the Istanbul Gazetesi on November 6, 1919. The letter mentioned that according to the constitution, Kanun-i Esasi, the religion of the Ottoman Empire was Islam.
Therefore, it was a crime against the constitution to publish an article upsetting Islamic values. The state had to take every measure against it, including punishing the author of the article, so that such disregard of Islamic rules would not occur again.573 The same letter also mentioned that the members of the DHİ preached during Friday gatherings at the mosques of Fatih, Beyazid, and Ayasofya, so that people would be aware of such misinformation about Islam.574
This was the time when the Meşihat and the ulema were losing their influence. According to Amit Bein, the ulema lamented the fact that they were respected only by common people and rural populations. Their reputation and the institution of the Meşihat were facing derision among the urban elites, which
573 “Türkçe İstanbul Gazetesinin 6 Teşrinisani sene 1335 tarihli nüshasında Kadın Zihniyeti ser levhası altında neşrolunan makale hakkındaki irâde-i seniyye-i hazret-i hilâfet-penâhîyi meblağ-ı mezkûr nüshanın leffiyle vârid olan 13 Safer sene 1338 tarihli ve 127 numralı tezkere-i husûsiye-i atûfîleri mütâla’a güzâr-ı senâviri oldu. …. gerek mevzûu gerek tarz-ı tahrîri itibariyle bilhassa câlib-i dcâlib-ikkat bulunan bu gcâlib-ibcâlib-i makâlâtın neşrcâlib-i şer’an asla câcâlib-iz olamayacağı gcâlib-ibcâlib-i erbâb-ı dcâlib-iyânet ve hamiyyetin te’sîrât-ı amîkasını mûceb olacağına nazaran idâreten ve siyâseten de muvâfık görülemeyeceği bedîhî ve Kânun-i Esâsî ahkâmınca Devlet-i Aliyye’nin dîni dîn-i islâm olub bu esâsı himâye ile mükellef bulunması itibariyle bu misillü neşriyatınKânun-i Esâsî ahkâmına da tecavüz mahiyetinde bulunmuş olmasına binaen bu gibi neşriyatın bir daha tekerrürüne meydan verilmemesi esbâbının istikmali taraf-ı sâmi-i sadaret-penâhîye ve zikr olunan makale muharriri hakkında matbu’at kanununun madde-i mahsûsası ahkamına tevfîkan icab eden muâmelenin îfâ ve neticesinin bir an evvel ebnâsı Dâhiliye Nezaret-i Celîlesine izbâr edilmiş olduğunun beyânı siyâkında terkîm-i tezkere-i senâvirîye mübâderet kılındı efendim. Fi- 14 Safer 1338, 8 Kasım 1919” Defter of the Office of Grand Mufti, Meşihat, 127, 78.
574 Defter of the Office of Grand Mufti, Meşihat, 127, 78.
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threatened their viability.575 Though larger segments of society remained respectful of their decisions, the ulema could not recover from the loss of authority in Ottoman politics. The CUP had already made clear its attitudes towards religious issues by trying to enact a family law reform, which was in conformity with the main ideological position of the CUP.
4.2 The Committee of Union and Progress, family law reform and the OLFR