İttihadism

İttihadism was a prominent Nationalist ideology in the Ottoman Empire, that came about after the Young Turk Revolution of 1908. Whilst the Revolution resulted in Educution reform, the Secularization of Ottoman society and the expansion of women's rights, it also led to the rise of Turkish Nationalism, that culminated in the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1917. It was the official ideology of the Committee of Union and Progress.

[[File:Nation.png]] Nationalism
The leadership of the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) was always Nationalist, but they didn't stress it until the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913, so not to worry the non-Turkish population of the Ottoman Empire. A big problem for the CUP was that the majority of Turks inhabiting the Ottoman Empire didn't see themselves as Turkish, but as Sunni Muslims who spoke the Turkish Language. To overcome this the CUP planned to revolutionise Turkish society to make the Turks aware of their Turkish identity.

[[File:Scientocracy Small.png]] Scientocracy
The CUP believed that the reason why the western world had became so successful in spreading their culture and beliefs around the world was their scientific advancement. The CUP wanted to form a "Cult of Science" and they were greatly influenced by Auguste Comte and Gustave Le Bon. The Unionists were strong believers in country's being ruled by a group of Scientists. The main problem preventing this from happening was the fact that the Ottoman Empire was a third world country and that the majority of the Muslim population were illiterate, therefore the population didn't know much about science. The CUP were obsessed with science and many of their leaders were fascinated by chemistry. The Unionists believed that they were "societal doctors" who would apply modern scientific methods to solve all social problems. The CUP saw themselves as the Scientocrats who would save the empire with  science.

[[File:Eugen.png]] Eugenicism
As well as having great faith in science, the CUP supported  Eugenics and the Scientific Racism that dominated Germany during the early 20th Century. Whilst the CUP weren't always proponents of Eugenics, as they changed their beliefs on the subject depending on who was in charge and they would quite often change their beliefs from  Pan-Islamism,  Pan-Turkism to  Ottoman Nationalism, depending on whether it was convenient to them. The only thing that mattered was that the Ottoman Empire would become a world power again. In fact originally the CUP didn't promote Eugenics and even saw the  Armenian Revolutionary Federation as potential allies not an inferior race. But eventually the Eugenicist factions of the CUP gained control of the party.

[[File:IslamNat.png]] Islamic Nationalism
During the Hamidian Regime of Sultan Abdulhamid II Pan-Islamism became the state ideology, as Abdulhamid often stress being the Caliph. The idea of Abdulhamid being the Caliph was very popular in the Raj. Even though the Young Turks deposed Abdulhamid in 1909 and put Mehmed V in power, they still promoted Pan-Islamism. This was because if the Ottomans were the Caliphs then this ensured the loyalty of the Muslims under Ottoman control. The fact that Indian Muslims had more loyalty towards the Ottoman Caliphate than the British Empire was a big concern for the British.

[[File:Fem.png]] Modernization [[File:Atheism.png]]
Whilst the CUP would sometimes promote Pan-Islamism, they had always been a  secular organization. The Unionists cracked down upon Islamic Fundamentalists after the 1909 Counterrevolution which would strain the Union's relationship with the Ulema, but they would promote  Islamism during the First World War to rile up the Muslim population of the Ottoman Empire. But the CUP still saw themselves as a Secular and Modernizing force. An example of their modernization was the passing of the controversial 1917 "Temporal Family Law" which was viewed as a significant advance in women's rights and  Secularism in the Ottoman Empire. Women were given more power in the household and were able to divorce their husbands and polygamy was restricted.

[[File:Cball-Japan.png]] Japanophilia
The CUP were greatly influenced by Japan. The Japanese Empire had championed Pan-Asianism which had greatly inspired the CUP's  Pan-Islamism and  Pan-Turkism. Since Japan defeated the Russian during the Russo-Japanese War, the CUP believed that the Ottoman Empire would defeat the Western Powers in a similar war. The CUP admired the Japanese for their embracement of science without losing their "Eastern spiritual essence". In the CUP eyes this showed that they could embrace science and  secularism whilst also embracing  Pan-Islamism and keeping their Islamic identity. The fact that the Japanese Empire had defeated the Russian Empire, who were the Ottomans main rival, made the CUP become absolute Japanophiles. The CUP intended to make the Ottoman Empire the "Japan of the Near East". The CUP saw the 1908 Young Turk Revolution as the Ottoman equivalent of the 1867-1868 Boshin War.

Friends

 * [[File:Bism.png]] Bismarckism- Fellow Central Power member!

Enemies

 * [[File:Christy.png]] Christian Theocracy - Filthy Armenians, Greeks, and Assyrians! YOU DO NOT BELONG ON ANATOLIA!
 * [[File:Metaxi.png]] Metaxism
 * [[File:Venizelos.png]] Venizelism

Wikipedia

 * İttihadism
 * CUP
 * Young Turks
 * Young Turk Revolution
 * Decline and modernization of the Ottoman Empire
 * Modern Ottoman Army
 * Dissolution of the Ottoman Empire
 * Ottoman Empire in World War I

Categorty:Ideologies