Occidentalist discourse in journal of Sırât-i Müstakim

In this study, the focus was on the Western perceptions of Ottoman intellectuals mainly during the Second Constitutional Era (1908-1918). The scope of the study was limited to the criticisms of the West, taking into account the historical conjuncture in which the west, westernization and western imperialism were most effective and dominant. The field of the study was limited to Sırat-i Müstakim (Straight Path) (1908-1912), one of the leading journals of the period, and its Islamic writer staff. One of the most important journals of the period standing as a historical document, Sırât-ı Müstakîm was examined by taking into account the historical characteristics of the period it was published. Sırat-i Müstakim Journal was examined by taking into account the social, political, cultural and economic situation of the Ottoman Empire when it was published to reveal the general characteristics of the period. This study was handled with the perspective provided by sociology along with examining historical documents, and it was tried to reveal what the journal corresponded to in the general atmosphere of that period by examining a certain section. The study, aiming to examine a historical period from a sociological point of view, on social, political and intellectual grounds, chose the "Occidental discourse" as the focal point. Content analyses of the articles published in line with the general publication principle of the journal were made, the general thoughts of the writers in this journal were examined to investigate the themes of "Westernist thought". Keywords: Europe, Japan, Occidentalism, Orientalism, Sırât-ı Müstakîm (Straight Path), Westernism