Ottoman reformer Rasid outflanked Mehmed Ali by winning Western approval through Tanzimat liberalism

Evidence

In Mustafa Rasid, on the other hand, Palmerston found the man who could fulfill his dream of imperialism couched in liberal terms: an Ottoman official who was bent on genuine reform but who acknowleged European superiority. It was Rasid after all who had drafted the imperial edict of Gülhane, the main piece of legislation that ushered in the Tanzimat period in earnest and which used a language of liberalism, equality and freedom, a language that Palmerston could understand and deal with. By drafting that imperial edict, Rasid proved himself to be the one person in the capital who could frustrate Mehmed Ali’s ambitions. He did this by beating Mehmed Ali at his own game: that of trying to impress the West, especially Great Britain, of how reform-oriented he was. — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 1586

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the broader Tanzimat-versus-Mehmed Ali struggle the reader is tracking across chapters; also touches ‘imperialism couched in liberal terms’ which parallels modern civilizing-mission critiques.