THE ESSENCE OF MUHIBBAN MAGAZINE’S POLITICAL OPPOSITION AGAINST ABDULHAMID II / MUHİBBAN DERGİSİ’NİN II. ABDÜLHAMİT’E KARŞI SİYASİ MUHALEFETİ’NİN MAHİYETİ

Ottoman Empire entered the 19th century withsignificantpolitical, military, social, culturaland economic problems. The modernization movement brought into prominence to save the Empire from the situation it was in, led to a comprehensive centralization and secularism within the state and social life. Like all the traditional institutions, religion and religious organizations also significantly lost their dominant role over the state and society. During this process, formal Islam tried to legitimize the reformandby gathering the Ottoman Muslim society around the Hanafi/Sunni Islamicvalues, it redefined the mission of keeping them together. Under the name of reform, the remaining sufistic and esoteric interpretations of the religion, or the insight traditions, were forced to choose between the options of staying within formal Islam or to be liquidated. Muhibban was founded during this period, to defend Bektashismand Alawism against these policies, which had been on-going since Mahmood II, taking a more authoritative during the era of Abdul Hamid II. In other words, it was aiming to put up a fight for existence. The magazine tried to regain an official identity to Bektashismover freedom and Constitutionalism and to create a new living space. In this context, Abdul Hamid IIwas heavily criticized due to claims related politics, such as his oppressive rule, manipulating and abolishing Constitutionalism, slaughtering Mithat Pasha. That is to say, he wascriticized for demolishing the things that Bektashism pinned their hopes on.