A Conversion Narrative and Its Political and Social Dimensions. Abdu'l Ahad Dawud

Authors : Muhammed Salih SEFİLOĞLU

Pages : 53-64

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Publication Date : 2021-06-30

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :During the fall of the Ottoman Empire, Iranian-born, David Benjamin converted into Islam under the name of Abdu’l Ahad Dawud. After the 1908 Revolution, he wrote many newspaper articles and a book, İncil ve Salib. All of his writings embody in many ways the continuation of Islamic polemical literature. Dawud claims that Christianity was corrupted by Paul and Constantine and the name of Muhammad was included in Bible beforehand. Moreover, in his writings, Dawud supported the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) and illustrated comments about that period such as the dethronement of Abdülhamid II, Imperialism and Zionism. Based on Dawud's books and articles, I will question the purpose of his work and try to fragment the perception of a converted Muslim in that period and the Muslim identity at the end of the 19th century. In this way, I will argue that polemical writings are not only produced for religious purposes but that they also reflect the common mentality of the era in which they were written, as a political instrument. I will try to contextualize Abdu’l Ahad Dawud within the historical framework of his period as a person who witnessed the last years of the Ottoman Empire.
Keywords : Islamic polemical literature, Committee of Union and Progress, conversion