The crime of rebellion (Bağy) against the state in Ottoman-Period fiqh-law literature

In Islamic legal doctrine, the term "bağy" refers to the unjust rebellion or insurrection of a powerful Muslim community against a legitimate head of state based on their own interpretation. In such cases, the state may either engage in negotiations to persuade the rebels to abandon their rebellion or wage armed struggle to suppress the rebellion. The ruling that the rebellion should be averted through persuasion is based on the principle that the lives and property of the rebels must be preserved because they are Muslims. Therefore, it is a priority to terminate the process without harming them. Armed combat is a method that will be resorted to if it is concluded that the rebellion will lead to irreparable or impossible consequences. The reality of "bağy" frequently came to the fore during the period when the Ottoman Empire maintained its sovereignty, as an action that was attempted or succeeded, or was perceived as a threat by the head of state and the administrative hierarchy. Indeed, it was mentioned in the three legal sources of the period: fiqh books, fatwas of the Sheikh al-Islam, and law codes. The idea of conducting a study that examines the subject within the written legal corpus of the Ottoman period, that addresses the aforementioned legal sources together and examines them in a comprehensive manner, and that evaluates them from a fiqh perspective by comparing them with each other, were the factors that led to the emergence of this thesis. In this study, the aim is to examine the issue of "bağy" through the three legal sources mentioned above, thereby addressing both the theoretical and practical aspects of the issue. During the preparation of the study, a qualitative research method was used, the data obtained were evaluated using an interpretive paradigm, and an inductive content analysis method was also employed. The document review technique was used as the data collection method. In addition, a significant portion of the data obtained was processed by comparison, and thus the comparative analysis method was also applied in the study. As a result of the study, it was observed that the subject of "bağy" was dealt with in the texts and commentaries of fiqh books of the period as a continuation and like the understanding inherited from before the Ottoman period. The comparison revealed that, while there were general similarities between the works, there were also some differences. On the other hand, no direct and explicit findings related to the issue of rebellion were found in the legal codes that were in force until the Tanzimat period. However, it has been assessed that a law article in the Fatih Law Code, which was associated with the permissibility of killing princes, was enacted for the killing of all princes on the grounds that they had the potential to rebel and therefore applied to those who actually rebelled from within the dynasty. In the legal codes after the Tanzimat, it has been determined that the subject is addressed using the terms "bağy," "rebellion against the state," and "rebellion". On the other hand, after an act of "bağy" occurred or when an attempt or preparation in this direction was detected, the legal authority of the Sheikh al-Islam was consulted to ensure the legitimacy of the measures to be taken to suppress the rebellion or counter its preparations. Within this framework, forty-four fatwas about "bağy" were examined from fatwa collections and fatwa texts, and as a result of a comprehensive examination of Ottoman history, it was determined that forty-four more fatwas dealt with the act of "bağy". Thus, a total of eighty-eight fatwas were examined from a fiqh perspective. It can be said that a significant portion of the fatwas contain the view that fighting against rebels is permissible and even obligatory. At the same time, there are examples of rebels referring to fatwas as a source of legitimacy. In this context, the focus was on the legitimacy of removing the sultan from office.