Minorities in the Ottoman Empire

So on questioning the existence of minorities in the Ottoman empire, one has to consider the definition of the term minority and then see if truly applies to the Ottomans. I had been of the opinion that minorities had existed based on race, religion and social status, but when the question of whether the definition of minority could truly have been applied to the non-Muslims living and working in the empire, i clearly had to change my stance. After all the Jews, Christians and other non-Muslim people, most probably did not consider themselves to be a lesser and abused sector of the empire. They lived and worked like everyone else, with opportunities for advancement and privileges that would have defied the term "minority". Their taxes may have been different or some such responsibilities, but this enabled them to be excused from paying all the other taxes that Muslims were obligated to pay. If anything, this class taught me to question how i would apply when talking in a historical context. Not only has the meaning of the terms evolved with time and events, but they may not even capture the true meaning of the state of events in history.

On the Ottoman bill of rights

The bill of rights is very good in that introduces to us the conception of political rights in as well as showing that individual right were prominent in the Ottoman mind.

This is especially important because of the popular perception in many circles that the Islamic faith cannot conceivably be associated with granting individual rights. People would rather think of them as barbaric and incapable of human rights but the Bill of Rights disproves this notion.

It is further elevated in value by the fact that it represents proof that under the Ottomans’ Muslim empire, Christians and Jews enjoyed equal rights and expectations as Muslims. Before the Bill, they had had rights but within their own communities with the distinction that they were not equal to Muslims, hence practices such as enslaving Christians and Jews but never Muslims. With the Bill of rights things change as it initiates the process of ensuring equality between Christians, Muslims, and Jews in the Ottoman Empire.

The Gulhane proclamation

I was going through the Gulhane Proclamation in regards to the snow day assignment and i felt i should post my discussion board responses here.

Looking at this document, it seems to me that the Gulhane Proclamation talks about change. At first it looks to be very backward looking as it sorts of tries to reincarnate the good old days when the empire was at its greatest. As you go further in the reading, the tone struck me as being more a stylistic way of writing than actually being an exhortation about the need to return to the past when the empire ran according to the law.

This is best described when one see that there are actually new changes being spoken about in the proclamation thereby indicating that it is forward looking and not just wanting the old days. In cases where the proclamation declares that “From henceforth” this shows that this was an example of reform introducing something that was never there before thus the document looks forward. An example of reforms suggested is the practice that without judgment being pronounced, a person can neither secretly nor publicly kill someone else. This shows a clear progression from the old ways of meting justice.

The proclamation also suggests other changes that are useful as well as progressive in approach such as ensuring property rights. For me this was most impressive considering that even today many countries around the world are only beginning to understand the importance of property rights to a well functioning society, while some have not even gotten there yet. For the Ottomans to have been suggesting this in 1839, when the modern world had to go through colonialism in Africa, two world wars and communism to understand the same thing, is quite impressive.