A strong current of liberalism appeared in the late nineteenth century in Ottoman Syria in response to the religious despotism of Sultan Abdulhamid. At the same time, an anti-clerical, secular movement on behalf of constitutionalism appeared in Iran - a reaction to the absolutist alliance between the Quajar Shahs and the religious establishment.
除调查数据外，历史经验还显示：当专制君主与宗教设施联手统治时，自由的意愿会变得更为强烈。在奥斯曼叙利亚帝国，苏丹阿布都哈米特的宗教专制使19世纪后期出现了强烈的自由主义思潮。与此同时，代表立宪主义的反神职世俗运动也在伊朗愈演愈烈－这项运动是对伊朗王Quajar和宗教机构专制主义联合的有力回击。