Emin Ali Bedir Khan

Emin Ali Bedir Khan
Emin Ali Bedir Khan
	Emin Ali Bedir Khan
Born	1851; Kandiye, Crete; Ottoman Empire
Died	1926, Egypt
Nationality	Kurdish
Education	Jurisprudience
Occupation	Judge, Politician
Organization	Society for the Elevation of Kurdistan
Children	Celadet Bedir Khan; Kamuran Alî Bedirxan; Süreyya Bedir Khan

Emin Ali Bedir Khan (1851, Kandiye, Crete – 1926, Cairo) was a founding member of the Kurd Society for Cooperation and Progress and vice president of the Society for the Elevation of Kurdistan and Kurdish politician.

Emin Ali was the son of Bedir Khan Beg the last hereditary ruler of the Principality of Bothan and his spouse Rewshen.[1] He attended an state school of the Ottoman Empire and after his graduation, he began a career in the Ottoman bureaucracy. He left Crete at the age of sixteen, and went to Constantinople to receive his formation. He returned to Kandiye in 1873, where he was employed at the local Ottoman administration.[1]

Professional career

In the 1880s, he became a judicial inspector and worked in various cities and courts of the Ottoman Empire trying to implement the judicial reforms which have been issued in 1879.[2] In 1888, he was dismissed from his post, and he was apparently without any work until 1894, when he was appointed first to the city council of Constantinople. In the early 1900s, he was again appointed as a juridical inspector, and was sent to several cities throughout the Empire such as Edirne or Ankara.[3]

Exile from 1906–1908

In 1906, the career of Emin Ali took a sudden turn as he was sent into exile after his cousin Abdürrezzak Bedir Khan and his brother Ali Şamil Bedir Khan were charged of being involved in the murder of Ridvan Pasha, the Mayor of Constantinople.[4]

Engagements in Kurdish organizations

Judge Emin-Ali and his family

Following the Young Turks Revolution against Sultan Abdulhamid II he was allowed to return to Istanbul and in 1908 he became a founding member of the Kurd Society for Cooperation and Progress. At the time he established close ties with Abdulkadir Ubeydullah, as he was also a member of the Kurdish movement. But the Society was banned in 1909 by the Committee for Union and Progress (CUP) as it didn't see any benefit of a Kurdish organization.[5] In 1918 he was elected the Vice President of the Society for the Elevation of Kurdistan,[4] opposing the election of Abdulkadir as President. But the disputes continued as Abdulkadir advocated for a autonomy within a future Turkish state, as Emin Ali Bedir Khan was in favor for Kurdish independence but also the recognition of the state by a sultan as a Caliph.[6] Emin Ali was also an active participant in the negotiations of the Paris Peace Conference. He maintained the view that the province of Van should be included in a Kurdistan, opposing Serif Pasha who represented the Society for the Elevation of Kurdistan at the Peace Negotiations in Paris. He wrote a to the president of the peace conference in Paris and also showed a map, what according to him should include a future Kurdistan to the British representative in Istanbul, Richard Webb.[7]

Emin Ali would go on to establish the Society for Kurdish Social Organizations which advocated for an independent Kurdistan.[8] He didn't give up on the Kurdish cause and established ties with Greek diplomats who's support he was able to gain. Then he and his son Celadet Bedir Khan requested also the support of the British, to facilitate a Kurdish uprising in Mosul, but they declined to support the cause.[9] As it was imminent that a Turkish republic was to be created, he went into exile in Egypt, where he passed away in 1926.[10]

Cultural interests

Emin Ali was interested in Kurdish literature and wrote Kurdish poetry,[11] he was also passionate about western classical music.[11] He was fluent in Greek, French, Arabic, Turkish and Kurdish.[4]

Family

He was married twice, and was the father of eight children, Sureyya, Celadet, Kamuran, Hikmet, Tevfik, Safder, Bedirhan and Meziyet.[11]

References

Henning, Barbara (2018-04-03). Narratives of the History of the Ottoman-Kurdish Bedirhani Family in Imperial and Post-Imperial Contexts: Continuities and Changes. University of Bamberg Press. pp. 343–344. ISBN 978-3-86309-551-2.
Henning, Barbara (2018), p.344
Henning, Barbara (2018), p.344–345
Özoğlu, Hasan (2004). Kurdish notables in the Ottoman Empire. State University of New York Press. p. 95. ISBN 9780791459935.
Olson Robert W. (1989), p.15
Olson, Robert W. (1989). The emergence of Kurdish nationalism and the Sheikh Said Rebellion, 1880-1925. University of Texas Press. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-292-77619-7.
Hasan Özoğlu (2004),pp.39–40
Hasan Özoğlu (2004), p.98
Olson, Robert W. (1989), p.24
Hasan Özoğlu (2004),p.100
Henning, Barbara (2018). Narratives of the History of the Ottoman-Kurdish Bedirhani Family in Imperial and Post-Imperial Contexts: Continuities and Changes. University of Bamberg Press. p. 347. ISBN 3863095510.

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[:2-1] Henning, Barbara (2018-04-03). Narratives of the History of the Ottoman-Kurdish Bedirhani Family in Imperial and Post-Imperial Contexts: Continuities and Changes. University of Bamberg Press. pp. 343–344. ISBN 978-3-86309-551-2.

[2] Henning, Barbara (2018), p.344

[3] Henning, Barbara (2018), p.344–345

[:0-4] Özoğlu, Hasan (2004). Kurdish notables in the Ottoman Empire. State University of New York Press. p. 95. ISBN 9780791459935.

[5] Olson Robert W. (1989), p.15

[:022-6] Olson, Robert W. (1989). The emergence of Kurdish nationalism and the Sheikh Said Rebellion, 1880-1925. University of Texas Press. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-292-77619-7.

[7] Hasan Özoğlu (2004),pp.39–40

[8] Hasan Özoğlu (2004), p.98

[9] Olson, Robert W. (1989), p.24

[10] Hasan Özoğlu (2004),p.100

[:1-11] Henning, Barbara (2018). Narratives of the History of the Ottoman-Kurdish Bedirhani Family in Imperial and Post-Imperial Contexts: Continuities and Changes. University of Bamberg Press. p. 347. ISBN 3863095510.