The Character of Sultan Abdul-Mejid Khan

BismillahirRahmanirRahim,

Selam Aleykum Wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatahu,

A few paragraphs on the character of Sultan Abdul-Mejid Khan, the Ottoman Sultan, by the Rev. Henry Christmas M.A. in 1853:

‘One or two anecdotes will put his character in its true light. During the year of famine in Ireland, the Sultan heard of the distress existing in that unhappy country; he immediately conveyed to the British ambassador his desire to aid in its relief, and tendered for that purpose a large sum of money. It was intimated to him that it was thought right to limit the sum subscribed by the Queen, and a larger amount could not therefore be received from his highness. He at once acquiesced in the propriety of his resolution, and with many expressions of benevolent sympathy, sent the greatest admissible subscription.

It is well known that his own personal feeling dictated the noble reply of the divan to the threatening demands of Austria and Russia for the extradition of the Polish and Hungarian refugees. “I am not ignorant,” was his reply, “of the power of those empires, nor of the ulterior measures to which their intimations point; but I am compelled by my religion to observe the laws of hospitality; and I believe that the sense and good feeling of Europe will not allow my government to be drawn into a ruinous war, because I resolve strictly and solemnly to adhere to them.”

This is the true spirit of Christianity, and there is more it in the Mohammedan Sultan of Turkey, than in any or all of the Christian princes of Eastern Europe.’

– “The Sultan of Turkey, Abdul Medjid Khan: A Brief Memoir of His Life and Relign, with Notices of The Country, its Navy, & present Prospects” by the Rev. Henry Christmas, M.A., 1853

* – I’d like to point out Saifuddin’s excellent follow-up to this post, here :

Who are the Ottomans?  – Saifuddin.

Aleykum Selam and Allah emanat ol!

Biz Osmanliyiz! Pek Sanliyiz!