Between Greek Thessaloníki and Ottoman Istanbul, 1912–1923 Implicitly comparing himself with Evrenos Ghazi, Major Sadık launches
into his fervent defense of the Dönme. The comparison seems apt. Evrenos
Ghazi was a Christian who converted to Islam, made the hajj, and led
numerous raids—“slaying the infidels and polytheists,” as his tombstone
reads—on behalf of the Ottoman dynasty in southeastern Europe. He
was a man whose tomb was so holy it was visited by Christian and Mus-
lim alike for divine intercession, and whose descendants led the Ottoman
military in battle for two centuries and patronized the Bektaşi Sufi order.^61
The fact that the author’s name Sadık means “loyal” also speaks in favor
of his cause.
Faced with a sustained attack on Dönme racial origins and moral char-
acter, in his lightning response, which could be subtitled “The Dönme:
Myths and Facts,” Major Sadık chose to ignore the Jewish background
of the Dönme, while emphasizing their Islamic piety and service to the
empire. Major Sadık was quick to defend Dönme moral piety in an age of
decreased religious observance. He frames his discussion within a critique
of the secularization of Ottoman society following the Constitutional
Revolution ( 3 ), which, he writes, made people throw old customs to the
wind, lose ties of loyalty and obedience, and willfully violate the law ( 18 ).
People lost their religious beliefs. Muslims were not fulfilling the obliga-
tions of the religion. During World War I, when the muezzin chanted the
call to prayer, soldiers at the front slipped away and hid to avoid praying,
whereas not so long ago, it had been considered shameful not to pray, and
it had been rare for Jews not to grow beards and sidelocks, Christians not
to fast, and Muslims not to fast at Ramadan. “Happy are those who in
such a lax environment continue to pray, hoping to be close to God.”
Closest to God are the Dönme. Major Sadık praises Shabbatai Tzevi
for turning to Islam, not out of fear, but out of piety, referring to him by
his Muslim name, Aziz Mehmet Efendi, and not by his original Jewish
name. He never mentions that Shabbatai Tzevi and his followers were
originally Jews. Shabbatai Tzevi became a great Muslim spiritual guide
bringing many others to the faith ( 6 ). Major Sadık asserts that Aziz Meh-
met Efendi converted not out of duress, but after studying sacred scrip-
ture. Aziz Mehmet Efendi was a sincere convert who “after perfectly being
infused with the light of Islam brought many other people to the true
faith” ( 7 ). If he acted strangely, it was not because he was trying to deceive
anyone, but rather because he was “the subject of miracles manifest in
him after being enlightened by Islam and nothing else.” In short, there