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Liberalism was first introduced in theOttoman Empire during theTanzimat period (1839–1876) of reformation, following theEdict of Gülhane in 1839. The reforms encouragedOttomanism among the diverse ethnic groups of the Empire and attempted to curb therise of nationalism in the Ottoman Empire. This led to theArmenian National Constitution in 1863[1] and subsequently theOttoman constitution of 1876 which was advocated for by theYoung Ottomans.[2][3] The Young Ottomans considered the modern parliamentary system to be a restatementshura, that had existed in early Islam.[4]
TheFirst Constitutional Era, ended two years later in 1878 when SultanAbdül Hamid II, suspended the constitution and parliament in favor of a return to absolute monarchy.[5]
Citing social unrest in the wake of the Ottoman's defeat in theRusso-Turkish War (1877–1878),Abdul Hamid II took the opportunity to suspend parliament.[6] Several decades later, another group of reform-minded Ottomans, called theYoung Turks, repeated the Young Ottomans' efforts, leading to theYoung Turk Revolution in 1908 and the beginning of theSecond Constitutional Era. Whereas the shortFirst Constitutional Era lacked political parties,[citation needed] the second era initially featured unprecedentedpolitical pluralism within the empire and openly contestedelections.
On 30 May 1876,Murad V became the Sultan when his uncle SultanAbdülaziz was deposed. He was highly influenced by French culture and was aliberal.[7][8][9][10] He reigned for 93 days before being deposed on the grounds that he was supposedly mentally ill on 31 August 1876; however, his opponents may simply have used that as a pretext to stop his implementation of democratic reforms under a constitution.[10][8]
Constitutionalism was introduced in the Ottoman Empire by liberal intellectuals likeBeşir Fuad,Hekim Ismail Pasha, andAhmed Zühdü Pasha, who tried to modernize their society by promoting development, progress, and liberal values.[11]
TheTanzimât, literally meaningreorganization of theOttoman Empire, was a period of reformation that began in 1839 and ended with theFirst Constitutional Era in 1876.[12] Although the motives for the implementation of Tanzimât were bureaucratic[clarification needed], it was supported byDimitrios Zambakos Pasha,Kabuli Mehmed Pasha, theYoung Ottomans secret society,[13][14] andMidhat Pasha, who is also often considered one of the founders of theOttoman Parliament.[15][16][17][18] Many changes were made to improve civil liberties, but many Muslims saw them as foreign influence on the world of Islam. That perception complicated reformist efforts made by the state.[19] A policy calledOttomanism was meant to unite all the different peoples living in Ottoman territories, including Muslims and non-Muslims, Turkish, Greek, Armenian, and Jewish, Kurd, and Arab. The policy officially began with theEdict of Gülhane of 1839, declaring equality before the law for both Muslim and non-Muslim Ottomans.[20]
The Tanzimât reforms began underSultan Mahmud II. On November 3, 1839,Sultan Abdulmejid I issued ahatt-i sharif or imperial edict called theEdict of Gülhane or Tanzimât Fermânı. This was followed by several statutes enacting its policies. In the edict the Sultan stated that he wished"to bring the benefits of a good administration to the provinces of the Ottoman Empire through new institutions." Among the reforms, were the abolition ofslavery and slave trade,[21]the decriminalization of homosexuality, the establishment of the Civil Service School, an institution of higher learning for civilians,[22] the Press and Journalism Regulation Code,[21][22] and theNationality Law of 1869 which created a common Ottoman citizenship irrespective of religious or ethnic affiliation. Western-educated economists likeAhmet Reşat Pasha advocated foreconomic liberalism.[23]
TheYoung Ottomans were a secret society established in 1865 by a group ofOttoman Turkish intellectuals who were dissatisfied with theTanzimat reforms in theOttoman Empire, which they believed did not go far enough, and wanted to end the autocracy in the empire.[24][25] Young Ottomans sought to transform Ottoman society by preserving the empire and modernizing along the European tradition of adopting a constitutional government.[26] Though the Young Ottomans were frequently in disagreement ideologically, they all agreed that the new constitutional government should continue to be somewhat rooted inIslam to emphasize"the continuing and essential validity of Islam as the basis of Ottoman political culture."[27] However, they combined Islamic idealism with modern liberalism and parliamentary democracy. The Young Ottomans believed European parliamentary liberalism was a model to follow, in accordance with the tenets of Islam and"attempted to reconcile Islamic concepts of government with the ideas of Montesquieu, Danton, Rousseau, and contemporary European Scholars and statesmen."[28][29][30]Namık Kemal, who was influential in the formation of the society, admired the constitution of theFrench Third Republic. He summed up the Young Ottomans' political ideals as "the sovereignty of the nation, the separation of powers, the responsibility of officials, personal freedom, equality, freedom of thought, freedom of press, freedom of association, enjoyment of property, sanctity of the home".[28][29][30] The Young Ottomans believed that one of the principal reasons for the decline of the empire was abandoning Islamic principles in favor of imitating European modernity with unadvised compromises to both and they sought to unite the two in a way that they believed would best serve the interests of the state and its people.[31] They sought to revitalize the empire by incorporating certain Europeans models of government, while still retaining the Islamic foundations the empire was founded on.[32] Among the prominent members of this society were writers and publicists such asİbrahim Şinasi,Namık Kemal,Ali Suavi,Ziya Pasha, andAgah Efendi.
In 1876, the Young Ottomans had their defining moment when SultanAbdülhamid II reluctantly promulgated theOttoman constitution of 1876 (Turkish:Kanûn-u Esâsî), the first attempt at a constitution in the Ottoman Empire, ushering in theFirst Constitutional Era. Although this period was short lived, with Abdülhamid ultimately suspending the constitution and parliament in 1878 in favor of a return to absolute monarchy with himself in power,[5] the legacy and influence of the Young Ottomans continued to endure until the collapse of the empire. Several decades later, another group of reform-minded Ottomans, namely theYoung Turks, repeated the Young Ottomans' efforts, leading to theYoung Turk Revolution in 1908 and the beginning of theSecond Constitutional Era.
But it can be shown that Midhat Pasa, the principal author of the 1876 constitution, was directly influenced by the Armenians.
In 1876 a constitution for Turkey was drawn up by the Armenian Krikor Odian, secretary to Midhat Pasha the reformer, and was proclaimed and almost immediately revoked by Sultan Abdul Hamid
