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THE APPROPRIATION OF ISLAMIC HISTORY AND AHL AL-BAYTISM IN OTTOMAN HISTORICAL WRITING, 1300-1650

Erginbas, Vefa
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1363868855

Abstract Details

2013, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, History.
This is a study of Ottoman historical productions of the pre-1700 period that deal directly with narratives of early Islamic history. It specifically deals with the representations of the formative events of early Islamic history. Through the lenses of universal histories, biographies of Muhammad, religious treatieses and other narrative sources, this study examines Ottoman intellectuals’ perceptions of the events that occurred after the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632 C.E. It particularly provides a perspective on issues such as the problem of succession to Muhammad as leader of the Muslim community; the conflict between `Ali ibn Abi Talib and Mu`awiyah and the Umayyad dynasty’s assumption of the position of successor (caliph); and Ottoman views of the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphs and significant events and persons during the reigns of these two dynasties. Since the great schism between the Sunnis and Shiites began because of their different stances on the issue of succession to Muhammad, studying these perceptions can help to tell us whether the Ottomans were strict Sunnis who favored a rigidly Sunni interpretation of the formative events of Islam. After the death of Muhammad, the Muslim community was divided over how his successor as leader of the community should be chosen. This division resulted in the emergence of the Sunni-Shiite schism. The Ottomans have traditionally been regarded as strict Sunnis. In this study, which utilizes Ottoman Turkish and Arabic manuscript sources, many of which have never been studied before, it is argued that Ottoman Sunnism was not as monolithic as has been conventionally assumed and that there were many intellectual currents competing to shape the nature of Sunnism in the Empire. The study covers a wide range of historians, from the earliest representatives of Ottoman universal history-writers, such as Ahmedi (1334-1412), Enveri (d, 1460), and Sukrullah (1388-1461), to comparatively well-known later intellectual luminaries such as Mustafa `Ali (1541-1600) and Katip Celebi (1609-57), and lesser-known figures such as Mustafa Cenabi (d. 1590) and Muslihuddin Lari (d. 1572). A particularly noteworthy contribution of this study is the analysis of the course of ahl al-baytism in Ottoman historical writing. Ahl al-baytism is a term used to describe the love and reverence that Sunnis show not only to the immediate family of Muhammad but also to the twelve imams of the Shiites. (Ahl al-bayt, literally “people of the house,” refers to the family of Muhammad in broad terms.) It is argued in this study that ahl al-baytism was a widespread cultural phenomenon among Ottoman intellectuals. Based on this evidence, this study challenges the idea that Ottomans were zealous Sunnis. It contends that Ottoman Sunnism can be best understood with reference to divergent and even at times contradictory trends that coexisted. The pendulum, it demonstrates, consistently swung more towards ahl al-baytism and away from zealous Sunnism.
Jane Hathaway (Advisor)
Stephen Dale (Committee Member)
Dale K. Van Kley (Committee Member)
260 p.
History; Islamic Studies; Middle Eastern History; Middle Eastern Studies; Near Eastern Studies; Religion; Religious History; World History
Early Islamic History; Historical Writing in the Ottoman Empire; Ahl al-baytism; Sunni-Shiite conflict in the Ottoman Empire; Ottoman-Safavid conflict; Ottoman Sunni identity; Twelve Imams; Universal Histories; Cenabi; Lari; Katip Celebi: Historiography

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Erginbas, V. (2013). THE APPROPRIATION OF ISLAMIC HISTORY AND AHL AL-BAYTISM IN OTTOMAN HISTORICAL WRITING, 1300-1650 [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1363868855

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Erginbas, Vefa. THE APPROPRIATION OF ISLAMIC HISTORY AND AHL AL-BAYTISM IN OTTOMAN HISTORICAL WRITING, 1300-1650. 2013. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1363868855.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Erginbas, Vefa. "THE APPROPRIATION OF ISLAMIC HISTORY AND AHL AL-BAYTISM IN OTTOMAN HISTORICAL WRITING, 1300-1650." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1363868855

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1363868855
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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.