Abdul Hamid Deposed

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · May 26, 1909

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 36, No. 21.

Abdul Hamid Deposed.

On April 27, Abdul Hamid was dethroned, and his younger brother, Mohammed Rechad, made Sultan. The deposition was duly effected according to the forms of Moslem law by fetwa, or legal decision, by the Sheik-ul-Islam in response to the following hypothetical question:

“What becomes of an Imam who has destroyed certain holy writings and who has seized property in contravention of the Sheri, who has committed cruelties and ordered the assassination or imprisonment of exiles without justification by the Sheri, who has squandered the public money; who, having sworn to govern according to the Sheriat, has violated his oath; who by gifts of money has provoked internecine bloodshed and civil war, and who is no longer recognized in the provinces?”

“Answer of the Sheik-ul-Islam: ‘He must abdicate or be deposed.’”

The notification was conveyed to Abdul Hamid at 3 P.M. by a committee of two officials, two deputies and two senators. As they entered the Yildiz Kiosk, they looked for arms, fearing an outburst of murderous rage from the Sultan. He was brought out from the Harem carelessly dressed, pale, and trembling. As soon as he was informed of the fetwa, he begged for his life, and when assured that his life was not in danger he protested that he had deserved better treatment from the nation, that he had defended his country against the Greeks, that he had kept his oath to support the constitution, that he had refused to sign many death sentences, and even spared the life of his brother Mohammed and treated him well. “Any other Sultan,” he said, “would have had him killed.” Finding the committee reticent and exorable, he said: “It is fate. I will do whatever you desire. Only protect me and my family and permit me to retire to the Cheraghan Palace, where I was born.” The Young Turk leaders, believing that it would be dangerous to allow the dethroned Sultan to live near Constantinople, sent him to the center of their power, Salonika, where he is lodged in the country house of a Jewish banker. He left by train on the following day with eleven of his wives, a son and two daughters and a few servants. It is uncertain whether he will be tried by court martial or left undisturbed. That he was the instigator of the recent mutiny has become evident. Many of the soldiers and minor officers concerned in it were found when taken prisoners to be well supplied with gold coin. The mutineers are being tried by court martial, and 250 of them have been found guilty and shot. Nadir Pasha, the second eunuch of the palace and favorite of the late Sultan, was hanged on the Galata bridge. He was a Nubian slave of gigantic stature and one of the three men on whom Abdul Hamid had relied for carrying out his secret orders and intrigues. He was active in planning the mutiny of April 13, which, it is now believed, contemplated the massacre of the foreign residents of Constantinople. This was prevented by Chefket Pasha, who took possession of the city a day sooner than had been anticipated.—The Independent.