The establishment of Şûrâ-yı Ümmet was decided in the meeting of the CUP members in Paris in February 1902.[2] Its title was given by Hoca Kadri Efendi, and it was first published as a biweekly magazine on 10 April that year.[2][3] The founders were part of the CUP faction led by Ahmet Rıza.[4] But, other factions of the organization also contributed to the establishment of the magazine.[3] They adopted an inclusive Ottomanist approach in opposition to nationalist approach which was represented by another CUP group who started Türk magazine in Cairo.[4] They also supported the idea that Anatolia was the motherland of Turks.[5]
Ahmed Sâib was the founding editor-in-chief of the magazine which was headquartered in Paris and was published in Cairo until 1 July 1907.[2] In July 1906 Samipaşazade Sezai replaced Ahmed Sâib as editor-in-chief.[2] It became an official publication of the CUP with the issue 98 dated 15 August 1906 and began to cover the CUP news and announcements.[2] The magazine featured a detailed summary of the Vyborg Manifesto issued by the Duma deputies in July 1906.[1] Şûrâ-yı Ümmet was sent and read in different regions of the Ottoman Empire, including Macedonia.[6]
Following the revolution in 1908 the headquarters of Şûrâ-yı Ümmet was moved to Istanbul, and there it was restarted as a newspaper in November 1908.[2] Its license holder was Bahaeddin Şakir, and Samipaşazade Sezai continued to serve as its editor-in-chief.[2] However, Şûrâ-yı Ümmet did not manage to gain success in its newspaper format, and therefore, was redesigned as a weekly political, social, and literary magazine in October 1909.[2] Its official affiliation with the CUP ended in this phase.[2] Cenâb Şehâbeddîn was named as its editor-in-chief, and Mehmed Cavid, finance minister of the period, Hüseyin Cahit, Mahmud Sadık, Ubeydullah Efendi and İsmail Hakkı became the members of its editorial board.[2]
The final issue of Şûrâ-yı Ümmet was published on 12 May 1910, and it produced a total of 220 issues during its run.[2]