THE OTTOMAN RESPONSE TO MISSIONARY ACTIVITIES OF IRANIAN SHIITE ULEMA: THE CASE OF IRAQ IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY, pp. 505-514
Iranian Shiite ulema played a key role in the prevalence of Shiite population in Iraqi provinces of Ottoman Empire in the nineteenth century. The Iranian ulema's first missionary activities began in cities which were accepted as sacred by Shiite believers and it was gradually expanded to all lands of Iraq. As a counter-policy to the Iranian ulema's missionary activities, the Ottoman government took some measures to restrict the activities of Iranian ulema and the number of Shiite populations in Iraq. However, Ottoman government could not prevent the change of demographic map of Shiite population from the minority to the majority in Iraq. In this respect, this article will examine the Ottoman governmental policies towards Shiite groups in Iraq by rethinking the subject of sectarianism within a broader historical context, specifically within a late imperial framework. In other words, the main purpose of this study is to show the policies of the Ottoman administration to cope with the spread of Shiite belief among Iraqi people. This study will also explain the reasons for the growth of the Shiite supremacy in Iraq by basing on a number of documents from the Ottoman archives which reflect the ideology of government's officials in the late- nineteenth century.
Keywords: Iranian Shiite ulema, Iraq, Ottoman Empire, Sunni ulema, the spread of Shiism
http://dx.doi.org/10.17822/omad.2019.139
THE OTTOMAN RESPONSE TO MISSIONARY ACTIVITIES OF IRANIAN SHIITE ULEMA: THE CASE OF IRAQ IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY, pp. 505-514
Iranian Shiite ulema played a key role in the prevalence of Shiite population in Iraqi provinces of Ottoman Empire in the nineteenth century. The Iranian ulema's first missionary activities began in cities which were accepted as sacred by Shiite believers and it was gradually expanded to all lands of Iraq. As a counter-policy to the Iranian ulema's missionary activities, the Ottoman government took some measures to restrict the activities of Iranian ulema and the number of Shiite populations in Iraq. However, Ottoman government could not prevent the change of demographic map of Shiite population from the minority to the majority in Iraq. In this respect, this article will examine the Ottoman governmental policies towards Shiite groups in Iraq by rethinking the subject of sectarianism within a broader historical context, specifically within a late imperial framework. In other words, the main purpose of this study is to show the policies of the Ottoman administration to cope with the spread of Shiite belief among Iraqi people. This study will also explain the reasons for the growth of the Shiite supremacy in Iraq by basing on a number of documents from the Ottoman archives which reflect the ideology of government's officials in the late- nineteenth century.
Anahtar Kelimeler: Iranian Shiite ulema, Iraq, Ottoman Empire, Sunni ulema, the spread of Shiism
http://dx.doi.org/10.17822/omad.2019.139