BOOK LAUNCH: OTTOMAN ULEMA & QUEST FOR AN ISLAMIC CONSTITUTION REVOLUTION

Organised by
Islamic Courses
with the support of
Ebrahim College
:
BOOK LAUNCH: THE OTTOMAN ULEMA AND THE QUEST FOR AN ISLAMIC CONSTITUTION REVOLUTION AND REVELATION
With author
*
Dr Yakoob Ahmed
[
Istanbul University
/
Al Qasas
]
Date and time
: Friday 31st July 2026, 6p
m - 7.30
pm
Venue
:
Ebrahim College, 399-401 High Street, Stratford, London E15 4QZ
The Constitutional Revolution of 1908–1909 is one of the most transformative yet misunderstood moments in late Ottoman history. This book challenges conventional narratives of this period as a secular rupture by the Young Turks from Islamic tradition, instead spotlighting the pivotal role of the Sunni ulema in shaping and sustaining the new constitutional order.
Drawing on Ottoman press materials, parliamentary debates and contemporary theological writings, the book demonstrates how the ulema articulated a distinctly Islamic vision of constitutionalism rooted in me?rutiyet (consitutionalism), ?ura (consultation) and adâlet (justice), while also engaging critically with modern ideals of freedom, equality and fraternity. It shows how, far from being passive or reactionary, the ulema emerged as active political thinkers and institutional actors who sought to reconcile Islamic governance with modern constitutional principles. Placing the Constitutional Revolution within a larger discourse that was part of a century-long culture of revolts and revolutionary activity, this book reframes the late Ottoman constitutional experience as a dynamic synthesis of faith, reform and political modernity.
In brief: The book centres the ulema in the late Ottoman Empire’s history of revolution, constitutionalism and modernity
Explores the rise, development, transformation, and eventual demise of the empire within its local and global context
Focuses on the mutual impact and influences these interactions had on both the empire itself and its neighbours
Investigates the empire’s political, social, religious, economic, cultural, and diplomatic dynamism and diversity
Utilises the best in social science and humanities theoretical and methodological approaches
Reviews include:
This book dismantles the familiar image of passive, anti?modern ulema by showing how Ottoman scholars themselves theorised and legitimated constitutionalism from within their own traditions. It reinterprets the Second Constitutional Period as an Islamic revolution in which religious authority, law, and statecraft were renegotiated, and offers a path?breaking recalibration that will become a standard reference for debates on Islam, decoloniality, and modern politics
. – Abdulhamit Kirmizi, Marmara University
Copies of the book will be available for purchase and book signing by
Dr. Yakoob Ahmed
Otherwise one can purchase the book online here: https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-the-ottoman-ulema-and-the-quest-for-an-islamic-constitution.html
About the speaker:
*
Dr. Yakoob Ahmed
is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Theology (?lahiyat) at Istanbul University and a researcher at the Institute of Islamic Studies (ISAMER). He holds a Ph.D. from the Department of Languages and Cultures at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, where he also completed a Master’s degree in Near and Middle East Studies with a focus on Ottoman history and Turkish politics. ?He is also the author of Why History Matters: Reviving Faith Through the Lens of History (Ketebe), which explores the relationship between historical consciousness, identity, and the renewal of Islamic thought in the modern age. His research focuses on Late Ottoman history, Muslim intellectual thought in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Islamic constitutionalism, nation-state formation, the intellectual history of the late Ottoman ulema, and questions of identity and collective memory. In addition to his academic work, Dr. Ahmed is a regular contributor to Middle East Eye and TRT World, where he writes on contemporary political and historical developments in the Muslim world. He is also founder of the Al Qasas online platform which was established as a third space as a unique environment outside of traditional academic institutions and formal religious settings, where Islamic history, Islamic intellectual thought and politics could be taught through an Islamic lens.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALL WELCOME - FREE ENTRANCE! PRE-REGISTRATION ONLY!
DEADLINE FOR BOOKINGs APPLY after which registrations will close!
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------