CONFLICTUAL APPROACHES to NATIONALISM in THE ISLAMIC THOUGHT in THE LATE OTTOMAN SOCIETY: A CASE STUDY of THE JOURNAL SEBILÜR-REŞAD (1908-1924)

In this study, I examine the journal Sebilür-reşad to understand how nationalism was coupled with Turkish Islamic thought in the journalistic discourse between the years 1908 and 1924. For this study, I analyzed thirty articles published in Ottoman Turkish in the journal between those years. The mainstream idea of the journal during this period was to stress a perceived conflict between the Muslim world and western powers and to advocate the idea of the unity of Muslims against the colonialist activities of western powers in the region. The idea of this unity, however, seems to be articulated in different and even contesting nationalist terms. Therefore, my intention here is to demonstrate how Islamic discourse was mediated by journalistic activity with reference to varying nationalist approaches (Turkish, Ottomanism and territorial nationalism) and their ‘others' under changing political circumstances.