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A Comparison of Mehmet Akif Ersoy and Ziya Gökalp

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A Comparison of Mehmet Akif Ersoy and Ziya Gökalp ISLAMIST AND TURKIST CONCEPTUALIZATION OF NATION IN THE LATE OTTOMAN PERIOD: A COMPARISON OF MEHMET AKİF ERSOY AND ZİYA GÖKALP A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF ANKARA YILDIRIM BEYAZIT UNIVERSITY BY KEMAL UFUK IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS JUNE 2019 Approval of the Institute of Social Sciences: __________________________________ Doç. Dr. Seyfullah YILDIRIM Manager of Institute I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science. ____________________________________ Prof. Dr. Birol AKGÜN Head of Department This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science. _____________________________________ Asst. Prof. Dr. Bayram SİNKAYA Supervisor Examining Committee Members Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Serdar PALABIYIK (TOBB ETU, PSIR)__________________ Asst. Prof. Dr. Bayram SİNKAYA (AYBU, IR) __________________ Asst. Prof. Dr. Güliz DİNÇ (AYBU, PSPA) __________________ ii I hereby declare that all information in this thesis has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work; otherwise I accept all legal responsibility. Name, Last name : Kemal UFUK Signature : iii ABSTRACT ISLAMIST AND TURKIST CONCEPTUALIZATION OF NATION IN THE LATE OTTOMAN PERIOD: A COMPARISON OF MEHMET AKİF ERSOY AND ZİYA GÖKALP UFUK, Kemal M.A., Department of International Relations Supervisor: Asst. Prof. Dr. Bayram SİNKAYA June 2019, 217 pages This thesis analyzes the Islamist and Turkist conceptualization of nation during the Second Constitutional Era through the written works of Mehmet Akif Ersoy and Ziya Gökalp. In this sense, the articles, poems, letters, and books written by these two late Ottoman intellectuals as well as their recorded speeches reviewed chronologically in order to analyze the changes of their conceptualizations of nation. The understandings of nation of the selected intellectuals were compared through three constitutive elements gathered from various definitions of nation as the political community, the sovereignty, and the common values. The main argument of this thesis is both Akif’s and Gökalp’s understandings of nation had changed in time in parallel to the existing sociopolitical conditions of Turkey. Eventually, it can be said that both Akif and Gökalp had conceptualized nation through a sovereign entity based on certain common values. Keywords: Nation, Islamism, Turkism, Mehmet Akif Ersoy, Ziya Gökalp. iv ÖZ GEÇ OSMANLI DÖNEMİNDE İSLAMCILARIN VE TÜRKÇÜLERİN MİLLET KAVRAMSALLAŞTIRMALARI: MEHMET AKİF ERSOY VE ZİYA GÖKALP ÜZERİNE BİR KARŞILAŞTIRMA UFUK, Kemal Yüksek Lisans, Uluslararası İlişkiler Bölümü Tez Yöneticisi: Dr. Öğr. Ü. Bayram SİNKAYA Haziran 2019, 217 sayfa İşbu tez, İkinci Meşrutiyet Dönemi’nde İslamcıların ve Türkçülerin millet kavramsallaştırmalarını Mehmet Akif Ersoy ve Ziya Gökalp’in yazılı eserleri üzerinden analiz etmektedir. Bu kapsamda, zikredilen iki geç dönem Osmanlı aydınının makaleleri, şiirleri, kitapları, aynı zamanda kayıt altına alınmış söylevleri millet kavramsallaştırmalarındaki değişiklikleri açıklayabilmek için kronolojik olarak incelenmiştir. Mezkûr aydınların millet kavramından anladıkları siyasi topluluk, egemenlik ve ortak değerler olmak üzere çeşitli millet tanımlarından elde edilen üç temel unsur üzerinden karşılaştırılmıştır. Tezin esas iddiası, Akif ve Gökalp’in millet kavramlarının Türkiye’nin sosyopolitik şartlarındaki değişikliklere paralel olarak değişimlere uğradığıdır. Nihayetinde, hem Akif’in hem de Gökalp’in milleti belirli ortak değerler üzerinden egemen bir varlık olarak kavramsallaştırdıkları görülmektedir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Millet, İslamcılık, Türkçülük, Mehmet Akif Ersoy, Ziya Gökalp. v This work is dedicated to Mustafa Kemal Sağlam. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Dr. Bayram Sinkaya, who was not only an awesome guide while supervising the constitution of this thesis but also very insightful and friendly during the process. Although I must admit that I caused him to experience some exhaustive moments from time to time with my ‘misinterpreted’ approaches to some particular issues, I must admit along the same line that I have never witnessed anyone else who was that much supportive and patient towards me. I would also like to thank to Dr. Mustafa Serdar Palabıyık for his incredibly helpful advices, comments, and criticisms. Introducing ‘Redhouse Dictionary of Ottoman Turkish to English’ and Herder, and his summarizer comments on Akif’s ummah-nation scopes as well as his guidance towards the methodology of the thesis were invaluable to me. It is already falling short of words to fully describe her immeasurable value to me; still, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Güliz Dinç. Her comments on the methodology of the thesis were very helpful to distinguish two hypotheses from each other. Her warm reaction after reading the thesis made me prideful; will forever ring in my mind. Last but not least, I would like to thank to my little brother, Kaan Ufuk, not for anything related with the thesis in particular but his everlasting trust and support attributed to me. This thesis, along with several other fulfillments that can be named ‘achievements’ in our lives, could not be materialized without the continuous support we see through each other. I have vastly benefited from the digitalized version of National Library of Turkey (Milli Kütüphane) through the digitally scanned copies of the Sırat-ı Müstakim and Sebilürreşad journals. Additionally the website of Turkish Historical Society (Türk Tarih Kurumu) had helped me a lot on changing the dates from the Rumi and Mohammedan calendars to the Gregorian calendar. Additionally, I would also like to mention the websites that helped me a lot to translate the archaic Ottoman words and idioms to contemporary Turkish, which are osmanice.com, osmanlica.ihya.org, and luggat.com. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS PLAGIARISM ......................................................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................. iv ÖZ .............................................................................................................................................. v DEDICATION ......................................................................................................................... vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................... vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................................................................... viii AUTHOR’S NOTE .................................................................................................................. xi INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................... 1 1. Rationale of the Thesis ...................................................................................................... 2 2. Conceptual Framework of the Thesis ................................................................................ 4 3. Organization of the Thesis ............................................................................................... 16 4. Methodology of the Thesis .............................................................................................. 19 CHAPTER 1 INTELLECTUAL MOVEMENTS IN THE SECOND CONSTITUTIONAL ERA ....... 23 1.1. Background of the Second Constitutional Era ............................................................... 23 1.1.1. The Young Ottomans ............................................................................................. 24 1.1.2. The First Constitutional Era ................................................................................... 26 1.1.3. The Young Turks ................................................................................................... 28 1.1.4. The Committee of Union and Progress .................................................................. 29 1.2. The Second Constitutional Era ...................................................................................... 31 1.2.1. The Press and its Influence on Intellectual Movements ........................................ 33 viii 1.3. Intellectual Movements in the Second Constitutional Era ............................................. 35 1.3.1. Westernists ............................................................................................................. 37 1.3.2. Islamists ................................................................................................................. 41 1.3.3. Turkists .................................................................................................................. 48 1.3.4. Socialists ................................................................................................................ 52 1.3.5. Prince Sabahaddin Bey and Meslekçiler ................................................................ 55 1.4. Conclusion
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