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The American Revolution as affected by the Muslim World Part – II
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Missionary Schools and other Institutions
In order to make an effective impact and achieve maximum results of their work in the Ottoman Empire, the missionaries had to come up with a good strategic plan. They decided to divide their responsibilities into two segments: (a) a Mission Center and (b) Mission Schools.
Istanbul was the headquarters of the missionary centers. During the period of 1835 – 1859, thirteen schools were opened throughout the Asian and European Turkey. Every missionary was required to have proper traveling documents in order to move around in the Empire. They were also instructed by the Ottoman authorities not to open schools in the remote and mountain areas, as their security cannot be guaranteed -- the local population did not like the idea of missionary schools in their neighborhoods.
The American missionaries were operating independently without any authority from the Ottomans or the United States. Their on-going independent actions were creating problems for the Ottomans and the United States. In 1848, American minister Carr warned the Department of State regarding this issue.
In the 1860s, the American missionaries started a very organized movement to build high schools and colleges in the urban areas of the Ottoman domain. Most of the registered students were non-Muslims. Missionaries were buying land and constructing educational institutions. In 1862, Dr. Daniel Blies was asked by his fellow missionaries from Lebanon and Syria to give up his evangelical work and establish an independent college of higher education system. During the summer of 1862, Dr. Blies went to America and he was able to raise $100,000 in two years. Due to the civil war, he was unable to raise more money. He then went to England and raised some more money.
On April 24, 1863, the State of New York granted a charter for the Syrian Protestant College. The College started with 16 students on December 3, 1866. The medium of instruction was in Arabic. In 1867, schools of Medicine and Pharmacy were added.
The reputation and demand of the school was growing. More schools were added -- a Nursing School in 1905 and a School of Dentistry in 1910. Engineering and Architecture were added in 1951, a Faculty of Agriculture and food services in 1952, and Public Health in 1954.
Finally on November 18, 1920, the name of the Syrian Protestant College was changed to the American University of Beirut. Since 1870 till the year of 2008, the total number of graduates that have received diplomas or degrees are 76,439. The University is accredited by the Commission of Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. Today it is one of the most reputable Universities in the Middle East.
Missionary efforts were not very productive in converting the local population into Protestantism, but their long term strategy to open schools and colleges gave them access to the local population. Also in their opinion, the society of the Ottoman Empire needs lessons of enlightenment -- they wanted to induct American culture and values into the minds of the young population of the Empire.
A senior American missionary, Cyrus Hamlin, wanted to raise money to build an American College in Bebek, Istanbul. Christopher R. Robert, an American businessman who donated a substantial amount of money for this purpose, requested to build an institution, but was denied by the authorities.
The Ottoman Monarchy did not want to have a foreign educational institution controlled by a missionary organization in their capital. The Ottomans were afraid that such a step will set a wrong precedent. Other European powers such as the French and Russians would also like to make a similar request. Their next worry was that non-Muslim students will be exposed to the western values, nationalism and liberalism. In this multi-national empire, it was not a wise political move in favor of the Monarchy.
Edward Joy Morris, an American minister in Istanbul, had a good understanding with the Ottoman Monarchy. He was able to get permission to build the college. Ali Pasha, a Minister of Foreign Affairs, was against the idea of building a missionary college in the neighborhood of Rumelihiseri, where the majority of residents were Muslims. The Ottoman administration also wanted to limit the number of churches in the non-Muslim areas.
In August 1868, permission was granted to build Robert College, after the name of the contributor. During the period of 1871 – 1903, missionaries were also allowed to open seven more American Colleges in the Empire, including girl’s colleges. The list of colleges are as follows: Girls College in Istanbul, Euphrates College in Harput (Kharput), American College in Van, central Turkey, College in Merzifon (Marsovan), and another International College was opened in Izmir (Smyrna).
It shows the dedication and commitment of the missionaries to carry on their agenda of introducing American Culture and Values in this part of the world. The local leaders and authorities did not approve the influence of missionary colleges in their communities. It took a while for both sides to adjust to each others motives.
After a few years passed, the Ottoman Administration felt that there was too much interference in their domestic affairs by the foreign forces. They felt that non – Muslim Ottoman citizens were being exploited by the influence of foreign culture.
Sultan Abdulhamid decided to take some actions to control the damage that could be caused by the foreign interference. During the period of 1880 – 1890, he took over the charge of educational reforms in his Domain. Permits to build new schools were denied. Old buildings would not get any permit to convert them into an educational institution.
New rules and standards were introduced for teacher’s certifications. Teaching courses and syllabus were reviewed. Some American schools were closed, because their teachers did not have appropriate teaching credentials. The new schools were required to have their text books and other teaching materials pre-approved. The teacher’s certification programs would also be conducted by the Ottoman authorities.
A political upheaval started in the year of 1890 by the Armenian Nationals in Eastern Anatolia. The Ottomans claimed that Armenian students and teachers of the American schools had links and communications with Armenian insurgents. In 1893, during an operation against the insurgency by the Ottoman Army, the buildings of Anatolian College in Merzifon were heavily damaged. The Government paid only 500 Turkish pounds and issued a permit to repair the damages.
In 1895, Euphrates College in Harput and Central Turkey College in Mavash were also damaged during the army operation by the Ottomans. American missionaries submitted a damage claim to the Monarchy for an amount of $100,000 through the American mission. The Ottoman authorities refused to pay.
The U.S. Senate passed a resolution on December 4, 1895, and asked the American President, Stephen Cleveland to submit a report about the damages to the American properties and the citizens. He was also asked by the Senate to collect the damages from the Ottomans. President Cleveland decided to use gun boat diplomacy to intimidate the Ottomans and dispatched three battle ships to their ports. This dispute regarding the damages was not resolved until 1901. Finally, the $100,000 was paid by the Ottomans.
Hide- and- seek games between the Ottoman Administration and the missionaries kept on going without any interruption. In 1904, the Ottomans decided to close down some American Schools and some Armenian naturalized American citizens were also arrested. President Theodore Roosevelt dispatched a fleet of American battle ships to the Izmir port. An American minister, Leishman warned the Sultan that Americans will bombard Izmir. The threat did work. The American Armenians were released and the schools were allowed to reopen.
Continued on page 4 of 5 pages
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