Ottoman reforms, by Ari Sclar

• In the future, the case of every accused party will be tried publicly, in conformity with our divine law. Until a regular sentence has been pronounced, no one can put another to death, secretly or publicly, by poison or any other form of punishment.

• No one will be permitted to assail the honor of any one, whosoever he may be.

• Every person will enjoy the possession of his property of every nature, and dispose of it with the most perfect liberty, without any one being able to impede him. Thus, for example, the innocent heirs of a criminal will not be deprived of their legal rights, and the property of the criminal will not be confiscated.

• These imperial concessions extend to all our subjects, whatever religion or sect they may belong to; and they will enjoy them without any exception.

• Perfect security is, therefore, granted by us to the inhabitants of the empire, with regard to their life, their honor, and their fortune, as the sacred text of our law demands.

-Edict of Gulhane, 1837

“We do not have to look at the English or the French political impact in order to discover the origins of the ideas contained in the Tanzimat Charter and we shall not find them in the Muslim political thinking of the past…”

• Nyazi Berkes, 1998

“…the traditional state philosophy was genuinely apparent in it…the basic principle of legislation, also, was…not in natural rights but in the practical necessity of resuscitating the Empire.”

• Halil Inalcik, 1998

1. What led the Ottoman Sultan to issue this Edict? Explain.

2. Does the Edict represent a triumph of European Enlightenment principles over Islamic custom? Explain.

3. How do the historians each understand the Edict and reforms instituted by the Sultan? Do you agree with one over the other? Why?