1. "Mısır Ahvali": II. Meşrutiyet'ten Cumhuriyet'e İslâmcı Basında Mısır.
- Author
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MENGÜÇ, Hilal LİVAOĞLU
- Subjects
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MUSLIMS , *CALIPHATE , *POWER (Social sciences) , *ISLAMISTS , *NINETEENTH century , *WORLD War I , *MUSLIM identity , *FOOD sovereignty - Abstract
The Egyptian Question was one of the main problems of Ottoman diplomacy during the 19th century as Egypt had been occupied first by the French in 1798 and then by the British in 1882. While the Turkish-Arab relations were being reshaped under the "Ottoman supra-identity" following the re-proclamation of the Constitution in 1908 and the administration of CUP governments, the relations between Cairo and the Porte were also reshaped. Claims that the British thought of Egypt as an alternative center for the Islamic Caliphate also influenced the course of these relations. At the very beginning of WWI, the attention of the Turkish public was turned back to Egypt, and it was noteworthy that an intense writing activity regarding Egypt's recent history and the significance of the land within the Islamic tradition made its commencement. In particular, the journals such as Sabîl al-Raşād, Islām, Mahfil, Ta'âruf-i Muslimîn, and Bayān al-hak have been observed to closely have been interested in the developments in Egypt and to have tried to stay in tune with the latest news by publishing articles and series about Egyptian political life. Ömer Rıza Doğrul, Tāhir al-Mawlawī and Abd al-Ghanī Saīd in Sabîl al-Raşād and Sâmizâda Surayya in Ta'âruf-i Müslimîn, depicted their impressions of Egypt in their writings and through these meticulously promoted the thought that Egypt was still a part of the Ottoman sovereignty. Many Islamist journals of the era also advocated the idea that Egypt is a very important part of Islamic culture, commenting that the British had also aimed at ruining the unity and commitment of the universal Muslim body by invading Egypt. In the years following the Second Constitutional Era, the press organs both in Istanbul and Egypt took a close interest in each other. The authors of the Islamist journals shared their opinions about various media outlets published in Egypt with their audience until the late 1920s when the secular transformation of the young Turkish Republic began to take place. The prominent Egyptian newspaper al-Muqahham was accused of serving British interests and al-Ahrām of approaching Egypt's affairs from a perspective which traditionally belonged to the French, while the anti-British stance of conservative patriotic newspapers such as al-Liwāh and al-Šahb was highly praised. The Islamist magazines' approach to al-hizb al-Wahanī group led by Muhtafā Kāmil, who represented the conservative patriotic wing in Egypt, was also extremely positive. However, Muhammad Farīd, the leader of the group after Muhtafā Kāmil, was criticized for not being able to lead the patriotic sentiments as effectively as his predecessor and of being unable to develop an effective policy against neither the Khedive nor the British. Egypt was one of the urgent issues of Islamist press once again during the occupation of Tripoli by Italy. Topics discussed were the reaction made by the Egyptians to the occupation, the aid activities they initiated, the efforts they made to show their solidarity, and how the Ottoman efforts of intervening in the occupation resonated in Egypt. During the years of WWI, Egypt was on the front pages of these journals due to the effects of the proclamation of Cihâd-ı akbar and the predictions on how the British patronage of Egypt would affect the fate of the war. When the war was finally over, and the defeat was accepted, it became clear that Egypt was completely lost. Afterward, Egypt was rather regarded as a part of the Islamic spiritual union just like the other Muslim communities and states outside of Istanbul's direct political influence, and this interest took place only in the news compilations that generally conveyed the news of these Muslim communities to the Turkish audience. This study aims to evaluate the Turkish Islamists' perspective on the British occupation and the Egyptian identity by examining the news and articles related to Egypt in the Turkish Islamist press beginning from the Second Constitutional Era until the proclamation of the Turkish Republic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2020
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