Kurdish Society for Cooperation and Progress
Kurdish organization in the Ottoman Empire
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Kurdish Society for Cooperation and Progress "Kürt Teavün ve Terakki Cemiyeti"[1] (KTTC) was founded September 1908 in Constantinople.[2][3] Also known as the Kurdish Society for Progress and Mutual Aid,[4][5] Kurdish Society for Mutual Aid and Progress,[6] Kurdish Society for Support and Progress,[7] Kurdish Society for Assistance and Progress,[8] Kurdish Society for Solidarity and Progress,[9] Kurdish Progressive League,[10] Kurdish League,[11] Kurdish Club[12] and Kurdish Society.[13] The society published a Gazette,[14] which was the first legal Kurdish publication, it debated issues surrounding history, language, national unity and many other topics effecting Kurds.[15] It was the first ever political Kurdish organization and was influenced by European ideas.[16][17] It called for a political, economic and social awakening of Kurdistan.[18] The announcement of its establishment[19] was made in September 1908 and backed by 500 leading Kurdish intellectuals and statesmen.[20] The membership of the society grew very fast in cities and towns with large Kurdish populations.[21] The society had a cultural branch, which established a Kurdish language school for children[22] in Çemberlitas, Constantinople, led by Abdurrahman Bedir Khan.[23] It was closed down in 1909 and reestablished and renamed in 1917 as the Society for the Elevation of Kurdistan.[24][25]
The founding members were;
