Im reading a fascinating article that posits that the Muslim-centric Ottoman Empire was on a path to secularism and modernization in its last few centuries. It claims that radical Islamists who dream of an Ottoman-style caliphate governed by strict adherence to a narrow interpretation of sharia law misunderstand how the Ottoman Empire actually worked. To illustrate the tension that existed within the Empire, one very interesting section speaks of resistance by religious leaders to allow the introduction of the modern printing press until Napoleons invasion of Egypt. This fear of the printing press meant that the Ottoman Empire fell at least 200 years behind other European states in most fields of intellectual thought. [page 14] This is, of course, ideologically motivated, but its still a great read. faith-matters.org/images/stories/fm-publications/the-tanzimat-final-web.pdf
Posted on: Tue, 24 Jun 2014 03:49:01 +0000
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