Who Destroyed the Ottoman Empire?

For years, we have been discussing who destroyed the Ottoman Empire (Devlet-i Aliyye-i Osmaniyye).

Why did the Ottoman Dynasty collapse?

Who is to blame?

Sensible historians have been explaining for years why the Ottoman Empire collapsed, along with the reasons.

To those who understand, of course.

Some short-sighted individuals who insist on not understanding produce their own nonsensical reasons.

They say the Jews destroyed it, or the British did.

If it suited their agenda, they would even say the Incas destroyed it.

In fact, they know why the Ottoman Empire collapsed, but it does not suit their agenda to say it openly.

Since I am an engineer, I do not know much about these things.

But from the stories I have read,

Moving away from science,

Not prioritizing merit,

Failing to update the education system,

Self-interest taking precedence in the justice system,

And failing to internalize the changing world politics are reasons that make sense.

Although it noticed the first and second industrial revolutions, it struggled to integrate into the changing industrial dynamics because it had entered a Sufi-like structure.

Even though it did its best after 1750, palace intrigues and the rootless family structure brought about by the polygamous system can be seen as other reasons for the collapse.

All of these are written and drawn by professional historians.

For those who do not want to settle for these and want to delve deeper, I can recommend this book.

It is the book of King Abdullah, the grandfather of the current King Abdullah of Jordan.

“Why We Rebelled Against the Ottomans”

The reason I read this book is the projects I have carried out with Arab academics for years, the academic work I have done, and deep friendships.

Years ago, when we got our first internationally supported project accepted and transferred the shiny euros into our accounts, we started working with academics of Arab origin working at British universities.

When there is an intense historical togetherness, the sincerity naturally far exceeded the dimension of academic work.

Friendships became even tighter.

As they came, stories and memories became the appetizers of evening tables.

Very few of them drink alcohol, but they would not refrain from sitting at the table; on the contrary, they were more eager than us.

The Sufis among us consider even sitting at a drinking table a sin.

Muslim Turks have become afraid of everything since they are members of a religion but do not know the language of that religion.

Because they do not know the language, they have taken superstitions as their guide instead of the essence of the religion, and they have mistaken cultural practices for religion.

Anyway, let me not stray from the main topic.

At these tables, the conversation would get very deep in the late hours of the night.

The tongues of the Arab professors who drank alcohol would loosen, and as their heads warmed up, they would delve deeper.

Therefore, I wanted to look at historical events and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire through Arab eyes.

I found this book.

What was written in the book and what the tipsy Arab professors told were very similar.

It seems it really bothered them to have to learn the so-called true Islam from Turks who did not even know Arabic. Turks who did not know Arabic tried to teach the Quran and religious obligations to the Arabs.

In other words, it was frustrating to learn the religion brought by their own Arab grandfather from Turks who had no prior written religious tradition.

And when they lost the Caliphate and got beaten on top of it, there was no choice left but to rebel.

A serious anger and resentment had accumulated among the Arab people. Living in the desert for 400 years and not being able to reach the ports had upset their balance.

That was until oil came into the picture and was taken into account by the British.

The Hejaz Railway, which the Germans built together with the Ottomans to see the danger and eliminate it, was no remedy.

The stagnation of the last two centuries and the subsequent decay caused the Arab uprisings and our withdrawal from the region.

While looking at what is happening in the boiling Arab geography these days, evaluating historical facts without distorting them and not getting involved in the cousin-brother-Jacob-Isaac-Abraham feud will prevent us from getting into trouble.

Those who think that the anger of the last 400 years, during which the Arabs lived in deserts under Ottoman protection, is in the past are very wrong.

There are no longer the old Arabs in front of them either.

There is a new nation that has been educated in Western universities, has stopped resisting evolution, and has taken Atatürk as an example.

Let it be announced to those who have never warmed their heads at tables in their lives, who have never once hummed the songs of Turks burned for Arab regions out of sorrow, and who have never had tears in their eyes.