Emperor Abdulhamid Biography

During the decline of the Ottoman Empire, the right to power passed to the Sultan, who decided to revive the previous significance and power of the Islamic Caliphate. The Chancellor of Germany Otto von Bismarck throughout the history of Islam was one of the main unifying aspects of the Muslim world. After the death of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, his close friend and associate Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, was elected as the first caliph or caliph of the Muslim community.

Since then, it has been established that the Caliph’s activity as the leader of the community combined both the political power over the state of Muslims and the spiritual administration of the community. Over the years later, this position from the electoral turned into a hereditary one, which was first captured by the Omayyad dynasty, and then the Abbasid dynasty.

In the year, the Caliphate moved to the Ottomov dynasty, which began to rule the largest and most powerful empire of the whole world in the Om century. After centuries, the Ottoman sultans ceased to emphasize the rank of caliph. It was an official title that was used only if necessary, and in other cases, this title, as a rule, was neglected. However, during the decline of the empire in the years, the Sultan came to power that decided to revive the previous significance and power of the Islamic caliphate.

Abdulhamid II came to prevent the collapse of the Ottoman state, and he was convinced that the most right path to this goal lies through the revival of Islam in the entire Muslim world and through the pan-Islamic unity, concentrated on the idea of ​​a strong caliphate. Despite the fact that Abdulhamid II did not stop the inevitable fall of the Ottoman Empire, he managed to, based on the whole empire on the idea of ​​Islam, to win the final period of relative power before Europe and colonialism.

The Islamic reform throughout the entire century the Ottoman government desperately tried to prevent the fall of the empire. Starting from Mahmoud II, and during the reign of Abdulmeda and Abdulaziz, the most important priority on the agenda among the rulers invariably kept the idea of ​​reforming the empire. Tanzimat reorganization, the reform was designed to restore the Ottoman state by introducing new liberal, European lines into its structure and its adaptation to European norms.

Islam, as a religion as a whole, was sent to the backyards of public life, and now, the laws and all state policy began to influence secular ideas that have shifted it. In fact, these reforms did not help prevent the fall of the empire. Moreover, the increased attention of one part of the Ottoman Empire to the Nestamian values ​​was given a strong impetus to the development of nationalist goals in another part of the empire, which, on the contrary, created additional disconnection in it.

In the era of Tanzimat, such Ottoman provinces as: Serbia, Greece, Wallachia, Moldova, Abkhazia, Bulgaria and Algeria were lost as a result of the growth of European nationalism and encroachments in them. Sultan Abdulhamid, having come to power, decided to take the diametrically opposite approach. After the loss of European territories, which the Ottomans underwent before and at the beginning of his reign, the empire consisted for the most part of the Muslims.

However, in the Om century, the Ottoman Empire began to rapidly lose the Christian lands of Europe, and the pure influx of Muslim immigrants who came on its territory increased. In the same years, the rest of the Europe is experiencing the growth of strong nationalist movements. Pan Slavism and Pangermanism have become a unifying factor for people belonging to the same culture and spoke the same language.

The Ottoman Empire has always been multi-cultural, nations lived in it as: Turks, Albanians, Bosnians, Kurds, Armenians, etc. Abdulhamid tried to make pan-scammers a unifying factor for Muslims both within his empire and beyond.

As a spiritual leader of the Muslims of the whole world, Abdulhamid II paid special attention to Islamic shrines, in particular - Mecca and Medina. In the years, the implementation of a large construction program was launched in these two cities, which includes the construction of hospitals, barracks, a whole infrastructure in hijaz to facilitate the commission of annual pilgrimage to Mecca - Haja.

Kaaba herself and Masjid al-Haram, surrounding her, were also repaired; The entire water supply system was replaced using modern technologies, which helped reduce the scale of floods that periodically happened in that area. In the year, Sultan Abdulhamid began the construction of the Hijaz railway. It began in Istanbul, walked through Syria, Palestine, the Arabian desert, and at the end of her reached Medina.

The aim of laying this railway was the combination of the political power of Istanbul with the sacred lands, as well as the facilitation of the pilgrimage for the Muslims of the empire.In order to protect Mecca and Medina, Abdulhamid decided that the width of the track between the rails of the rails of the Hijaz railway should be less than it is accepted according to European standards.

He substantiated his decision by the fact that if Istanbul was ever captured by European imperialists, he would like to be sure that European trains would not stand on these rails, and the invaders will not be able to use the Hijaz railway to invade Mecca and Medina. Not Ottoman Muslims during the entire existence of the Ottoman Empire of her Sultans provided assistance to Muslim communities every time that the Ottoman state was able to provide it, including communities far beyond its borders.

For example, in the 10th years, the Ottoman fleet became key force in the Indian Ocean, helping Muslims from distant lands such as India and Indonesia, in the struggle against Portuguese colonialism. Sultan Abdulhamid considered it his duty to do the same in the X years, especially taking into account the fact that a large number of Muslims of Africa and Asia were under the oppression of European imperialism.

Delegations were sent to the Muslim states of Africa, such as Zanzibar, with gifts from Sultan Abdulhamid and a request to recognize the caliph his defender from European imperialism. The same delegations were sent to Muslim groups living in Russia and China. In OM, Sultan Abdulhamid sent one of his advisers - Enver Pasha, along with numerous Islamic scientists, to China.

When they arrived in Shanghai, representatives of the Chinese authorities met them warmly, and especially warmly, local Muslims, who lived in China for many centuries. Later, Abdulhamid will provide significant assistance in the foundation of the University of Muslim in Beijing, called "Beijing University of Hamidia." Thus, Sultan Abdulhamid tried to unite and strengthen the feeling of unity around the caliphate among Muslims even such distant lands as China.

The efforts of Abdulhamid II led to the fact that the caliph received the recognition of Muslims in Friday prayer, starting from every small town of Africa and ending with large Muslim communities of India and China. The Palestinian problem at the end of the years was the most powerful nationalist movement was the formation of European Jews: Zionism. Zionist ideology pursued the following goal: the creation of a Jewish state in the lands that formed in ancient times, Palestine.

Despite the fact that European Jews were scattered in various parts of Europe, the unique financial and political power of numerous Jewish families managed to make Zionism the main nationalist power of the end of the age of age. Theodore Herzl, the founder of the Zionist movement, personally turned to Abdulhamid II for permission to resettle Jews in Palestine.

In exchange for this, he offered the caliph of millions of pounds of gold, together with the help of the Ottoman state in repaying huge external debts, which it had by that time due to unsuccessful reforms and economic decline under the former rulers. The goal of Herzl, of course, was not just the resettlement to Palestine and accommodation in it under the Ottoman power, namely the creation of a separate Jewish state in the territory carved from the Muslim lands, as, in fact, then occurred in OM year.

Sultan Abdulhamid proved himself as a true caliph of all Muslims, and did not elevate the economic interests of Istanbul above the territorial interests of Muslims, thereby protecting the holiness and sovereignty of Muslim lands. This was his answer to Herzl: “I advise Herzl not to take any further steps according to his project. I cannot give even a handful of this land, since it does not belong to me, it belongs to the entire Islamic community, which fought for the sake of this earth and spilled its blood for it.

Jews can save their millions. If the Islamic caliphate will be destroyed in one day, then they will be able to take Palestine without ransom. But while I am alive, I will rather stick the sword into my body than I will see Palestine cut off from the Islamic state and given to others. ” The political movement of the Young Turks, which formed inside the Ottoman Empire in the Om year, and advocated for values ​​and politics, opposite the values ​​and politics of the Sultan Abdulhamid, and in this matter the interests of the Zionists began to lobby.

The leaders of the Mladourus were interested in the deal with the Zionists along with the overthrow of the Sultan, and, having enlisted the serious support of the enemies of the caliphate, exerted serious pressure on the Sultan. Abdulhamid II, in a letter to his spiritual mentor, described the pressure of the Union of Zionists and Mladourkov, as well as his response to their demands: “If you offer me all the gold of the world in addition to your millions, I do not agree to give you this land.

I served the Islamic religion and the Muhammad community for more than thirty years, and I will not denigrate the white sheet of Muslim history, the history of my ancestors - the Sultans and Caliphs. For this reason, I will never do what you ask me about. ”Sultan Abdulhamid II prevented the purchase of land in Palestine with Zionist organizations, saying that their attempts to take root there are futile.

But, ultimately, the movement of youngsters, who headed the Ottoman Empire after the Sultan Abdulhamid, allowed the Zionists to buy the lands of Palestine and freely settle in it. The legacy of Abdulhamid II was the last of the Ottoman sultans that had real power. He was overthrown in OM by the same political party of youngsters - by the Liberal atheists trained by the West, fiercely opposed to Islamization, based on which the Sultan Abdulhamid ruled the empire from the GO for the year.

After his overthrow, the youngstot was elected to the sultan of his brother Mehmed Resad, who actually had no power, and the empire was in the power of the oligarchy of three ministers from the Government of Young Tours. In the year, the Caliphate was abolished by the new Turkish parliament, and Abdulmadzhid II, along with all the remaining members of the Ottoma dynasty, were forced to leave the country.

Thus, Abdulhamid was the last of the caliphs that had power over the Islamic world. The tradition of a strong, responsible caliph, which began with Abu Bakra, may Allah be pleased with him, in Om year, was continued by Abdulhamid and was supported by him until the end of the 10ths, until it was cut off as a result of its overthrow by the secular elements of the empire.

New York: Basic Books, Print; William Oksenwald W. Ochsenwald and Sydney Fisher S. New York: McGraw Hill.