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This essay investigates MORE ». Ibn Khaldun highlighted that societies in their natural state exist in the rural countryside, where the struggle of daily life binds kinsmen together Abdullah, a.
Under the rule of the Sultan Abdul Hamid II in the late nineteenth century the concept of Pan-Islamism, the concept that all Islamic peoples should unite under the Caliphate, was used as a means of supporting the declining power of the Ottoman ruler. This was done for three distinct reasons that will be argued in this article. The first reason was to counteract the growing power of European powers in the area; the second to undo the secularization These four nations showcase the state of Islamism as a political force in the Middle East.
Because of differing political circumstances in each state, the impact and viability of following Muslim law varies. In order to Follow IJ. Latest in History. While the Cold War is popularly regarded as a war of ideological conflict, to consider it solely as such does the long-winded tension a great disservice. In actuality, the Cold War manifested itself in numerous areas of life, including the various Read Article ». To the horror of their parents, and Western commentators, these children were converted to Islam and served as slaves.
Although the forced removal from their families and conversion was certainly traumatic and out of line with modern ideas of human rights, the devshirme system was a rather privileged form of slavery for some although others were undoubtedly ill-used. Some of the youngsters were trained for government service, where they were able to reach very high ranks, even that of Grand Vezir.
Many of the others served in the elite military corps of the Ottoman Empire, called the Janissaries, which was almost exclusively made up of forced converts from Christianity. The devshirme played a key role in Mehmet's conquest of Constantinople, and from then on regularly held very senior posts in the imperial administration. Although members of the devshirme class were technically slaves, they were of great importance to the Sultan because they owed him their absolute loyalty and became vital to his power.
This status enabled some of the 'slaves' to become both powerful and wealthy. Their status remained restricted, and their children were not permitted to inherit their wealth or follow in their footsteps. After battles between Muslims and Christians, churches were converted into mosques and mosques into churches according to who was the winner.
Although Mehmet converted many churches into mosques, he did not suppress the Christian faith itself. There were practical reasons for this:. But Mehmet was also influenced by the Islamic rule that Muslims should show respect to all religions. Mehmet not only tolerated the Christians, he made special efforts to attract Jews to Istanbul. This was attractive to the Jews, who had previously been persecuted by the Orthodox Christian Church.
The non-Muslim communities millets were controlled by the Sultan acting through their religious leaders. These communities were given their own parts of towns in which to live and worship. They were given a great deal of freedom to lead their lives according to their particular faiths, and so were largely supportive of their Muslim overlords. Mehmet II died in , and he nominated his eldest son Bayezid as the new Sultan.
The Janissaries suppressed the revolt and from then on became very important in Ottoman politics. With Janissary support Bayezid's son Selim laid the foundations for a world Ottoman Empire based entirely on the despotism of the Sultan. The Shi'as were ruthlessly suppressed and they retreated to Persia, joining with the local groups of Shi'a and eventually forming their own state under the Safavid Shahs.
Under this system whenever a new Sultan ascended to the throne his brothers would be locked up. As soon as the Sultan had produced his first son the brothers and their sons would be killed.
The new Sultan's sons would be then confined until their father's death and the whole system would start again. The Sultan's life was run by rituals copied from the Byzantine court. For example, the Sultan wore his silk robes once and then they were discarded. Many now are preserved in the Topkapi Musuem.
The Topkapi Palace held many objects which were used to give legitimacy to the Ottomans and reinforce the Sultan's claim to be leader of all Muslims.
The most important of these was the mantle of the Prophet Muhammad and his standard and footprint. These were brought from Egypt when Cairo fell to the Ottomans. It was in the Harem that the Sultan spent his life.
Every inhabitant of the small dark rooms in the Topkapi palace was his to command. The number of concubines often exceeded a thousand and came from all over the world. The only permanent male staff consisted of eunuchs. Access to the Sultan meant power. But no one was to be trusted. The Sultan moved every night to avoid assassination.
Favoured males were promoted to rule places far away like Syria; males not in favour could be locked up inside the palace. The harem was a paradox, since it was a feature of the Ottoman Empire and other Islamic states yet contained much that was not permissible in Islam.
The harem was extravagant, decadent, and vulgar. The concentration of wealth, suffering and injustice toward women was far from the ideals of marriage and married life in Islam. Despite this, the harem could bring benefits to a family who had a woman in the harem. It meant patronage, wealth and power; it meant access to the most powerful man in the Empire - the Sultan. Although the Ottoman Empire was widely influenced by the faiths and customs of the peoples it incorporated, the most significant influences came from Islam.
The ruling elite worked their way up the hierarchy of the state madrassahs religious schools and the palace schools. One of the first precedents of this was the Treaty of Umar bin al-Khattab, in which he guaranteed the Christians of Jerusalem total religious freedom and safety. Constantinople had historically been the center of the Orthodox Christian world, and still had a large Christian population.
As the empire grew into Europe, more and more non-Muslims came under Ottoman authority. For example, in the s, over 80 percent of the population in Ottoman Europe was not Muslim. In order to deal with these new Ottoman subjects, Mehmed instituted a new system, later called the millet system. Under this system, each religious group was organized into a millet. Each religious group was considered its own millet, with multiple millets existing in the empire.
For example, all Orthodox Christians in the Ottoman Empire were considered as constituting a millet, while all Jews constituted another millet.
Each millet was allowed to elect its own religious figure to lead them. In the case of the Orthodox Church the biggest Church in the Ottoman Empire , the Orthodox Patriarch the Archbishop of Constantinople was the elected leader of the millet. Islamic law Shariah had no jurisdiction over non-Muslims in the Ottoman Empire.
In cases of crime, people would be punished according to the rules of their own religion, not Islamic rules or rules of other religions.
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