The relationship between state and religious groups in the Ottomans as a model Meclis-i Meşayih

From the establishment of the Ottoman State until the 19th century, the religious orders were controlled by recognizing a certain degree of freedom and allowed for their development and growth as well as for their functions. In this regard, the dervish lodges were among the founding elements of the state. However, the state also increased its control over the religious orders during the periods of centralization and the rise of the Shi'ite Safavid threat. But the new conditions that the 19th century brought with it and the policies that the Ottoman State implements to comply with these conditions, led to the loss of autonomous positions that provided by the state. The process of controlling the dervish lodges has made it inevitable to establish a parliament, and finally the Meclis-i Meşayih was established. The Meclis-i Meşayih, who is responsible for all works belonging to the dervish lodges and small dervish lodges and especially the shaykh assignments, has also taken an important position in the supervision of the dervish lodges. When we look at the relationship between state and religious groups in the Western World, it is seen that three basic approaches have emerged. These can be considered as the American-British model that holds freedoms wide, the French model that adopts a stricter understanding, and the German model. Today in terms of religious groups in Turkey, to sustain social and civil work without going out of the main objectives, understanding the framework of freedom of movement but may be considered by the state to prevent possible abuses. Today, it is a serious problem for us for the legal arrangements necessary for religious groups to be according to the system. The Ottoman State was not imposed against religious groups. Meclis-i Meşayih model, which functions as a system in the conditions of the time; Considering today's conditions, it stands as a solution in front of our country in the form of a model that can be transparent, auditable, have the opportunity to organize and benefit from resources equally instead of the ambivalent attitude of religious groups with the state. Keywords: Sociology of Religion, Religious Groups, Order, Meclis-i Meşayih, Secularism