The relations of ulama and politics in Ottoman Egypt: The case of al-Azhar

This study deals with the institutional structure of Azhar as one of the oldest educational institutions in the Islamic world and its rise in the 18th century Ottoman politics. In the first chapter, the structure of Azhar before the Ottoman conquest and then the changes that it had under the Ottoman rule in the 16th and 17th centuries are emphasized. In this context, the relations it had established with the Ottoman administrators are exposed by putting the points of failures at the center. The main works in the literature and the related Ottoman sources have been appropriately used in these parts. In the last section of the first chapter, the aspect of Azhar in the 18th century and social, scientific and political situation of Azhar Ulama in the process leading to the Ottoman Egyptian politics have been set forth by using the sources of the period. In the second part of the study, the motives of the rise of Azhar in the 18th century Egyptian politics have been analyzed. In this context, attention is drawn to the tactful policies of the Ottoman center, its efforts to control the socio-political structure in the region through the institution and the process of including Azhar Ulama in Ottoman Egyptian politics. Although the related literature is used, the Muhimme Registers and the individual documents under certain catalogs in the Ottoman Archives of Presidency and the biographical chronicle of the famous Egyptian historian Abdurrahman b. Hasan El Ceberti so-called Acâibü'l-Âsâr fi't-Terâcim ve'l-Ahbâr have been taken into the center of this section. In the third chapter, the roles of the Azhar Ulama in the 18th century Egyptian politics and their relations with the Ottoman center and governors have been comparatively and critically studied under the same sources. Hereby, this study aims to shed light on the situation of Azhar and its Ulama during the Ottoman period which has been unknown until today and create a basis for the dynamics of Egyptian politics in the 18th century. Key Words: al-Azhar, Egypt, Ulama, Arab Madrasas in Ottoman Era, Mühimme-i Mısır, al-Jabarti