[MUSLIMS IN CHINA] Sanghay hatiralari / Türkistan ve Çin yollarinda unutulmayan hatiralar. 2 books

[HABIBZÂDE], AHMED KEMAL [ILKUL] (1889-1966).

Kader Basimevi / Zarif Is Matbaasi, Istanbul, 1939-1955.

Original greenish wrappers. Cr. 8vo. (20 x 14 cm). In Turkish. 2 books: (116, [10], [2 blank pages] p.; 236 p.), b/w reproduced plates of photographs. Slight foxing on covers, age-toned pages and edges. Otherwise, very good copies.

The collection contains the first editions in modern Turkish of the author's works, chronicling his invaluable account in Chinese Turkestan from 1916 to 1920. At the age of 25, the author was appointed by Talat Pasha, one of the three leaders of the Triumvirate of the Union and Progress Party and sent to Chinese Turkestan for teaching and missionary activities. One of the two illustrated books in the collection is signed by the author with the inscription: "Aziz agabeyimiz ve üstadimiz Emrullah Beyefendiye tazimlerimle, 29/3/1939" (i.e., "With respect to our dear brother and master Mr. Emrullah, 29/3/1939")

Ilkul, who began his education and missionary activities in the East Turkestan region, a densely populated area of Chinese Muslims, recounts his six-year mission working alongside Tatars, Japanese, and local Muslims in the cities of Kashgar, Urumqi, Xinjiang, and Shanghai. He shares his observations from this period until his eventual return to Istanbul.

In his book Shanghai Memoirs, the author recounts his five-month journey from Kashgar to Shanghai, traveling by horse, train, and steamer. He vividly describes Shanghai, a bustling city of six million even at that time, including the Europeans residing there, the structures and institutions they built, and the Protestant missionaries he encountered along with their activities. He highlights the British dominance in both missionary and political efforts. The author also provides a comprehensive account of China's social and political climate, offering detailed insights into the Chinese anarchists, known as the Kolohoys. Additionally, he examines the situation of the Japanese in China, their secluded lives within ghettos, and the social conditions of the Tatars, drawing on observations and information shared by his Japanese acquaintances.

After recounting his time in a Shanghai prison, he gives details about the situation of Muslims in China and his own activities there. He then describes his return journey by ship, which took him through Singapore and Java, and onward to Egypt and Turkey via the Suez Canal. This journey was made possible with the assistance of diplomat acquaintances, as he was being persecuted by the Chinese government according to the author’s expressions.

The second book is entirely dedicated to the Muslims of China and the author's detailed account of his activities there. This book is enlarged edition of the first book. It includes comprehensive observations and memories concerning the educational status, social and political conditions of Muslims, their efforts to raise awareness and organize resistance against Chinese rule, as well as insights into the lives of Uyghurs and Tatars.

Born in Rhodes, the author also wrote a book on Meis Island (Mufassal Me’is Ceziresi Tarihi [i.e., A brief history of Meis Island, 1911]), one of the Dodecanese Islands. Following the Italian occupation of the Dodecanese, he returned to Turkey and worked as an editor for various newspapers in Istanbul. During this time, he established close relationships with Talat Pasha (1874-1921) and Ziya Gökalp (1876-1924), the father of the Turkish nationalist doctrine.

Overall, Ilkul’s activities among Muslims in China made a significant contribution to the foundations laid by cavalry officer Çerkes Yusuf Bey, artillery officer Ismail Hakki Bey, engineering officer Ali Kâzim Bey, and infantry officer Mehmed Yusuf Bey, who were sent to the Kashgar Emirate before him. His introduction of modern education to East Turkestan became a lasting source of inspiration for the region’s intellectuals for many years. In 1939, the East Turkestan activist Isa Yusuf Alptekin (1901-1995), who had come to Istanbul, visited Ahmet Kemal Ilkul Bey and conveyed that his efforts were not in vain and that he was still remembered.

“Sanghay hatiralari” is located a sole copy in Bogaziçi University Library in Turkey in the OCLC (68607962), not in institutions worldwide. For “Türkistan ve Çin yollarinda unutulmayan hatiralar” is located in more than fifteen copies in the OCLC (23698209). Both books are first editions.