Enderun-u Hümayûn Muallimlerinden Kolcalı Abdülaziz Bey’in Gözüyle Çin’deki Müslümanlar ve Türkler
Muslims and Turks in China through the Eyes of Abdulaziz Bey from Kolca, One of the Public School (Enderun) Teachers

Author(s): Zeynel Özlü, Mustafa Murat Çay
Subject(s): Political history, Social history, Islam studies, 13th to 14th Centuries, Inter-Ethnic Relations, Ethnic Minorities Studies
Published by: Özgür Yayın Dağıtım Ltd. Şti.
Keywords: Abdulaziz Bey; relations with China; Islam in Chinese regions;
Summary/Abstract: Abdulaziz Bey from Kolca was born in 1863 in Ghulja, which is located within the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture in northern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China today. Some studies indicate that he probably settled in Istanbul in 1900. Abdulaziz Bey worked as a writer for the newspapers İkdam and Metin, and worked as an Arabic teacher and administrator in public schools (Enderun). As it is covered within the framework of this study, bringing Turkistani intellectuals/intelligentsia like Abdulaziz Bey to Istanbul or the interest shown in Turkistan, especially in the Chinese regions became a necessity of the Islamist and, in a way, the Turkism policy followed during the reign of Abdulhamid II. The works of Abdulaziz Bey, who contributed to the world of science with extremely important studies, created significant influences in Turkey, especially with studies such as Bir Çin Âlimi Nazarında İstikbal-i Şarkın Yeni Güneşi Gazi Mustafa Kemal Hazretleri and Umum Türklerin ve Bütün İnsaniyetin İttihadı. On the other hand, the actual fame of Abdulaziz Bey stemmed from being effective in the relations with China and his studies and works on the circumstances of Islam in Chinese regions. Within this scope, his works, such as Çin’de Din-i Mübîn-i İslâm ve Çin Müslümanları, proved to be significant contributions in terms of providing information about China and rational criticisms covered by his works. The works published by the Ministry of Education (Maarif Nezaret-i Celîlesi) with the permit dated 22 April 1319 and numbered 109 consisted of 9 sections. The author drew attention to the existence of numerous studies and works on the circumstances of Islam in Chinese regions in the period while stating that the publication in question was written to reveal the realities on the subject due to the incomplete and inaccurate news that emerged in Europe. Abdulaziz Bey analyzed the main reasons for the respect and countenance offered to Islam and Muslims by the Chinese Government, provided information about the general conditions of Turk-Muslim peoples who maintained their lives in these regions, and most notably, revealed the main principles of the reform and correlational movements that could enable the development of the Muslims in the region in terms of science, politics, and social fields. This work of Abdulaziz Bey can be evaluated as a collection of works and studies that were created to inform both the Ottoman community and the Ottoman State officials about the circumstances of Muslims living in China in line with Islamism and Turkism political views.

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