An Anti-National Struggle Religius Officer: Mufti of Bursa Ömer Fevzi

Abstract

Mufti of Bursa Ömer Fevzi Efendi is a religious officer who played an important role in the transition from the Ottoman Empire to the Turkish Republic. Ömer Fevzi Efendi, who was born in Hacıoğlu Pazarcık town of Varna Sanjak of the Danube Province of Bulgaria, migrated to Bursa with his family after the Russian invasion of the Balkans after the 1877-1878 Ottoman-Russian War. Ömer Fevzi Efendi, who was a Bursa deputy from the Committee of Union and Progress during the Second Constitutional Monarchy Era, was known as a staunch supporter of Liberty and Entente Party (Hürriyet ve İtilaf Fırkası) in his later life. He was appointed to the Bursa Mufti Office during the Armistice Period and served in the Anatolian Committee of Advice established by the Damat Ferit Pasha Government. With this duty, Ömer Fevzi Efendi was respected in the Sultanate circles and became one of the favorite scholars of Sultan Vahdettin. He played an important role in stigmatizing and exiling many supporters of National Forces as Unionists in Bursa. Ömer Fevzi Efendi was exiled to Kütahya by the 56th Division Commander Colonel Bekir Sami Bey due to his activities against the National Forces in Bursa. The political activities of Omer Fevzi Efendi, who played an important roles against the National Struggle, have not yet been revealed in an academic sense. In this article, the activities of Ömer Fevzi Efendi in the process from the Second Constitutional Era to the National Struggle will be analyzed. While the Meşihat and Ottoman archives are mainly used in the research, other research works, memoirs and periodicals will also be referred.