''İctihad'' (,

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

: ''Idjtihad'') was a cultural and political magazine which was started and published by

Abdullah Cevdet Abdullah Cevdet Bey (‎9 September 1869 – 29 November 1932) was a Young Turk intellectual and physician of Kurdish origin. He was one of the founders of the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) and wrote articles with pen name of "Bir Kür ...

, an Ottoman intellectual. It was established in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1904 and then appeared in Cairo. The magazine was headquartered in Istanbul between 1911 and 1932.

History and profile

''İctihad'' was first published in Geneva on 1 September 1904 featuring both Turkish and French articles. Its founder and editor was Abdullah Cevdet who founded it with the financial support of Ahmed Celâleddin Pasha. Cevdet was given permission by the

Swiss government The Federal Council is the federal cabinet of the Swiss Confederation Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west ...

to start the magazine in August 1904. He was a member of the

Committee of Union and Progress The Ottoman Committee of Union and Progress (CUP, also translated as the Society of Union and Progress; , French language, French: ''Union et Progrès'') was a revolutionary group, secret society, and political party, active between 1889 and 1926 ...

and was in exile in Geneva. He was expelled from Switzerland after the publication of the ''İctihad''s second issue and then, the magazine was managed by Hüseyin Tosun for a while. The magazine moved to Cairo in 1906 where it was published until 1908. It was restarted in Istanbul in 1911. The frequency of ''İctihad'' was monthly until 1906. It appeared on a biweekly basis in Cairo. It was redesigned as a weekly magazine from the issue 50 in Istanbul. However, it also came out biweekly from time to time. ''İctihad'' was subject to temporary bans when it was headquartered in Istanbul. The longest closure of the magazine was between 13 February 1915 and 1 November 1918. The magazine was not also published from 1919 to 1921. The reason for its closures was its use of the derogatory language in regard to religious feelings of the people. During the national struggle period it did not support the Turkish forces led by Mustafa Kemal. However, it began to support the Turkish forces after November 1922. ''İctihad'' folded in December 1932 one month after the death of Abdullah Cevdet and produced a total of 358 issues during its run.

Ideology and content

The goal of ''İctihad'' was to inform people about cultural topics and to raise their awareness. It adopted a pro-Western ideology and frequently criticized veiling and traditional upbringing of women. The magazine was one of the fierce critics of the Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamit between 1904 and 1908. It also harshly criticized

Turkish nationalism Turkish nationalism () is nationalism among the people of Turkey and individuals whose national identity is Turkish. Turkish nationalism consists of political and social movements and sentiments prompted by a love for Turkish culture, Turkish ...

. ''İctihad'' frequently published articles on

Westernization Westernization (or Westernisation, see spelling differences), also Europeanisation or occidentalization (from the ''Occident''), is a process whereby societies come under or adopt what is considered to be Western culture, in areas such as industr ...

Europeanisation Europeanisation (or Europeanization, see spelling differences) refers to a number of related phenomena and patterns of change: *The process in which a notionally non-European subject (be it a culture, a language, a city or a nation) adopts a numbe ...

which were mostly written by Abdullah Cevdet and Celal Nuri. However, the latter became anti-European in 1914 and left ''İctihad''. The magazine featured articles on Bahaism in the late 1921 and in the early 1922 which adopted a positive stance towards it. ''İctihad'' declared its guiding principles in the issue dated 15 April 1932 as follows: freedom, independence, peace, arts, equality, religion and conscience.

Contributors

Various writers contributed to ''İctihad'' who did not share the same ideology. For instance,

Rıza Tevfik Rida (, also transcribed as Ridha, Reda, Redha or Roda) is an Arabic name which literally means "the fact of being pleased or contented; contentment, approval". In the Arab world, the name is neutral and not one used only by a particular sect, and ...

was a traditionalist, but

Jean-Marie Guyau Jean-Marie Guyau (28 October 1854 – 31 March 1888) was a French philosopher and poet. Guyau was inspired by the philosophies of Epicurus, Epictetus, Plato, Immanuel Kant, Herbert Spencer, and Alfred Fouillée, and the poetry and literature ...

and

Gustave Le Bon Charles-Marie Gustave Le Bon (7 May 1841 – 13 December 1931) was a leading French polymath whose areas of interest included anthropology, psychology, sociology, medicine, invention, and physics. He is best known for his 1895 work '' The Crowd: ...

were positivists. The philosophical approaches supported by the magazine contributors were

Darwinism ''Darwinism'' is a term used to describe a theory of biological evolution developed by the English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) and others. The theory states that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural sel ...

Freudianism Sigmund Freud (6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) is considered to be the founder of the psychodynamic approach to psychology, which looks to unconscious drives to explain human behavior. Freud believed that the mind is responsible for both c ...

, and

materialism Materialism is a form of monism, philosophical monism according to which matter is the fundamental Substance theory, substance in nature, and all things, including mind, mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. Acco ...

. Later the following notable figures contributed to the magazine:

Süleyman Nazif Süleyman Nazif (;‎ 29 January 1870 – 4 January 1927) was a Turkish poet and a prominent member of the CUP. He mastered Arabic, Persian, and French languages and worked as a civil servant during the reign of Sultan Abdul Hamid II. He c ...

Tevfik Fikret Tevfik Fikret () was the pseudonym of Mehmed Tevfik (December 24, 1867 – August 19, 1915), an Ottoman educator and poet, who is considered the founder of the modern school of Turkish poetry. Biography Family Mehmed Tevfik was born in Is ...

Faik Ali Ozansoy Faik Ali Ozansoy (10 March 1876 – 1 October 1950) was a Turkish politician, poet, and educator. He was the younger brother of Süleyman Nazif, an eminent man of letters and prominent member of the Committee for Union and Progress. Faik Ali was ...

Abdülhak Hâmid Tarhan Abdülhak Hâmid Tarhan (born Abdülhak Hâmid; January 2, 1852 – April 12, 1937)Some sources state Feb 2,1852 was an early 20th-century Ottoman Empire, Ottoman playwright and poet. He was one of the leading lights of the Turkish Romantic ...

Ali Canip Yöntem Ali Canip Yöntem (born 1887 Istanbul – October 26, 1967, Istanbul), was a Turkish poet, writer, literary history researcher, and politician. Biography He was born in 1887 in Istanbul. His father is Halil Saip, a member of the Ministry of E ...

Ahmet Haşim Ahmet Haşim (also written as Ahmed Hâşim; 1887 – 4 June 1933) was an influential Turkish people, Turkish poet of the early 20th century. Biography Ahmed Hâşim was born in Baghdad, probably in the year 1884. His father was the pr ...

Cenâb Şehâbeddîn Cenâb Şehâbeddîn (born 21 March 1870, Bitola – 12 February 1934, Istanbul), was a Turkish poet and writer. He was one of the leading representatives of Servet-i Fünûn literature. Biography He was born on March 21, 1870, in Bitola. His ...

Faruk Nafiz Çamlıbel Faruk Nafiz Çamlıbel (18 May 1898 – 8 November 1973) was a leading Turkish people, Turkish poet, author and later politician. He is one of the Five Syllabists. Together with Behçet Kemal Çağlar, he wrote the lyrics of the Tenth Anniver ...

, Enis Behiç Koryürek,

Halide Edib Adıvar Halide Edip Adıvar ( , sometimes spelled Halidé Edib in English; 11 June 1884 – 9 January 1964) was a Turkish people, Turkish novelist, teacher, and a nationalist and Feminism, feminist intellectual. She was best known for her novels criticiz ...

, Gaspıralı İsmâil,

Halide Nusret Zorlutuna Halide Nusret Zorlutuna (1901 – 10 June 1984) was a Turkish poet and novelist. Biography Zorlutuna was born in Istanbul, Ottoman Empire as the daughter of Mehmet Selim Bey, a journalist and political prisoner. Brought up in exile with her ...

Mehmet Fuat Köprülü Mehmet Fuat Köprülü (December 5, 1890 – June 28, 1966), also known as Köprülüzade Mehmed Fuad, was a highly influential Turkish sociologist, Turkologist, scholar, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister of the Rep ...

Ömer Seyfettin Ömer Seyfettin (11 March 1884, Gönen – 6 March 1920, Istanbul), was a Turkish writer from the late 19th to early 20th century, considered to be one of the greatest modern Turkish authors. His work is much praised for simplifying the Turkish ...

Peyami Safa Peyami Safa (April 2, 1899 – June 15, 1961) was a Turkish journalist, columnist and novelist. He came to the fore in the Turkish literature of the Republican era with his psychological works such as ''Dokuzuncu Hariciye Koğuşu'' (Ninth E ...

Suut Kemal Yetkin Suut Kemal Yetkin (13 September 1903, Urfa – 18 April 1980), was a Turkish academician, writer, essayist, university administrator. Biography He was the congressman of Urfa in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (1st Term). His father was ...

Reşat Nuri Güntekin Reşat Nuri Güntekin () (25 November 1889 – 7 December 1956) was a Turkish novelist, storywriter, and playwright. His best known novel, ''Çalıkuşu'' ("The Wren", 1922) is about the destiny of a young Turkish female teacher in Anatolia. Th ...

Selim Sırrı Tarcan Selim Sırrı Tarcan (25 March 1874 – 2 March 1957) was a Turkish educator, sports official and politician. He is best remembered for his contribution to the establishment of the National Olympic Committee of Turkey and the introduction of t ...

, and

Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoğlu Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoğlu (also rendered Yakub Kadri; ; 27 March 1889 – 13 December 1974) was a Turkish novelist, journalist, diplomat, and member of parliament.Edebiyatogretmeni.net ''Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoğlu'' Google translated' Biograp ...

. Peyami Safa started his journalistic career in the magazine at age fourteen in 1913.

References