The Drunken Officials of Abdülhamid II: Alcohol Consumption in the Late Ottoman Bureaucracy

Kirmizi A.

Revue des mondes musulmans et de la Méditerranée , sa.151, 2022 (Hakemli Dergi)

Özet

The established ideal, official and formal views have stood in the way of sufficient research on the practices of alcohol consumption in Muslim societies. This study will portray officials of a Muslim state under the rule of a caliph as breakers of alcohol regulations. The Ottoman Sultan Abdülhamid II (r. 1876-1909) is known in the literature for his piety and Islamist policies. His officials, even those closest to him, were not that religious and frequently crossed the lines drawn by their master. There is overwhelming evidence suggesting that alcohol use by state officials both outside the office and in the office was a considerable problem for higher authorities. In the Ottoman personnel registers (sicill-i aḥvāl defterleri) of the time, which also contain information on disciplinary matters, one can find many functionaries with drinking problems among the fifty-thousand registrees. The article does not touch upon the religious ban on alcohol use but its impact on disciplinary measures in modern regulations concerning the officialdom. How was suspected intoxication officially discussed? The investigation on the bureaucratic discourse on drinking is followed by an examination of the disciplinary measures. Were there any laws concerning the consumption of alcohol by state officials? What were the needed conditions to face discipline or suspension? How far were the measures enforced? How were they buzzed, journaled, or accused: by their directors, colleagues, or civils? The personnel registers enable us to investigate who was drinking when and where. Many  profiles have a conservative family and education background, there are drinkers from ulama and sufi families, and with madrasa education. Lastly, the article articulates where and when the officials were drinking.  Against the grain of Istanbul-centered westernisation narratives prioritising educated French-speaking Ottoman elites, this study will show drinking Muslim officials from provincial administration with no western language skills and mostly without a university-level education. None of the habitually drinking officials exposed in the article knew French; they were born, lived and worked in the provinces.