Moral Crisis in the Ottoman Empire: A Social and Intellectual History of the Home-front during the First World War

Description

To what extent did a perceived morality crisis play a role in the dramatic events of the last years of the Ottoman Empire? Beginning in the late nineteenth century when some of the Ottoman elites began to question the moral climate as evidence for the losses facing the empire, this book shows that during the course of World War I many social, economic, and political problems were translated into a discourse of moral decline, ultimately making morality a contested space between rival ideologies, identities, and intellectual currents. Examining the primary journals and printed sources that represented the various constituencies of the period, it fills important gaps in the scholarship of the Ottoman experience of World War I and the origins of Islamism and secularism in Turkey, and is essential reading for social and intellectual historians of the late Ottoman Empire. Contents Illustrations Acknowledgments A Note on Transliteration Abbreviations Glossary of Non-English Terms 1 Introduction 2 The Intellectual Contest over Morality, and Interpretations of Moral Crisis: Secular versus Religious Morality 3 The Public Morals, Prostitution, and Cultural Perceptions 4 Morality between Discourse and Daily Realities 5 Family at the Center of Moral Decline: Legislation Targeting the Regeneration and Protection of Ottoman Muslim Families 6 Conclusions and A Discussion on Moral Crisis from Past to Present Notes Bibliography Index