TURKOMANS BETWEEN TWO EMPIRES: THE ... - Bilkent University

actually include indications on the issue. The section is entitled ‘This section explains
the reasons why the sūfis of Ardabil were forced to emigrate to Rumelia.’ 1041 The first
sentence explains the reason: ‘it was because of the fact that religious scholars (ulemā)
declared them to be unbelievers. Thus, they fell victim to the sultan’s wrath. As a result
they were forced to emigrate to Rumelia.’ 1042 Following this sentence Aşıkpaşazāde asks
a question, which seems to reflect some of the question marks in the public mind: ‘They
were sufis and disciples of Shaykh Safi, who followed the religion of Muhammed in
their mystical path. While this being the reality what became the reason for accusing
them of being unbelievers?’ 1043 The whole section (bāb) 161 of his history is devoted to
answering this question.
After establishing peace with Venice, the rise of Safavid power and the activities
of their disciples in Anatolia became the foremost matter of the Ottoman government. It
was not an easy task to punish these sufis since they were Muslim as well. Actually,
Aşıkpaşazāde was the first to lay the issue on the table and establish a religious ground
for the measures to be taken by the Ottoman administration. Soon after, foremost
religious scholars such as Muftī Hamza, Kemalpaşazāde, and Ebussuūd would issue
severe fetvās about these groups. During the first years of the sixteenth century,
however, the issue was not sharpened yet, but still appeared as a crucial problem both in
terms of politics and religion. We see from the question Aşıkpaşazāde asks in his chapter
on the Safavids that especially among the lower and middle-classes, who were the
audience of Aşıkpaşazāde’s history, there were a recognizable number of people who
1041
APZ, p. 249.
1042
‘Bu oldu kim ūlemā küfürlerine hükm etdiler. Padişah anlara gazāb etdi. Rum eline sürdüler.’ APZ, p.
249.
1043
‘Sual: Bunlar hod sofılar idi. Şeyh Safi müridlerinden idi. Tasavvufdan Şer-i Muhammedî sallalahu
‘aleyhi ve sellem üzerine olurlar idi. Bunları tekfir etmeğe sebep ne oldı?’ APZ, p. 249.
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