Şehbenderzâde Filibeli Ahmed Hilmi

Philosopher, Writer

Education
Galatasaray Secondary School
Other Names
Coşkun Kalender, Kalender Gedâ, Özdemir, Şeyh Hüsnî, Şeyh Mihriddin Arusi

Writer (b. 1865, Plovdiv / Bulgaria - d. 1914, İstanbul). His title Şehbenderzâde (son of a consul) comes from his father Süleyman Bey’s office as a consul. He also used the pen names Coşkun Kalender, Kalender Gedâ, Özdemir, Şeyh Hüsnî and Şeyh Mihriddin Arusi. He attended primary school in Plovdiv. Then he went to İstanbul and there, graduated from Galatasaray Secondary School. He settled in İzmir with his family and then returned to İstanbul again to work as an officer at the Administration of Public Debts (1890). He went to Beirut on duty and here met the Young Turks, and fled to Egypt. He joined the Ottoman Progress Society and published the humorous paper Çaylak. In 1901, on his return to İstanbul, he was immediately sent into exile to Fizan, as a political convict. There he joined the Arûsî tarikat* and became interested in theosophy. After the declaration of the Second Constitutional Monarchy, he returned to İstanbul and published İttihad-ı İslâm (1908, 18 numbers), a newspaper defending the unity of Muslims. When the newspaper was closed down, he published his articles in Şehbâl, İkdam and Tasvir-i Efkâr, and in 1910, he established the Hikmet Matbaa-i İslâmiyesi (printing house) to publish the weekly review Hikmet Ceride-i İslâmiye.

In these newspapers, he used the pen names Şeyh Mihriddin Arûsî, Coşkun Kalender, Kalender Geda and Özdemir, as he did in his books. His newspaper Hikmet, which he began to re-publish (1911, 84 issues), was closed down five times in 45 days, as it was critical of the government of the Union and Progress Party and he was exiled to Bursa. In 1912, he resumed publishing Hikmet, besides Münakaşa, Kanad and Nimet. A newspaper he published in 1911 had only one issue. After the second declaration of the Constitutional Monarchy, he gave lectures on philosophy at İstanbul University. It is claimed that he was murdered by freemasons, against whom he had begun to disagree with.

WORKS:

STUDY-RESEARCH: Tarih-i İslâm (History of Islam, a denial of “History of Islam” by Dosy, second volume, 1970-71; with the title İslâm Tarihi-An History of Islam, 1971 and 1974), Allah'ı İnkâr Mümkün müdür? (Is It Possible to Deny God’s Existence? 1911; simplified by N. Taylan and E. Onarat, 1978), Beşeriyetin Fahr-ı Ebedisi Nebimizi Bilelim (Getting to Know Our Prophet, the Eternal Pride of Humankind, 1913), Asr-ı Hamidide Âlem-i İslâm ve Sunusiler* (Islamic World and Sunusies* During the Sultan Hamid Period), Cihad-ı Ekber' e (Great the War), Üss-i İslâm: Yeni Akaid (The Foundation of Islam: New Beliefs, 1914), İki Gavs -ı Enam: Abdulkadir ve Abdusselam (Two Great Men: Abdülkadir and Abdüsselam, 1913), Huzur-ı Akl-u Fendi Maddiyyun Meslek-i Dalaleti (A Heretic Road in Front of Science and Logic: Materialism, a denial of the “History of Future” by Celal Nuri İleri, 1914; with the subtitle İlim Karşısında Maddecilik - Materialism Against Science by Sadık Albayrak), Yirminci Asırda Alem-i İslâm ve Avrupa / Müslümanlara Rehber-i Siyaset (The Muslim World in the Twentieth Century / A Guide to Politics for Muslims, 1911; with the title Müslümanlar Uyanın-Muslims, Wake Up, 1966), Darulfünûn Efendilerine Tahriri Konferans: Hangi Mesleki Felsefeyi Kabul Etmeliyiz? (Written Conference for the Gentlemen at İstanbul University: Which Occupational Philosophy Should We Adopt? 1913; with the title Üniversiteli Gençlerle Bir Konuşma-Conversation with Students at University, 1963), Akvâmı Cihan (Peoples of the World, 1913), İstibdadın Vahşetleri Yahud Bir Fedakârın Ölümü (Wilderness of Despotism or Death of a Devoted, play, 1910), Muhalefetin İflası (Bankruptcy of the Opposition, a criticism of the Union and Progress Party, 1915), İlm-i Ahval-i Ruh (The Science of the Moral State, 1911), Senusiler ve Sultan Abdülhamid (Senusis and Sultan Abdülhamit, edited by İsmail Cömert, 2002).

NOVEL: Âmâk-ı Hayal: Raci'nin Hatıraları (The Depths of Dreams: Memories of Raci, 1910, 1958), Öksüz Turgut (The Orphan Turgut, 1910, 1977). 

REFERENCE: Bursalı Mehmed Tahir / Osmanlı Müellifleri II (1972), İhsan Işık / Yazarlar Sözlüğü (1990, 1998) - Türkiye Yazarlar Ansiklopedisi (2001, 2004) – Encyclopedia of Turkish Authors (2005) - Resimli ve Metin Örnekli Türkiye Edebiyatçılar ve Kültür Adamları Ansiklopedisi (2006, gen. 2. bas. 2007) - Ünlü Fikir ve Kültür Adamları (Türkiye Ünlüleri Ansiklopedisi, C. 3, 2013) - Encyclopedia of Turkey’s Famous People (2013). Behçet Necatigil / Edebiyatımızda İsimler Sözlüğü (18. bas. 1999), TBE Ansiklopedisi (2001), Felsefe Sözlüğü (2002). 

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