Mohammed Amin Ali Badirkhan was born in 1851 on the island of Crete. Badirkhan is known as one of the defenders and activists of the Kurdish cause and was also known as a just man.
His father, Badirkhan Beg, declared independence for Botan in 1847, but was defeated by his nephew, Yezdanşêr's dishonesty. The Ottomans deported his family to Istanbul and then to the island of Crete. Amin Ali was one of the seven sons of Badirkhan Beg. He could write and speak Arabic, French, Kurdish and Turkish.
Amin Ali graduated from law school and later worked as a lawyer and judge in several different places. In 1906, he and his family were exiled to Isparta and Akkon on suspicion of involvement in the murder of King Razwan. After the Young Turks Revolution and the overthrow of Sultan Abdulhamid II in 1908, Amin Ali was allowed to return to Istanbul.
In 1908, in collaboration with intellectuals and citizens, he founded a political organization called Kürt Teavün ve Terakki Cemiyeti (Kurdish Committee for Mutual Aid and Progress). From here he worked with Seyyit Abdülkadir who came from a wealthy family. After some time, the political organization is dissolved. In 1918, Amin Ali and Sayyid Abdulqadir founded a new organization called the Kurdistan Teali Cemiyeti (=Kurdish Exaltation Society).
Over time, conflict between Amin Ali and Sayyid Abdul Qadir emerged: Sayyid Abdul Qadir tried to achieve Kurdistan's independence from the Ottoman Empire, while Amin Ali tried to establish an independent Kurdish state. This conflict led to the dissolution of the Kurdistan Teali Cemiyeti in 1920. Amin Ali later founded his own organization called Kürt Teskilat-i Içtimaîye (=Kurdish Social Organization).
Despite his national feelings for the Kurds and Kurdistan, Amin Ali saw himself as an Ottoman and joined the Ottoman party as Ahrar Fırkası (=Liberal Party) or Hürriyet ve İtilaf Fırkası (=Independence and Union Party). These two parties worked as opposition parties against the Union and Social Progress. This party consisted of a group of young people who participated in a coup against Abdul Hamid II in 1908 and remained in power until 1918. The genocide against Armenians was caused by the extremism of this party.
When World War I ended and the Ottomans were defeated, Mustafa Kemal came to power. Amin Ali lost hope of establishing an independent Kurdish state and decided to support the Greeks in fighting the Kemalists.
In 1919, on the orders of the Istanbul authorities, he and his sons, the governor of Harput and the British officer Edward WC Noel went to Sivas to disrupt the congress and arrest Mustafa Kemal. However, this failed and he left the country for Egypt in 1923 before the establishment of the Republic of Turkey. He died there in
He left behind several children, including Jaladet, Kamaran and Suraya, all of whom had a significant impact on the Kurdish people's liberation struggle.[1]