The Menemen Incident (1930) in Modern Turkish History
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Istanbul Sehir University Repository THE MAKING AND TREATMENT OF AN ICONIC EVENT: THE MENEMEN INCIDENT (1930) IN MODERN TURKISH HISTORY A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF İSTANBUL ŞEHİR UNIVERSITY BY MEHMET HAKAN VAİZOĞLU IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN HISTORY FEBRUARY 2016 ABSTRACT THE MAKING AND TREATMENT OF AN ICONIC EVENT: THE MENEMEN INCIDENT (1930) IN MODERN TURKISH HISTORY Vaizoğlu, Mehmet Hakan. MA, Department of History Supervisor: Prof. Engin Akarlı February 2016, 185 pages The Menemen Incident is an attempt at rebellion by six armed insurgents on 23 December 1930. The Republican People’s Party introduced the incident after its occurrence as a reactionary challenge to the republic instigated by the Nakşibendi order. The government proclaimed a state of emergency in Menemen, Manisa and Balıkesir, established a special military court for the trial of the accused. The court decided that indeed the order had preplanned the rebellion and actualized it to un- dermine the very existence of the republic. This thesis explores the Menemen Incident. It reconstructs the events based on critical analyses of official statements, court documents and contemporary news- papers –with special attention to the trial process. Furthermore, the thesis examines the various representations of the incident in the contemporaneous media as well as in the secondary popular and academic accounts of the succeeding years. The study indicates that this was a minor incident carried out by six ignorant hashish smokers. However, the beheading of Kubilay, an idealist republican reserve officer, stirred up the government to action and to hand out harsh punishments. The decision of the military court to condemn the Nakşibendi order as the in- stigator of the event was preordained by the RPP leaders and unjustifiable. Neverthe- less, the court’s decision, misleading official statements, and newspaper reports that echoed the regime’s position led to the emergence of a literature that continued to advocate and embellish this position over the years. In the process, the Menemen In- cident grew into a potent icon that evoked the belief in the victory of republicanists over reactionists. A group of authors developed counter interpretations eventually. But they indeed reversed and perpetuated the polarized perspectives of the officially- biased accounts. Even highly reputable scholars could not overcome the misinfor- mation that became endemic to the coverage of the Menemen Incident. Keywords: the Menemen Incident, Derviş Mehmet, Kubilay, Nakşibendism, the martial court of Menemen, early republican period iv ÖZ İKONİK BİR VAKAYI ANLAMAK: MODERN TÜRKİYE TARİHİNDE MENEMEN OLAYI Vaizoğlu, Mehmet Hakan. MA, Tarih Bölümü Tez Danışmanı: Prof. Dr. Engin Akarlı Şubat 2016, 185 sayfa Menemen olayı, altı silahlı asinin 23 Aralık 1930’da gerçekleştirdiği bir başkaldırı girişimidir. Cumhuriyet Halk Fırkası liderleri, peşinen olayın cumhuriyete karşı irticai bir eylem olup ve arkasında Nakşibendi tarikatının bulunduğunu açıklamışlardır. Menemen, Manisa ve Balıkesir’de sıkıyönetim ilan edilmiş, sanıkların yargılanmaları için askeri mahkeme kurulmuştur. Mahkeme, Nakşibendi tarikatının olayı cumhuriyeti yıkmak amacıyla önceden planlayıp gerçekleştirdiğine hükmetmiştir. Bu tez, olay sonrası yapılan resmi açıklamalar, gazete haberleri ve mahkeme dosyalarını eleştirel bir gözle ve dikkatle inceleyerek gelişmeleri mümkün olduğunca doğru tespit etmeye çalışmaktadır. Ayrıca, daha sonra yazılan ikincil kaynaklar ile ciddi akademik metinlerde olayın nasıl anlatıldığını da irdelemektedir. Tez, olayın altı esrarkeş cahil tarafından gerçekleştirildiğini, çapının ve halk üstündeki tesirinin çok sınırlı olduğunu göstermektedir. Ancak idealist bir cumhuri- yetçi yedek subay olan Kubilay’ın başının kesilerek öldürülmüş olması, hükümeti derhal harekete geçerek ağır cezalar vermeye itmiştir. Tez, askeri mahkemenin olaydan Nakşibendi tarikatını sorumlu tutan kararının, aslında CHF liderleri tarafından önceden verilmiş olduğunu göstermekte- dir. Bu temelsiz mahkeme kararı, yanıltıcı resmi açıklamalar ve rejimin duruşunu yansıtan gazetelerin haberleri ile de beslenerek, olay hakkında daha sonra yayınlananları şekillendirmiştir. Süreç içerisinde Menemen olayı, cumhuriyetçilerin irticacılara galebe çalacağına olan inancı çağrıştıran etkili bir ikona dönüşmüştür. Bu ikinci kuşak yayınlar, doğru olmayan bilgileri abartarak yeniden üretmişlerdir. Za- manla bir grup yazar karşı açıklamalar ortaya koymakla beraber, ciddi araştırmalara dayanmaktan ziyade resmi görüşü yansıtan anlatıların çift kutuplu perspektiflerini ters-yüz etmişlerdir. Saygın araştırmacıların Menemen olayına dair yazdıkları dahi yaygın yanlış bilgiler veya kutuplaşmış perspektiflerden etkilenmiştir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Menemen olayı, Derviş Mehmet, Kubilay, Nakşibendilik, Menemen sıkıyönetim mahkemesi, erken cumhuriyet dönemi v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Intellectual background of this thesis, along with my other researches and studies, were built in the Foundation for Science and Arts (BİSAV). Perpetual schol- ar activities of BİSAV have triggered my search for knowledge during my under- graduate years and still continue to inspire me. Seminars of İhsan Fazlıoğlu, Mustafa Özel, Ahmet Okumuş, Cüneyt Kaya, Eyyüp Said Kaya, Erdal Yılmaz and the read- ing groups of Mehmet Akif Kayapınar, Metin Demir and Alim Arlı are particularly worthy of mentioning since they extensively helped me understand basic subject matters of scholarly areas of humanities and social sciences. I attended to courses of Istanbul Foundation for Research and Education (İSAR) for one and a half year during my master program. İSAR also provided scholar, financial and accommodation opportunities and substantially backed up my studies, including this thesis. Studying at the library of the Centre for Islamic Studies (İSAM) was very productive. Librarians of the centre were fairly helpful and practical. Opportunities that İSAM offers continue to facilitate the studies of researchers. Open-minded professors of İstanbul Şehir University History Department showed an elegant favor in accepting a student who was graduated from a depart- ment quite irrelevant to history. For providing various opportunities and carrying out student-centered educational policies, I am very indebted to İstanbul Şehir Universi- ty. I will always remember the time I passed there with exceeding gratitude and ad- miration. Many professors of İstanbul Şehir University made significant contributions to my journey for scholarly knowledge. Lectures of Abdulhamit Kırmızı, Coşkun Çakır, Ferhat Kentel, Hızır Murat Köse, Berat Açıl and Şerif Mardin enhanced my knowledge as well as enriched my perspectives. Nurullah Ardıç has been my lecturer in various terms since my graduate years. He has multiply guided and supported me with openhearted patience. He edit- ed many of my papers in terms of form and content and gave crucial advices, includ- ing this thesis of which he was also an examining committee member. By the way, it was also an honor to meet and work with Tufan Buzpınar, who was the other exam- ining committee member of my thesis. I have been supported by İshak Arslan for years as well. During my assis- tantship, in our reading groups and our influential conversations, his critical ap- proaches and sharpened intelligence have developed my viewpoints. Eyüp Süzgün has been a teacher as well as a big brother for me in my life. His extended knowledge in various scholar fields set light to my way. He accompa- nied me in difficult and good times. I will be in permanent need of his unconditional supports. The psychological support of Taha Burak Toprak helped me get back on the road and keep on a stable line when I was in depressive moods. His extended knowledge and understanding directed me comprehend the human nature and its so- vi phisticated relations with the world in certain degrees. Engin Akarlı has been a master academician to me in the M.A. program. His supervision to me during his course and the process of my thesis writing is beyond measure. He edited my previous papers sentence by sentence including this thesis. Whenever he did so, the quality of the related study went a step further. His es- teemed knowledge has been educatory and inspiring in many terms. Talha Üstündağ, Secretary of the Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, has been collaborative since the beginning of the program. He eased the administrative procedures of the program in a well-intentioned manner. Rana Mar- cella Özenç and Hugh Jeff Anderson edited chapters and made tangible contributions to this study. Lengthy conversations I had with my friends Mehmet Akif Berber and Hümeyra Bostan were pretty motivating. I made use of the thesis templates of Emine Öztaner and Abdurrahman Nur, whose generosity were praiseworthy. The patience and immense tolerance of my family have made it possible me to pursue knowledge. The unlimited love and embracement of my mother and sister along with the backing of my uncle frequently relieved me. Their supports encour- aged me in difficult times and let me proceed on my way. It is to them that I dedicate this study. That is to say, this thesis is a result of collective efforts. The aforementioned people implicitly or explicitly helped me complete it. I am greatly thankful and in debt of gratitude to them. Still, all the responsibilities