Mevlana Rumi, the Whirling Dervishes and the Islamization of Asia Minor (Turkey)!

An interesting thread on how Islam was spread in the Anatolian (Turkish) region during the Seljuq Rule. (1/N)

The Seljuk Sultans of Konya laid the foundations for the Islamization of Asia Minor. Sultan Kay Khusraw 1 started the a systematic programme to spread Islam throughout Turkey by inviting various Islamic Jurists, theologians, and Sufi mystics to relocate to Turkey from Iran.(2/N)

The Sultans also built many Medresses (Madrassas) to settle and educate Dervishes which would then propogate Islam to the Christian masses. Sultan Alaudin Keyqubad 1 launched an Islamic coinage in Turkey which was made of silver and replaced the older Byzantine gold coinage.(3/N)

This change brought them closer to the Islamic world, linking the monetary and banking systems of Asia Minor with those in Baghdad and Damascus. In June 1243 the Seljuqs suffered a devastating defeat at the hands of the Mongols in the Battle of Kose Dag (Bearded Mountains). (4/N)

The Sultan survived but became a vassal of the Mongols. However by 1309 the Suljuq family in Konya had either died or emigrated somewhere else. This put an end to the Great Seljuq Sultanate of Konya which created a vast Islamic state with an efficient administration. (5/N)

The political demise of the Seljuks of Konya doesn't detract from the very significant institutional, social, & religious changes they initiated. One notable example is the career of Mevlana Rumi, a Sufi mystic who took the lead in converting Byzantine Christians to Islam. (6/N)

Mevlana’s real name was Jalal ad-Din Rumi. Originally a Persian speaker, Rumi was born in the city of Balkh somewhere around 1207. He came from a prominent family in Balkh; his father, Baha ud-Din Walad, was an important theologian and jurist. (7/N)

Rumi’s family was forced to leave Balkh due to Mongol invasions that forced many mystics and theologians to relocate to Asia Minor. The family initially relocated to Nishapur, but later moved to Baghdad, before settling down in Konya at the invitation of the Seljuq Sultan. (8/N)

When Baha ud-Din Walad died, Rumi took it upon himself to reorganize his father’s madrassa into a rigorous ascetic order called the Mevlevi Sufi Order. Initiates were trained to carry out a ceremonial dance popularly known as the whirling dervish which is seen in movies. (9/N)

It was a significant innovation as it brought an entirely new dimension of religious experience to those who were Orthodox Christians. The whirling dervish was linked to the folk traditions of the Turkish and Islamic Sufi world. (10/N)

Whirling dervish combined elements of new faith Islam with more traditions attracting Christian villagers. Rumi followers in the 14th century spoke of miracles that took place as the whirling dervishes traveled across the region, occasionally resulting in mass conversions. (11/N)

Byzantine scholars state Rumi’s religious influence was due to the fact that Christians knew little about their faith, priests were illiterate, and bishops had not been sent from Constantinople for decades . This vaccum was filled by Sufi Mystics like Mevlana Rumi. (12/N)

Mevlana Rumi had an instrumental role in Islamization of Turkey. The Whilring Dervishes which are often seen as a innovation by extremist Muslims were actually a part of a systematic culturalism which defeated the Byzantine traditions and attracted the masses towards Islam.(13/N)

Indeed even the Ottoman Rulers were highly aware of the debt they owed to the Great Mevlana Rumi. Many of the Ottoman Caliphs/Rulers were themselves followers of the Mevlevi Sufi Order which was started by Mevlana Rumi. (14/N)

And it was a custom of Ottoman Caliphate pay homage to the Mevlana by calling the chief custodian of the Tomb of Mevlana Rumi to present the sword to the newly selected Sultan/Caliph at the Sword Girding ceremony in Constantinople (Istanbul).(15/N)

Sources used: Ottoman Empire lectures by Professor Kenneth W Harl (Phd Byzantine history from Yale university). And some additions of my own