[6910 YEARS OF WORLD HISTORY THROUGH THE EYES OF AN OTTOMAN REFORMIST CLERIC] Muhtira-i ricâl ve siyâsîyyûn. [i.e. Memorandum of statesmen and poltics].

MUSA KÂZIM, (Naqshbandi Sheikh al-Islam of the Ottoman Empire), (1858-1920).

Kütübhane-i Âmid / Amedî Matbaasi., Ist., [1326 AR] = 1910.

Original wrappers. Spine completely worn. Uncut and untrimmed pages. Overall a good copy. Cr. 8vo. (20 x 12 cm). In Ottoman script (Turkish with Arabic letters). 546 p. First and Only Edition of this book through the eyes of an Ottoman reformist Islamist cleric, on 6910 years of human history which Kazim says he personally accepts the five thousand years before Christ and uses Diruz, Levi and Buwayh as the main sources. In this work, 6910 years of historical events have been divided into four chapters. The first chapter starts with the creation of the realm and includes 4200 years of events. The second chapter includes events of eight hundred years, and the centuries and years of these numbers/dates will be followed, based on the history of when and when the events described in this section occurred. The third chapter is the milestones between the times of Jesus and Muhammad. It includes six hundred and twenty-two years between Muhammad's migration. The fourth chapter includes the events starting from the year when the Ottoman state emerged with the migration. This chapter covers six hundred and seventy-seven years. Musa Kazim supported the idea of social and political reforms provided these reforms were not against the basic Islamic principles. For instance, he advocated liberties and freedom that were within the context of Islamic laws. He defended the schooling of women but did not think they needed to obtain higher education. One of Musa Kazim's most argued thoughts is his support for the constitutional monarchy since he took constitutionalism as an inference of Islamic political understanding. He obviously judged absolutism as a non-Islamic establishment and praised constitutionalism, which also meant an appraisal for the 1908 revolution and the CUP rule. Similar to the other Islamists of the Constitutional Era, Musa Kazim had some apologetic ideas about the so-called conflict between religion and science, or the religion-civilization relationship. He refused the idea that Islam as a religion was an obstacle against the progress of humanity as Christianity was. He also defended Muslim society, saying that Islam helped Muslims create one of the highest civilizations of human history. (Source: Daily Sabah: Musa Kazim Efendi: Sheikh al-Islam with reformist Islamic thoughts). Özege 14324. OCLC 21640310. First and Only Edition.