Emin Ali Bedir Khan

Emin Ali Bedir Khan (1851, Crete – 1926) was the son of Bedir Khan Beg, a vice president of the Society for the Advancement of Kurdistan (SAK) and Kurdish politician.

Emin Ali Bedir Khan
Emin Ali Bedir Khan
Born1851
Crete, Ottoman Empire
Died1926, Egypt
NationalityKurdish
EducationJurisprudience
OccupationJudge, Politician
OrganizationSAK
ChildrenCeladet Bedir Khan
Kamuran Alî Bedirxan

He was well educated and was able to communicate in French, Arabic, Turkish and Kurdish.[1] Later he was employed as a prosecutor in the Ottoman Empire and was also appointed as judge in several cities such as Adana, Thessaloniki and Ankara. In 1906, he was sent into exile, after his cousin Abdürrezzak and his brother Ali Şamil were charged of being involved in the murder of Ridvan Pasha, the Mayor of Constantinople. Following the Young Turks Revolution against the Sultan Abdulhamid II he was allowed to return to Istanbul and in 1908 he became a founding member of the Society for Mutual Aid and Progress of Kurdistan. At the time he established close ties with Sayyid Abdulkadir, as he was also a member of the Kurdish movement. But the Society was banned in 1909 by the Committee for Union and Progress (CUP) as it didn't see any benefit of a Kurdish organization.[2] In 1918 he was elected the Vice President of the Society for the Advancement of Kurdistan,[1] opposing the election of Abdulkadir as President. But the disputes continued as Abdulkadir advocated for a autonomy within a future Turkish state, as Emin Ali Bedir Khan was in favor for Kurdish independence. Emin Ali was also active participant of negotiations of the Paris Peace Conference. He maintained the view that the province of Van should be included in a Kurdistan, opposing Serif Pasha who represented the SAK at the Peace Negotiations in Paris.[3] The SAK broke up and in 1920 and Emin Ali established the Society for Kurdish Social Organizations which advocated for an independent Kurdistan.[4] He didn't give up on the Kurdish cause and established ties with Greek diplomats who's support he was able to gain. Then he and his son Celadet Bedir Khan requested also the support of the British, to maybe facilitate a Kurdish uprising in Mosul, but they declined to support the cause.[5] As it was imminent that a Turkish republic was to be created, he departed to Egypt, where he passed away in 1926.[6]

Family

He was the father of eight children. Celadet Bedir Khan was a founder of the Committee for Union of Progress (CUP).

References
  1. Özoğlu, Hasan (2004). Kurdish notables in the Ottoman Empire. State University of New York Press. p. 95. ISBN 9780791459935.
  2. Olson Robert W. (1989), p.15
  3. Hasan Özoğlu (2004),pp.39–40
  4. Hasan Özoğlu (2004), p.98
  5. Olson, Robert W. (1989). The emergence of Kurdish nationalism and the Sheikh Said Rebellion, 1880-1925. University of Texas Press. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-292-77619-7.
  6. Hasan Özoğlu (2004),p.100
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