The Irish Potato Famine (1845-1849) was a huge catastrophe that resulted in one million dying from starvation and one million leaving their homeland, mostly for North America.
It’s really hard to put into words how scarring this famine was for so many Irish people and the suffering was tremendous. The psychological scars still impact Ireland’s psyche today.
It almost sounds like a fairy tale to hear how a Sultan from a far away land heard of this tragedy and went out of his way to send ships crammed with food and medicine to the Irish people dying from hunger and disease.
When Ottoman Sultan Abdulmejid heard of the suffering from his Irish dentist, he felt great compassion and sorrow for the plight of the Irish. The Sultan originally wanted to donate 10,000 pounds to the starving populace but British diplomats were aghast to hear this because Queen Victoria had donated a small sum of 2,000 pounds.
The British Government refused to accept the large donation so he only donated a measly sum of 1,000 pounds, but he secretly sent five ships loaded with food!
As you can imagine, the British government wasn’t happy to hear of this and the navy attempted a blockade to stop the aid from arriving. The ships made it through the lines and arrived at Drogheda, Ireland where they dispersed the food.
The people of Drogheda were so thankful that they had the Islamic and Ottoman symbols added to their city’s coat of arms.
Islamic Symbols above the knights helmet.
It really does read like a fairy tale and is a gesture of great empathy.
It’s easy to imagine how happy the starving people were to see those Turkish ships arriving with food. According to James Hack Tuke, people were, “living, or rather starving, upon turnip-tops, sand-eels and seaweed, a diet which no one in England would consider fit for the meanest animal."[1]
But the story does not end there.
During the Crimean War, Britain joined the Ottoman Empire in their fight against the expanding Russian Empire. About 30,000 Irish soldiers served in the war and it was noticed that the Irish people served enthusiastically in defense of the Sultan who had helped them during their greatest times of need.
This highest form of compassion was even remembered during the First World War. It was reported that British officers complained that the Irish lacked the will to fight against the Ottomans who remembered stories of the Ottoman Empire helping during a famine when no one else would.
Sultan Abdulmejid is a model of faith in humanity being restored.
