Westernization, Mahmud II, and the Virtue Tradition

Abstract

The Ottoman reforms of the nineteenth century sought a reconciliation between Islam and western civilization. The ulama played a key role in this process by supporting the reformers’ desire to bring Islam closer to the needs of the age and of the empire. The reformers, chiefly Sultan Mahmud II and his close friends, gained the ulama’s support to such an extent that the Shaykh al-Islam wrote a treatise to persuade the masses to accept the reforms. Applying the traditional virtue literature to the Ottoman dynasty, he presented Sultan Mahmud II as an ideal caliph-sultan. This effort helped to westernize the traditional Ottoman political structure and society.