//Ed. Note: In this article, Dr. Şerefeddin Mağmumi, in
Cairo, focused his wrath on the Ottoman 'Capitulations' to
Europeans and suggested that a 'benevolent iron-hand' like
the one that revived Japan was the key to Ottoman reform.//
Praise for the Rising Sun click here for a recent TNT
report about Mağmumi's infatuation with Japan re
the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905.
I’m Thinking
That...
“Türk”
newspaper: 2 June 1906
It is
certain that in our country (Turkey) foreign consuls rely on the
'Capitulations' (Ottoman
State concessions to foreign governments) and
take advantage of our weakness
and laxity so that their corrupt,
inappropriate, irregular and illegal
activities continue while the
government fails to reform itself. How can it, though, when it’s not
just the
Ottoman State that’s running the country but all the foreign
governments, as
well.
Every consul not only looks after
his citizens’ affairs but also protects
Christians and interferes in all
Ottoman State matters. The consuls of
France, which is officially a secular state, act more Catholic than the
Pope
does, in the eastern countries they are assigned in. They even l
ook after the French missionaries
that the French government has
expelled, who have sought refuge in Turkey. The French consulates
are the protectors of
the Catholics living in the Ottoman State, while
the English and German consuls
look after the Protestants and the
Russian consuls mind the Ottoman Orthodox flock.
Among these consuls, and even those from
smaller countries, there
are many who are common, ignorant bigotted fanatics
who hate Islam
and the Turks. In
particular, there are the ‘vice consuls’ found in
small towns, most of
whom are ‘honorary’ and Greek, who are
engaged in commerce, ferry agencies,
usury, money-changing and
wineries. They’ve
assumed the title ‘acting consul’ for themselves
and do whatever they
please.
In Izmir, the local government
shut the Greek businesses that refused
to pay the ‘temettü’ tax (tax on
profits). Without any right to do so,
the consuls protested and an ambassador wrote that a few days closure
would
cause unacceptable loss and harm for the businesses, which is
understandable. Nevertheless, they sent
armed goons and clerks to
the scene and injured some policemen in their quest
to re-open the
shops. This isn’t
consulate business, this is ‘palikaryalık’ (Greek
rowdiness). So the Gendarmerie soldier there guarding the
shop, with
orders not to let it be opened, shot – more in self-defense than
anything
else - a consulate clerk, who
fell to the ground.
Who is at fault
here? All these foreign countries, not
just the ones
with 'Capitulations' but even the small Balkan governments that are
the
remnants of the Ottoman State, act this way, making it impossible for
the
state to govern.
There is a
solution for this, though. We need to
open our eyes.
Reforms must be
implemented, not just with words but with serious,
fundamental and
comprehensive actions in Rumeli, Anatolia and
Arabia and for Moslems,
Christians and Jews. There must be
reforms
and corrections implemented everywhere and for everyone, so we can
take
on the shape of a European state. After
that, the capitulations and
other privileges should be eliminated and
Christians and other
foreigners made accountable to the laws of the land.
Let us not
consider this to be too difficult or impossible. Look at the
Japanese in the Far East. In
thirty years they have reformed all aspects
of their situation from top to
bottom and have come to resemble the
Europeans to the degree that it seems
they’ve become Englishmen.
Three or four
years ago they eliminated all privileges for foreigners
and not one European
country opened its mouth to protest.
Yes, of
course, Japan has one language, one sensibility, one religion
and a uniform
race, unlike us who are comprised of more than 32
nations and sects, like the
passengers on Noah’s Ark. For the
Japanese
reform was relatively easy, compared to what it would take for us to
reform. Nevertheless, it would not be
impossible. It’s just that it
would have
to be done in 50 years, rather than the 4 centuries that
have passed. We too need a well-intentioned ‘iron hand’ for this
to
happen.
