due to the concerns of hamid ii views of ʻabdu'l-bahá's activities, a commission of inquiry interviewed him in 1905, with the result that he was almost exiled to fezzan. in response, ʻabdu'l-bahá wrote the sultan a letter protesting that his followers refrain from involvement in partisan politics and that his "tariqa" had guided many americans to islam. subsequent to the young turk revolution ʻabdu'l-bahá was released from his imprisonment and allowed to travel away from palestine. he freely expressed his disapproval of sultan abdul hamid ii and his policies. ʻabdu'l-bahá would continue to praise the committee of union and progress, and during his tour of north america in 1912, the ottoman embassy in washington, d.c. held a dinner in his honor.