Author
Ahmet Demir
Publication Place
Hits University -
Hits University
Subject
Hittite Journal of Theology, 2022-12, Vol.21 (2), p.1037-1066
Type
Book
Language
Arabic
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Leitir Library
Library Asset ID
EISSN: 2757-6949, DOI: 10.14395/hid.1160427
Record ID
cdi_doaj_primary_oai_doaj_org_article_2a3f37393f8d48c1aa7e222f5d9ee6c1
Library Location
Open Access Resources_DOAJ
Notes
In Ottoman-Turkish society, discussions around the concepts of modernization and civilization have an important place in the 20th century intellectual climate. Within these discussions, it is noteworthy that national poet Mehmet Akif Ersoy presents Japan as an example of non-Western modernization as an ideal model for Ottoman-Turkish modernization. Mehmet Akif brings Japanese modernization to the public agenda in an idealizing manner. Abdürreşit İbrahim (1857-1944), who was influential in the Turkish and Islamic geography with his activist identity and thoughts in the 19th and 20th centuries, had a great share in Akif's adoption of Japanese modernization as an ideal example of non-Western modernization. Abdürreşit İbrahim is one of the important figures of the Turkish society as an intellectual, traveler, political leader and intellectual in the 19th and 20th centuries. Abdürreşit İbrahim, who was one of the Volga-Ural Turks and fought for the independence and unity of Russian Turks and the entire Islamic world, is known for his thoughts on the Turkish and Islamic geography and his activities in Japan. He is also known as the person who introduced Islam to Japan. He visited Japan in the first half of 1909 and wanted to establish close relations between the Japanese and Asian Muslims. He made a long journey that started in September 1908, covered Turkestan, Siberia, Mongolia, Manchuria, China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Hijaz and Syria, and ended in Istanbul in 1910. Abdürreşit İbrahim published this journey in two volumes in 1910-1913, titled Alem-i İslâm and İntişâr-ı İslâmiyet in Japan. The work is mostly about Japan. Abdürreşit İbrahim, in his work titled Alem-i İslâm ve Japan'da İntişâr-ı İslâmiyet (1910-1913), in which he shares his observations and thoughts about the Islamic world, presents Japanese modernization in an idealized manner, and his thoughts were influential on some Ottoman-Turkish intellectuals, especially Mehmet Akif. Ibrahim, who came to the Ottoman capital in 1910 as a well-known Muslim traveler and activist, established close relations with Islamist intellectuals in Istanbul. The close relationship he established with Sırat-ı Müstakim magazine and its staff (especially with Mehmet Akif) is an important example of this. The main media where Abdürreşit İbrahim sent his articles containing the impressions and experiences he gained from his long trip (1908-1910) was Sırat-ı Müstakim magazine. We can say that both the articles in Sırat-ı Müstakim and the World of Islam and Intişar-ı İslâmiyet in Japan left a deep impact on Turkish intellectuals regarding Japanese modernization. Abdürreşit İbrahim also tried to explain his travel observations and thoughts about the Islamic world through sermons and conferences organized by Sırat-ı Müstakim magazine. Therefore, Abdürreşit İbrahim is an important figure in terms of his place in the development of Turkish-Japanese relations. Abdürreşit İbrahim had a great influence on creating sympathy for Japan among Turkish/Muslim people. The friendship that developed between Abdürreşit İbrahim and Akif brought with it intellectual influence. As a result of this influence, Akif presented the Japan model as an example of non-Western modernity for Ottoman-Turkish modernization at a time when Ottoman-Turkish modernization along with Westernization occupied the agenda and was discussed (at the beginning of the 20th century), and he thought that Japanese modernization was a good alternative that could be a source of inspiration within the framework of non-Western modernity. Akif's thoughts inspired by Abdürreşit İbrahim appear concretely in his poem titled Süleymaniye Kürsüsünde (1912). While the solutions for salvation of the Islamic world are discussed in the poem, Japanese modernization; It has been idealized as an example of non-Western modernization in relation to concepts such as civilization, Westernization, development and progress in the Ottoman-Turkish public opinion. It has been defended as a thesis that Turkish modernization can be achieved by staying away from a Western-centered, singularistic structure stuck within Western patterns and based entirely on imitation, and by preserving national identity and culture on the dynamics of Islamic civilization, and that Japanese modernization can be taken as an example in this regard. Therefore, in discussions about Ottoman-Turkish modernization and the place of concepts such as civilization, Westernization, progress, and modernity in Mehmet Akif's world of thought, it is necessary to take into account his perspective on Japanese modernization and the influence of Abdürreşit İbrahim in this. In this study, the idea of Japanese modernization and the influence of Abdürreşit İbrahim as an example of non-Western modernization in Mehmet Akif are discussed within the framework of the poet's poem titled Süleymaniye Kürsüsünde. The idea of 'Japanese modernization' in Akif is evaluated in relation to the concepts of 'plural modernities' and 'non-Western modernization', the reflections of the concept of 'plural modernities' in Akif's world of thought are discussed, and it is revealed that he presents Japanese modernization as an ideal example of 'non-Western modernization' for the Ottoman-Turkish modernization.
Detaylı Başlık
Abdürreşit İbrahim Etkisiyle Mehmet Akif Ersoy’da ‘Batı-dışı Modernleşme Örneği Olarak Japonya’ Düşüncesi
