Religious Reform in the Late Ottoman Empire: Institutional Change and the Professionalisation of the Ulema

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Description

The influence of the ulema, the official Sunni Muslim religious scholars of the Ottoman Empire, is commonly understood to have waned in the empires last century. Drawing upon Ottoman state archives and the institutional archives of the ulema, this study challenges this narrative, showing that the ulema underwent a process of professionalisation as part of the wider Tanzimat reforms and thereby continued to play an important role in Ottoman society. First outlining transformations in the office of the Sheikh ul-islam, the leading Ottoman Sunni Muslim cleric, the book goes on to use the archives to present a detailed portrait of the lives of individual ulema, charting their education and professional and social lives. It also includes a glossary of Turkish-Arabic vocabulary for increased clarity. Contrary to beliefs about their decline, the book shows they played a central role in the empires efforts to centralise the state by acting as intermediaries between the government and social groups, particularly on the empires peripheries.

Reviews

A thrilling account of the everyday life of Ottoman ulema based on unique quantitative data. It provides an understanding of what an average Ottoman alims life looked like outside of the elite circles of scholars. A blend of institutional history of the Seyhlislams Office and new roles and positions the ulema acquired within society during the final decades of the Empire. * Nadir Ozbek, Bogazii University, Turkey *
This book provides an interesting reassessment of late Ottoman scholars and their place during a time of imperial transformation and reform. Using prosopographical analysis, Bektass study paints a rich picture of Ottoman religious scholars as mobile, politically-engaged functionaries who not only responded to institutional and social changes happening around them, but were important forces in shaping their world. * Micah A. Hughes, Indiana University, USA *

Author Bio

Erhan Bektas is Assistant Professor of History at skdar University, Turkey. He has previously published peer reviewed articles in journals such as Middle Eastern Studies, International Journal of History Studies and the Journal of Ottoman Legacy Studies.