[43] Ascent and Decline of the Ottoman Empire

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

In The Name of Allah, The Most Merciful The Bestower of Mercy

Sultan Abdul Hamid aimed to win the loyalty of Sufi orders for the Ottoman state and to encourage the idea of Islamic unity. He effectively linked the caliphate’s center – Istanbul – with the tekkes and Sufi gathering places across the Islamic world. [Footnote a] He used the Sufi movement to promote Islamic unity and also involved ascetics outside the Sufi tradition to support the idea of Islamic congregation. In the caliphate’s capital, a main committee was created, made up of scholars and Sufi leaders, who acted as advisors to the Sultan on issues related to Islamic unity. The prominent members of the central committee of the Islamic University included Sheikh Ahmad As’ad, the representative of the Sharif in Hijaz, Sheikh Abu al-Huda al-Sayyadi, the leader of the Rifa’i order, and Sheikh Muhammad Dhafir al-Trabulsi, the head of the civil order and a distinguished scholar of the Holy Mosque in Mecca. They were joined by several other notable figures.

The Ottoman Empire set up various subordinate organizations throughout its territories, all managed by a central committee. One of these organizations was based in Mecca, overseen by the Sharif of Mecca, with the main goal of fostering Islamic unity during the Hajj season among the pilgrims. Another important organization was located in Baghdad, with a similar purpose for the followers of the Qadiri order, who often journeyed from North Africa to honor Sheikh Abdul Qadir al-Jilani, the founder of the order. In a specific year, the number of these pilgrims was estimated to be about 250,000.

The Baghdad Committee was focused on preparing individuals to promote the concept of an Islamic university and to resist French colonialism in North Africa. French intelligence characterized the actions taken by these individuals from North Africa, who had come from Baghdad, as provocations by certain religious leaders affiliated with the Qadiri order. The Central Committee of the Islamic University in Istanbul has an African branch operating in North Africa, which functions in complete secrecy. Its mission is to coordinate efforts among the religious groups in that region, resisting French occupation. The groups involved are: (Shadhili, Qadiri, and Madani). The impact and reputation of this movement were so significant that the French intelligence agency in North Africa remarked: (The Sultan Abdul Hamid, as the leader of the Islamic community, is able to coordinate a local reaction due to his strong connections with religious organizations in North Africa, which can, if needed, oppose any foreign authority.)

The French intelligence was unable to uncover the methods of the Sufi orders associated with the Islamic caliphate in North Africa. All it managed to do was attempt to undermine the authority of Sultan Abdul Hamid in the minds of the Muslims in North Africa, as well as to challenge the policy of Islamic unity. This was pursued through a French strategy that involved:

– Enticing certain Sufi leaders with financial incentives and positions to support France and its policies in North Africa.

– Preventing pilgrims from performing the Hajj, so they do not meet the advocates of the Islamic University during the appropriate occasion. This means: not officially announcing a ban on the Hajj, but rather implementing health measures to instill fear in the people, such as spreading news about the presence of cholera. Sultan Abdul Hamid sent a group of ascetics and mystics to India to work on thwarting the English attempts aimed at stripping the caliphate from the Ottomans and granting it to the Arabs. This caravan also made contact with some rulers of the Arabian Peninsula, particularly in Hijaz. There were connections between Sultan Abdul Hamid, in his capacity as the head of the Islamic University, the Caliph of Muslims, and the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, and the gatherings of Sufi orders and their leaders in Turkestan, South Africa, and China. Some of these connections have been revealed, while most remain insufficiently documented. He succeeded in uniting the Sufi orders; however, he chose to remain silent about many of their doctrinal deviations. Consequently, during that period, the Sufi orders strayed from the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, except for those whom Allah had mercy upon. This deviation weakened the Ummah and contributed to the fall of the Sunni Ottoman Islamic Caliphate. [An Excerpt from Ad-Dawla Al-Uthmaniyyah Awamil An-Nuhud Wa Asbab As-Suqut 6/468-470]

Footnote a: http://www.ibntaymiyyah.com/articles/dgfil-the-origin-of-the-sufis-is-from-basrah-iraq.cfm