Blog #7

The Ottoman Bill of Rights (1856)

The Ottoman Bill of rights is a prime example of the growth of civilization. Though the Ottomans were always much more pro-active in giving various political and religious freedoms to a great majority of its people, the 1856 Ottoman Bill of Rights only expands on these principles. I definitely believe the the Ottomans took initiative and followed the way the United States set their Bill of rights.
The very first thing that the Ottoman Bill of Rights re-affirms is their tolerant stance on religion stating: "All the Privileges and Spiritual Immunities granted by my ancestors..., and at subsequent dates, to all Christian communities or other non-Muslim persuasion established in my Empire under my protection, shall be confirmed and maintained." This is not something new to the Ottoman Empire as we have seen very early on that the Ottomans were very committed to a freedom of religion. Even the Jizya tax was placed to help non-Muslim communities establish and maintain their own places of worship. The Bill also states that entire non-Muslim communities would not be barred from establishing places of worship, schools and cemeteries.
The most Important part of this Bill to me has to do with Education. "As all forms of Religion are and shall be freely professed in my dominions, no subject of my Empire shall be hindered in the exercise of the Religion that he professes...No one shall be compelled to change their Religion...and...all the subjects of my Empire, without distinction of nationality, shall be admissible to public employments...All the subjects of my Empire, without distinction, shall be received into the Civil and Military Schools of the Government...Moreover, every community is authorized to establish Public Schools of Science, Art, and Industry. " Having this strong of an attitude for education is also not a new thing for the Ottoman empire, but the re-affirming of this in their new Bill of Rights was still very important.