NOTES AND COMMENTS A COMMENT ON HAKAN ÖZOĞLU, “NATIONALISM AND KURDISH NOTABLES IN THE LATE OTTOMAN–EARLY REPUBLICAN ERA”

Extract

In “Nationalism and Kurdish Notables in the Late Ottoman–Early Republican Era,” (IJMES 33:383–409), Hakan Özoğlu states that his study “revises Olson's argument about the origins of Kurdish nationalism” (p. 405, n. 2). He also says, “Olson's praiseworthy study is based exclusively on British archives and can also be criticized for this reason.” Özoğlu explains that his “revision” consists of defining Kurdish nationalism as a World War I phenomenon, a view he contests contrary to the views of Wadie Jwaideh and myself, who characterized it as being defined during the rebellion of Shaykh Ubeydullah of Nehri in 1880–81.