The Role Of A Mujtahid Qajar Prince In The Sunni-Shiite Rapprochement During The Reign Of Abdul Hamid II: Abu’l- Hasan Mirza Shaykh Al-Ra’is Qajar

Hasan Yenilmez

Article Details

The Role Of A Mujtahid Qajar Prince In The Sunni-Shiite Rapprochement During The Reign Of Abdul Hamid II: Abu’l- Hasan Mirza Shaykh Al-Ra’is Qajar

Authors:

Hasan Yenilmez

Publisher:

Istanbul University

Journal:

Şarkiyat Mecmuası Issue 42, pp.155-183

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

4/2023

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001289657

pISSN:

1307-5020

Keywords:

Abstract:

 The 19th-century pan movements in Europe showed how various ideas of a union had emerged in the Ottoman Empire as well. The union movements started with the concept of Pan-Ottomanism in the first quarter of the 19th century, and in accordance with the time, place, and person, these continued as a Pan-Islam ideology, with the idea of Pan-Turkism becoming a critical political tool in the last period of the Ottoman Empire. The policy of Pan-Islam gained importance during the reign of Abdul Hamid II, when the legitimacy crisis first occurred and the caliphates institution was brought to the fore. This policy was aimed at connecting with Muslims outside the Ottoman Empire, gathering strength from there to the dynasty through the institution of the caliphate, and developing a defense against the colonial activities of the European states and using it as weapon against them. This of course was an essential factor in the rapprochement between Sunnism and Shiism. This article discusses what kind of a role Abul Hasan Mirza Shaykh al-Rais Qajar, a Qajar prince and Shiite clergyman mujtahid, played in the Sunni-Shiite rapprochement within the framework of the Pan-Islam policy during the reign of Abdul Hamid II. The study places emphasis upon a brief biography of the mujtahid prince based on the memoires he wrote, his relations with Abdul Hamid IIs government, and his idea of Pan-Islam within the framework of his book Ittihad-i Islam.

 The 19th-century pan movements in Europe showed how various ideas of a union had emerged in the Ottoman Empire as well. The union movements started with the concept of Pan-Ottomanism in the first quarter of the 19th century, and in accordance with the time, place, and person, these continued as a Pan-Islam ideology, with the idea of Pan-Turkism becoming a critical political tool in the last period of the Ottoman Empire. The policy of Pan-Islam gained importance during the reign of Abdul Hamid II, when the legitimacy crisis first occurred and the caliphates institution was brought to the fore. This policy was aimed at connecting with Muslims outside the Ottoman Empire, gathering strength from there to the dynasty through the institution of the caliphate, and developing a defense against the colonial activities of the European states and using it as weapon against them. This of course was an essential factor in the rapprochement between Sunnism and Shiism. This article discusses what kind of a role Abul Hasan Mirza Shaykh al-Rais Qajar, a Qajar prince and Shiite clergyman mujtahid, played in the Sunni-Shiite rapprochement within the framework of the Pan-Islam policy during the reign of Abdul Hamid II. The study places emphasis upon a brief biography of the mujtahid prince based on the memoires he wrote, his relations with Abdul Hamid IIs government, and his idea of Pan-Islam within the framework of his book Ittihad-i Islam.

 The 19th-century pan movements in Europe showed how various ideas of a union had emerged in the Ottoman Empire as well. The union movements started with the concept of Pan-Ottomanism in the first quarter of the 19th century, and in accordance with the time, place, and person, these continued as a Pan-Islam ideology, with the idea of Pan-Turkism becoming a critical political tool in the last period of the Ottoman Empire. The policy of Pan-Islam gained importance during the reign of Abdul Hamid II, when the legitimacy crisis first occurred and the caliphates institution was brought to the fore. This policy was aimed at connecting with Muslims outside the Ottoman Empire, gathering strength from there to the dynasty through the institution of the caliphate, and developing a defense against the colonial activities of the European states and using it as weapon against them. This of course was an essential factor in the rapprochement between Sunnism and Shiism. This article discusses what kind of a role Abul Hasan Mirza Shaykh al-Rais Qajar, a Qajar prince and Shiite clergyman mujtahid, played in the Sunni-Shiite rapprochement within the framework of the Pan-Islam policy during the reign of Abdul Hamid II. The study places emphasis upon a brief biography of the mujtahid prince based on the memoires he wrote, his relations with Abdul Hamid IIs government, and his idea of Pan-Islam within the framework of his book Ittihad-i Islam.

 Avrupada XIX. yüzyılda görülmeye başlayan Pan hareketleriyle eş zamanlı olarak Osmanlı coğrafyasında da birbirini takip eden farklı ittihad fikirleri ortaya çıkarmıştır. XIX. yüzyılın ilk çeyreğinden itibaren İttihad-ı Osmanî fikri ile başlayan akabinde zaman, mekân ve şahıslara göre İttihad-ı İslâm ve İttihad-ı Etrak diye devam eden pan hareketleri Osmanlının son döneminde önemli siyaset tarzları olmuştur. Meşruiyet bunalımının görülmeye başlandığı ve hilafet merkezinin daha ön plana çıkarıldığı II. Abdülhamid döneminde ise İttihad-ı İslâm politikası ağırlık kazanmıştır. Osmanlı sınırları dışındaki Müslümanlarla irtibat kurmak, oralardan hanedana, hilafete güç devşirmek ve aynı zamanda Avrupa devletlerinin sömürge faaliyetlerine karşı bir savunma geliştirmek, bir silah olarak kulllanmak için benimsenen bu siyaset elbette Sünnî-Şiî yakınlaşmasında da önemli bir etken olmuştur. Bu çalışmada bir Kaçar şehzadesi ve aynı zamanda bir Şiî müctehid olan Ebul-Mirza Hasan Şeyhurreis-i Kaçarın ö. 1921, II. Abdülhamid dönemi ittihad-ı İslâm siyaseti çerçevesinde Sünnî-Şiî yakınlaşmasında nasıl bir rol aldığı ele alınmaktadır. Makalede, müctehid şehzadenin kaleme aldığı terceme-i hal metinlerinden hareketle kısa bir biyografisine yer verilerek ve akabinde de esas olarak II. Abdülhamid idaresi ile irtibatları ve İttihad-ı İslâm risalesi ekseninde ittihad-ı İslâm fikri üzerinde durulmaktadır.

Article Details

The Role Of A Mujtahid Qajar Prince In The Sunni-Shiite Rapprochement During The Reign Of Abdul Hamid II: Abu’l- Hasan Mirza Shaykh Al-Ra’is Qajar

Authors:

Hasan Yenilmez

Publisher:

Istanbul University

Journal:

Şarkiyat Mecmuası Issue 42, pp.155-183

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

4/2023

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001289657

pISSN:

1307-5020

Abdul Hamid II

Pan-Islam

Sunni-Shiite Rapprochement

Iran

Abu’l Hasan Mirza Shaykh al-Ra’is QajarII. Abdülhamid Dönemi

İttihad-ı İslâm

Sünni-Şiî Yakınlaşması

İran

Ebu'l-Mirza Hasan Şeyhurreis-i Kaçar

Issues

Article Details

Authors: Hasan Yenilmez

Publisher: Istanbul University

Journal: Şarkiyat Mecmuası Issue 42, pp.155-183

Document Type: Article

Publication Date: 4/2023

Document Language: Turkish

Document ID (Org No.): 2001289657

pISSN: 1307-5020

Issues

Authors:

Hasan Yenilmez

Publisher:

Istanbul University

Journal:

Şarkiyat Mecmuası Issue 42, pp.155-183

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

4/2023

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001289657

pISSN:

1307-5020