How Bediuzzaman Turned the Tables on Karasso

It was a conversation that Emmanuel Karasso would never forget. Breathless after the encounter, he reportedly told his friends:

“Had I stayed with him any longer, he might have converted me to Islam.”

The Chief Rabbi of Istanbul later spoke of the confusion and astonishment he felt following his meeting with Bediuzzaman in Salonika.

What most people did not know was that Karasso was more than just a chief rabbi. Behind his religious position stood a prominent member of a secret society determined to dismantle the Ottoman Empire. His mission was strategic: to win over Bediuzzaman, a man of considerable influence, and enlist his support for their cause.

Karasso intended to persuade him and advance his own agenda. Instead, the conversation took an unexpected turn.

With his deep faith and keen intellect, Bediuzzaman not only saw through Karasso’s motives but also led him to question his own beliefs. By the end of their meeting, Karasso reportedly admitted that he had come remarkably close to embracing Islam himself.

What began as an attempt to influence Bediuzzaman ended with the startling realization that Karasso himself had come to the verge of conversion.