THE JIHAD al-AKBAR IN OTTOMAN PRESS: THE CASE OF IRAN

After entering World War I, the Ottoman Empire, which proclaimed Jihad al- Akbar, wanted to incite the Muslims of Caucasus, Turkestan, Iran, Afghanistan and India against the Russians and the British. Iran’s geography which was de facto controlled by the British and Russians since 1907, seen as the bridgehead of this great plan. Therefore, in the framework of a comprehensive program that includes activities of espionage and gangs, efforts were made for this country to join the war as an ally of the Ottomans. The press had an important role in the propaganda section of these efforts. The newspapers in line with the government’s directives were trying to provoke and convince the Iranian government to enter the war against the Russians and the British. They were mentioning that the Turkish troops who entered the northern Iran were not occupiers, but saviors against the Russians. They were encouraging the Shiites who were the majority of Iran’s population which were also including three millions of Turks, to rebel alongside the Sunni Kurds by means of publishing fatwas given by Jafari ulama to support Jihad al-Akbar. These publications, which are the main source for historical studies of the period, unfortunately have not seen the interest they deserved until now, and generally kept in the background in comparison with archival documents and other sources. This study, which has tried to analyze the jihad policies of the Ottoman Empire towards Iran through the Ottoman press in the light of other sources of the period, aims to fill the gap to some extent