[Bilimsel Haber] New Book: Kurdish Notables and the Ottoman State (Hakan Ozoglu)

[ONUR INAL]

New Book: Kurdish Notables and the Ottoman State
Hakan Ozoglu
paperback ($ 19.95)
SUNY Press. Jan 2007
http://sunypress.edu/details.asp?id=60882

Examines early Kurdish nationalism within the context of the demise of the Ottoman Empire.

Kurdish nationalism remains one of the most critical and explosive problems of the Middle East. Despite its importance, the topic remains on the margins of Middle East Studies. Bringing the study of Kurdish nationalism into the mainstream of Middle East scholarship, Hakan Ozoglu examines the issue in the context of the Ottoman Empire. Using a wealth of primary sources, including Ottoman and British archives, Ottoman Parliamentary minutes, memoirs, and interviews, he focuses on revealing the social, political, and historical forces behind the emergence and development of Kurdish nationalism. Contrary to the assumption that nationalist movements contribute to the collapse of empires, the book argues that Kurdish leaders remained loyal to the Ottoman state, and only after it became certain that the empire would not recover did Kurdish nationalism emerge and clash with the Kemalist brand of Turkish nationalism.

“…both expands on existing studies and revises previous accounts in a concise, nuanced fashion.” — International Journal of Middle East Studies

"The author's discussion of the Kurdish notable families and the evolution of their ideologies is original and constitutes an important contribution to the literature." — Resat Kasaba, author of The Ottoman Empire and the World Economy: The Nineteenth Century

"The topic of the emergence of ethno-nationalism among a class of notables closely linked to the imperial state is significant, making this book of interest to students of ethnicity and nationalism, Ottoman historians, and specialists of Kurdish affairs." — Martin van Bruinessen, author of Agha, Shaikh, and State: The Social and Political Structures of Kurdistan

Hakan Ozoglu is the Ayasli Senior Lecturer in Turkish Studies at the University of Chicago.
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Table Of Contents

Acknowledgments

Note on Transliteration and Translation

List of Illustrations

1. Introduction

    The Role of Kurdish Nationalism in the Emergence of the Turkish Republic
    A Brief Discussion on Nationalism
    Different Interpretations of Nationalism
    Ethnicity, Nationalism, and the Development of Identity
    Nationalism in the Kurdish Case
    Nationalism and Notables in the Ottoman Empire
    Boundaries of the Research
    Organization and General Arguments of the Chapters

2. Evolution of Group Identity: The Kurds and Kurdistan in Historical Texts

    Origin of the Kurds
    Kurds and Kurdistan in Medieval Sources
    Serefhan Bitlisi
    The Seventeenth Century: Ahmed-i Hani
    Evliya Çelebi: A View of an Ottoman Traveler
    Kurds and Kurdistan in the Late Ottoman Period
    Kürdistan: The First Kurdish Newspaper
    Semseddin Sami
    The Post-World War I Period
    Conclusion

3. State-Tribe Relations: Ottoman Empire and Kurdish Tribalism Since the Sixteenth Century

    Tribe, Emirate, and the Kurds
    Theoretical Framework
    Definition of Kurdish Tribes
    Kurdish Tribalism Prior to the Ottoman Conquest
    Ottoman-Safavid Relations and "Kurdistan"
    Ottoman Administration in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries
    Classical Ottoman Administration
    Ottoman Administration in Kurdistan
    Decreasing Level of Kurdish Autonomy
    Ottoman Administrative Policies in Nineteenth-Century Kurdistan
    Conclusion: Consequences of Ottoman Rule

4. Kurdish "Protonationalism"?: The Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries

    The Nationalist Dimension of Kurdish Militancy
    Bedirhan Pasha and His Revolt of 1847
    The Naqshbandi Semdinan Family and Sayyid Ubeydullah
    A Transformation to Nationalism: Two Kurdish Cultural and Political Organizations, 1908–20
    Kürt Teavün ve Terakki Cemiyeti, or the Society for the Mutual Aid and Progress of Kurdistan (SMPK)
    Kürdistan Teali Cemiyeti, or the Society for the Advancement of Kurdistan (SAK) of 1918

5. The Role of Preexisting Ties and Notables in the Emergence of Kurdish Nationalism

    The Naksibendi Semdinan Family
    Sayyid Abdulkadir
    The Bedirhani Family
    Emin Ali Bedirhan
    Celadet Ali and Kamuran Ali Bedirhan
    Other Members of the SAK in the Bedirhani Family
    The Cemilpasazade Family
    Ekrem Cemilpasa
    Kadri Cemilpasa (Zinar Silopi)
    Shaykh Sefik Efendi
    Mehmet Serif Pasha
    Bediüzzaman Said Nursi
    Hizanizade Bitlizli Kemal Fevzi
    Conclusion

6. Concluding Remarks and Suggestions for Further Research

    Directions for Further Research in the Republican Period

Notes

Bibliography

Index