Early Years of British Administration in Cyprus

Abstract

The transition of the Ottoman Muslim community of Cyprus from the status of a religious community—and even more so the ruling community of the island—to that of a national community presents a peculiar case, since that process evolved without any direct effect by Turkish nationalism. After the Cyprus Convention in 1878, the administration of the island was all British and was organized on a strict colonial basis. Since nationalism was formed in Cyprus along communal lines, an attempt is made to trace the contribution of the colonial regime to their formation. More specifically an effort is made to present communal attempts to redefine traditional religious institutions in order to neutralize the British colonial control over them. In that context religion through its institutions assumed a secular and nationalistic scope.