During Ottoman Empire, Dr. Abdullah Cevdet and Journal of ？ctihad as in the Frame of the West Thought

The Ottoman Empire started to make westernization efforts in the XVIIIth century. These efforts have been formerly realized in military f？eld and in the XIXth century both in social and administrative fields. These efforts were taken with dissatisfaction by society and with suspicion by the clergy. This tension caused a great dynamism in the society. On one side extreme Westernizationers on the other side those who hate the West and for this reason want to become westernized and on the another side intellectuals who avoid anything coming fom the West by assuming it as a life style and also Ottoman society composed of completely disinterested public accepted the westernization as a social, administrative and important problem. Ictihad Dergisi (Journal) that was published by Dr. Abdullah Cevdet, accepted westernization as a life style and extremely defended westernization “being the same as West”. Through the 28 years of publish of the Journal of ？ctihad, it continiously defended westernization in the most f？xed, stable and insistent way. It had as a principle to understand and to analyze every event, every subject and every question in a western way. This understanding was criticised violently by its contemporary intellectuals. Concurrently always defending westernization, it opposed in a most violent way against Sultan Abdülhamid in the course of years 1904-1908. ？ctihad not only having great satisfaction by the declaration of Me？rutiyet but also o pposed the ？ttihat Terakki Assembly government in the course of years 1913-18 since there has not been a rapid development in the field of Westernization in Me？rutiyet era as they expected it to be. Meanwhile it was accused of being irreligiousness by Islamic Press. In addition, against the Ittihadists made a cooperation with Islamists if needed