An Infatuation with the Leader: The Fascination with Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk) and the Construction of a Male Subjectivity in Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoğlu’s Writing and Career

An In a ua ion wi h he Leade : The Fascina ion wi h Mus a a Kemal (A a ü k) and he Cons uc ion o aMale Subjec i i y in Yakup Kad i Ka aosmanoğlu’s W i ing and Ca ee Ayşe Sa açgil Uni e si y o Flo ence ayse.sa [email p o ec ed] SYNOPSIS This pape p o ides an accoun o he in a ua ion, common amongs young Tu kish in ellec uals o he 1920s, wi h Mus a a Kemal, he u u e A a ü k, ‘Fa he o he Tu ks’, by examining he ca ee o Yakup Kad i Ka aosmanoğlu be ween 1908 and he la e 1930s. In o de o explain Ka aosmanoǧlu’s comple e u na ound in his unde s anding o bo h a and li e-s yle, p o oked by his encoun e wi h he powe ul igu e o he ‘Sa iou o he na ion’, his con ibu ion in es iga es he emascula - ing and in an ilising e ec s o he long p ocess o O oman mode nisa ion imposed upon he em- pi e’s Muslim communi y by he Sul an, adi ionally pe cei ed as an imagina y a he igu e o he ai h ul, cha ged wi h sa egua ding he igh o de o hings as p esc ibed by God. The e y ac ha he Sul an himsel ac ed as he d i ing o ce o he mode nisa ion p ocess deeply oubled he communi y o he ai h ul because, in hei eyes, his p ocess implied he Sul an’s abdica ion o his adi ional du y as a a he igu e. In his li e a y p oduc ion, memoi s, and poli ical engagemen , Ka aosmanoğlu p o ides impo an clues o unde s anding he e ec s o hese dynamics in he con- s uc ion o male subjec i i y and o powe ela ions in his undamen al pe iod o Tu kish his o y. KEYWORDS Tu key; A a ü k; Ka aosmanoğlu; masculini y; Tu kish li e a u e; Tu kish na ionalism. DOI h ps://doi.o g/10.14712/23366680.2021.3.2 This pape discusses he li e a y, jou nalis ic, and poli ical ca ee o one o he mos celeb a ed Tu kish w i e s o he 20 h cen u y, Yakup Kad i Ka aosmanoğlu (1889–1974), and his p o ound ascina ion o Mus a a Kemal. Thei encoun e du - ing he 1920s led o anea o al ans o ma ion o Ka aosmanoğlu’s pe sonali y and a is ic con ic ions, shaping him in o one o he mos dedica ed con ibu o s o he cons uc ion o he u u e A a ü k’s powe and pe sonali y cul . No only his a is ic con ic ions, bu also he li e a y gen es engaged in by Ka aosmanoğlu unde wen p o ound ans o ma ions o e he cou se o his long ca ee : om 1909 o ci ca 1919, he w o e sho s o ies and e iews in anumbe o li e a y jou nals; om 1919 un il a e he end o he Second Wo ld Wa he composed eigh no els, and was highly ac- i e as apoli ical commen a o and epo e ; inally, om 1955 onwa ds he dedica ed OPEN ACCESS 32 SLOVO A SMYSL 38 himsel almos exclusi ely o au obiog aphic w i ing. Ka aosmanoğlu’s au obiog a- phy e eals aclose ela ionship be ween his li e a y c ea ion and his cons an sea ch o an au ho i a i e and eliable male igu e, which he e en ually ound in Mus a a Kemal. Ka aosmanoğlu’s e en admi a ion o he na ional leade du ing he 1920s and 1930s canno be said o ha e been an isola ed o su p ising phenomenon. I was, in ac , sha ed by aconside able numbe o in ellec uals om his gene a ion, es i y- ing o apa icula con o ma ion o powe and o he way in which ha gene a ion o in ellec uals ela ed o i . Wha makes Ka aosmanoğlu’s case pa icula ly no ewo hy and exempla y is he uniqueness o his pe sonal and a is ic de elopmen . Bo n and educa ed as an a is oc a , he was led in his you h— by his eli is gaze, his comple e iden i ica ion wi h aes he icism, his e inemen , as well as he a ec a ion ypical o he O oman eli es, and his con emp o wha he saw as he meag eness and coa se- ness o he li es o he popula classes— o join he li e a y ci cle Fec -iA i (‘Dawn o he Fu u e’) which was o med du ing he 1910s unde he mo o ‘A is pe sonal and sac ed’ (Ka aosmanoǧlu 2014, p.32). As he would ecoun yea s la e , despi e he agic his o ical ci cums ances ha we e ocking he empi e a he ime (such as he wa s in he Balkans and he G ea Wa ), he no only insis ed on de ining his poli ical commi men as he sea ch o an indi idual aes he ic, bu he swo e o de end wi h all his s eng h, and agains all ad e si y he mo o ‘A is pe sonal and sac ed’— amo o he helped o o mula e (ibid.). He would elinquish his oa h only a e his encoun e wi h Mus a a Kemal, in his inca na ion as sa iou o he Mo he land; in i s s ead, amili an ly na ionalis iden i y would eme ge in he igu e o Ka aosmanoğlu, who was hus adically ans o med in o he swo n enemy o any indi idualis ic ision o a . MODERNITY AND ITS TROUBLES Like many o he Tu kish-O oman w i e s who li ed be ween he la e 19 h and ea ly 20 h cen u ies, and be ween he all o he empi e and ise o he Na ion, Ka aosmanoğlu had also o med his li e a y and a is ic subjec i i y in close con- nec ion wi h he cul u al and human consequences o he long p ocess o impe ial mode nisa ion. We hus need o look b ie ly a his p ocess, which was o icially se in mo ion in 1839 wi h adec ee ( he Tanzima ) issued by he Sul an, equi ing he e-o de ing o he empi e’s ins i u ions ollowing Eu opean and Wes e n c i e ia. Mode nisa ion was p esen ed as anecessa y s ep o ensu e he su i al o he em- pi e which, hough i had ne e been colonised, was none heless unde he economic and poli ical hegemony o Eu opean powe s. This ‘ es uc u ing’ was unde s ood as amo e o esis ance, an ins umen o b idge he gap be ween he empi e and he Wes . I e ec i ely e-in e p e ed he na u alising me apho o domina ion ha was o en ead as unde lying colonialism, ha o amasculinised Wes o e a eminised O ien . Whe eas his me apho na u alised he ela ionship o domina ion as ha o male o e emale, unde s ood as gi en, imeless, and immu able, i s ‘O oman’ ein- e p e a ion e amed i in ahis o ical and empo al, and hus ansi o y sense, pos- i ing he O ien as an in an a he han as awoman. Th ough de elopmen , mod- OPEN ACCESS AYşE SARAçgiL 33 e nisa ion, and g ow h, he in an could in u n become aman and hence emancipa e himsel . The illusion p oduced by his las ed decades, hough al eady by he ea ly 20 h cen u y, Tu kish-O oman w i e s we e beginning o poin o i s hopelessness in hei no els.1 Mode ni y was una ainable; howe e much he empi e’s eli es ushed o co e he dis ance, he cons an mo emen ha cha ac e ised mode ni y loca ed he goal in an ‘e e nal u u e’, ans o ming he mime ic s uggle in o an ac o im- po ence (Koçak 2010, p.306). The o ien al subjec , compelled in o such impo en mi- mesis, was doomed ei he o become e emina e o o emain o e e an in an (Gü - bilek 2010, pp.149–155). He was o ced o li e wi h cons an us a ion, wi h a eeling o inadequacy and impo ence, and wi h he guil o no knowing how o g ow up and become an adul . In he case o he empi e’s Muslim communi y, such s i ing owa ds mode ni y included he Sul an’s enuncia ion o his adi ional ole o ep esen ing and up- holding he Book, he absolu e ule ha egula ed he li es o he ai h ul. The la e , ha ing hus los hei a he igu e, we e le a aloss, con used by he desi es ha mode ni y and he Wes p o oked in hem, and which in an ilised hem and emas- cula ed hem (Somay 2014, p.45). The deep anguish caused by his dynamic would con inue o cha ac e ise he app oach o mode ni y o gene a ions o Muslims. To unde s and such anguish, i is necessa y o conside he undamen al di e ence in he cons uc ion o pa e nal powe be ween Wes e n and O ien al ci ilisa ions. In he ounda ional my hs o Wes e n ci ilisa ion, pa icide is acons i u i e ac ;2 he b o he s kill hei a he , de ou his body, and in e nalise his powe , sha ing i among hem, and modi ying i s p imo dial s uc u e. O ien al my hologies, ins ead, ell o he compe i ion be ween b o he s who igh o hei a he ’s a ou , leading hem no o challenge he la e ’s exis ence, bu ins ead o commi a icide. The pe manen supe ision exe cised by he a he ’s cas a ing powe o e his sons is symbolised by ci cumcision, he ounda ional con ac o he Ab ahami ic eligions, which ga e he a he ameans o a oid killing his son. God’s dominion, o whose wo ds as hey a e insc ibed in he Book all Muslims mus submi , is absolu e, and as such, i e e be a es in Sul ans and a he s, he cus odians and gua an o s o he ul ilmen o His ule. The powe ha esul s om his is implacable and au ho i a - ian: hose in es ed wi h i a e p o ec i e o i o he poin o being capable o killing hei sons o p o oking a icide in o de o p ese e i .3 Powe can be ans e ed 1 Fo an emblema ic example, see he passage in which he p o agonis bu ns all o his w i ings while e lec ing on his inabili y o ollow he newes li e a y de elopmen s in Uşaklıgil 1963, p.160. 2 Iam e e ing he e o Esiode and F eud’s in e p e a ion o i in To em and Taboo; see Scul- ly 2015 and F eud 2010. 3 As was exp essly sanc ioned by he cons i u i e ac o he O oman empi e, Mehmed II’s 15 h cen u y Kanunname, he ascension o he h one o anew Sul an mus co espond o he killing o all p inces bu one. Though modi ied o e he cou se o he cen u ies o in- clude he ac i e su eillance o he p inces in hei apa men s a he Cou (known as ka es, cages), he p inciple none heless did no lose any o i s e icacy wi h ega d o he a he ’s abili y o keep his sons unde cons an ea o being cas a ed o assassina ed o en- su e ha he could con inue o hold on o his own powe and sa e y (Somay 2014, pp.54–57). OPEN ACCESS 34 SLOVO A SMYSL 38 o one o he sons only a e he dea h o he Sul an/ a he , and exclusi ely on his e ms, so as o ensu e ha his eplacemen does no a ec he p imo dial powe s uc u e. FATHERS AND SONS The conse a i e and au ho i a ian na u e o powe , and he impossibili y o he sons o concei e o a adical change in he o de o hings, deeply a ec ed he poli i- cal mo emen s ha a ose in he wake o he empi e’s poli ical and ins i u ional mod- e nisa ion. Du ing he 1860s, o he i s ime in he empi e’s his o y, he mo emen o he Young O omans had uni ed he highly educa ed membe s o anew gene a ion o Muslim impe ial eli es in an a emp o coun e hei own a he s’ absolu e powe . The Young O omans had allied behind he claim ha he olde gene a ion had los sigh o he good o he Islamic communi y. Howe e , he mo emen would be de- ea ed due o i s lack o au ho i y. Familia wi h Eu opean languages and cul u e, as well as wi h he Enligh enmen and he cons i u ional mo emen s o he ime, he Young O omans belie ed ha hey had he necessa y abili ies o pa icipa e in he go e nmen o he empi e. They we e openly c i ical o he policies o enewal p o- mo ed by he impe ial cou . They pa icipa ed in he public sphe e c ea ed by hei pee s om he empi e’s non-Muslim communi ies; h ough anumbe o publica- ions, plays, and no els, hey p oposed aposi i e, accep able ision o mode ni y, which hey hoped would appease he oubled eelings ha he inno a ions o he ime had o en p o oked. A hea , hei p oposal was o ha ness mode ni y, aking on i s mos use ul aspec s, while ca e ully iden i ying and ejec ing hose o he as- pec s ha migh ha e been dange ous o he communi y (Pa la 1990, pp.43–64). In hei iew, he e was no doub ha he Muslim communi y was supe io bo h spi i- ually and mo ally; hence, in he union wi h he Wes b ough abou by mode nisa- ion, i was up o he Muslim communi y o ake on he masculine ole, and o keep in check he eminini y ep esen ed by he Wes and i s ma e iali y. In o he wo ds, hey belie ed ha he spi i ough o domina e ma e and he desi e ha he la e could p o oke. The Young O omans hus a emp ed o si ua e hemsel es in he place o he a he who had abdica ed his ole, and o w i e he desi able ex o O oman mode ni y in his s ead. This commi men led hem o ake on he ole o jou nalis s and w i e s, inspi ed by Wes e n hea e and no els, gen es ha hey saw as capa- ble o ‘educa ing while en e aining’, o na a ing mode ni y while poin ing o i s po en ial pi alls, and o sugges ing be e ways o app oaching i (E in 1983, p.43). The new, mode n li e a u e in he Tu kish language was hus educa ional, poli ically cha ged, and socially engaged. I emphasised he collec i e o e he indi idual. W i - ing o eading such li e a u e posi ioned one as a ou able o mode ni y, hough a he same ime i also exp essed ameasu e o esis ance o i , p o iding apla o m on which o nego ia e i s e ms (Gü bilek 2010, p.178). Mo i a ed by he ea o becoming e emina e o emaining o e e in an ilised, his esis ance con i med he s ongly el need o he igu e o he a he , whose absence did no imply he son’s eedom bu a he his bewilde men , endange ing he o de ly unc ioning o he communi y. The immu able cha ac e o he au ho i a ian s uc u e o powe , and he u gency o OPEN ACCESS AYşE SARAçgiL 35 he need o a a he e en ually de ea ed he Young O omans. In 1878, Sul an Abdül- hamid II— whom he Young O omans had e ec i ely placed on he h one in 1876 hanks o his willingness o es ablish apa liamen a y mona chy— s eng hened his own posi ion and e oked he cons i u ion and ins ead c ea ed amode n despo ism ha he exe cised in he name o Islam. Mos Young O omans led ab oad, while Ab- dülhamid lay he ounda ions o a eign des ined o las 30 yea s, se ing up an e - icien spy ne wo k, censo ing he p ess and all in ellec ual ac i i y, and eloca ing mos o ice s o he new mode nised a my o backwa e s along he empi e’s on- ie s. Las ly, he s eng hened he empi e’s collabo a ion wi h Wilhelmine Ge many, and jumps a ed he mode nisa ion o he economic, comme cial, and communica- ions in as uc u es o he empi e, ealising hus he desi able e sion o O oman mode ni y which he Young O omans had s i ed o achie e. ART Abdülhamid’s ule aliena ed mos in ellec ual and a is ic ac i i y om he sphe e o poli ical deba e, con ibu ing o he emo al o he educa ional mission o which hey had been dedica ed by he Young O omans. O e he cou se o he inal decade o he 19 h cen u y, he link wi h Eu opean, and especially F ench li e a y cul u e became mo e sys ema ic. Anew gene a ion o in ellec uals began o s udy i s his- o ical e olu ion, and o discuss li e a y heo y. These new li e a y alen s began o look o ways o exp ess hei anguish a he undeniable c umbling o he empi e and o i s eli e, o which hey hemsel es we e apa . In 1896, ag oup o young w i - e s o med acollec i e a ound he jou nal Se e -iFünun (‘He i age o Knowledge’), headed by he poe Te ik Fik e .4 This ci cle s a ed he i s li e a y cu en , known as Edebiya -ı Cedide (‘New Li e a u e’), in an a emp o con e new ou looks, g ea e echnical and aes he ic e inemen , and a is ic and linguis ic exp essi e ichness o O oman w i ing, hough o in e ms ha p i ileged a is y, beau y, and emo ional- i y. While O oman poe y was domina ed by he in luence o he symbolis and Dec- aden mo emen s, O oman no elis s u ned owa ds amo e ma u e sea ch o eal- ism, aking on amo e well-de ined app oach o his o y, in e io ised o e decades o con ac wi h mode n Eu opean cul u e. O oman w i e s we e hus beginning o eel close han e e o he Eu opean na a i e models and s yle o w i ing abou emo- ions and sen imen . Howe e , a he same ime, he Islamic wo ld was being colo- nised by Wes e n powe s, and newly-bo n Ch is ian na ions in he Balkans we e ad- ancing inc easingly iolen claims, while ecas ing he na i e Muslim popula ion as an enemy o eign in ade . The cul u al o ma ion o Ka aosmanoğlu ook place agains his backg ound. Reading his ecoun ing o his childhood in Anamın Ki abı (‘My Mo he ’s Book’, 1957), 4 Conside ed he ounde o mode n Tu kish-language poe y, Te ik Fik e (1867–1915) was in luenced by he F ench symbolis and Decadence mo emen s. He was ahumanis , a e se o eligion. Unde his edi o ial leade ship, Se e -iFünun, ajou nal which had o ig- ina ed in 1890 o b oadcas Eu opean cul u al and scien i ic deba es in he O oman Em- pi e, became apla o m exclusi ely dedica ed o li e a u e. OPEN ACCESS 36 SLOVO A SMYSL 38 i seems ha he was deeply a ec ed by i , o he poin o inse ing he me apho s o mode n/p imi i e, ad anced/backwa d, and cen al/pe iphe al in his desc ip ions o he in ima e ci cle o his amily. His lo e o wha he had expe ienced du ing he i s ou yea s o his li e in Cai o— he elegance and e inemen o he Egyp ian cou , which had ca ied ou an ea ly and success ul p ocess o mode nisa ion— was ep esen ed by his ado a ion o his mo he , who belonged o ha milieu, and con- as ed wi h his con emp o his a he , who was bo n in Ana olia o a ich and pow- e ul landowning amily, bu which was closely linked o he old egime. Fo Yakup Kad i, his a he and his a he ’s milieu we e cha ac e ised by acoa se, c ass mas- culini y; his judgemen on his a he , which he da ed back o his childhood, would con inue o shape Ka aosmanoğlu’s pe sonal cul u e, imbuing much o his la e wo k wi h an ‘o ien alis ’ la ou . Yakup Kad i’s en y in o he empi e’s in ellec ual scene ook place a he same ime as he un olding o one o he mos impo an e en s o la e O oman his o y: he libe al e olu ion o 1908, which was ca ied ou hanks o he coope a ion be ween he Young Tu ks and he e olu iona y g oupings o he empi e’s many eligious communi ies. The Young Tu ks’ de e mina ion owed much o he p esence o he o ice s o he mode n Impe ial a my, wi h which hey had uni ed o o m he Com- mi ee o Union and P og ess (CUP), an o ganisa ion ha was domina ed by heo- e ical cu en s linked o scien i ic ma e ialism, posi i ism, and elemen s o social Da winism. The CUP had li le di icul y in con incing Adbülhamid o eins a e he cons i u ional mona chy, as hey did no p ess him o enounce he h one. The wide- sp ead jubila ion caused by he e olu ion only las ed one yea , as a iolen coun- e e olu iona y a emp in 1909 adically a ec ed he ou look and app oach o he Young Tu ks.5 The CUP became apoli ical pa y, headed by wo mili a y men, En e Paşa and Cemal Paşa, and one ci ilian, Tala . This ium i a e eplaced Adbülhamid wi h anew Sul an, educed en i ely o a igu ehead, and es ablished anew au ho i- a ian go e nmen . Des ined o las un il he de ini i e all o he empi e, wi h a ew sho in e up ions, he ule o he CUP and i s ium i a e a ou ed he elabo a ion o Tu kism, he i s ideological o ma ion o a ou exclusi ely he Muslim, Tu kish- speaking popula ion o he empi e, while aking in o conside a ion he possibili y o ex ending i s poli ical in luence o he Tu kic-speaking peoples o Cen al Asia. In 1908, Yakup Kad i was 19 yea s old. A e comple ing his seconda y educa ion in F ench and Swiss schools in Cai o and İzmi , he had a i ed in he empi e’s capi al o s udy law (Be uccelli 2017, p.46). The e olu ion had encou aged he c ea ion o new jou nals in İs anbul’s li ely poli ical and cul u al scene, which p o ided an ou le o he long- ep essed in ellec ual ene gies o he empi e’s eli es and seemed o open up new possibili ies o hem. The li e a y scene, howe e , was s ill s ongly in luenced by he he i age o Se e -iFünun, which, acco ding o he new gene a ion o li e a y alen s, was oo p o incial, o e ly encumbe ed by pessimis ic and melancholic social and poli ical conce ns ha limi ed i s a is ic c ea i eness, and which we e u he s eeped in a oman icism ha e ec i ely o e ode he o iginal ci cle’s aspi a ions o ealism. Fo he new gene a ion, any p eoccupa ion beyond pu e aes he ics, any impedimen o a ee in e acing wi h Eu opean li e a u e, ough o be abandoned. 5 Wi h ega d o hese e en s, see Zü che 2004. OPEN ACCESS AYşE SARAçgiL 37 In 1910, a e many mee ings and much discussion, hey composed he i s li e a y mani es o in O oman his o y, inaugu a ing Fec -iA i (‘Dawn o he Fu u e’), in sup- po o he p inciple exp essed by hei mo o ‘A is pe sonal and sac ed’. THE FRUITLESS SEARCH FOR ANEW LEADER Decades la e , speaking o his ea ly phase o his li e a y and in ellec ual ca ee , Ka aosmanoğlu a emp ed o jus i y his gene a ion’s immobilism and lack o ai h in collec i e ac ion, d awing on he consequences o he coun e e olu iona y iolence o 1909, o he widesp ead nihilism o he ea ly 20 h cen u y, and o he sea ch o he Supe -man, he Übe mensch, in luenced by Nie zsche’s w i ings. The expe iences o 1909 had led he li e a y ci cles he equen ed o pe cei e he songs in oking he cons i u ional e olu ion as aload o nonsense, and had made hem eel nausea ed by he ‘he oes o eedom’ celeb a ed by he p ess. By con as , he widesp ead clima e o enuncia ion o he ea ly 20 h cen u y had made i easie o hem o dedica e hemsel es o he soli a y sea ch, behind closed doo s, o aphilosophical and scien- i ic suppo o hei disa ec ion: ‘The mas e s we iden i ied du ing ha sea ch p o- ided us wi h he illusion o ma ellous in ellec ual ad en u es; bu he com o we d ew om such illusion e ec i ely led us exclude ou sel es om his o y. Wi h hei bo owed gaze, we ound an easy way o legi ima ing ou epudia ion and con emp o he despe a ion, po e y, and ulga i y o ou milieu’ (Ka aosmanoğlu 2002, s.21). Mos o Ka aosmanoğlu’s memo ies o hose yea s po ay he us a ing ye con- s an sea ch o aleade , o an Übe mensch, capable o leading he communi y ou in o he ligh . The sea ch began wi h he ium i a e: Despi e ou lack o ai h, we had sensed an epic po en ial in he cha ac e o En e Paşa, bu we we e disappoin ed o ind in him jus amodes , clean- aced young man, who had chosen o hang up his comba uni o m o become ason-in-law a he Cou . Cemal Paşa was in imida ing, whe eas M Tala , hough by many o be he ue soul o he CUP, emained amys e y o us, he seemed almos imma e ial. […] Apoe [Te ik Fik e ] hen appea ed on he scene […] [he] oa ed like acaged lion om ahill on he Bospo us. We lis ened ca e ully […] He would say ha hese alse pa i- o s had ac ually blessed Abdülhamid’s y anny, ha hey had be ayed he na ion, plunde ed i […] ha hey we e mo e u hless han hei p edecesso s in chaining up anyone who da ed o speak he u h, […] ha he coun y was headed o aca as- ophe. We hough we had ound […] he he o we desi ed. We walked up o he hill whe e he li ed, and ound an aus e e, b oad-shoulde ed man, wi h along, poin ed, agg essi e nose in he middle o his sha p ace, esembling he majes ic beak o an eagle. When he inally opened he mou h ha was unde nea h ha solemn nose and s a ed o speak wi h as i , unin elligen oice, like an ang y pa o a ling o ase ies o denig a ing ph ases, ou disappoin men was absolu e (ibid., pp.22–23). A guably, he mos no able poli ical and cul u al no el y o he ime was Tu kism, which had s a ed o a i m i sel a e 1909 unde he in ellec ual guidance o Ziya Gökalp (1876–1924), an impo an componen o he CUP and one o he ew membe s OPEN ACCESS 38 SLOVO A SMYSL 38 o he pa y o hail om Eas e n Ana olia a he han om İs anbul o one o he ci - ies o he Balkans. I seems, howe e , ha a he ime Ka aosmanoğlu had had li le in- e es in he mo emen . The aspi a ion o he Tu kis s, as se ou by hei slogan, ‘Yeni Haya ’ (‘New Li e’), was o eo ganise e e y aspec o he social and cul u al li e o he empi e’s Muslim Tu kish-speaking popula ion; and in ligh o i s o ganic ole wi hin he go e nmen , he mo emen had apidly expanded o he Th acian and Ana o- lian e i o ies o he empi e. The mo emen ’s sea s, named Tü k ocakla ı (Tu kish Hea hs), hos ed lec u es, con e ences, hea e plays, as well as his o ical and lin- guis ic esea ch. Ka aosmanoğlu equen ed İs anbul’s Tü k ocakla ı, bu he one in which he w o e abou hem sugges s ha he had ound hem oo old- ashioned, p o- incial, à-la- u que, sa e pe haps o he cu ing-edge scien i ic ounda ions on which hey we e heo e ically p emised. This is how he desc ibed Ziya Gökalp: He looked like as a ue o he Buddha, and he spoke o us abou he imminen com- ing o asa iou and o ou libe a ion. […] i was impossible o a ibu e ap ecise age o his po ly body. Wi h his unkemp whiske s, meekly lowing down he sides o his chin, and he ez he wo e d awn backwa ds on he op o his head, one could easily ha e aken him o aTu k om he imes be o e he Tanzima . The slowness o his mo emen s, his s i way o speaking, his mou h ha seemingly did no know how o smile… he could ha e been ajanissa y masque ading as ade ish. Despi e his impo an poli ical posi ion, in p i a e he li ed as i he we e ollowing he ule o ade ish monas e y. He a oided any os en a ion, he knew no hing o he plea- su es o his wo ld, he was as clueless as achild in he p ac icali ies o li e (ibid., pp.26–28). The e a e many simila i ies be ween his desc ip ion and he one Ka aosmanoğlu w o e o his a he in Anamın Ki abı. In he Ka aosmanoğlu’s eyes, his a he ’s p o in- cialism is al eady e iden in his name, Abdülkadi , and in many mo e o his ai s: in his way o speaking, which made Tu kish sound hopelessly ulga ; and in his g aceless physique, which compelled he au ho o p ay no o esemble him when he g ew olde : ‘He had a ound, bald head, wi h aci cula bea d, and he was a he po ly. Th ee physical cha ac e is ics ha I hough opposi e o hose ha ahand- some man ough o possess […] When Ig ew up, Iwan ed o be all and lean, and ha e along, ine mous ache, and Iwan ed o make su e Ialways main ained ha look’ (Ka aosmanoǧlu 1957, pp.11–12). A u he commonali y be ween Ziya Gökalp and Ka aosmanoğlu’s a he was hei sha ed inclina ion owa ds mys icism. Du ing he yea s he amily spen a he Cou in Cai o, Ka aosmanoğlu’s a he had indulged in ‘pas imes’ ha his son ound epugnan , coa se, ulga , and in open con emp o his mo he ’s digni y. Howe e , la e in li e, M Abdülkadi equen ed he de ishes o his na i e own o Manisa, jus as Ziya Gökalp had been s ongly in luenced by mys icism du ing his you h in Diya bakı . This phase o his a he ’s li e, which was also ma ked by g a e illness, led Ka aosmanoğlu o associa e wi h him an image o slowness, o he poin o im- mobili y. He also ecognised his image in Ziya Gökalp’s slow mo emen s, his calm, almos sleepy demeanou , as well as his incapaci y, owing o his own incompe ence, o enjoy li e— o he poin ha Yakup Kad i nicknamed him ‘Ou Tü kocağı sheikh’ OPEN ACCESS AYşE SARAçgiL 39 (Ka aosmanoǧlu 2002, p.27). Gökalp’s p es ige inc eased in Ka aosmanoğlu’s eyes, howe e , when i came o his doc ine: […] he would ell us abou aF ench schola named Du kheim, […] abou his heo ies on he ‘di ision o labou ’, on ‘p o essional ep esen a ion’ […] acco ding o him, any social issue could be explained in ligh o he o mula, ‘The e is no indi idual, only communi y’. […] One day, closing his eyes as i he we e alling in o a ance-like s a e, he explained o us how o sol e he appa en con adic ion be ween ha o mula and ou ongoing wai o he Sa iou : ‘The na ional he o is no an indi idual, bu he angible image o he na ion’ (ibid.). MUSTAFA KEMAL, THE LIGHT No one, om he ime o he cons i u ional Re olu ion o 1908 o he G ea Wa , had been able o ise, in he eyes o Ka aosmanoğlu and his gene a ion o young in ellec- uals, o he ole o Na ional He o. No one, i seemed, had shown he necessa y mili- a y p owess, o poli ical and cul u al sa y. Aglimme o hope, howe e , was b ie ly spa ked by he umou s su ounding he name o Mus a a Kemal, ayoung a my o - ice who had e en ecei ed he p aise o he enemy gene al o his he oic de ence o he Da danelles. Bu his name was soon o ced in o obli ion, Ka aosmanoğlu la e a gued, by he en ious O oman high command, despi e he ac ha he had been able o b ing Tu kish soldie s o ic o y o he i s ime in 150 yea s, and despi e he en husiasm he had spa ked h oughou he na ion (ibid., pp.20–24). The au ho ’s aliena ion om poli ics only g ew when, in 1916, heal h easons o ced him o a el o Swi ze land wi h ag oup o compa io s. The 1919 A mis ice, which a i ied he de ea o he empi e by he En en e o ces— who had also occupied İs anbul— illed he li e o Yakup Kad i and o he O oman expa ia es in Swi ze land wi h u he unease and dep i a ions. In he mids o ha pe iod o hopelessness and dejec ion, howe e , hey ecei ed ex ao dina y news om he local pape s ega ding a‘Tu k- ish gene al named Mus a a Kemal’ who had ebelled agains he p o isions o he En- en e and was o ches a ing a esis ance mo emen in Ana olia (ibid., p.34). The news ma ked he beginning o a o al con e sion o Ka aosmanoğlu: om ha momen onwa ds, he began o see Mus a a Kemal as aleade capable o heading he collec i e ac ion ha would b ing abou he emancipa ion o he na ion om he Eu opean co- lonial yoke. He would la e ecoun wha he el a he ime: ATu kish gene al named Mus a a Kemal Paşa… P aise be! Ihad become anew man. My ma y dom, my pain, had inally ound hei meaning, hei aim. Wi hin mysel , Iwould epea : ‘Iwill go, Iwill ollow his lag’. Like acas away eci ing his las p aye , I epea ed his name, ‘Mus a a Kemal, Mus a a Kemal’, and Icould eel ha my hea was illed wi h adeep ce ain y, adeep calm. And so Ibegan o walk owa ds him, holding my a e in my hands like ami o . Wi h he i s s ep Ihad al eady shed my old sel , like one who akes o adi y ga men . All hose unheal hy, w ong ideas om my i s you h, Ihad le in he pocke s o ha wo n-ou ga men , and Iwas e-bo n, naked, eady o anew you h. The mo e Iwalked, he mo e ma u e OPEN ACCESS