A glimpse into the first racist approach in the Ottoman Empire: the "scientific" racisim of Abdullah Cevdet

Abstract

Racism was one of the most significant ideologies of the nineteenth century. Whole Europe was under the influence of racism all during the nineteenth century and this influence was at its peak in the World War II. Biological differences were carried to the social and political life and they directly affected the decision making processes. Contrary to Europe, racism didn’t flourish in the Ottoman Empire. Nevertheless, racist views were proposed at the Ottoman Empire as well. These views, proposed by Abdullah Cevdet didn’t find any supporters at the Ottoman Empire. However, these radical views were unexpectedly put up on the agenda in 1930s’ Turkey and with Abdullah Cevdet and Ziya Gökalp they became one of the main references of Kemalist history writing. This study proposes that a main feature of Kemalist history writing was based on not only Ziya Gökalp, but also it was nourished from racist views of Abdullah Cevdet. In this context, this thesis investigates Abdullah Cevdet’s racism.