Kadizadeli

Kadızadelis (also Qādīzādali) was a seventeenth century puritanical reformist religious movement in the Ottoman Empire that followed Kadızade Mehmed (1582 1635), a revivalist Islamic preacher. Kadızade and his followers were determined rivals of Sufism and popular religion. They condemned many of the Ottoman practices that Kadızade felt were bidʻah "non Islamic innovations", and passionately supported "reviving the beliefs and practices of the first Muslim generation in the first/seventh century" ("enjoining good and forbidding wrong"). Driven by zealous and fiery rhetoric, Kadızade Mehmed was able to inspire many followers to join in his cause and rid themselves of any and all corruption found inside the Ottoman Empire. Leaders of the movement held official positions as preachers in the major mosques of Baghdad, and "combined popular followings with support from within the Ottoman state apparatus". Between 1630 and 1680 there were many violent quarrels that occurred between the Kadızadelis and those that they disapproved of. As the movement progressed, activists became "increasingly violent" and Kadızadelis were known to enter "mosques, tekkes and Ottoman coffeehouses in order to mete out punishments to those contravening their version of orthodoxy." he then in due course prepared his way to the imperial capital Istanbul. It is in Istanbul where he engaged in a career as a mosque preacher, through "the path of sermon and admonition," conversely he eventually neglected the prudish teachings of his Balıkesir guides. It became apparent that Kadızadeler and Sufis were unable to get along because Birgili Mehmed himself had tried to seek a relationship with a Sufi order in his formative years. "As with Birgili, despite an initial affinity, Kadızade’s temperament and his religious predilections were determined to be unsuited to Sufism". He soon enduringly returned to his former career as a preacher by implementing a more strict approach to "sermon and admonition" together.</blockquote>

Kadizade in his sermons "used the grand pupil of Aya Sofya to propagate a kind of "fundamentalist" ethic, a set of doctrinal positions intended to rid Islam of beliefs and practices that had accumulated since the era of the Prophet Muhammad’s Medina." Moreover, with respect to religious obligations, the Kadızadelis asserted that every single believer was obligated to comply with the Koran's law sanctioning to "enjoin right and prohibit wrong."

The Kadızadelis protested against Ottoman expenditures, especially military expenditures, which they felt were financially and morally bankrupting the society itself. The Kadızadelis argued that substances such as "coffee, tobacco, opium, and other drugs" The Kadızadelis also voiced their opinions in Friday sermons, learned treaties, and public confrontations, hammering away at the Sufi movement. Palace scandals were also another issue the Kadızadelis felt strongly about and felt that it weakened the image of Islam to "others". The Kadızadelis believed that Sufis were an aberration of Islam and thus had no place in Ottoman society. However, "the Sufi side was defended by dignitaries who were not Sufi at all. The Kadızadelis, meanwhile, was directed by a leadership so narrow that it seldom represented the official guardians of Sharia orthodoxy, the principal ulema of the realm". However, Mehmed was not excessively "fond of the Sufis and their practices; he felt Kadizadeli vigilantism was more threatening to his vision of order" "It came at a crucial time as well since an armed Kadizadeli movement had made their way towards the Fatih mosque. Koprulu Mehmed acted swiftly, arresting then banishing off key members to Cyprus". This was a devastating loss to the Kadizadelis who lost their public voice and at that moment, seemed to have been slowly disappearing into the abyss of obscurity.

However, soon afterwards, the Kadizadelis regained a voice in the form of Bistam Vani (i. e. from Van). This time around though, the Kadizadeli movement had not as much steam as in the past. After successful defeats to Vienna, Vani was removed from his posts and banished until he died in 1685.

The Kadizadelis failed in implementing their endeavors; nevertheless their campaign emphasized the divisions within the religious establishment in Ottoman society. The Kadizadeli legacy from one generation to another has been deeply enmeshed in the leaders who were inspired by scholar Birgivi that gave growth to the Kadizade movement. The Kadizade's religious advancement in the Ottoman periphery strengthened the anti elitist movement. In the end, the faith's chief ulema's continued to support Sufi theology. Many academics and scholars have argued that the Kadizadelis were self serving and hypocritical; since most of their criticisms were based on the fact that they were on the fringes of society and felt alienated from the rest of the social order. Scholars felt due to being separated from opportunities and power positions inside of the Ottoman Empire, the Kadizadelis took the position they did and were thus cast as reformers instead instigators.