Urban and Local Administration: From the Early Islamic Period to the Present

Akyüz, Vecdi and Ünlü, Seyfettin (eds.). İslam Geleneğinden Günümüze Şehir ve Yerel Yönetimler. İstanbul: İlker Yayınları, 1996, 2 vols., 900pp.

Urban and Local Administration: From the Early Islamic Period to the Present

İslam Geleneğinden Günümüze Şehir ve Yerel Yönetimler

This book was edited by Vecdi Akyüz and Seyfettin Ünlü and includes articles by various authors. The first volume starts with an introductory article on contemporary local administration and its compatibility with the structures of urban social life covering the period from Mohammad’s times to the end of the Ottoman Empire, focusing on various institutions and services related to urban and local administration. The authors evaluate changes experienced over time at various levels, which range from organisation of settlements to the diffusion of change from higher administrative echelons to lower social levels. An entire article is dedicated to the emergence of the first towns in the Islamic tradition. It seeks to explain a direct and natural relationship between towns and civilisation in the Quran, as well as in the works of Islamic thinkers such as Farabi (d. 950 AD) and the Ottoman poet Fuzuli (d.1556 CE). The book provides a detailed assessment of the changes in the provision of services throughout history such as accommodation and administration, markets, sanitation, health, housing and shelters, recreation, parks and gardens, burial and cemeteries. The section on urban and local administrative services under the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates includes details on contemporary urban life, including views on aspects of urban managerial structures, immigration and population movements, recreation, weights and measures, shops and prices. The book also covers the Seljuk and Ottoman periods, discussing the importance of the kadi in urban administration, and mentioning the first municipal and provincial governors of Istanbul, elaborating on their contributions to the city. The second volume is dedicated to the Republican period, however there are many references to local administrative structures in the Ottoman period. The articles talk about the historical evolution of municipal governments in Turkey, starting from the single party period and taking the analysis up to the 1990s. We find out that the structures of Republican local administration and especially the municipal legal framework were established in the 1930s. It is argued that the structures of the single-party era had an influence on the organisation of municipal governments. Until the 1930s, municipal governors were appointed by the government; thereafter, a new system was put into place, allowing municipal councils to elect a governor from among their members. One of the articles criticises present day practices and emphasises that, despite this provision, municipal governments are still in the clutches of the central government. The last section talks about democratic inclusion and re-generation efforts since the constitution of 1921 came into force. It discusses the concepts of towns and town dwellers. This part comprises an important article by Halil Inalcık, called ‘Istanbul, an Islamic City’, which explores the conquest and the transition from Constantinople to Islambol. The individual urbanisation processes of some other towns such as Sivas during the Seljukids, Timbuktu, Tabriz, Fez, and Cordoba are also described.

Ozge Soylu Bozdag

Translated by Aysu Dincer