Marife Turkish Journal of Religious Studies

Abstract

With the entrepreneur spirit and a lot of works, Ahmet Mithat Efendi is one
of the important Ottoman intellectuals in the Administrative Reforms Period of Ottomans.
He had a trip to Europe, and he made a new approach with material and
moral culture in his observation to Europe. While he admired the West by the material
point, he criticized the moral values of Westerners. According to this point he
built up a more reliable sociological approach than former observers of the West.
Ahmet Mithat who thought the material and moral culture separation appropriate
and possible for Ottomans also, had motivated with the idea of modern Ottoman
Empire which also linked with traditional values.
Ahmet Mithat, while he makes the West an object of a sociological thinking,
he also becomes for us one of the beginning steps for the occidantalist expression.
In his all works he chose being a recommender like a lecturer. So, his
works have more didactic characteristics than artistic. He made an ideal Ottoman type with the character of Râkım Efendi and with the Felâtun Bey he also indicated
some problems of Westernization in Ottoman.