On 21 March 1844, the

Sublime Porte The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( or ''Babıali''; ), was a synecdoche or metaphor used to refer collectively to the central government of the Ottoman Empire in Istanbul. It is particularly referred to the buildi ...

of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

submitted a note to the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

embassies promising to cease the executions of apostates from Islam. In the

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...

, this is known as the Edict of Toleration and has a prophetic significance.

Background

The edict took place during the process referred to as the Eastern Question in relations between European powers, Britain in particular, and the

. This time was referred to in the empire as

Tanzimat The (, , lit. 'Reorganization') was a period of liberal reforms in the Ottoman Empire that began with the Edict of Gülhane of 1839 and ended with the First Constitutional Era in 1876. Driven by reformist statesmen such as Mustafa Reşid Pash ...

, which included other initiatives like ending the

Ottoman slave trade Chattel slavery was a major institution and a significant part of the Ottoman Empire's economy and traditional society. The main sources of slaves were wars and politically organized enslavement expeditions in the Caucasus, Eastern Europe, S ...

. It was largely a result of pressure from the British government to stop the persecution of Christians. Tanzimat was an Ottoman reform process that sought equal protection under the law in Ottoman lands for all people; however, it did not address matters of religious freedom. In 1843 two incidents garnered international controversy, leading to death sentences for an Armenian Ottoman subject and a Greek national. This led to the Edict in March 1844. Reverend Edward Bickersteth referred to these developments in 1844 when he summarized diplomatic notesThe original notes of the diplomatic letter noting this edict can be obtained from the Public Record Office in London. A translation of the edict, an acknowledgement from

Stratford Canning, 1st Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe Stratford Canning, 1st Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe (4 November 1786 – 14 August 1880), was a British diplomat who became best known as the longtime British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. A cousin of George Canning, he served as Envoy ...

to the Sublime Porte, and an accompanying letter from Canning, dated 23 March 1844, is in Foreign Office, Turkey, FO78/555/No.49. There are several other letters from Canning in the same volume on the question of the religious intolerance of the Turks. The draft of a letter from the Foreign Office, dated 16 January 1844, which made plain the attitude of the British government and which provided the direct impetus for the negotiations leading eventually to the issue of the edict, is in FO78/552/No. 4. presented to the British Parliament noting "The correspondence occupied a considerable part of the year—from Aug. 27, 1843, to April 19, 1844."

Note (edict)

In February 1844 there is a question on the status of Jew apostates from Islam (who, it was claimed, must pass through being Christian on the way to Islam in the first place) and on March 21, 1844, appears (in translation):

It is the special and constant intention of His Highness the Sultan that his cordial relations with the High Powers be preserved, and that a perfect reciprocal friendship be maintained and increased.
The Sublime Porte engage to take effectual measures to prevent henceforward the execution and putting to death of the Christian who is an apostate.

According to Muslim Islamic scholar Cyril Glassé, death for apostasy in Islam was "not in practice enforced" in later times in the Muslim world, and was "completely abolished" by "a decree of the Ottoman government in 1260AH/1844AD." This short edict was advanced in the wider

Ottoman Reform Edict of 1856 The Imperial Reform Edict (, ''Islâhat Hatt-ı Hümâyûnu''; Modern ) was a February 18, 1856 edict of the Ottoman government and part of the Tanzimat reforms. The decree from Ottoman Sultan Abdulmejid I promised equality in education, go ...

Prophetic interpretations

The Edict was seen by some especially among the religious as a specific sign leading towards the fulfillment of prophecy. Research conducted by Michael Sours into this subject and the records of the development of the Edict did not refer directly to the Jews but rather infers religious tolerance through ending executions for apostasy for Jews that seemed to convert making their social situation easier while actually keeping their personal and group identity in their Judaic religion. Jerusalem has had the largest Jewish population in Palestine in recent centuries since about 1844 and been majority Jewish since about 1852. The Edict was first publicly commented upon by Reverend Edward Bickersteth in his publication, ''Practical Guide to the Prophecies'' in the 1844 edition. Adventist William Miller, and those that disagreed with him, though unaware of the Edict and the diplomacy around it, still looked to the fortunes of the Ottoman Empire even in the period. Miller pointed to the year because of the 2300 day prophecy of , relying on the

Day-year principle The day-year principle or year-for-a-day principle is a method of interpretation of Bible prophecy in which the word ''day'' in prophecy is considered to be symbolic of a ''year'' of actual time. It was the method used by most of the Reformers, an ...

. The 2300 days are understood to represent 2300 years stretching from 457 BC, the calculated starting date of the

70 weeks prophecy The Prophecy of Seventy Weeks (chapter 9 of the Book of Daniel) tells how Daniel prays to God to act on behalf of his people and city (Judeans and Jerusalem), and receives a detailed but cryptic prophecy of "seventy weeks" by the angel Gabriel. T ...

based on the 3rd decree found in Ezra, thus leading to 1843/4. Bickersteth acknowledged the same interpretation and added a second - - as a parallel to start the clock for understanding ; taking 390 years as a period for persecution of Christians in the End time. Bickersteth takes this persecution from the triumph of Ottoman rule of Constantinople in 1453, thus 1453+390 is 1843/4, directly before these events. Thus, independently of Miller, a number of Christian authors followed the significance of this declaration from Bickersteth including

Alfred Edersheim Alfred Edersheim (7 March 1825 – 16 March 1889) was a Jewish convert to Christianity and a Biblical scholar known especially for his book ''The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah'' (1883). Early life and education Edersheim was born in ...

, a Jewish convert to Christianity and a Biblical scholar, and

Henry Grattan Guinness Henry Grattan Guinness (11 August 1835 – 21 June 1910) was an Irish Nonconformist Protestant preacher, evangelist and author. He was the great evangelist of the Third Evangelical awakening and preached during the Ulster Revival of 1859 wh ...

who broadened the themes of the understanding of the edict and its importance, and into the early 20th century with Worth Smith who mentioned it in his 1934 ''Miracle of the Ages''. Adventist mention of the Edict wasn't until 1917.

Thornton Chase Thornton Chase (February 22, 1847 – September 30, 1912) was a distinguished officer of the United States Colored Troops during the American Civil War, and the first western convert to the Baháʼí Faith. Chase was born in Springfield, Massach ...

, commonly recognized as the first convert to the Baháʼí Faith of Occidental background, noted the Edict in his publication ''The Bahai Revelation'' published in 1909. An Irish convert to the religion, George Townshend was the first broadly published to mention the Edict in

Baháʼí literature Baháʼí literature includes the books, letters, and recorded public talks of the Baháʼí Faith's founders, the clarifying letters of Shoghi Effendi, the elucidations of the Universal House of Justice, and a variety of commentary and history ...

in 1944 when he wrote:

The proclamation of His Faith was made in 1844, the year when the strict exclusion of the Jews from their own land enforced by the Muslims for some twelve centuries was at last relaxed by the Edict of Toleration and "the times of the Gentiles" were "fulfilled."

in the introduction to

Shoghi Effendi Shoghí Effendi (; ;1896 or 1897 – 4 November 1957) was Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith from 1922 until his death in 1957. As the grandson and successor of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, he was charged with guiding the development of the Baháʼí Faith, in ...

's book,

God Passes By ''God Passes By'', written by Shoghi Effendi, head of the Baháʼí Faith in the first half of the 20th century, is a book which provides a historical summary of the first century of the Baháʼí Faith, from 1844 to 1944. While historical episod ...

, published in 1944. This was also centrally mentioned by William Sears in his book ''Thief in the Night'' originally published in 1961 and in its 17th edition circa 2012. Both Townshend and Sears had high offices in the religion as

Hands of the Cause Hand of the Cause was a title given to prominent early members of the Baháʼí Faith, appointed for life by the religion's founders. Of the fifty individuals given the title, the last living was ʻAlí-Muhammad Varqá, who died in 2007. Hands o ...

Notes

References

{{reflist Apostasy in Islam History of the foreign relations of the United Kingdom Freedom of religion Ottoman Palestine Religion in the Ottoman Empire 1844 in Ottoman Syria Edicts of toleration Islam and other religions Islam and government Islam and capital punishment Islamic criminal jurisprudence

Background

Note (edict)

Prophetic interpretations

Further reading

See also

Notes

References