Fonds MŞH MMD - Meşihat Archive, Council of the Sheikhs Registers

The Council of the Sheikhs was an institution established in the Ottoman Empire to regulate the activities of Sufi orders and supervise tekkes and zawiyas. Founded in 1866 during the reign of Sultan Abdülaziz, this council operated under the authority of the Sheikh al-Islam and was a continuation of the centralization policies initiated during the reign of Mahmud II.

The most important duties of the council included granting licenses to Sufi sheikhs, appointing, promoting, and dismissing those working in tekkes and zawiyas, resolving disputes between Sufi orders, and regulating the functioning of these institutions. In this way, the Ottoman administration aimed to ensure that Sufi orders operated under direct state control.

The Meclis-i Meşâyih was headed by a minister appointed by the Sheikh al-Islam. Representatives from each order also sat on the council, and the decisions taken were submitted to the Sheikh al-Islam. Thanks to this arrangement, the orders continued to operate under state supervision while preserving their internal functioning.

The Meclis-i Meşâyih continued to exist until 1925, when tekkes and zawiyas were closed, and during this period, it contributed to the gathering of Sufi orders under a central authority in the final period of the Ottoman Empire. The most valuable documents providing information about the institution are the Meclis-i Meşâyih registers preserved in the Meşihat Archive. These registers contain records of decisions regarding appointments, promotions, and dismissals within the orders, along with various regulations. Therefore, they are important sources for both Ottoman Sufi history and bureaucratic history.

Institutionally, the Council was located in the Sheikh al-Islam complex, where the Istanbul Mufti's Office building stands today. The Meclis-i Meşâyih consisted of a meeting room, a pen room, and a break room. Built as a “Kütüb-i fıkh u fetâvâya mahal” (a place for books of jurisprudence and fatwas), this building also housed a library containing a rich collection of manuscripts and printed works on jurisprudence. Council members met regularly in this building and consulted the library resources when necessary.