Between Empire and Nation-State
their old customs, and introduced themselves as migrants from Otto-
man southeastern Europe or Salonika, no one knew they were Dönme.”
Acting in the guise of Muslims, the Dönme had a detrimental effect
on good people, who did not realize the danger of the Dönme masked.
They had an especially bad effect on Muslim women. The behavior “of
their immodestly dressed women and indecent girls had a terrible influ-
ence on the pure-hearted people of Anatolia. The Dönme’s irreligion
and immorality made the people of Anatolia believe incorrectly that
all people from Ottoman southeastern Europe were bad” ( 13 ). The au-
thor asserts that “the people of Anatolia should understand that all the
immorality and irreligion blamed on Ottoman southeastern Europeans
actually originate with the Salonikan Dönme, who pass as Muslims.”
This last line causes the reader to suspect that this treatise was writ-
ten by a fellow migrant from southeastern Europe who is not Dönme,
perhaps someone who was from Salonika, where he had gained intimate
knowledge of their religious and social practices. After arriving in Istan-
bul, the anonymous author may have written this treatise as a reaction
to others linking him, because of his geographical origins, to the alleged
corrupting influence of the Dönme.
At the end of his treatise, the anonymous author concludes by adding
Dönme insincerity in religion to their alleged duplicity in public service
and the economy. He ridicules Dönme piety, as well as their obligatory
religious practices, including praying, fasting during Ramadan, and their
alleged marriage and burial customs ( 13 ). He says the Dönme never at-
tend mosque. If one attends, “of course one should know they are not
praying to fulfill the requirements of Islam” ( 14 ). “Has anyone ever seen
a Dönme who commits a wrong or breaks the laws of the group? They
have a sort of law system among themselves. The most severe punishment
is for the guilty to attend mosque for awhile. Rather than being to fulfill
the requirements of Islam, the aim of this is nothing other than to display
shameless insolence to Muslims.”
Another form of shameless impudence apparently occurs during Ra-
madan. During this Muslim month of fasting, “in Dönme homes that
are next to Muslim homes, at the time of the night prayer they act as if
they are preparing to offer the extra night service, shouting, ‘Daughter,
have you done your ablutions? Hurry up and get ready [join the group
assembled for prayer].’ ” But this is only a ruse. With other such sounds,
“they make their Muslim neighbors think that are preparing to conduct