The Late Ottoman Ulema, Revolution, Reform and Constitutionalism

Instructor:  Dr. Yakoob Ahmed

Date/times:

January 25 - March 15, Sundays 10 AM - 12 PM US Eastern Standard Time

Note:

Final course registration is subject to a short application process, the instructor and/or AlQasas administration may refuse registration to any individual at their discretion.

Course summary:

This course serves as an introduction to Dr Yakoob Ahmed’s forthcoming monograph with Edinburgh University Press, to be released in Summer 2026 titled The Ottoman Ulema and the Quest for an Islamic Constitution: Revolution and Revelation. Drawing directly on the themes, arguments, and historical case studies of the book, the course offers students a structured entry point into the intellectual, political, and religious debates that shaped the late Ottoman Empire.
The course examines the evolving role of Islam in Ottoman governance during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, with particular attention to how the ulema understood their responsibilities amid imperial crisis, reform, and revolutionary change. Central to this inquiry is the question of constitutionalism: how Ottoman scholars reconciled Islamic legal and political traditions with emerging constitutional frameworks, parliamentary institutions, and concepts of popular sovereignty.
Key themes explored include competing notions of reform (iṣlāḥ and tajdīd), the legitimacy of political authority, and the boundaries between obedience (ṭāʿa) and disobedience (khurūj or opposition) to the ruler. Students will engage with debates surrounding revolutionary activism, resistance, and loyalty, as well as the moral and legal arguments advanced by the ulema in response to both internal reform movements and external pressures.
In addition, the course investigates the intellectual foundations of parliamentary thought in the Ottoman context, situating these discussions within broader Islamic political theory and late-imperial global currents. By tracing these debates, the course highlights the centrality of the ulema not as passive traditionalists, but as active participants in shaping visions of Islamic constitutional order.
Overall, the course charts the major arguments and thematic trajectories of Dr Ahmed’s book prior to its publication, offering students early engagement with cutting-edge scholarship on Ottoman history, Islamic political thought, and the intersection of revolution and revelation.

Course schedule: