Today in History – 23 December

A fundamentalist rebellion in Menemen, İzmir

On December 23, 1930, a local rebellion demanding “Sharia” began in the Menemen county of İzmir. Reserve officer and teacher Kubilay (Mustafa Fehmi Kubilay) and two people trying to save him were all killed during the rebellion.

The ringleader of the incident was a certain Derviş Mehmet, a self-proclaimed “Mahdi,” the prophesized redeemer of Islam, who claimed in front of the congregation at the mosque that he had a “Caliphate Army” of 70 thousand soldiers and that he would slaughter those who did not join him. Announcing the imminent return of the “Sharia,” the fundamentalists accused hat-wearers of being infidels.

When news of the uprising broke, Reserve Officer Kubilay arrived at Menemen with a squad. Fire was opened on the soldiers and a wounded Kubilay sought refuge in the mosque. Derviş Mehmet and his followers decapitated Kubilay with a saw while he was still alive and attached his head to a pole bearing a green flag. Two guards running to help Kubilay were killed by the insurgents.

Enraged, Mustafa Kemal immediately met with his staff upon receiving news of the incident. In the condolence telegraph he sent to the army on December 28th, Mustafa Kemal said that it was “a great shame” for a handful of Menemen locals to applaud this atrocity.

Martial Law was declared in Menemen and the military court set up in the province sentenced 21 insurgents to death and 15 to various prison terms. The Menemen Incident was recorded as one of the most important reactionist events in the history of the Republic.