The Order and Disorder of Communication: Pamphlets and Polemics in the Seventeenth-Century Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire did not fully embrace the printing press until the 19th century, some 400 years after Europe but, contrary to perception, the Ottoman communication world did not stagnate for hundreds of years. Subtle and profound shifts occurred in the production of reading material. These changes occurred gradually over the centuries as there was no one moment where a profound change happened overnight, but the significance of what did change could be thought of as revolutionary if we stop thinking of revolution as a singular moment. The reading landscape of the 17th century was quite different from the 13th century; in particular, the rise of pamphlets gave rise to a new reading public and public discourse. This is the argument put forward by Nir Shafir in his new book The Order and Disorder of Communication: Pamphlets and Polemics in the Seventeenth-Century Ottoman Empire.

Pamphlets gives us insight into the polarisation of Ottoman society in the 17th century. The Empire was undergoing a religious shift and polemics became quite a popular tool for giving rise to a new religious discourse, ‘Pamphlets were both the forum and motor for these polemics.’ The century saw the rise of the so-called Kadizadelis, who were named after a preacher called Kadizade Mehmed, Kadizadeli also means son of a judge. The movement has been characterised as a fundamentalist reaction against both Sufism and popular religion in practise in the Empire.

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They are sometimes called Salafists by historians today. However, Shafir disagrees with this classification. Salafism as a movement calls for the return of Muslim religious practise back to the first generation of Muslims, i.e., the Prophet (PBUH) and his companions, Bid’a, or innovation, are practises and beliefs that emerged after the first generation and are considered a deviation from the true and pure Islam of the first generation. These Salafist ideas are more recent in Islamic history and not really present in the 17th century. The Kadizadelis, were not calling for a return to the first generation, their contention was Shariah should be at the centre of Muslim religious life and, in the Ottoman Empire of their time, it was marginalised. What they wanted was a return to Muslim law and another important point Shafir makes is that law is adaptable and changeable to time and circumstance, thus Kadizadelis were not seeking to negate change per se, but wanted the law to be at the centre of it. For the Kadizadelis, Bid’a meant anything that deviated from the law. Thus, Shafir argues they should be thought of as Muslim legalists, ‘They sought to centre Islam on the Law rather than seeking to return to an idealised past.’ It is through pamphlets that their polemics spread throughout the Empire and, much like social media today, pamphlets became the vehicles of radicalisation, polarisation, argument, debate and social change.

Pamphlets were also the site of medical debates and other social issues, too. The importance of pamphlets has been overlooked by historians who tend to focus on books. Shafir points out that, contrary to popular perception, the Ottoman Empire never banned the printing press and, in fact, before the 19th century, limited printing presses were in operation throughout the Empire at various times, places and by various people. But there was no mass adoption of the printing press and we do not know why this was, as none of the Ottoman figures from previous centuries give us a reason. Contrary to popular perception, handwritten books were not expensive in the 17th century. In fact, they may have been cheaper than the printing press books and they decreased in price over the centuries. Referring to other studies, an unskilled labourer would have to work 41 days to buy a book in the 11th century; by the 17th century, 1 day of work could get them a cheap handwritten book or 7.5 days of work for a median-priced book. ‘It seems that books in the late medieval Middle East were far cheaper than books in Italy and Spain during the same period.’

The Order and Disorder of Communication offers a unique and fascinating perspective on how we think about technological innovation and revolution. It overturns assumptions about the intellectual production in the Ottoman Empire and offers us a way to think about the relationship between communication, polemics, debate and polarisation of society. At times, reading about the spread of information via pamphlets felt strangely contemporary, when we think about our present-day landscape with social media and political polarisation. Shafir has written a detailed, thoughtful and considerate work that would be of interest to Ottomanists, Historians, Political Scientists and to the general reading public interested in contemporary debates around media and politics. The Order and Disorder of Communication is an eye-opening read that is peppered with fascinating insight – a must autumn read.

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