The first major blows to the Empire under the new regime occurred soon after the Constitution was proclaimed. On 5 October, 1908, Austria annexed Bosnia-Herzogovina, and Bulgaria proclaimed independence, while on the 6 th, Greece annexed Crete. In response to this, on the 10th October, the people of Istanbul declared a boycott on all Austrian goods and the places where they were sold. The commercial life of Istanbul depended on the twenty thousand or more Kurdish porters who prepared to go on strike. Fearing that the whole business might get out of hand, Bediuzzaman went immediately to the tea-houses and places the porters frequented and persuaded them to avoid any extreme action.

An occasion he played a similar role was at a lecture given by the well-known owner of the Mizan newspaper, Mizancı Murad Bey, in the Ferah Theatre in Şehzadebaşı in Istanbul. The subject of the lecture was the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, and as the lecture progressed it became clear that Murad Bey, who had previously represented the 'Islamist' group of the Young Turks, was comparing the Committee of Union and Progress and the government to the Roman state. His comparisons became more explicit, and the CUP supporters among the audience started muttering and grumbling. Murad Bey continued with his criticisms unperturbed, not wavering even when threatened by a man with a revolver. But when the muttering developed into shouting and stamping, his opponents had their way and he was unable to continue. -He withdrew into the wings, and the curtain was lowered, But the hubbub did not abate. On the contrary, the audience, now divided into two camps, started pushing and shoving and flinging insults and abuse at each other. No one attempted to leave, and no one attempted to intervene.

Suddenly, someone sprang nimbly onto his seat and shouted above the din: "O you Muslims one and all!" It was Bediuzzaman. Having commanded the attention of the whole audience, he pointed out that freedom of speech had to be respected; it was shameful for members of a nation that had just proclaimed Freedom and constitutionalism to exceed the bounds of good behaviour and prevent a speaker from lecturing in this way. The religion of Islam also commanded that ideas be respected. He supported what he said with verses from the Qur'an and Hadiths, gave examples from Islamic history, and told them of how the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) used to consult the ideas of others and related his teachings and words, then advised them all to disperse quietly and go on their way.

Bediuzzaman spoke so well and convincingly that no one objected. Even the roughs and rowdies who a few minutes earlier had been hurling