The
Young Ottomans () were a secret society established in 1865 by a group of
Ottoman Turkish intellectuals who were dissatisfied with the
Tanzimat reforms in the
Ottoman Empire, which they believed did not go far enough. Young Ottomans sought to transform Ottoman society by preserving the empire and modernizing along the European tradition of adopting a constitutional government. Though the Young Ottomans were frequently in disagreement ideologically, they all agreed that the new constitutional government should continue to be somewhat rooted in
Islam to emphasize "the continuing and essential validity of Islam as the basis of Ottoman political culture." Among the prominent members of this society were writers and publicists such as
Ibrahim Sinasi,
Namik Kemal,
Ali Suavi,
Ziya Pasha, and
Agah Efendi.