World Congress for Middle Eastern Studies

Barcelona, July 19th - 24th 2010

· NOT_DEFINED date: THU 22, 5.00-7.00 pm

· NOT_DEFINED institution: Furman University (USA)

· NOT_DEFINED organizer: Cengiz Sisman

· NOT_DEFINED language: English

· NOT_DEFINED description: The Sabbatian movement and its subsequent developments represent one of the most enigmatic and paradoxical episodes in Jewish and Islamic history in early modern and modern times. When Sabbatai Sevi, the founder of one of the biggest messianic movement in history, was forced to convert to Islam by the Ottoman authorities in 1666, a small number of believers followed in him and became Muslim; another small group of believers remained in the Jewish folds, and yet another group converted to Christianity in later centuries. Because of its mysterious nature, Sabbataians have been the observed and be the object of much speculation by different people such as Jewish rabbis, Muslim officials, Christian missionaries, and conspiracy theorists. Sabbataians were variously labeled as ‘Ma’amin/believers’, ‘New Muslims’ ‘Donmes/converts’, ‘mamzarim/illegitimate children’, ‘heretics’, ‘Muhammedan Jews,’ or ‘crypto-believers.’ Based on the new archival, rabbinical, European and missionary sources, this interdisciplinary panel aims to shed brighter lights on unknown aspects of the Sabbataians and their observers in Ottoman Empire as well in the West. The papers in this panel, therefore, deal with different aspects of the Sabbataianism such as their beliefs, practices and education; their impacts in history; and other theoretical debates about the Sabbataian studies. Since discussions about them continue up to the present in many Middle Eastern societies, our panel has also debates perception and self-perception of the Sabbaatians in recent periods.

Chair: Madeline Zilfi, University of Maryland

Paper presenter:Michal Galas, Jagiellonian University, “Sabbatianism in the 17th Century Polish Lithuanian-Commonwealth as Seen by Christians”
Michal Galas examines Christian attitude towards Sabbataianism in the 17th Century Polish Lithuanian-Commonwealth. Jewish historians of the 19th and early 20th century perceived the Sabbataians’ messianic eruption as a consequence of the reaction to the tragic historical events that stroke Polish Jewry in 1648 and in a later period ‘ particularly the Chmielnicki uprising. The most problematic issue of studying the history of Sabbatianism in Poland-Lithuania is a lack of sources. Although most of the modern studies on Sabbatianism in Eastern Europe based on works of Meir Balaban they present divergent pictures of its influence there. According to Scholem, for example, Sabbatianism had a profound influence in Eastern Europe, not only among Jews but also among Christians; on the contrary Bernard Weinryb strongly criticized Scholem’s view. After examining a range of the Sabbatianism in Poland-Lithuania and presenting the role of non-Jewish sources in the process of its dissemination in Eastern Europe, Galas argues that the impact of Sabbataianism continued strongly in the Commonwealth. He also argues that the impact of it on Frankism and Hasidisim is unquestionable but Sabbataism was also the first Jewish Religious movement that attracted also Christians and influenced later Jewish-Christian relations.

Paper presenter: Cengiz Sisman, Furman University, “What do the Sabbataians Believe and Practice”
Cengiz Sisman examines the question: ‘What do the Sabbataians Believe and Practice’? This question is almost always a missing element in the Sabbataian studies in part because of the secretive nature of the community and expected paucity of sources and in part because of the wrong assumptions. From recent studies on the social history of the Sabbataians we still know little about their inner lives and beliefs. Sisman tries to answer this question by examining records of missionaries, who did an extensive work among them as part of the mission to the Jews between 1826-1856; and new Ottoman archival records. As a corrective to previous work, he argues that while Sabbataians followed Islamic principles, and some of them even participated in Sufism, many developed a neo-Lurianic messianic belief system in private, and structured their lives in accordance with the famous 18 Sabbataian Commandments.

Paper presenter: Turkay Nefes, University of Kent, “The History of the Social Sonstructions about Donmes (Conversos)”
Turkay Nefes investigates the history of social constructions, principally conspiracy theories, about a crypto-Jewish society, Donmes, in Turkey. In order to do that, he analyzes the contents of books, articles and unpublished theses about the community in different periods (1919-2008). The paper surveys also the history of modern anti-Semitism in Turkey. The findings suggest that the conspiracy theories on the community tend to prevail in times of social transformations and accuse Donmes for the negative impacts of the social changes. In parallel, alienated political groups exploit the ontological insecurities of Turkish nationalism, such as Sevres syndrome, and legitimize their own political stances through accusing Donmes. The paper also demonstrates that the conspiratorial accounts on Donmes become prevalent subsequent to alleged members’ confessions, because it is seen as the proof of the ontological insecurities of Turkish nationalism.

Paper presenter: Ozgur Canel (Independent Researcher), “In search of the Dönme of Turkey”
The paper examines lives, beliefs, and self perceptions of contemporary Sabbataians. Based on her in-depth interviews with 20 Sabbataians about their names, rituals surrounding circumcision, death, religious holidays, beliefs, family history, use of Ladino, dietary customs/laws, she argues that the Sabbataian is no longer a functioning community. The only binding factor was the fact that they (once had) belonged to a family labelled by themselves or by others as being Donme.

Paper presenter: Asli Yurddas (Istanbul Bilgi University), "Legitimate Citizen, Illegitimate Identity: Sabbataians in Contemporary Turkey"
based on her in-depth interviews with the contemporary Sabbataian/Donme origin people in Turkey, examines the Sabbataians identity within the larger context of Turkish identity, citizenship, ethnicity and nationalism. She argues that the Sabbataians, by successfully assimilating themselves into the contemporary Turkish society, see themselves as legitimate Turkish citizens with minor reservations. Still however, they cannot/don’t reveal origin of their identity publicly due to their previous religious commitments and the fear of a possible anti-semtisism. This ambiguity in their identity creates a constant source for conspiracy theories about the Donmes in Turkey.