Said Halim Pasha: an Ottoman Statesman and an Islamist Thinker (1865-1921)
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SAID HALIM PASHA: AN OTTOMAN STATESMAN AND AN ISLAMIST THINKER (1865-1921) by Ahmet ~eyhun A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Institute of Islamic Studies McGill University Montreal January 2002 ©Ahmet ~eyhun 2002 National Library Bibliothèque nationale 1+1 of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisisitons et Bibliographie Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Canada Canada Your file Votre référence ISBN: 0-612-88699-9 Our file Notre référence ISBN: 0-612-88699-9 The author has granted a non L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant à la National Library of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sell reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/film, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. 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Canada 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWI.EDGMENTS 3 NOTE ON TRANSUTERATION 4 ABSTRACT 5 RÉSUMÉ 7 INTRODUCTION ; 8 CHAPfERONE ISLAMISM 20 REfORM IN THE OrrOMAN EMPIRE 28 REACTION TO THE TANZIMAT 40 THE roSE OF ISLAMISM AS A POLITICAL IDEOLOGY .48 PAN-ISLAMISM IN SAID HALIM'S THOUGHT 62 CHAPfERTWO THE UFE AND EARLY POUTICAL CAREER OF SAID HAUM PASHA SET IN A mSToroCAL CONTEXT 73 CHAPTER THREE THE GRAND VIZIRATE OF SAID HALIM PASHA 133 CHAPTER FOUR THE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL THOUGHT OF SAID HALIM PASHA 212 SAID HALIM'S VIEWS ON THE EVOLUTION OF THE WESTERN SOCIETY 223 THE ISLAMIC POUTICAL REGIME 240 POUTICAL PARTIES IN THE ISLAMIC REGIME .254 THE SENATE 261 CONCLUSION 264 BIBLIOGRAPHY 268 APPENDIX 312 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 1 wish to express my gratitude to Professor Üner Turgay, my thesis supervisor, for his guidance, comments and criticisms. In every stage of my dissertation his concern with the improvement of my work had been consistent and his suggestions constructive. This work could not have been completed without the valuable contribution of Sinan Kuneralp who kindly provided me the writings of Said Halim Pasha in the form of manuscripts and typscripts from the family archives. 1 would like to thank Princess Zeynep Halim who had kindly granted me an interview and provided me with sorne valuable information on her uncle Said Halim Pasha. 1 thank Ared MIslrlIyan who had allowed me to use his translation of the memoirs of the last Armenian patriarch of the Ottoman Empire, Zawen Der-Yegayan. 1 also thank Ibrahim Zaky who helped me with my Arabie transliteration. 1 would also like to express my eternal gratitude to my family: without the undying support of my parents Sevin and Kemal ~eyhun and my sister Y~im Çorluhan, 1 would not have reached this stage. Finally, this work would have never seen the light of day without the loving support of Brenda. 4 NOTE ON TRANSLITERATION In my dissertation, 1 used modern Turkish spelling for aIl Ottoman and modern Turkish terms, names and book titles. For Arabic terms of non-Ottoman context, 1 followed the system of Arabie transliteration accepted by the Institute of Islamic Studies. For the Ottoman cilies in the Balkans and Anatolia 1 prefered to use the Turkish names like, Izmir, Edirne, Selanik, Üsküb, l~kodra. For the Ottoman cilies in the Arab Middle East 1 prefered to use the established English names like, Cairo, Tripoli, Damascus and Mecca. 5 ABSTRACT This dissertation is a study of the political career and thought of Said Halim Pasha (1865-1921), a prominent Islamist thinker and eminent Ottoman statesman, set against the historical and ideological background of his time. The period covered in this study extends from the twilight of the Hamidian era to the end of the Ottoman Empire (1900-1922). During these two crucial decades, the Ottoman Empire, prior to Hs demise, went through an immense transformation. The establishment of the Constitutional regime in July 1908 allowed several ideological currents to circulate freely on the political scene and to compete in filling the vacuum created by the faH of the ancien régime. Among these ideologies, three rose to prominency: Westernism, Turkism, and Islamism. Said Halim Pasha, one of the best representatives of the Islamist school, made important contributions to the ideological debates which were raging. In his writings that appeared between 1910 and 1921, Said Halim Pasha advocated a thorough and radical Islamization of the Muslim world in order to haIt its decline and to ensure its progress. With regard to his political career as Grand Vizir of the Ottoman Empire, Said Halim Pasha proved himself to be a mastermind of diplomacy. Until his political isolation and deprivation 6 of power by the Turkist wing of the CUP Govemment, he kept at bay the aggressive imperialist Powers and frustrated their plans to partition the Ottoman Empire. 7 RÉSUMÉ Cette thése est une étude sur la carrière politique et la pensée de Said Halim Pasha, penseur islamiste célèbre et éminent homme d'état Ottoman dans un contexte historique. La période traitée dans la dite étude s'étend du crépuscule du régime hamidien à la fin de l'Empire ottoman. Pendant ces deux dernières decennies qui précedent sa fin, l'Empire ottoman a vécu une transformation majeure. L'avènement du régime constitutionnel en juillet 1908 a permIS aux divers courants idéologiques d'accéder librement à la scène politique et de rivaliser pour combler le vide laissé par le régime défunt. parmi ces idéologies, trois ont joué un role primordiale soit l'occidentalisme, le turquisme et l'islamisme. Said Halim Pasha, un des représantants le plus important des islamistes à contribué énormement au débat idéologique qui faisait rage. Dans ses écrits qui ont paru entre 1910 et 1921 Said Halim Pasha a préconisér une Islamization radicale et complète du monde musulman pour arrêter son déclin et assurer son progrés. En ce qui concerne sa carrière politique comme Grand Vizir de l'Empire ottoman Said Halim Pasha s'est montré un diplomate éxtêmement habile qui a contrecarré, jusqu'a son isolement politique et destitution par l'aile turquiste du gouvernement unioniste, les plans de partage de l'Empire ottoman par les grands pouvoirs occidentaux. 8 INTRODUCTION The purpose of this thesis is to present a critical account of the political life and thought of Prince Said Halim Pasha (1863-1921) against the political and intellectual background of his times. So why study a figure such as Said Halim Pasha? The answer lies in his important and unique standing among Muslim intellectuals in his field. The originality of Said Halim Pasha's thought can be found in its skillful combination of revivalist and modernist ideas. at the core of his ideology is the revivalist principle of islamization, which in turn was inspired by the tenets of medieval Muslim thinker Ibn Taymiyya. A junior member of the Egyptian khedieval family, Said Halim was raised in his father's mansion in Yenikôy on the Bosphorus and sent to Europe for advanced studies. Upon his return to Istanbul he secretly became a member of the Young Turk Movement. Nevertheless, although the Young Turks opposed the policies of Sultan Abdülhamid II (1876-1909), the young prince served as a high- ranking official in the Hamidian regime and received gratifications and honors from the sultan. When Abdülhamid's secret police finally discovered his links with the Young Turk opposition, Said Halim had again to face exile: he was first sent to Egypt and from there he went on to Europe. 9 While in Europe he took part in the Young Turk opposition to Hamidian rule. After the proclamation of the Constitution in July 1908, Said Halim returned to Istanbul and was given the important positions of senator and President of the State Council. In January 1913 he became the minister of foreign affairs in Mahmud ~evket Pasha's cabinet and was appointed shortly afterwards as grand vizir in June 1913 following the latter's assassination. Said Halim Pasha's appointment was of special significance because it was for the first time since the 1908 Revolution that a Unionist had attained the grand vizirate and headed a cabinet formed of largely of Unionist members. Prior to this and following the faH of the Hamidian regime the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) had for the most part dominated Ottoman polities. but rather than involve itself directly in the cabinet it had chosen to exert power through its parliamentry majority. The reasons for the Unionists' hesitation to participate in cabinet included their politieal inexperience and humble social origins. In a society where only experienced and cultivated bureaucrats were considered politically trustworthy, CUP members who lacked these qualities were essentially barred from the executive branch of government.