Özet:

One of the most controversial and significant issues addressed in the Turkish political life is the Sheikh Said incident or uprising. The concepts of “incident” or “rebellion” could vary according to the political historians’ approach to the issue or their political standings. On the other hand, there is another approach that addresses the incident within the Islamic context and claims it as a revolt. The main reason for the absence of an exact definition regarding the beginning, spread, and the end of the incident is the fact that Sheikh Said was both a Kurd and a sheikh. The focal point of this study runs on a critical approach within the framework of debates toward whether or not the Sheikh Said incident was a rebellion or a revolt. Furthermore, the letters captured and/or the statements narrated by those who changed the sides throughout the incident constitute one of the important points of this study. In addition, records of the Independence Courts established after the incident was examined to shed light on its background and reasons. The main finding of the study is that almost all of those who were tried at the Independence Courts joined the uprising for Islamic purposes, and started it as a reaction to the state’s departure from the religious law and most importantly to the abolition of the caliphate. It has been also revealed that although the incident has an Islamic nature, it has been approached in the context of the concept of “rebellion” due to the fact that some of those tried were the leaders of the Kurdish movement.

Anahtar Kelimeler: