''Mehmet Tahir'' (1864–1909), also known as Ibn Hakkı Mehmet Tahir, Baba Tahir, Malumatçı Tahir, was an Ottoman period publisher who was one of the significant figures in the Ottoman journalism. He published numerous periodicals and newspapers, including ''

Malumat ''Malumat'' ( Ottoman Turkish: ''The Information''), also known as ''Musavver Malumat'' ( Ottoman Turkish: ''The Pictorial Information''), was an Ottoman weekly literary and political magazine which was published in Istanbul in the period 1894� ...

'' and '' Hanımlara Mahsus Gazete''. He is also known for his criminal offenses.

Biography

Mehmet Tahir was born in 1864. He owned a publishing house in Istanbul where he published many periodicals and newspapers. Mehmet Tahir had close connections with Sultan Abdulhamit. In 1898 he was awarded a medal by the Sultan and given a higher imperial rank, ''rütbe''. In addition, he was also appointed clerk at the palace. He published newspapers in Egypt which featured articles opposing the Ottomans. These publications were, in fact, fabricated by him to blame the Young Turks and to create further tensions between Sultan Abdulhamit and the group. In 1900 another conflict occurred because of the news published in his papers ''Malumat'' and ''Servet''. The papers accused the Dutch colonial rule of being hostile to the

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

living in the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

, including

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. Upon these news the Dutch ambassador Wilhelm Ferdinand Heinrich von Weckherlin sent a note to the Sultan demanding the cancellation of these publications. The request of the Dutch was followed for a while, but the news continued from 1901. Mehmet Tahir's another improper journalistic activities were the publication of his newspapers without paying the tax stamps and the licences. He also involved in the illegal patent business and sold them to Europeans. Although he was not punished for these illegal operations for a while in 1907 he was arrested and sent to exile in

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

. Next year he could return to Istanbul following the

constitutional revolution The Persian Constitutional Revolution ( fa, مشروطیت, Mashrūtiyyat, or ''Enghelāb-e Mashrūteh''), also known as the Constitutional Revolution of Iran, took place between 1905 and 1911. The revolution led to the establishment of a par ...

. Mehmet Tahir was married to Fatma Şadiye Hanım who was among the contributors of ''Hanımlara Mahsus Gazete''. He died in Istanbul in 1909.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tahir, Mehmet 19th-century journalists 19th-century newspaper publishers (people) 19th-century people from the Ottoman Empire 1864 births 1909 deaths Turkish newspaper editors Businesspeople from Istanbul Turkish expatriates in Libya