Abstract
This article is intended to discuss certain methodological debates that took place in the field of Sufism in the period which covers the last century of the Ottoman Empire and the early years of the Turkish Repub-lic. Firstly, I tried to address the debates over whether Sufism is an Islâmic science or not. I found out that there were both positive and negative views concerning the legitimacy of Sufism, and elaborated upon the arguments of both sides. To fill the intellectual gap, many activities were performed such as establishing libraries, organizing symposia, and publishing books and magazines during this period, which can be considered quite wealthy in terms of Sufi publications. In this period, it was realized that Sufi lodges where the Sufi training and life had been conducted turned away from their raison d’être and therefore needed to be reformed. In addition to forming such institutions as Majlis-i Mashayikh (the Council of Sufi Shaykhs) and Jam‘iyyat-i Sufiyya (the Sufi Society), some efforts were made to set up an official school of Sufism called Madrasa al-Mashayikh for producing qualified Sufi shaykhs. The Council issued regulations and instructions for securing the training of disciples, the election and appointment of shaykhs from among the qualified people and the reformation of Sufi lodges. So, this council aimed at organizing and executing Sufi activities. In this period, some Sufi technical terms were re-defined to reach agreement on their meanings.