Reinscribing the Dönme in the Secular Nation-State reads “Hüve’lbaki” (God is everlasting), but in many tombs, even this is
absent.
It would be incorrect to label them atheist, for at the same time, the
few references to religion are striking. The beautifully ornate tombstone
that contains the photo of a bareheaded, mustachioed man in suit and tie
from the 1910 s, engraved with Persianate Sufi couplets, reads in part: “In
this perfect devotee [or a novice on the spiritual path] every part of his
heart was a wide open vacant space for God [or the spiritual teacher] to fill
with love. He was exceptional such that his haste in fulfilling the spiritual
path cannot be perceived with words or even with silence. In spirituality,
if speech is silver, than silence is golden.” These are clear references in Sufi
language to one who has traveled quite a way on the path of reaching
unity with God, so far that he has had his heart emptied of all that is black
or negative, cleansing it so that it can be a pure receptacle for receiving
God. The silence of the one who has knowledge is fitting for a Dönme
tombstone inscription for one who had complete mastery and knowledge
of the Dönme tradition. One wants to know what he learned, from whom
he learned it. One can only determine that this meant that Dönme reli-
gion was actively transported from Salonika to Istanbul between the wan-
ing years of empire and early years of the nation-state and that the secret
of Dönme identity was taken to many a grave.
The tombstones in the Karakaş section, in great contrast, are full of re-
ligious, especially Sufi references. Many tombstone inscriptions are simi-
lar to that of Mustafa Tevfik. Mustafa Tevfik ( 1851 – 1934 ) was the son of
Mısırlı Zeki Efendi. His tombstone reads
O visitor! This is an exalted grave that preserves the esteem of a great soul
which has now reached God’s lights. He was a perfect human being [bir kâmil
insandı] and elevated soul who dedicated his entire being to his own kind’s
[kendi cinsinin] good and well-being, and worshipped God [hakk] and truth
[hakika]. Among his many good works that he established to benefit future
generations, he is also the one who founded the Feyziye school. This blessed
being whose hand and heart [eli dili] advanced good has now reached his God
[and master]. He has attained God’s light. How happy is he.The language of this tomb is striking for its Sufi metaphors. The concept
kâmil-i insan, is a well-known Sufi phrase for the perfect spiritual guide
used for such diverse people as Rumi and Ibn al-Arabi and calls to mind
Major Sadık’s defense of Shabbatai Tzevi’s spirituality. The play upon the