According to Dr. Anjum, the Turkish drama Dirilis Ertugrul has been well-received on social and electronic media, which made a lot of Pakistani viewers call it “the story of golden age of Islamic history”, but a lot of them have no idea about the actual history.

He said that, major scholarly work on Turkish history is available in four-volumes titled “Cambridge History of Turkey”, edited by Professor. Suraya Farooqi, who holds authority on Turkish and Ottoman history. Interestingly, the first volume deals with the period from 1071 till 1453 C.E., and Ertugrul’s name is mentioned only once on page 118.

Dr. Anjum cited Farooqi’s statement that, “We know nothing about the life of Ertugrul, and his existence is independently attested only by a coin of his son Osman”.

Further he quoted, Dr. Muhammad Uzair’s two-volume book in Urdu, “Daulat-e-Osmania” which means The Ottoman Wealth. The preface of the book was written by Syed Sulaiman Nadvi where he mentioned the purpose of the book was to familiarize Indian Muslim with the Turks’ accomplishments. The book was later published by Darul Musnafin, Azamgarh in India.

Dr. Anjum backed his claim with Dr. Uzair’s statement that, “Suleiman Shah and Ertugrul were non-Muslims and the first person in the tribe to convert to Islam was Ertugrul’s son Osman”.

Further, Dr. Uzair presented the testimony of the western historian, who said, “In the beginning of the thirteenth century AD, the tribes of Khurasan and other Trans-Canal regions appeared on the borders of Asia Minor. There is no explicit mention of their conversion to Islam in any of the histories. That is, Osman’s great heir Sulaiman Shah and his companions, who left their homeland, were non-Muslims”.

Further the testimony states, “The majority of tourist testimonies from the twelfth century onwards and later show that these nations were pagan, the various Turkish tribes who entered Asia at that time found themselves in an Islamic environment. The conversion of Uthman and his tribe to Islam gave rise to the Ottoman Nation. It was as a result of this conversion that Uthman’s victorious activities began after 9 AH (1290)”.

The testimony also states that Ertugrul had peaceful relations with neighbors and he never fought “infidels”.

“Ertugrul and Uthman lived a simple life in Sagut as a village chief. There is no mention of any war or victory of his time in history. Ertugrul’s relations with his neighbors were very peaceful. The broadcast states that both the infidels and the Muslims of this country respected Ertugrul and his son. There was no question of Kafir (Non-Muslim) and Muslim. Then all of a sudden we see ‘Uthman attacking his neighbors and conquering their forts. There is a preaching zeal in these people which is found only in those who have recently converted”, the testimony ended.

Dr. Anjum explained that, “The Ertugrul of history was probably not even a Muslim and even if he was a Muslim, all the details of the Jihad against the Crusaders and the Mongols which are the adornment of the drama are not backed by historical evidence”. “If you like the drama, you must consider it as fiction or story, but please don’t make it a drama of Islam”.

Here are Dr. Anjum’s academic credentials.

The series puts the Turkish people and their values at the forefront, thereby relegating Islam to the background…

Diriliş Ertuğrul

‘Diriliş Ertuğrul’ a historical TV series first aired in 2013, which has taken the Muslim world by storm since then. The series is based on Ertugrul Bey, who was the founding father of Ottoman Empire, Osman I.

The series is focused on events leading to the formation of the Ottoman Empire. It is also known for its unique decision to abstain from the use of nudity within the series.

It is part of the Islamic faith to be passionate about anything that demonstrates the superiority and dominance of Islam. As such, we understand why Muslims feel empowered by such a TV series.

We also understand the need to educate the masses regarding Islamic history, including the rise of the Ottoman Empire. Considering it from this angle, there is some benefit to the series.

The main purpose behind the series is to incite patriotism, especially amongst the Turkish nationals, who were its initial intended target audience.

The series puts the Turkish people and their values at the forefront, thereby relegating Islam (and its rise, values, and history) to the background. As such, it will not be correct to say that the purpose behind the show is to educate the masses regarding Islamic history.

If one truly desires to learn about Islamic history, including that of the Ottoman Empire, there are a plethora of well written interesting books available on the subject.

The permissibility of something in the Shari’ah is not solely based on the fact that it has benefits in it. Similarly, while we acknowledge the benefits of this TV series, there are also violations of the Shari’ah in these series. The mere claim of no nudity in the TV show is no justification of the show being permissible.

The Holy Qu’ran acknowledges that there are benefits in Wine, yet it is prohibited. Almighty Allah says in the Holy Quran, Surah Baqarah, Verse 219,

يَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الْخَمْرِ وَالْمَيْسِرِ قُلْ فِيهِمَا إِثْمٌ كَبِيرٌ وَمَنَافِعُ لِلنَّاسِ وَإِثْمُهُمَا أَكْبَرُ مِنْ نَفْعِهِمَا

Translation: “They ask you regarding wine and gambling. Say (O Muhammad), in them is a great sin and benefit for the people. (But) their sin is greater than their benefit.”

Free mixing of gender

The TV series also promotes free intermingling with the opposite gender. If we were to permit the series, it would imply that segregation of sexes and hijab are not a requirement whereas hijab and segregation of sexes are explicitly ordained by Almighty Allah in the Holy Quran and by the Prophet peace be upon him in Hadith,

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لِعَلِيٍّ: ” يَا عَلِيُّ، لَا تُتْبِعِ النَّظْرَةَ النَّظْرَةَ، فَإِنَّ لَكَ الْأُولَى وَلَيْسَتْ لَكَ الْآخِرَةُ “.

Translation: “Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) said to Ali (RadiyAllahu Anhu): “O Ali! Do not allow your glance to follow a glance, because the first (glance) is forgiven but not the second.”

Music

There is also music in the series. If we were to permit the series, it would imply that music is also permissible whereas music is prohibited in Quran and hadith. See the following,

وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يَشْتَرِي لَهْوَ الْحَدِيثِ لِيُضِلَّ عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ وَيَتَّخِذَهَا هُزُوًا ۚ أُولَٰئِكَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مُّهِينٌ

Translation: “And of the people is one buys the amusement of speech to mislead [others] from the way of Allah without the knowledge and who takes it in ridicule. Those will have a humiliating punishment.”

Ibn Abbas (Radhiyallahu Anhu) said: amusement of speech in this verse refers to music. The following hadith also shows the impermissibility of music.

أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: فِي هَذِهِ الأُمَّةِ خَسْفٌ وَمَسْخٌ وَقَذْفٌ، فَقَالَ رَجُلٌ مِنَ المُسْلِمِينَ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، وَمَتَى ذَاكَ؟ قَالَ: إِذَا ظَهَرَتِ القَيْنَاتُ وَالمَعَازِفُ وَشُرِبَتِ الخُمُورُ

Translation: “Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said: “In this Ummah will be earthquakes, disfiguration (of faces which will be transformed into apes and pigs) and showers of stone (descending o­n them from the heaven).” A man from among the Muslimeen said: “O Rasulullah! When will this be?” Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said: “When singing girls and musical instruments will become profuse and when liquor will be consumed (in abundance)”.

The above-mentioned violations of Shari’ah are more detrimental to ones Imaan than the perceived and assumed benefits in the series. Furthermore, the series is viewed as a form of entertainment in which many hours of one’s valuable time is wasted.

The intermingling of sexes, music, and patriotism are some of the main causes of the moral decline and retrogression of the Ummah. Hence, it is incumbent upon us to abstain from viewing such series.

Fatwa about watching historical dramas

Shaykh Muhammed Saalih al-Munajjid, General Supervisor of leading English fatwa portal islamqa.info, issued a similar ruling on watching dramas and historical other shows.

Shaykh Munajjid mentioned that, these shows may contain many things that are contrary to shari’a. For example:

1. Distortion of historical texts and the addition of many details that are not limited to making up a dialog between the characters; rather it involves fabricating events with details that never happened, and telling lies about the early generations, the scholars and the mujaahideen by mentioning things that did not happen during their lifetimes, or exaggerating about them. The worst things that you will find in some cases are stories of love and infatuation between a scholar or mujaahid and a girl who is in love with him!

2. Showing those great men in an abhorrent manner that is contrary to sharee‘ah, in terms of clothing and appearance, and going further than that by depicting their families and womenfolk in contemporary style, according to the whims and desires of the people in charge of the production.

3. What is shown of free mixing between men and women in those dramas, and who knows what goes on during filming and beforehand? Indeed, anyone who knows the nature of that environment, and the attitude of the people involved and those who work in it, does not need any further information to find it reprehensible.

4. What is played of music before the show begins, during it, and at the end?

5. Wanton display and unveiling in all types of TV shows are obvious to anyone. The appearance of women in the first place is not permissible, so how about if women appear wearing make-up and adorned?

6. What some of these shows include of dancing, singing and drinking alcohol on the part of slave women, which is shown on the grounds of showing what really happened of immoral deeds and blatant sin, which also involves telling lies and distorting the biographies of many of those whose life stories they claim to be presenting.

7. The portrayal by actors of the Sahaabah in a very bad way; these roles may be played by an actor who is an evildoer or a disbeliever!

8. Playing the role of a disbeliever who wears a cross or prostrates to it, or the role of a disbeliever who reviles the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) or Islam. All of that is tantamount to disbelief in Allah, may He be exalted, and apostasy from Islam. We do not know of any shar‘i concession that allows actors to say or do anything that constitutes kufr. This also applies to the one who does plainly evil actions in a real manner, such as one who drinks real alcohol when acting, or he kisses a woman who is not permissible for him, and so on. The scholars have stated that it is haraam to pretend to do such things or to imitate people who do such things, such as the one who drinks water in the manner of one who drinks alcohol, and the like.

9. Distracting the Muslims and wasting their time with the foolish drama shows that present a distorted picture of our glorious history or of a great character, or that provoke desires in young men and women, or encourage them to form haraam relationships and many other things contained in these shows.

Why such dramas only in Ramadaan?

Regrettably, this distraction comes to the Muslims in Ramadan, which is the month of the Qur’aan, qiyaam and i‘tikaaf.

This is indicative of evil intent and plotting on the part of the devils of mankind, who take on the role of the chained devils and distract the Muslims from obedience and worship, and cause them to watch and listen to haraam things.

Hence we think that it is not permissible for the Muslim to watch any type of these shows, and that the prohibition is more emphatic when they contain many things that are contrary to sharee‘ah.

Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) said: What is required of every Muslim, man and woman, is to avoid these evils and to beware of them. The same applies to watching TV shows that include wanton display on the part of women. It is haraam to watch them because of the grave danger that watching them poses of causing spiritual sickness and loss of protective jealousy, and because that might cause him to fall into that which Allah has forbidden, whether the viewer is a man or a woman. (Fataawa Islamiyyah, 3/72)

It is not arduous to conclude the impermissibility to watch such a series, given the prohibitions are greater than the benefits.

Abdul Rahman Irfan is a Teacher and Quran Proofreader at Zill Noorain Academy, based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Red herring tactics were used to attack Erdoğan’s foes while a massive PR campaigns were actively portraying him as the Muslim World savior…

Turkey’s ruling Islamists in the Justice and Development Party (AKP) are linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, known as the Ikhwan in Arabic. The Ikhwan is international and its strategies and tactics are different in each country, he said, though the various national chapters often communicate and cooperate with each other.

Erdoğan’s ties to the Brotherhood go back to the 1970s, when he was one of the more trusted political pupils of Necmettin Erbakan, the father of Islamism in Turkey.

Muslim Brotherhood branches in the Gulf helped support Erbakan and Turkey’s Islamists in this era when they faced repression from the secular establishment.

The historical roots are the same, as well as the ideological closeness in political and religious interpretation, and finally, self-interest as political opportunism.

The Muslim Brotherhood is a belief system found throughout the world, the Muslim Brotherhood in Turkey (the Erdoğan administration) is the only group in charge of a country in this big belief system.

The Muslim Brotherhood’s leadership is a very tight network that loyal to their cause, when Necmettin Erbakan died in 2011, most prominent leading figures of the Muslim Brotherhood leadership attended his funeral in Istanbul. Around this time, as the Arab spring protests grew, so did Turkey’s support for Islamists.

“The AKP government’s support for the Muslim Brotherhood movements abroad changed dramatically in 2010 and 2011, as Ankara sought to fund Muslim Brotherhood offshoots that were ideologically ranging from the covert loyalists like to the religious extremist overzealous.

The Turkish Regime with strong hopes of expanding their influence in the Middle East worked with Qatar in funding, supporting and expanding the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood parties in the region.

The main parties were Islamic Action Front (Jordan), Justice and Welfare Party, Islamic Renaissance Party in Tajikistan, Iraqi Islamic Party, Islamic Action Front (Lebanon), Justice and Construction Party (Libya), National Assembly for Reform and Development, The Malaysian Islamic Party, Freedom And Justice Party, Yemeni Congregation for Reform, Islamic Constitutional Movement HADS (Kuwait).

Turkey and Qatar invested billions of dollars in expanding AKP and Brotherhood-linked institutions in the United States relations, AKP and Qatari government officials members can be spotted presence at events of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which has been linked to the Brotherhood.

Turkish names were increasingly appearing on the boards of Brotherhood-linked NGOs and the influence of Turkish Islamists is growing in the United States.

Red herring tactics were used to attack Erdoğan’s foes while a massive PR campaigns were actively portraying him as the Muslim World savior there for people will dismiss reports of Erdogan’s poor reputation regarding human rights.

Muslim Brotherhood TV shows broadcasting around the world painting Turkey under AKP as a progressive and prospering nation, Erdogan was recognized anywhere in the Middle East as a well established leader who saved Turkey and now he wants to save the Islamic world.

Muslim Brotherhood and Turkish mosques in Europe, North America even in the Middle East have become propaganda tools, where Imams are trained to maintain a positive image of Turkey under Erdogan and attacking the Saudis and Egyptian governments, painting them as regressive, brutal and evil regimes, more and more people subscribed mix the AKP and Turkish Islamist groups ideology and the belief of the caliphate return, Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs, or Diyanet, has taken on an Islamist identity, even a Muslim Brotherhood identity in many places throughout Europe mainly in Germany where they were accused of espionage.

Some groups linked to the Brotherhood in Syria, Yemen, Libya, and Egypt may be terrorist organisations, while some others are not, it’s no longer 1950s, there is no singular Muslim Brotherhood that can be identified and abolished easily, the Muslim Brotherhood is active in politics, arts, social life.

They are celebrities, musicians, actors, scholars, terrorists, businessmen, public figures, the are liberals, theocratic zealots, because they will be whatever they are needed to be in the name of the Neo Ottoman Empire.

Khaled Homoud Alshareef holds PhD in Business and he earned Masters in Philosophy. He regularly tweets under @0khalodi0.

Ottoman conquerors pursued a harsh and brutal policy of forced expropriation of the peasants’ land.

In the beginning of the 16th century, almost all the Arab countries were subjugated by the Turks and incorporated in the Ottoman state.

In 1514, Sultan Selim I (the Cruel) led the Turkish army to conquer northern Iraq. In 1516, he wrested Syria and Palestine from the Egyptian Mamelukes and one year later routed the Mameluke army, destroyed the Mameluke state and conquered Egypt and the Hejaz.

In Egypt, historians painted a gruesome picture of the extent of the suffering and discrimination practiced against the Arabs by the Ottomans.

Authors like Muhammad Refaat, Abdul Karim Al-Surbouni, Shafiq Ghorbal, Ahmad Ezzat Abdel Karim, and Hassan Othman wrote about Egypt under Ottoman rule from 1517 till 1918, those were the periods of the Ottoman occupation characterized by chaos, unrest and discord, poverty, decline in agriculture, crafts, industries, and underdevelopment at all economic, scientific and cultural levels, and this image persisted for decades until the fall of the Ottoman Empire.

Within a period of about one hundred years almost all the Arab countries, except Morocco in the west and inner Arabia and Oman on the Arabian Peninsula, were included in the Ottoman Empire and for some three or four centuries suffered Turkish oppression.

The desire to impose the feudal system of exploitation on the people prompted the Ottoman feudalists to conquer the Arab countries. There was also the advantage to be gained from the Arab countries’ position on the world trade routes. By controlling Algeria, Tunisia and Tripoli, the Ottoman could carry on extensive trade with the European countries. They could even squeeze out the Europeans and practice piracy on the Mediterranean.

This was the era of the primary accumulation of capital, when piracy was part and parcel of sea trade.

Additionally, Egypt, Syria and Iraq were very important centers of transit trade between Europe and the East which although it declined somewhat after the discovery of the direct sea route to India (round the Cape of Good Hope), still continued to yield large profits.

The degree of subordination to the Ottoman Empire varied from country based on the severity of the Ottoman’s oppression of the natives. Algeria, Tunisia and Tripoli were considered Ottoman provinces, but by the beginning of the 17th century gained a level independence.

In the middle of the 17th century, the Turks lost real power in Yemen, Syria, Palestine, Egypt and Iraq, where Turkish pashas were installed, the domination of the Porte was often only nominal, while the inner areas of Arabia continued to rise time and time again against the porte.

The pashas organised plots against the sultan. The local Arab feudal lords rose against the Turkish pashas, and from time to time fierce uprisings shook the Ottoman Empire as the Arab people seek independence from the oppressive Ottoman role.

Under the Ottomans religious establishments owned large tracts of land. Ecclesiastical estates (waqfs) were formed by “endowments” and were exempt from taxation since they were proxies of the Ottomans.

The clergy was the mainstay of the feudal system and in order to consolidate it, big feudal lords presented large estates to religious establishments: mosques, madrasahs (collegiate mosques), Dervish monasteries.

It was not uncommon for small peasants to sacrifice their plots to religious establishments in order to save them from feudal usurpation. Usually these small holders had the use of the land until the family died out. They had only to pay taxes to the religious establishment.

The peasants on the ecclesiastical land (waqf) were no better off than under a feudal lord.

At the time of the Turkish conquest, in some Arab countries there still existed communal ownership of land. Among the nomad herdsmen of North Africa, Iraq and Arabia, the pastures were owned in common by the bedouin clans. In the settled farming areas, the Fellaheen communities periodically redistributed land among large families and individual households.

In such countries, the Ottoman conquerors pursued a harsh and brutal policy of forced expropriation of the peasants’ land. The communally-owned land was declared Ottoman state property and passed under the individual control of the nobility—the Emirs and Sheikhs loyal to the Ottomans .

This was the 400 years of dark and evil Ottoman empire’s role in the Arab lands.

Khaled Homoud Alshareef holds PhD in Business and he earned Masters in Philosophy. He regularly tweets under @0khalodi0.

Her marriage with prince Azam Jah Bahadur, the elder son of the seventh Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, resulted in the union of two illustrious Muslim families, the Turkish Caliphate and the Asaf Jahis of Hyderabad. Durru Shehvar, the only daughter of Abdul Majjid II, the Caliph of Turkey was born in 1914 and brought up with modern education, training in martial arts and was intended to succeed her father.

Nizam and the exiled Caliph

In March 1924 after Turkey became a Republic, the Caliphate was abolished and the royal family expelled. Abdul Majjid and his family settled in Nice, a southern French Mediterranean port city. The British Red Cresent Society,friendly with the deposed ruler appealed to Muslim rulers around the world to come to the aid of the impoverished Caliph. Persuaded by Maulana Shaukath Ali and his brother, Maulana Mohammad Ali, Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan decided to send a life-time monthly pension of 300 pounds to the deposed Caliph, and allowances to several individuals in the family.

When Durru Shehvar, came of age, she was sought in marriage by several Muslim Royals including the Shah of Persia and the King of Egypt for their heirs. Shaukat Ali prevailed on the Nizam to send a proposal to the Caliph asking for Darru Shever’s hand for his elder son, Prince Azam Jah. The deposed Caliph could hardly reject the offer from his benefactor.

But it was not that easy; the Mehr (the bride money) of 50,000 pounds that the Caliph demanded for his daughter was “too big”, the Nizam felt. But with the intervention of Shaukath Ali, the Caliph proposed to offer for the same Mehr, the hand of his brother’s daughter Niloufer, for the Nizam’s younger son, Prince Mauzam Jah. The Nizam readily agreed and sent his two sons to France.

The marriage of Princess Durru Shehvar with Prince Azam Jah, along with that of Prince Mauzam and Niloufer took place in Nice, in France, on 12 November, 1931, in a simple ceremony attended by only a simple affair with only the members of Sultan’s family at Nice, a few Turkish nobles and friends as well as representatives of the Nizam — Sir Akbar Hydari and Nawab Mehdi Yar Jung, who happened to be in Europe at that time to attend the Round Table Conference. The Khalifa himself performed the ceremonies. All the offices and educational institutions in the Nizam’s dominions were given a holiday on the day.

Meeting the Mahatma

After a month of festivities in Nice, the Princes with their concerts set sail from Venice to India on December 12, 1931. The ship they were travelling in also contained a star co-passenger, Mahatma Gandhi, who was returning after attending the Second Round Table conference in London. Shaukat Ali, who was accompanying him, having known Gandhi’s sympathy for the exiled Caliph for whose restoration, he pleaded during his non-cooperation struggle, arranged a meeting of the young Hyderabadi Royals with Gandhi on the board of the ship.

However, there was a hitch Gandhi who was traveling in III class would not step into Ist. class where the young couples stayed; nor would the Hyderabad Princes be willing to go to III class where Gandhi stayed. Shoukath Ali, worked out a compromise and the meeting of Gandhi and the newly weds took place in a lounge in the II class.

Active in Hyderabad

In Hyderabad, Durru Shehvar soon identified herself with the people . With a great passion for providing health care and education for common people, she set up a general and children’s hospital in Purani Haveli, which still runs in her name. A Junior College for girls in Yakutpura, Bagh-e-Jahanara, is also run on the funds she provided. She inaugurated the Ajmal Khan Tibbiya College Hospital in Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) . The Nizam called her his precious Jewel (Nagina) and encouraged her to participate actively in Hyderabad’s social life. The proud father -in -lawloved to point out how Durru Shehvar was taller than his son. In the company of her friend Rani Kumudini Devi, she rode horses, drove cars and played Tennis. With her beauty and charm, etiquette and dress sense, she transformed Hyderabad’s social circuit.

Durru Shehvar also laid the foundation stone of the Begumpet Airport building in 1936. Until then a small strip at Hakimpet served as the airport for Hyderabad. She ensured her sons, Prince Mukarram Jah and Prince Muffakam Jah, received the best possible western education in Europe and married Turkish brides, as she desired. Mukarram studied in Eton, where India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru had earlier studied. Years later, Mukarram, declared heir to Hyderabad throne, at the suggestion of his grandfather, Mir Osman Ali Khan, served as Honorary Aid De Camp (ADC) to Prime Minister Nehru!

Durru Shehvar was fluent in French, English, Turkish and Urdu and even contributed articles to French magazines. She believed that women should earn their own living and worked hard to remove the practice of purdah. However, there was a great gulf between the Princess and the Prince, Azam Jah and their marriage fell apart within few years. It is an irony that when she was born, her father, the Caliph was the head of all the Muslims in the world; but was overthrown and sent away in exile. After her marriage, Hyderabad state was abolished and integrated with the Indian Union in 1948. She faced fame and power as well as adversary, displacement and agony, all with equanimity, and won the hearts of the people in Hyderabad, where she spent most of her adult life.

Princess Durru Shehvar, after shifting permanently to London, frequented the city. Her last visit to the city was in 2004, two years before she passed away in London at the age of 92. With her death, ended a glorious chapter of Hyderabad.

Article first published on India’s The Hindu Daily