Abstract:

The aim of this article is to analyze the views of Mehmet Âkif Ersoy, who is an important name in Turkish intellectual life, on conservatism. Conservative thought is a system of thought that comes to the fore with its approaches to religion, historical accumulation, tradition, the subject of change and the need to continue social values. Based on this system of thought, Mehmet Âkif Ersoy believed that a society should enter the process of change by preserving the values that are the source of its own history. Therefore, while dealing with the problems of the period in which he lived, he cared about preserving social values. Thus, he made a society analysis depending on modernization and change and made evaluations about issues such as imitation, historical indifference, nationalism, intellectual people’s conflict, inertia, bid’ah and superstition. In these evaluations, Mehmet Âkif Ersoy has tired to reveal the values that existed in the past of the society. In this article, Mehmet Âkif Ersoy’s ideas on conservatism are analyzed based on his work called Safahat, his tafsir writings, letters and his sermons to enlighten the public.