A subject of dispute between the Ottoman Empire and the American Bible Society in the early 1900s: the Bible colportage

Abstract

This article examines the effects of the Ottoman Empire's restriction on Bible colportage in the early 1900s on Ottoman-US relations. This restriction adversely affected representatives of the American Bible Society (ABS), which had been active in Ottoman lands since the second quarter of the nineteenth century. ABS colporteurs were prevented from working in many parts of the empire. The ABS appealed to the United States for help with this situation. By putting pressure on the Ottoman Empire through its legation in Istanbul, the US made efforts to lift the ban on Bible colportage. However, the Ottoman administration, claiming that colporteurs were spreading nationalist ideas under the pretext of selling Bibles, did not want to allow Bible colportage, despite the pressure. This problem, which became a small-scale crisis between the two countries, is examined in detail in this article through an analysis of archival documents.