Meşveret Explained

Editor:Ahmet Rıza
Founded:1895
Language:Ottoman Turkish
Firstdate:1 December 1895
Finaldate:7 May 1898
Based:Paris
Category:Political magazine
Frequency:Bimonthly

Meşveret (Ottoman Turkish:) was a bimonthly magazine which existed between 1895 and 1898. Published in Paris the magazine was the first official organ of the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) and was subtitled as “the media organ of the Ottoman Committee of Union and Progress".[1] [2] Its motto was ordo et progrès (French: Order and progress).[3]

History and profile

The first issue of Meşveret appeared on 1 December 1895.[2] Ahmet Rıza, exiled leader of the Committee of Union and Progress, was the cofounder and editor of the magazine which was published in Paris to support the policies of the Committee.[4] [5] The other founders included Albert Fua, Aristidi Efendi and Halil Ganem.[4] The latter was also a regular contributor.[1] They were part of the Osmanlı İttihat ve Terakki Cemiyeti (Ottoman Turkish: Committee of the Ottoman Union and Progress), one of the precursor groups of the CUP. The magazine functioned as the official media outlet of this group.[6]

Notable contributors of Meşveret included Mizancı Murat Bey, Şerafeddin Mağmumi and Abdullah Cevdet who used the pseudonym “Bir Kürd” (A Kurd in English).[2] Another leading figure who published articles in the magazine was Süleyman Nazif during his exile years in Paris from 1897.[7] Yusuf Akçura also contributed to Meşveret when he was living in Paris.[6] [8]

Meşveret employed the French calendar not the Islamic calendar reflecting its positivist leaning.[9] From 7 December 1895 the magazine published a French supplement entitled Mechvéret supplément français.[10] Meşveret was published on a bimonthly basis.[2] The magazine supported the adoption of a constitution in the Ottoman Empire and the abduction of Sultan Abdul Hamid who demanded the French authorities to take steps to reduce criticisms published in the magazine[4] and also, to ban the periodicals and newspapers published by the Ottoman exiles in Paris.[11] The Ottomans labelled the magazine as "the most dangerous publication of the Young Turks."[12] Upon Sultan's request Ahmet Rıza was detained by the French authorities.[4] Meşveret ceased publication in 1898 after producing a total of thirty issues.[4] The final issue was dated 7 May.[2] However, its French version continued to appear.[12]

Ahmet Rıza attempted to restart Meşveret in Geneva, but his efforts were not fruitful due to the Sultan's pressure.[12] The magazine was replaced by another periodical entitled Osmanlı which was based in Geneva.[12]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Rashid Khalidi. et. al.. The Origins of Arab Nationalism. Columbia University Press. 1991. 978-0-231-07435-3. New York. M. Şükrü Hanioğlu. 36. M. Şükrü Hanioğlu. https://books.google.com/books?id=21v9mTP_jsUC&pg=PA31. The Young Turks and the Arabs before the Revolution of 1908.
  2. Fatih Taştan. Philosophical Movements in Ottoman Intellectual Life at the Beginning of the 20th Century and Their Impact on Young Turk's Thought. Middle East Technical University. 11–12. PhD. September 2013. 11511/22896.
  3. Book: M. Sait Özervarlı. Johannes Feichtinger. Franz L. Fillafer. Jan Surman. The Worlds of Positivism. A Global Intellectual History, 1770–1930. 2018. Palgrave Macmillan. Cham. 978-3-319-65762-2. 85. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65762-2_4. Positivism in the Late Ottoman Empire: The “Young Turks” as Mediators and Multipliers. 10.1007/978-3-319-65762-2_4 .
  4. Taha Niyazi Karaca. The Armenian Question According to Meşveret, The Publication Organ of The Committee of Union and Progress. Bilig. 2011. 58. 212–213. https://web.archive.org/web/20211215183828/http://bilig.yesevi.edu.tr/yonetim/icerik/makaleler/2524-published.pdf. 15 December 2021.
  5. Encyclopedia: Young Turk Revolution. Encyclopedia Britannica.
  6. Almaz Miftahov. From Russia to Turkey: An Intellectual Biography of Sadri Maksudi Arsal (1878-1957). MA. Bilkent University. 979-8-209-95287-9. . 2003. 19–20.
  7. Syed Tanvir Wasti. 494. Süleyman Nazîf – A Multi-Faceted Personality. 10.1080/00263206.2014.886571. Middle Eastern Studies. 2014. 50. 3.
  8. Hakan Yavuz. 196. 2. Nationalism and Islam: Yusuf Akçura and Üç Tarz-ı Siyaset. 10.1093/jis/4.2.175. Journal of Islamic Studies. July 1993. 4. 26195511.
  9. Book: Marc David Baer. The Dönme. 2009. 91. Stanford University Press. Redwood City, CA. 10.1515/9780804772563. 9780804772563. Marc David Baer.
  10. Encyclopedia: Azmi Özcan. Meşveret. İslâm Ansiklopedisi. 7 November 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211107181156/https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/mesveret--gazete.
  11. Gavin Murray-Miller. 13. Networks, Contact Zones and the Trans-Local Dimensions of the Imperial Mediterranean. Middle East - Topics & Arguments, Bd. December 2019. 10.17192/meta.2019.13.8075.
  12. M. Şükrü Hanioğlu. Genesis of The Young Turk Revolution of 1908. Osmanlı Araştırmaları. 1982. 3. 3. 284,288.