Ordu and its surroundings were a quite important region during the National Struggle First of all, the local beaches had entrance gates to Anatolia. On the other hand, after the Mondros Armistice, the Greeks started to establish the Pontus Greek state, the center of which was Trabzon. Around 20,000 Greeks lived in Ordu, which was a district of the Trabzon province at the time.
In this challenging and tough struggle, religious officials of Ordu have provided superior services for saving the homeland from enemy invasion and ensuring the independence of Turkish nation. First of all, they fired the power of resistance, which is in the spirit of Turkish nation. In the early days of the struggle for survival, as Mustafa Kemal Pasha stated (regarding the situation of the public), “They did not understand the situation in the real sense. Minds were quiet and in confusion…”The religious official who provided that the people of Fatsa act for the benefit of the National Struggle was MudarrisAbdulhamid (Sarıhan) Effendi. Similarly, the muftis of Ordu, namely Ali SabriGürel, Hafiz Ahmet İlhami (Bilgin), and Yusuf ZiyaeddinIşık Effendi also provided outstanding services for the people of Ordu to act in favor of the National Struggle. Mudarris Ahmet, MudarrisSalih and Mudarris Salim Effendi supported them in during these activities. MudarrisHalilHilmi Effendi also served to raise awareness of the people of Ordu’s center on National Struggle. Other religious officials mentioned in the text, particularly muftis, worked in favor of national operations in the places they served. In addition, the religious officials of the Sanjak of Ordu took part in the Defense Societies established in the city center and districts.
While Mufti Hafız Ahmet İlhami (Bilgin) Effendi took part in the establishment and services of Ordu Community of Defense of the Rights, Yusuf ZiyaeddinIşık, who also served as the Mufti of Ordu in 1953-1957, served as the head of the Community for a while. In addition, the prominent people of Ordu such as FelekzadeSüleyman, Recai, Fortunzade Yusuf, Sıtkı, Halis and Mustafa Bey had shown outstanding examples of service in the works of the Community. In the meantime, the services of the “İnkılab-ıİçtimai Club” established by the young people of Ordu, and the services of MutasarrıfNizameddin and M. FahreddinBey, the former Governor of Görele, should not be forgotten. Güneş, Ordu-Bucak and Azim newspapers published in Ordu also contributed to the National Struggle. The protests in Ordu that started with the occupation of İzmir gained intensity after the establishment of the Defense Community. In this context, three protest telegrams were sent to the Grand Vizier upon the occupation of İzmir. One of these telegrams dated 16 May 1919 was taken with the signature of Mayor of Orduİzzet. One of the two telegrams sent on May 18, 1919 was sent by the signature of İsa, and the other one by the signatures of MudarrisSalih, Mudarris Ahmet, Mudarris Salim, and Mudarris Ahmet.
On the other hand, Mufti Hafız Ahmet İlhami, who protested upon the news that Istanbul would be occupied by the British, also reacted to the resignation of Ali Rıza Pasha’s government. The telegram dated 5 March 1920 from Ordu to the First Turkish Parliament includes the signatures of Mufti Hafiz Ahmet İlhami and Mayor Yusuf. Meanwhile, other telegrams sent to the Turkish Grand National Assembly were prepared under the leadership of the Defense Community. The names of the religious officials are also mentioned in these telegrams. In addition, Hasan Effendi, a religious official represented Ordu at the Erzurum Congress. Meanwhile, Hafiz Ahmet Efendi undertook the training of the voluntary union established in Ordu in 1920.
Religious officials were at the forefront in the districst of the Sanjak of Ordu as well. For example, in the telegram dated 20 May 1919 sent from Fatsa to the Grand Vizier upon the occupation of İzmir; the signatures of some scholars such as Haji İbrahim and Müudarris Osman Nuri were also included. In the protest telegram of the invasion sent from Ünye to the Grand Vizier on 18 May 1919, there are signatures of Mufti Yahya and a scholar named Haji Ali Effendi. In the protest telegram sent from Mesudiye upon the occupation of Istanbul by the British on 16 March 1920, the name of Mufti Tevfik Effendi is mentioned.
Some of the religious officials also served in the military as military officers, sub-lieutenant, lieutenant, and senior lieutenant. Of these, Imam-Khatib Ismail Mutlu and YakupMutlu returned to Ordu as veterans. Mufti Yusuf ZiyaeddinIşık also joined the Great Offensive and took part in the troops that entered Izmir first on September 9. In addition to enlightening the society for the benefit of the national struggle, imam-khatibs of many villages also served for the supply of the Kuva-yiMilliye (National Forces).
