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List of Sheikh-ul-Islams of the Ottoman Empire

Following the foundation of the Ottoman state, the title of Sheikh-ul-Islam (), formerly used in the Abbasid Caliphate, was given to a leader authorized to issue legal opinion or fatwa. His office was known as the Şeyhülislâm Kapısı, Bâb-ı Fetvâ, or Bâb-ı Meşîhat (The Sheikh's Porte). During the reign of Sultan Murad II, (1421–1444, 1446–1451) the position became an official title, with authority over other muftis in the Empire. In the late 16th century, the Shaykh al-Islam were assigned to appoint and dismiss supreme judges, high ranking college professors, and heads of Sufi orders. Prominent figures include Zenbilli Ali Cemali Efendi (1445–1526), Ibn-i Kemal (Kemalpaşazade) (1468–1533), Ebussuud Efendi (1491–1574) and al-Kawthari (1879–1952).

Structure

The Sheikh-ul-Islam was appointed by the Sultan. His office was known as the Şeyhülislâm Kapısı, or the Bâb-ı Meşîhat, which during the Tanzimat was housed in the old quarters of the Agha of the Janissaries. The office was quite large, the Sheikh-ul-Islams' rank was checked only by the Grand Vizier or the Serasker. Several departments were devoted to the legal systems in Anatolia and Rumeli, which were headed by the Kazasker, or Sadr. Inside this ministry was the Supreme Religious Court (Fetvahane-i Celile) making the Sheikh-ul-Islam the supreme jurisconsult (grand mufti), and as last resort of appeal from lower religious courts. Another department, headed by the ders vekili, supervised the training of ulema and the education of teachers in primary mektebs and secondary madrasas. The fetva emini would issue opinions and judgements. The imperial mint (Darphane), the Ministry of the Sultan's privy treasury (Hazine-i Hassa) and the administration of the holy cities' foundations (waqf) all reported to the Sheikh-ul-Islam, though the 19th century would see these departments separate from the Bab-ı Meşîhat.

Following the Young Turk Revolution the office lost more of its power, which accelerated in the period after 1913. In April 1913, a regulation put religious courts and ulema under closer control from the state and to acknowledge the secular appeals court [Mahkeme-i Temyiz] in many areas of jurisprudence. Standards of education and training were imposed on kadıs, who had to go through a new madrasa in Istanbul to train them. Kadıs were soon under the control of the Ministry of Justice, and madrasas the Ministry of Education. In 1916 the Sheikh-ul-Islam was removed from the cabinet. Like other civil servants, members of the ulema became salaried and started to collect pensions. The next year the authority to administer Sharia courts was put under the Justice Ministry's purview, while the madrasas were modernized and put under the Ministry of Education, and foundations were put into a new ministry: Evkaf until that became a department in the Ministry of Finance. Administration of family law received reform in 1917, codifying Sharia, Jewish, and Christian law regarding family law, and essentially secularizing marriage contracts. This came after a 1916 law allowing women to obtain divorce if their husbands violated their marriage contract.

The Bâb-ı Meşîhat retained its religious consultative functions, or ifta, with a new department: the Dar ul-Hikmet ul-İslâmiye (School of Islamic Wisdom). A Council of Sheikhs [Meclis-i Meşayih], was created to organize and regulate Sufi orders and dervishes. In 1918 after the armistice of Mudros and the dissolution of the CUP the reforms of the Unionists were also disbanded by the governments of the Armistice Era, meaning the Bâb-ı Meşîhat and the Sheikh-ul-Islam regained their power. Upon the declaration of the Turkish Republic, the office was reorganized into the Presidency of Religious Affairs.

List

During the existence of the office (from 1424 to 1922), there were in total 131 Sheikh-ul-Islams. The longest-serving officeholder was Ebussuud Efendi for 29 years, the shortest was Memikzade Mustafa Efendi for 13 hours. The following is a list of Sheikh-ul-Islams of the Ottoman Empire.

References

Sources