Problems of the Islamic world and solutions in Ottoman serious publications (1850-1918)

The Muslim states, which hosted advanced civilizations for centuries and were the pioneers of many developments, began to decline and Western states began to progress since the 18th century. The Western states, which were able to achieve these developments with the French Revolution, industrial revolution and reforms, pioneered the beginning of the press and press life in the world, and later on, they began to benefit from these developments in Muslim states. Newspapers and magazines, which are the manifestation of the press life, which are the primary sources, can keep the pulse of the past period as well as a guide in understanding and interpreting today's issues. There is a fact that in the period under study (1850 - 1918), the Islamic world lagged behind other civilizations in many respects. Newspapers and magazines, which are the reflection of that period, became centers where the views of many intellectuals were shared in order to prevent the decline in the Islamic world and to produce a solution for salvation. This study, titled "The Problems of the Islamic World in Ottoman Periodicals and Suggestions for Solutions", aimed to identify the problems and solution proposals of the Islamic world through 40 periodicals published in the Ottoman Empire between the second half of the 19th century and the Armistice of Mondros (1850-1918). In these publications, in which the developments in social life are clearly seen, it is understood that the Islamic world is in decline and solutions are being tried to be produced. In this period, which was tried to be evaluated in terms of political, economic, religious-cultural and education, many periodicals tried to enlighten the society with different perspectives. Although the studies on periodicals in the Islamic world have shown a relative increase in terms of quantity, the studies on Ottoman period periodicals are very few compared to the time period. In our study, which we carried out with a qualitative study method, problems and solutions were determined through periodicals. Our analysis has been made on the main themes that we have tried to determine as political, economic, educational and religious-cultural. In these publications, it has been tried to evaluate the problems and solution proposals of the Islamic world through the Ottoman Empire, which was accepted as the center due to the Islamic geography holding the caliphate in that period. It has also been understood that the regression in the Islamic world could not be stopped, although determinations were made about the problems of the Islamic world and solutions were produced in the newspapers and magazines published in Ottoman Turkish. Despite the efforts for the unity of the Muslims through the institution of the caliphate and the organization of unity congresses, a solution to the decline could not be found. With this study, it has been tried to indicate that the Islamic world has regressed in many areas and that Muslim intellectuals are sensitively focused on the causes of this decline, and it has been seen that the problems in different fields that the Islamic world has faced in the past are similar today with different discourses and actions. In the first stage of the study, the general view of the Islamic world from the second half of the 19th century, when the periodicals began to be published in Islamic geography until 1918, the end of the First World War, was tried to be evaluated, and in the second stage, the problems and solution proposals identified in the periodicals were tried to be analyzed. In the study, in which literature review and historical method techniques are followed, it is a fact that the Islamic world has regressed, and that this is not only the progress of Western civilization, but also the laziness of Muslims and the negative effect of colonial policy. In addition, the fact that Muslims could not follow the conditions of the age sufficiently and were weak in terms of budget increased this decline. The Ottoman Empire, which was the center of the Islamic geography, could not concentrate its attention and budget on development due to the loss of land, some rebellions and unrest in the provinces in this process. As a result, periodicals as historical documents that reveal these problems have contributed to the modern science of history.