Although regulations regarding printing life in the Ottoman Empire started before Abdülhamid II, a full legislation was created and supervision was carried out in this area with both regulations made and institutions established in his period. Within this legislation, the Encümen-i Inspection and Inspection Committee, which was established in 1882, was tasked with controlling all kinds of books.
During reign of Abdulhamid II, special units were established for printing of religious publications within this general framework and control was carried out specifically through these units. Among these units, Tedkîk-i Müellefât Committee, which was formed within body of Bab-ı Fatwa in 1889, and Kütüb-i Dîniyye ve Şer'iyye Education Committee, which was established in Ministry of Education in 1902, were held responsible for publication of religious works other than Mushaf. The aforementioned delegations played an active role in printing of religious works and constituted an important stage of control. For printing of Mushaf, which has an important place in religious publications, a separate unit was established outside of these delegations and printing of Mushaf was also controlled in this way. Following release of the Mushaf printing by the state,Teftiş-i Mesâhif-i Şerife Committee was formed within body of Bab-ı Fatwa and assumed important responsibilities at every stage of printing.
In the thesis, institutional history, duties and activities of these units, which were formed during reign of Abdulhamid II, were examined in detail. At the same time, printing and control stages of religious publications were discussed within framework of functions and activities of units. |