The ʿUlamāʾand the Experience of Modernity in the Ottoman Empire (1839–1876)

Abstract

        His study examines the position of the ʿUlamāʾ in the Ottoman Empire during the Tanzimat period (1839–1876) and their attitudes toward Western-inspired reforms. It shows that the ʿUlamāʾ long served as the legal and administrative foundation of the state, but their authority declined with the rise of new civil and military elites. The study concludes that they were divided between conservatives rejecting reforms as contrary to Islamic law and reformists viewing modernization as essential to reviving the empire’s strength