Examples such as the author Stefan Zweig, who constantly talks about suicide in his books and the main characters usually end with suicide, or the increase in suicide rates in Germany with Goethe’s book ‘The Sorrows of Young Werther’, have taken their places as unforgettable examples in the history of literature.
On the other hand, Beşir Fuad, a name from the Ottoman era who had Islamic culture and belief… Fuad, 35, slit his wrists to write about what it was like to die, and so he took notes. Afterwards, a ‘suicide epidemic’ broke out in the Ottoman Empire.
First of all, it is useful to understand the personality of Beşir Fuad.
Beşir Fuad, who grew up as an enlightened person thanks to the trainings he received; He has always been a different person than his time. Along with a completely western education, he also learned French at a good level.
Fuad, who had a materialist and naturalist point of view, saw science as the guide of his life and was not very interested in religion. According to Ahmet Mithat Efendi’s interpretation, the fact that Beşir Fuad learned religious teachings from the French language was a factor in his lack of connection with religion.
He was actively involved in the Serbian War, the Russian War, and the Cretan Revolt, but never mentioned it in his military articles due to his humble personality.
His life, in general, did not go well. It pushed him, step by step, towards taking his own life.
His mother was a woman who was constantly insane and had psychological disorders. It also ended in suicide. The second marriage of Beşir Fuad, who had two marriages, did not take place of his own accord, and his second son named Namık Kemal died when he was only 1.5 years old from cranberry disease.
Although his mind was enlightened, Fuad’s death, who had a difficult life, was also quite sensational. He recorded his own death with his own hands.
The writer, who came to his house on February 5, 1887, as usual, said that he would write to his assistant at home and that he did not want to be disturbed, and locked himself in his room. He took paper and pen, sprayed morphine on his wrists, and then cut his veins. As the blood dripped from his wrists, he wrote down what he felt at that moment on paper. The article, which was mixed with blood and ink, contained the following words:
“I performed my surgery, I did not feel any pain. It stings a little as the blood flows. My sister-in-law went downstairs while my blood was flowing. I’m writing, I closed the door and pushed it back. Fortunately, he didn’t get in. I can’t imagine a sweeter death than that. I raised my arm furiously to let the blood flow. The fainting began to come.”
It is known that two years before Beşir Fuad’s suicide, he sent a letter to his close friend Ahmet Mithat stating that he was planning his suicide.
Although it is true that a letter was sent to Ahmet Mithat by the author, who committed suicide two years before the event, it was never known whether Mithat took this letter seriously or whether he tried to stop his friend.
Moreover; The enlightened writer requested to donate his body as a cadaver to a university after his death, but this request was rejected because he was ‘religious’ and could poison people.
After Fuad’s suicide, a suicide epidemic started in Istanbul.
After the suicide incident, the suicides of Sadullah Pasha and other poets were heard. On March 11, 1887, newspapers were banned from reporting suicides, but it was abolished six months later. This went down in history as the first suicide epidemic of Istanbul and the Ottoman Empire.
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