BURSA’S ULÂMA IN THE NATIONAL STRUGGLE: THE MEETING OF LOYALTY TO THE SULTANATE IN BURSA DURING THE GREEK OCCUPATION

Abstract

In the National Struggle, Bursa was divided between the supporters of the sultanate and the people who supported the Kuvayimilliye (National Forces). Bursa's ulâma and clergy were decisive in the fate of Bursa's National Struggle. Unlike the provinces in which the Ulama who support the Kuvayimilliye were active, in the center of Bursa, the ulâma who were loyal to the caliph sultan were dominant. After the fatwa issued by the Istanbul Government against the Kuvayimilliye, the pro-sultanate ulema took control of Bursa. The propaganda made by the anti-National Struggle ulâma that the Greek army was the “army of the caliph” paved the way for Bursa to enter the Greek invasion without resistance. The meeting of loyalty to the sultanate held in Bursa under the guidance of the Greeks and the notables of Bursa and the declaration prepared against the National Forces are of great importance in terms of the history of the National Struggle.

There is no study that would require the approval of the Ethical Committee in this article.