Meclis-i Meşayih in the Context of State-Sect Relations in the Ottoman State

From emerging on the stage of history to the 19th century when it faced particularly serious problems, the Ottoman Empire allowed the sects to practice, develop and grow with a certain understanding of freedom. However, it also increased its control over the religious orders during the periods when the Ṣafavid danger was on the rise and the weight of its centralization started to be felt gradually.
In parallel with the increase of this control, the new conditions brought by the period with the 19th century and the policies carried out by the Ottoman Empire to adapt to these conditions caused the sects and dervish lodges to lose their autonomous status provided by the state. An important indicator of the sects being controlled by the state is the establishment of the Meclis-i Meşayih. The dervish lodges, which were inspected by the shaykh al-Islām (the chief jurist), were put under the responsibility of the Meclis-i Meşayih institution established in 1866 under the shaykh al-Islām.
Thus, the process of controlling the dervish lodges which started gradually made the emergence of an institutional structure inevitable and as a result of this situation, Meclis-i Meşayih was established and started its activities. The Meclis-i Meşayih, which is responsible for all the works of dervish lodges, and especially the shaykh appointments, has also gained an important position in terms of taking the lodges under control. In this study, an answer will be sought to the question of what the purpose, importance and decisions of the Meclis-i Meşayih are, in the relationship between the Ottoman Empire and the sects.
Keywords: Sociology of Religion, Religious Groups, Sect, State-Sect Relation, Meclis-i Meşayih.