OSMANLI BASININDA CİHAD-I EKBER: İRAN ÖRNEĞİ

Özet

1. Dünya Savaşı’na katıldıktan hemen sonra Cihad-ı Ekber ilan eden Osmanlı

Abstract

After entering World War I, the Ottoman Empire, which proclaimed Jihad al-Akbar, wanted to incite the Muslims of Caucasus, Turkestan, Iran, Afghanistanand India against the Russians and the British. Iran’s geography which was defacto controlled by the British and Russians since 1907, seen as the bridgeheadof this great plan. Therefore, in the framework of a comprehensive program thatincludes activities of espionage and gangs, efforts were made for this country tojoin the war as an ally of the Ottomans. The press had an important role in thepropaganda section of these efforts. The newspapers in line with the government’sdirectives were trying to provoke and convince the Iranian government to enterthe war against the Russians and the British. They were mentioning that theTurkish troops who entered the northern Iran were not occupiers, but saviorsagainst the Russians. They were encouraging the Shiites who were the majorityof Iran’s population which were also including three millions of Turks, to rebelalongside the Sunni Kurds by means of publishing fatwas given by Jafari ulama to support Jihad al-Akbar. These publications, which are the main source forhistorical studies of the period, unfortunately have not seen the interest theydeserved until now, and generally kept in the background in comparison witharchival documents and other sources. This study, which has tried to analyze thejihad policies of the Ottoman Empire towards Iran through the Ottoman press inthe light of other sources of the period, aims to fill the gap to some extent.

Anahtar kelimeler: 1. Dünya Savaşı, Cihad-ı Ekber, İran, propaganda, Osmanlı basını