Apostasy HK 4

Society for Comparative Studies in Society and History
Cambridge University Press
"There Is No Compulsion in Religion": On Conversion and Apostasy in the Late Ottoman Empire:
1839-1856
Author(s): Selim Deringil
Source: Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol. 42, No. 3 (Jul., 2000), pp. 547-575
Published by: Cambridge University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2696645
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"ThereIs No Compulsionin
Religion":On Conversionand
Apostasyin theLate Ottoman
Empire:1839 18561
SELIM DERINGIL
BogaziCiUniversity
Thereis no compulsion
inreligion.Therightdirection distinct
is henceforth fromerror.
Andhe whorejecteth falsedeitiesandbelievethinAllahhathgraspeda firmhandhold
whichwillneverbreak.Allahis Hearer,Knower.
-The HolyKoran11:256.
SOME GENERAL QUESTIONS
This essayis a preliminaryattempt to place nineteenthcentury Ottomancon-

versionpoliciesina comparative contextinrelationtobothearlierOttoman cen-
turiesand otherimperialpolities,viz.: theSpanishand Russian.The present
studyhasthreeaims.First,toasksomepractical questionsaboutthefactandna-
tureoftheconversion process.Second,totrytoascertain whether thereis some
pattern tothevariouscases occurringin thearchivaldocumentation forthetur-
bulentyearsbetweenthedeclaration of theTanzimatin 1839 andtheReform
Edictof1856.Andthird, toputthelateOttoman attitude
toconversion andapos-
tasyintoa broadercomparative framework thanhas hitherto beenattempted.2
To convert is tochangeworlds.Thiscanbe donevoluntarily orinvoluntari-
ly.In thespectrum rangingfromtheproverbial "conversion atthepointofthe
sword,"to thecompletely sincereandintellectually committed act,thegrada-
tionsofconviction andmotivation arealmostinfinite.Theyrangefromthecon-
sciousactofa Polisharistocrat whotookrefugeintheOttoman Empireandac-
ceptedOttomanservicein the 1830s,to thoseChristians in Damascus who
converted tosavetheirlivesduringtheriotsof 1860.Butthereis also thatgrey
area,thesmallinsultsof everyday life:beingreferred to as miirdratherthan
merhum whenyoudie,notbeingallowedtowearcertain coloursorclothes,not
beingallowedtoridecertainanimals.Theselittlebarbs,enduredon a dailyba-
sis, thesemusthave been thebasic reasonformanya conversionto Islam.3
Therearealso cases whichvergeon thecomic,suchas theFrenchdoctorwho
converted to escapehisgambling debts.
StudyofSocietyandHistory
$9.50 C 2000SocietyforComparative
0010-4175/00/3381-2326
547
548 SELIM DERINGIL
For therulingelite,conversion to Islamwas simplya wayto qualifyfora

certainstationin life:thatof therulingclass. It wouldappearthatformostof
therulingclass'shistory,thesincerity oftheconversion didnotundulyoccupy
the Ottomans.The Ottomanattitudewas distinctly pragmatic,particularly
whenit was a matterof employingskilledtechnicians (gun founders,ship-
wrights,military men,etc.): "go through themotionsandyou are accepted."4
WhatRichardBulliethas contendedforconversions in earlyArabianIslam
largelyholdstruefortheOttoman Empire:"[The]initialdecisiontojoin there-
ligiouscommunity oftherulershadmoreto do withtheattainment ormainte-
nanceofstatusthanitdidwithreligiousbelief."5Despitewhatis oftencitedas
"Ottoman tolerance" ofnon-Muslim creeds,thereis no doubtthattheMuslims
intheOttoman Empireweretherulingclass.As elegantly putbyMariaTodor-
ova:
Foralltheobjections
toromanticized
heartbreaking
assessmentsofChristian
plight
un-
dertheinfidelTurk,a tendency
thathasbeenlongandrightly theOttoman
criticized,
Empire was,first
andforemost,
anIslamicstatewitha strict
religious
hierarchy
where
thenon-Muslims without
occupied, anydoubt,thebackseats.Thestrict
division
onre-
ligiouslinesprevented ofthepopulation,
integration exceptincasesofconversion.6
Alsotheconversion issueraisesseveralbasicquestions.Is iteasierforthehigh-
erclassestoconvert rather thanthelowerclasses?Thefactthattheformer group
is so accustomed tocommandandbe obeyed,as a vitalwayoflife,maymake
conversion a pricewhichtheycan afford topay.The factoftaxexemptions for
converts, andthegradually decreasingnumber ofChristian timarholdersinthe
sixteenth-century Balkans,maywellhavebeentheresultof a desireto main-
taina positionoflocal wealthandpower.7It is worthspeculating thatconver-
sionmaywellhaveoccurred amongtheloweraristocracy orthemerchant stra-
ta, whose ambitionmayhave been stronger thantheirreligiousconviction.
KemalKarpat'sassertion is thatoncetheuppermost strataoftheBalkanruling
classeswerewipedout,manyoftherelatively lower"feudalgroups.. . served
theSultanin ordertokeeptheirownsocio-economic Manyeventu-
privileges.
allyconverted to Islam."8One couldalso arguethatpeoplein theuppermost
echelonsoftheCatholicorOrthodox nobilitymayhavehadcloser,organiclinks
(a younger brother as archbishop, etc.)withthechurch, makingthemresistant
to conversion. Yet thereversemay also hold true,as pointedout by Victor
Menage,therewas a tendency in theearlyOttoman periodfortheBalkanaris-
tocracytohedgetheirbetsbyensuring thatone sonconverted toIslam:"an ac-
tionwhich,whatever itsmotive, wouldhavehadtheeffect ofhelpingtodeprive
(sic) thewholefamilyfromexpropriation, frominsultsbyneighbors, andfrom
high-handed treatment bythelocal authorities."9The case oftheeliteOttoman
troops, theJanissary Corps,beingbasedon a childlevyfromtheChristian pop-
ulationis obviouslyone case ofinstitutionalized forcedconversion.10
A recentstudyonIslamnotes,quitecorrectly, thatreligionwas formanypeo-
ple, "whatis sociallyappropriate as well as whatis transcendentally true."
CONVERSION AND APOSTASY IN THE LATE OTTOMAN EMPIRE 549
Thus,a changeofcreedandritual,graveas itwas,was notnecessarily a terri-

blyintellectualorcerebralchoice.11
Factorsoftimeandplacemustalso be considered. Arepeoplemorelikelyto
convert in timesoftransition andcrisis,or does a stableandprosperous order
holdmoreattractions forthepotential convert? Researchhas shownthatin the
stableBalkansofthetimeofSuileyman theMagnificent (r.1496-1566) thepro-
portion ofconverts amongtheurbanpopulation was high,(seventy-six house-
holdsout of a Muslimpopulationof 231 householdsin Tirnovoin 1500,or
thirty-threepercent,twenty-five percentoftheMuslimpopulation ofBitolain
1545).12MariaTodorovahas pointedoutthatconversions in theBalkansbe-
ganimmediately afterthearrivaloftheOttomans andcontinued untilthenine-
teenth century,witha crucialperiodintheseventeenth century. She assertsthat
although therewere"obviouscases" offorcedconversion, "[M]ostwerenon-
enforced. Theseofteneuphemistically called'voluntary' weretheresultofeco-
nomicandsocial,butnotadministrative pressure."'3HalilInalclk'spioneering
workonthespreadofIslamintheBalkansdrawsattention tothefactthatmass
immediate forcedconversionto Islam was hardlyeverpracticedamongthe
Albanian,Serbian,or Bulgarianaristocracies aftertheOttomanconquest.Is-
lamizationwas a gradualprocessamongtheseclasses,whichlastedfromthe
mid-fourteenth tothesixteenth century. Christian timarholderswerecommon
evenduringthereignofBeyazidII (r. 1481-1512). By themid-sixteenth cen-
tury, theOttomantahrirregisters showhardlyanyChristian timarholders,as
the leadingBalkan familieswere assimilatedintothe Ottomanschemeof
things.14However,amongthepopulation atlarge,Inalclkhas also pointedout
thatsustainedpressure, exertedin formssuchas thepoll tax,was responsible
for"massconversions" in theBalkansin thelatercenturies.15
Arefrontier zonesmorelikelysettings forconversion, in theunsettled con-
ditionsofthemarches?Therearereferences in theliterature torather peculiar
practicesin OttomanAlgiers,whereChristian convertsweremadeto spiton
thecrossandthentrample it.Also inAlgiers,in the1640s,ifa Jewwantedto
convertto Islam,he was firstobligedto convertto Christianity: "Onlythenis
he permitted to moveintotheranksoftheTrueBelievers.A singularrequire-
mentthis,whichmakeshimtwiceovera renegade."' 6 Therenegadesocietyof
NorthAfricais indeedsingular, as it seemsto represent theultimatefrontier
zonewhererenegadoescouldanddidconvert toIslamandrisetopositionsof
supremepower.'7In NorthAfricathereare also claimsor cases of apostasy
fromIslamto Christianity, suchas thecase ofSidi Mohammed, a corsaircap-
tainwhowas captured bytheKnightsofMaltain 1654.Sidi Mohammedlater
becamea priest,andin 1663,in Genoa,"converted hundreds of galleyslaves
to Christianity."'8
The questionis: whowas the"Ottoman?" Was he SadikPasha,ne'eMichael
IzadorCzaykowski, a Polishcountwhoentered Ottomanservicein the1830s,
converted toIslam,andwentontopursuea distinguished militarycareer?'9Or
550 SELIM DERINGIL
washeAmirBashirShihab,a Christian Lebanesewhointheearly1820s,"prac-

ticedSunniIslaminpublicandChristianity inprivate,
[and]alloweda Maronite
priestto takechargeof his spiritual life?"20Or was he theDruze andAlewi
chieftainin theLebanese mountainswho practicedtaqiyya(dissimulation),
while"bycenturies old tradition"
takinghisdisputesto OttomanSunniShari-
atcourts?21Orwashe GrandVizierMehmedSokollu(Sokolovic,1505-1579),
whosebrother, themonkMakariosruledas thePatriarch oftheSerbianchurch
atPec?22
StephenHumphreys hasclaimedthat,"Indeed,we mightarguethatthestudy
ofconversion to Islamis one ofthemosteffective waysofreconstructing the
specificcharacteristics of each of theconstituentsocieties."23
Anothervital
questionconcernsthepositionoftheforcedconvertin Islamicsociety.24 Fur-
thermore, conversion was nota one waystreet.Some converts to Islamcould
anddidreturn to theiroriginalfaithsbyseekingandreceiving Papal dispensa-
tions.25
THE ISSUE OF APOSTASY FROM ISLAM
The issue of apostasyfromIslam (irtidad)is a particularly thornyone. The

commonly acceptedbeliefamongMuslimsis thattheapostate(miirtedi) is li-
able to executionaccordingtothesharia.26The highlyrespectedUeyhiilislam
ofthesixteenth century,Ebu's Su'ud Efendi,was unequivocalin hisfetvaon
thismatter: "Question:Whatis the~er'i rulingfora dhimmiwhoreverts toin-
fidelityafterhavingacceptedIslam?Answer:He is recalledtoIslam,ifhe does
notreturn he is killed."27
A majorrecentstudyon Ebu's Su'ud has also drawn
thepicture inrather starklines:"Thepenaltyforthemaleapostateis death.Be-
foretheexecution... juristsgranta threedaydelay.If,duringthisperiod,the
apostaterepents andacceptsIslamheis reprieved....An apostate, infactlives
ina legaltwilight. Ifhemigrates anda judgerulesthathe hasreachedtherealm
ofwar,he becomeslegallydead."28Thisrulingis also thebasisofwhatsome
authors havecalled"neo-martyrdom." The "neo-martyrs" aremenandwomen
who"turned Turk"forvariousreasons,butthenrepented andpubliclydeclared
themselves Christians."TheTurkishlaw was explicitandtheirdoom,ifthey
persisted, was certain."29
Thedegreeofpersistence, insomecasesmentioned byMichelBalivet,wasre-
allyexceptional, inthecasesofmenwhoactively
particularly soughtmartyrdom.
Suchwas thecase ofthemonkDamascinosattheendoftheeighteenth century,
who,after apostasizingandbecominga monkon MountAthos,was brought be-
forethelocalkaditoallowhimtheopportunity torepent:"[Thekadi]offered him
coffeewhichhe proceededtothrowintotheofficial's faceandstarteddeclaim-
ingagainstIslamas a falsereligion. He seemedtowanttoattract theworstpun-
ishments theTurkscouldinffict uponhim.Buthe was takenfora madmanand
simply givena severebeating." Yethekepttrying, andonlyafter insult-
publicly
ingIslamthreetimesinfront ofTurkish soldierswas he executed.30
Ithasbeenpointedoutoftenthatthisis thereasonforthepaucityofMuslim
converts toChristianity:"Ifitwereas easyandsafetorevert fromIslamas from
Protestantism, we shoulddoubtlessfindfewerMoslemsinTurkeyatthepres-
entday."31Surprisingly latein history,in October1843,we comeacrossthe
lastcase ofa formal, official,executionofan apostatein Istanbul.TheAmeri-
can missionary, CyrusHamlin,notedin his memoirsthattheissue causedse-
veredivisionsin Ottomanrulingcircles:"The old Mussulmanpartyhad tri-
umphedinthemostdisgraceful manner. The actdividedTurkish sentiment and
feeling;theold Turkscommending it,theyoungTurkishparty, alreadyform-
ing,cursing itas a needlessinsulttoEuropeanda supreme follyofoldfools."32
In fact,in theyearsleadingup to andimmediately aftertheReformEdictof
1856itbecamestatepolicyto looktheotherwaywhenMuslimswhoclaimed
tobe crypto-Christians openlydeclaredloyalty totheiroldfaith.33IlberOrtayll
has actuallypointedoutthatwhenitcameto somecrypto-Christians andoth-
erheteredox groups,"theStatepretended notto knowtheirbeliefs."34 Justas
conversion toIslamcanbe seenas a sortoflitmustestofspecifichistorical con-
ditions,we might standthequestiononitshead,andenquireiftheissueofapos-
tasyfromIslamis also a windowintothesoulofa particular peopleintimeand
place.Whatdetermined theattitude ofthepowerholders to thosewholeftthe
fold?Although theacceptedbeliefwas thatexecutionwas religiously permit-
ted,indeedordained, thehistoricalrecordshowsthatthisdictumwas veryof-
tendeliberately disregarded.Was itsimplya matter ofthedegreeofeffective-
nessof statepower?Did theOttomansafter1856 systematically tryto avoid
theexecutionofapostatesbecausetheywerewaryofthereactionoftheGreat
Powers?Or was therean increasingly prevalentnotionthat"thiswas notthe
donethinganymore"?
CONVERSION IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE: A COMPARATIVE OVERVIEW
TheOttoman attitude
toconversion is nowhere nearas clearas thatoftheSpan-
ishandPortuguese in SouthAmerica,ortheRussiansintheirexpansionsouth-
wardsintotheDon-Volgaregion.The"savingofsouls"was notanintegral part
ofOttomanImperialpolicy,as itwas in theChristian empires.The verybasis
oftheSpanishreconquista was to expelIslamfromtheIberianpeninsula, and
therewas tobe no formalSpanishequivalentofdhimmi (non-Muslim subject)
statusfortheconquered Muslims.Although theterms ofthesurrender ofGrana-
da in 1491 specifiedthattheMoorswouldnotbe forcibly converted, afterthe
arrivalon thescenein 1499ofthezealotArchbishop CisnerosofToledo,there
ensueda policyofforcible baptismandforcedconversion.35
ForSpain,expansionandconquestofthe"NewWorld"cametobe synony-
mouswiththe"conquestofsouls"ofthenativeAmerican population: "fifteenth
andsixteenth-century Spain,whichhad cometo conquer,colonize,andevan-
gelizetherecentlydiscoveredcontinent, feltthatitwas electedbyProvidence
forthismission."36The reconquista of Granadawas transformed intoa moti-
552 SELIM DERINGIL
vatingmotiffortheconquistaofIndiansoulsin villagefestivals in the1550s:

"Villagefiestasincludeddance-dramas suchas theone knownas 'Moorsand
Christians'whichre-enacts theSpanishconquestoftheMoorsin Granadain
1491.The Indiansreinterpreted thisSpanishdramaas a portrayal of thecon-
questofMexicoandaddedHernanCortestoitscastofcharacters."37 The em-
phasison religiousconversion couldeventakeprecedenceovertheeconomic
considerations ofSpanishcolonialism, as showninthecase oftheSpanishcon-
questof thePhilippineislands.Althoughhis officialstoldPhilipII thatthe
Philippines werenoteconomically worththevastexpense,"itwas thereligious
motiveofretaining theislandsfortheCatholicfaiththatinfluenced Philipjj."38
Itmustbe noted,however, thatamongsomeoftheSpanishclergy, mercyand
charity werethepreferred methodsofconversion. A particularly
distinguished
examplewas Bartolome de Las Casas (1474-1566), a Dominicanfriar wholat-
erbecameBishopofChiapasinGuatemala.Las Casas becamea fervent cham-
pionof theIndians,and is bestremembered forhis BriefReportOn theDe-
structionoftheIndians,or TearsoftheIndians.In thisworkLas Casas argued
thatthe"[Gospel] shouldbe preachedwithenticements, gentleness,and all
meekness, andpaganstobe ledtothetruth notbyarmedforcesbutbyholyex-
amples,Christian conductandthewordofGod ... ."39YetevenLas Casas was
in no way questioning thebasic requirement of conversion,and in manyin-
stanceshe metwithstrong opposition fromwithintheclergyforpreaching le-
niencetowardstheIndians.The theologianJuanGines de Sepulveda,"for
whomtheAristotelian doctrine ofnaturalslaverywas entirely applicabletothe
Indianson thegroundsoftheirinferiority," was to be one ofhismostfervent
critics.40
Russiawas a relativelatecomer to state-supportedconversion policies,and
itwas onlyafterPetertheGreatthatconverting non-Christians
becamea mat-
terofstatepolicy.41Although Russianconversion campaigns wereas muchtar-
getedagainstpagansas Muslims,thepost-Petrine stateacquiredsomething of
a crusadingcharacter as itexpandedintotheTatarandotherMuslimzones.This
trendreachedits peak withthecreationof The Agencyof ConvertAffairs,
whichfunctioned from1740to 1760.Theintensepolicyofforcible conversion
carriedoutbythisagencywas,however,a failure:"The excessiveforceused
bytheAgencyofConvert Affairs,themutualcomplaints ofthechurchofficials
and theconverts, and thelargebutnominalcharacter of conversion made it
clearthatmissionary workinRussiainthemiddleoftheeighteenth century was
flawed."42The officialconversion policywas also verybrutal, particularly af-
tertheappointment ofArchbishop Luka Konasevicin 1738: "Methodsofex-
tremebrutalitywerebrought tobear:massivedestruction ofmosques,thekid-
napping of Muslim childrenbaptisedby forceand shutup in schools for
converts,eventheforcedbaptismof adults... thedeathpenaltyforMuslim
missionaries."43
Fromthistimeonwards,therewas to be a largecrypto-Muslim population
in theVolgaregion.Whenstatepressurelifted, thesepeoplewouldperiodical-
ly apostasizeandreturn toIslam.In periodsofrelativeliberalism, suchas that
ofCatherine theGreat,emphasisonvoluntary conversion becamethestatepol-
icy.Howevertheperiodofrelativeliberalism underCatherine was followedby
a newcrackdown in thenineteenth century. In 1827,severalthousand convert-
ed Tatarspetitioned theTsarto allowthemtoreturn to Islamin whatwas "the
first massivewaveofapostasy."44
It is instructive
to comparetheRussianandOttomancases becausein some
waysthemethods usedbythetworegimesaretantalizingly familiar,yetthere
arestriking differences.In bothpolities,atvariousdates,conversion couldlead
toan amnesty forprevious"crimes."In both,the"carrotmethod"includedex-
emption fromtaxation andmilitary service,andgiftsofmoneyandclothing. In
bothpolitiesthephysicaldisplacement of new convertswas practicedas a
meansofdistancing themfromtheirpreviouscommunities. In bothRussiaand
intheOttoman Empiretheconversion ofthepreviousaristocracies was a grad-
ual process,whichtookplaceoverseveralgenerations. In Russia,a widerange
of nobles,including"ChinggisidprincesfromSiberiato the Crimea,non-
Chinggisid TatarnoblesoftheKazan region,KabardiannoblesandtheImerit-
ianrulingdynasty fromtheCaucasus,NogayandKalmykchiefsfromtheVol-
ga steppes-all at different timesandfordifferent reasons-chose to convert
toChristianity ... Assimilation was completewhena dynasty entered theGe-
nealogicalBook of theRussiannobility."45 Thus,bothpolitiesshoweda re-
markable capacityforintegrating previouselitesinwhich"conversion meanta
fasttrackto assimilation."46 In Russia,thespreadof Orthodoxy remaineda
stateproject:"The singlemoststriking feature ofRussianmissionary activity
remainstheunusualdegreeofgovernment involvement. In a country in which
thechurchwas firmly weddedto thestate,religiousconversion was seenand
usedbythegovernment as a toolof statecolonialpolicies."47
In bothpost-Petrine Russia,withthecreation oftheHolySynodin 1721,and
thepostMahmudianOttomanEmpire(from1839 onwards)withtheincorpo-
rationofthe eyhiilislam intothegovernment machinery-(this positioneven-
tuallybecominga Cabinetpost)-the highestof religiousofficesbecameen-
tirely subordinatetotemporal power.48 In bothpolities,therefore, itis possible
to referto an "institutionalizing [of] piety."49 Yetitis herethatthemajordif-
ferencecomesout.In matters of conversion (forcedor voluntary), masscon-
versionwas neveran official policyoftheOttomanstateforthepopulationat
large.Althoughlarge-scaleIslamizationdid takeplace in some areas of the
Balkansin thecenturies following theOttoman conquest,itproceededslowly,
anduntilthetightening ofthebordersbetweenthemillets-due to theinflu-
enceofnationalism in thenineteenth century-theconvertoftenkeptcontact
withhis/her previouscommunity. As MichelBalivetsuccinctly putit,"As to
Islamization'a la ottomane,' itis certainly nota case ofreligiousor evencul-
turaluniformity, mostoftheconverts kepta partoftheirpastheritage."50 The
554 SELIM DERINGIL
recentmajorstudybyAhmetYa?arOcak on heresyin theOttomanEmpirein

thefifteenth
throughseventeenthcenturiesis also veryclearonthispoint:"The
Ottoman Empireneverconsidered theofficial religionas a beliefthatwas tobe
imposedonitsnon-Muslim subjects,anditnevercarriedoutanyactivity inthis
regard."5'
In otherwords,theOttomanEmpireneverhad a "PropagandaFide,"or an
"AgencyforConvert nordidithaveanypresswhichwas usedbythe
Affairs,"
PropagandaFide to suchgood effect.It is onlylate in theHamidianperiod
(1876-1909) andthesubsequent YoungTurkperiodthatthispicturebeginsto
change.52
CONVERSION IN THE EARLY OTTOMAN PERIOD
CemalKafadar'srecentworkhas castnewlighton thehitherto-accepted wis-

domaboutthegazi,"theMuslimwarrior forthefaith," whichheldthatpartof
hisjob was to convertinfidels.Even in thecase ofthelegendary companion-
in-armsofSultanOsmanI, Kose Mihal(MikhalistheBeardless),whois sup-
posedtobe one ofthefirstGreekconverts anda notableearlygazi,it appears
thatnotonlydid he convertratherlaterthanthought, butthathe tookpartin
earlyOttomanraidsandtookhis shareof thebootyas a Christian.53 Kafadar
also pointsoutthatmanythingsthatwerewritten aboutthegazi obligationto
convertChristians werelateradditions, madeby writers bemoaningthepass-
ingofthegazi tradition. Eventhefamousdervish-chronicler A?lkpa?azade,in
hispanegyric relatingtheexploitsof SultanMuratII (r. 1421-1451), was in-
dulginginnostalgiaandventuring an indirectcriticismofMehmedII's (1451-
1481) moresettledpolicies,whichseemedto undermine thegazi tradition.54
Considerationofthegazi tradition
inearlyOttoman timesraisesanother crit-
ical issueintheconversionprocessgenerally. Whowas moreconcerned toim-
pose the"true"religion, thecentralized or centralizingstate,ortheheteredox
elementsin themarches?Whowas morelikelyto be successfulin proselytiz-
ing,theheteredox Sufiwhohad livedall his lifeamongChristians and other
non-Muslims, orthemember ofthecerebral highulema,whosatinhismedrese
(Muslimseminary) inurbancentres? Kafadarseemstoinclinetowardsthefor-
mer:"It was rarelyifevertheulemaand thecourtiers of Bagdad and Konya
whosetthemselves thetaskofactivelygainingconverts. Itwasrather thelarge-
lyunorthodox dervishesofthemarchesin southwestern Asia andsouthern Eu-
ropewhodidso." Legendary gazis wereoftendervishes whowerereputedto,
"speakseventy twolanguages,"whowere"holyfigures trainedforsuchcross-
culturalexercises."55
SperosVryonis inhisclassicworkontheIslamization of
GreekAnatoliaalso notes,"Otherswere preparedfor assimilationby the
preaching ofdervishesandulemas,andbythereligioussyncretism thattended
toequateIslamicpracticesandsaintswiththoseoftheChristians."56
OmerLutfiiBarkan,in one ofhis seminalarticleson earlyOttomansettle-
mentin theBalkansdrewa verydetailedpictureof therole of "colonizing
dervishes" in thisprocess.The picturehe presents is a somewhatstylizedim-

age, in whichdervishessporting exemplary pious devotion"spiritually con-
queredthe[infidel] in campaignsevenpreceding thearrivaloftheconquering
armies"(karEitarafidaha evvelmanenfethetmi~).57 Moreover, Barkan'spoint
is thatmostoftheconverts madeweretheservants ofthedervishlodges,and
"couldnotbutcomeunderthespellofthemysterious andintensereligiousrit-
uals practiced therein." So the"colonizing"natureofthe"colonizingdervish-
es" is mostlyconfined to providing hospitality and security in "remoteempty
places."As to mass conversion, Barkanis unequivocal:"In truth in Ottoman
history, untiltheconquestofIstanbulwe cannotspeakofmassIslamization or
thecosmopoliticization of thestate."58 Therefore, evenin his articlespecifi-
callydealingwith"colonizingdervishes" themainemphasisis on theirfunc-
tionas buildersofhospicesandproviders ofsecurity on theroads.Theirfunc-
tionas Islamicizersis clearlysecondary, andtheyproceedto convertthrough
goodexampleandintensity offaith,rather thanthrough a militant
confronta-
tionwiththeindigenous faith,as in thecase oftheFranciscanFriars.In other
words,the"colonizingdervishes" arealso "bridgepeople"intheearlyyearsof
Ottoman expansion, as seeninVryonis'treatment oftheBekta?is.59Noris this
processconfined to theearlyperiodof Ottomanexpansion.WilliamHasluck,
writing at theturnofthenineteenth century, claimedthatsomevillagesin the
Albanianregionof Koritza,"are said to have been converted withinthelast
hundred yearstoIslam,orrather to Bektashism."60
Heroesofepicssuchas theDaniEmendname (latethirteenthcentury),Saltuk-
name(1480), andtheBook ofDede Korkutall inclinetowardslatitudinarian-
ism and syncretism. The attitudeis by no meansnecessarily"Islam or the
sword,"buta gradualinsinuation intothelivesofthe"others," inwhichanim-
portant elementis empathy withChristianity, together withan invitationto be
includedin the advantagesof belongingto Islam.Thus,thelegendarySan
SaltukcouldfighttheByzantines, butcould also bringtearsto theireyesby
reciting theBibleatthealtar.Norwas thisempathy necessarilycynicalandcal-
culating. Theremaywellhavebeengenuineaffection on bothsides.6'
The obsessionwithSunniorthodoxy did notariseuntiltheemergenceof
SunniOttoman rivalry withtheShi'iteSafavidsofIranin thesixteenth centu-
ry,"whichwas essentially a political,nota religiousstruggle."62 ColinImber
drawsattention to thesamepoint:"The Sultan'sroleas defender of thefaith
obligedhis government to identify and eliminateheretics.This taskwas not
easy sincethevarietyof beliefsandpracticesin theOttomanEmpirewas as
heterogeneous as theMuslimpopulation itself."63
The questionthatcomestomindatthispointis thefollowing: was thestory
of OttomanIslamthatof a dialecticbetweentolerance/latitudinarianism/syn-
cretism ontheonehand,andtheimposition ordesiredimposition oforthodoxy
on theother?Even in nineteenth-century documents thetermis "daire-iIs-
lamiyetedavet?,"to be invitedintothefoldof Islam.Yet,thiscoexistswith
556 SELIM DERINGIL
phrasessuchas the"correction of theirbeliefs"(tashih-iakaid) andthefight

My contention
againstdalalet,or heresy.64 in thisstudyis thatconversionto
Islamin theOttoman Empirewas alwaysa muchmoread hoc, a moreprag-
maticthandogmatic/canonical processthanit was in Christian empires,and
thatitonlyacquiredfullstaterigourandofficial backinginthenineteenth cen-
turyas a reactiontoforeign
pressure,andtheofficial recognitionthatapostasy
fromIslamwas nowlegallypossible.
FROM THE TANZIMAT TO THE REFORM EDICT:

FOREIGN INTERVENTION IN RELIGIOUS MATTERS
TheTanzimatEdictof 1839was intended toguarantee equalitybeforethelaw

to all subjectsof theOttomanEmpire,Muslimand non-Muslim alike.65The
Reform Edictof1856wasdesignedtocarryoutthepromises madeintheTanzi-
mat.The Reform Edictis muchmoredetailedandmuchlonger,as well as be-
ingmorespecificaboutreligiousfreedom, statingthat"As all formsofreligion
areandshallbe freely professedinmydominions, nosubjectofmyempireshall
be hindered in theexerciseofthereligionthathe professes, norshallhe be in
anywayannoyedon thisaccount.No one shallbe compelledto changetheir
religion."66 Although thebeliefamongsomecontemporary observers was that
the1856Edictspecifically abolishedthelaw ordaining theexecutionofapos-
tates,thereis no specificmentionof apostasyanywhere in thatdocument.67
Given thatthe 1856 Edict was so detailedregardingthe positionof non-
Muslims,itis actuallypossibleto see itas theoutcomeofa periodofreligious
restlessness thatfollowedtheEdictof 1839.Indeed,in theyearsleadingup to
theedictof 1856 we comeacrossa certain"liveliness"in thereligiouslifeof
theEmpire.Thereappearsto be a shifting of thesands,notonlyfromChris-
tianityto Islamandvice-versa, butalso amongtheotherreligionsofOttoman
society.68 The officialpositionwas alwaysthesame:thatthestatewouldnot
toleratetheuse offorceor anysortofcompulsion in thematter ofconversion
toIslam,andthatthelegalexecutionofapostatesfromIslamwas notallowed.
Yet thereis also an unmistakable undercurrent. The feelof thedocuments
leadsonetotheimpression thattherewas continuous pressure onnon-Muslims
to convert, and a continuingdangerthatapostateswouldbe putto death.The
sheerrepetition oftheorderthatcompulsion was nottobe permitted hintsvery
strongly thata greatdealofcompulsion was beingbrought intoplay.How much
of thiswas local andhow muchwas state-approved is a mootpoint.Whatis
clearis thatfortheOttoman rulingelite,"freedom ofreligion"meant"freedom
to defendtheirreligion."Indeed,thewordingof theReformEdictis entirely
opentothisinterpretation.69
The Ottoman Ambassador to Londonwas instructed to ask EarlRussellthe
following questions:
that
Canitbesupposed whilst religious
condemning theSublime
persecutions, has
Porte
topermit
consented offence Thatatthesametimeshe
toanycreedwhatever?
andinsult
liberty
was proclaiming toall non-Mussulmancreeds,shehadgiventhemarmsagainst
Islamism?Thatshehad,infine,destroyed withwhich
atthesamestroketheguarantees
ofreligiousconvictions?70
theliberty
she surrounded
Duringtheyearsleadingup totheReform Edict,thereis a risingtideofdocu-

mentation whichimpliesever-increasing tothisissue.Sensitivity
sensitivity to
as wellas todomestic
outsidepressure, meantthatIstanbulhadtowalk
reaction
a tightrope orderstotheprovinces,
ofreiterated repeatedly assuring theforeign
envoysthatit was keepingitshousein orderand,byclearimplication, thatit
didnotneedtheirhelp.
Thiswas preciselythegistof a conversationbetweentheOttoman Ambas-
sadorto London,AhmedMuhtarPasa, and the"GreatElchi,"thelong-time
BritishAmbassadorto theSublimePorte,Sir Stratford Canning,whowas on
leaveinLondon.In a conversation overdinnerattheOttoman Embassy,which
theOttoman Ambassadorreported on 31 January1844,thematter of conver-
sionandapostasycameup.Canningbrought upthematter of"therecentevents
in Bilecikwherean apostatewas executed,thiscausingverystrongfeelings
amongthePowers.' Canningthenwenton at somelengthaboutthepromis-
es madebythePortein thisregard.AtthispointAhmedMuhtarPasa replied:
I explainedtoHis Excellencyinthecalmestmanner thereligiousobligationsincumbent
on all Muslimsinthesecases (birmecburiyet-i
diniyye I also pointedoutthat
keyfiyeti).
thefactthatcommitments had been made in Istanbuldid notmeanthatsuchevents
wouldnottakeplacein somelocality. All we couldhopeto accomplishwouldbe totry
toprevent theoccurrenceofconditionswhichwouldbringintoforcesuchobligations.72
The Ottoman Ambassadorfurther pointedoutto Canningthat,"ourreligious

obligationslikeournationally establishedlaws areveryclearon thismatter."
He wenton: "Like BritainandFrance,theSublimeStateandits subjectsare
mostdesirousofbeingquitofthisvexingquestion."73 The messagebehindthe
diplomaticwording wasveryclear:do notpushus toofarina direction we want
togo in anyway.Nonetheless, theOttoman Ambassador madea pointoftelling
Canningthattherewere"religiousobligations" toexecuteapostates, whichthe
Portewas doingitsbestto circumvent.
Another veryclearindicationthattheSublimeStatedidnotneedoutsidein-
terferenceinmatters tothereligiousfreedom
relating ofitssubjectsis theoffi-
madein 1851 thattheprivilegesgranted
cial declaration to non-Muslim sub-
jectsin 1453byMehmettheConqueror, theconqueror ofIstanbul, werestillin
force.Itwas clearlystatedinthe1851declaration thatsucha confirmation was
goingtobe officiallyissuedas anImperialEdict(Hat-1Hiimayun)totheGreek
and ArmenianPatriarchates, as well as theChiefRabbi and thehead of the
Protestantcommunity: "The fullapplication of suchprivileges is a manifesta-
tionoftheSublimeState'sgreataffection foritssubjects,anditsdetermination
notto admitanyinterference ormeddlingbyanyotherparty."74 It is interest-
ing thatthePorteshouldhave hitupon the stratagem of using some four
hundred-year-oldhistorical
precedent to wardoffoutsidepressure, andindeed
558 SELIM DERINGIL
theHat of 1856specifically mentioned FatihSultanMehmedbyname.75This

is all themoreremarkable as therehas alwaysbeensomedoubtabouttheve-
racityofthegranting oftheseprivileges.76 Halil Inalcikhas confirmed thatal-
though SultanMehmetII didindeedgranttheGreekPatriarch Gennadiusa be-
rat,orletterofpatent, no actualdocument has everbeenfound.7
A moststriking case veryevocatively illustratingtheproblems offoreign in-
volvement comesup on27 January 1852inthesancakofLazistan,ontheeast-
ernBlack Sea coastbordering Russia.The local Ottomanauthorities reported
that"recently somethreeor fourGeorgianchildrenaboutthirteen to fourteen
yearsof age, have presented themselves at thefrontier postat X;UrUksu, and
haveimmediately converted toIslamoftheirownfreewill.78Whentherepre-
sentative of theGeorgianheadman(Tavat)came to see themin thebarracks
wheretheywerebeingkeptand attempted to dissuadethem,theyreportedly
toldhim,"we cameherewiththedesiretobecomne Muslims,we willon no ac-
countgo back."The sancakofficialspointedoutthattheusual procedurein
thesematters calledforthepresenceofa consularofficialiftheconverts were
Russiansubjects.On theotherhand,iftheywereOttomansubjects,theoffi-
cials said,thenprocedure simplycalledforthepresenceofthelocal Metropol-
itanorhisrepresentative, thekocabapa.It was also determined byinternation-
al agreement thatto andfromovement ofpeoplesacrosstheborderwas to be
regulated bypassports, buttheGeorgianchildren hadnopassports. Thus,itwas
implied,theRussianConsulcouldnotclaimthem.Another interestingsideline
was thestatement at thebeginning of thereportthat"becausethesancakof
Lazistanis adjacenttotheRussianbordertherehas neverbeenanyshortage of
peoplewhocomeoverandclaimtobecomeMuslimorpeoplewhocrossover
to theotherside and acceptotherreligions."79 Anotherdistinct possibility is
thatthechildren in questionwereeitherkidnappedorotherwise enslaved.The
enslavement ofGeorgiansandCircassianswas widespread duringtheseyears
inthisfrontier zone,andwas a majorboneofcontention betweenthePorteand
Stratford Canning.80
Foreigninterference seemstohavebeenverymuchtheorderoftheday,with
manyOttomannon-Muslims claimingto be protected by someforeignpow-
er.81On 13 September 1852theGovernor ofIoannina(inEpirus,Greece)was
ordered tolookintothedeathoftheservant ofa highranking Ottoman official.
The Defterdar, orHead Accountant, a certainGatoAnendiri, hadreported that
hisservant haddiedsoonafterconverting toIslam.However,thedeathhadoc-
curredin somewhatsuspiciouscircumstances and theAustrianEmbassyhad
intervened, claimingthatthedeceasedhadbeenan Austrian subject.The Em-
bassywas claimingthat,according toestablished practice,anAustrian official
hadtobe present whenanAustrian subjectconverted toIslam.No suchofficial
hadbeenpresentatthisconversion, however:therefore thedeceasedhaddied
an Austrian subject.Moreover, thecircumstances of thedeathweresuchthat
foulplaywas suspected.The implication fromtheAustrianside was thatthe
convert hadbeenbeatenorotherwise abusedwhilebeingpressured to convert.

It was therefore dulyarranged thata teamof doctorsfromtheOttomanand
Austriansides shouldbe presentas thebodywas exhumedand an autopsy
performed.82
Manyofthecases intheBalkansintheyearsleadingup totheReform Edict
of 1856involvedtheprotection ofso-called"Austrian subjects."In 1853itwas
reported fromI?kodra(Scutari)inAlbaniathata certainGeorgeandhiscousin,
a younggirlnamedAntonia,hadbeenpressured intoacceptingIslam.George
hadescapedfromthefortress wherehe was beingkeptprisoner andhadswum
theacrossriverto theAustrianside.Antonia,itwas reported, was beingheld
in thehouseof Be?irGalib,"in chainsand underthemostterrible pressure."
GeorgehadtoldtheAustrians thathe wantedtoreturn, butalso wanteda guar-
anteethathe wouldnotbe pressured to acceptIslam.The Portewroteto the
Mutasarrlf ofScutarithat"noChristian subjectis evertobe pressured orforced
inanywaytoacceptIslam."Itis worth noting thatthePorteadded,"suchevents
willhavea verybad effect in thatareathesedays."The local authorities were
toldthattheywereto securethesafeconductofbothofthevictims.83
The threadrunning through thedocumentation is thattheOttomanscon-
stantly felttheconsulatesand embassieswerelookingovertheirshoulderin
matters relatingtoconversion. Suchwas thestoryofKaterina, a Greekwoman
whowas orphanedandleftin thecareofTalipAghain Ioannina,who"virtu-
allyimprisoned herand appliedall mannerof threats andpromisesforherto
convert." TheBritishConsulinPrevezathenbecameinvolved,claimingKate-
rinaas a Britishsubject,andtherefore demanding thata Britishofficialshould
be presentat themomentof conversion. The Ottomangovernment instructed
thegovernor of Ioanninato ascertainwhether Katerinahad converted volun-
tarily,andwhether shewas infacta Britishsubject.Itwas clearlystatedthatno
consularrepresentative was neededifshe was not.84As in thecases aboveof
personsclaimingAustrianprotection, thereseemsto have been a recognized
procedure, whereby foreignrepresentativeswereto witnessthata conversion
was indeedvoluntary. A measureofhowstrongly theOttomans feltaboutthis
is thefactthatafterthe1860anti-Christian riotsinDamascus,theOttomanau-
thorities demandedthatthefivehundred or so Christianswhohadbeenforced
to embraceIslambe obligedtoreturn to theiroriginalfaith.85
CASES OF CONVERSION AND APOSTASY
Inthedocumentation oftheperiodonefindsfrequent tocasesofcon-

references
versionandsubsequent apostasy.The ordersfromthecenterarealwaysin the
samevein:no forceorcompulsionis admissiblein matters ofconversion.Al-
thoughthisauthorhas beenunableto findsucha documentas a "Regulation
forConversions," thereis frequent
referenceto conversionbeingcarriedout
"accordingto theproperprocedure" ve
(usul nizamina Accordingto
tevfiken).
theseregulations,
thehighest-ranking availableinthecom-
religiousauthority
560 SELIM DERINGIL
munity oftheconvert hadto be presentat theconversion. Together withhim,

theconvert's parents ornextofkinshouldbe inattendance. Thedocuments tes-
tifying totheactoflegitimate conversion weretobe signedandsealedbyMus-
limandChristian officialsalike.The procedure shouldnotbe hurried, andifa
fewdaysdelaywas requiredforthepriestorthenextofkinto arrive, thecon-
versionwas to be postponed.Onlythosechildren whohad reachedtheage of
puberty were allowed to convert.Also, in the case of girlswhocametothecer-
emonyveiled,theveilhadto be liftedto ascertain identity.86
This emphasison bureaucratic regularity is also veryevidentin a studyof
cases of conversion in theOttomanprovinceofBursa.In post-Tanzimat Bur-
sa, theregisters ofthereligiouscourts(thesicils) showthattheprocedure in-
volvednumerous stages.First,theconvert orintended convert hadtomaketheir
desireknowntothelocaladministrative counciloftheprovince(Meclis-iIdare-
i Vilayet).Second,theadministrative councilcarriedoutthe"official question-
ing"of theperson,ascertaining theirreligion,community affiliation, and the
factthattheywere"free,sane,andadult"(hiirakilve balig).Atthispointthe
"candidate"was askedifhe/shehad been "tricked, forcedor coerced"(cebr,
igfal,tergib)intoconversion. Next,thepersonwas askedbythecouncilto re-
peatthesacredformula in thepresenceofthecouncilandthegovernor orhis
representative. At.thispointrepresentatives of theformer community of the
convertwereto be presentas well as representatives oftheforeign powers,in
thecase ofa convert claimingprotected status.Third,thecase wasthenreferred
to thekadicourt,wherethesameprocedure was carriedoutagain.At theend
of all thistheconvertwas acceptedas a Muslimandregistered as such,being
givena "certificate ofconversion"(ihtida ilami).87
Thisstickling forprocedure didnotescapethenoticeofthebetter-informed
foreign observers:"The wholeprocedure thatis prescribed in cases ofconver-
siontoMohammedanism fromanyformofreligionis judicious,moderate, and
calculatedto distinguish betweenreal and forcedconversion, andto givethe
former co-religionists oftheconvert everyopportunity ofsatisfying themselves
thattheconversion is voluntary."88
On 5 May 1844,a case was reported fromAkka(Acre) wherebya young
Christiangirlpurportedly converted to Islam,buttheconversionwas chal-
lengedby her parents and relatives.When summoned beforetheShar'iacourt
sherecanted, saying that she had been forced into the act.The courtdulyor-
deredthatas she was a minor she should be given back to herparents.89 The
in
ordersstate no uncertain terms that: "No subject of theSublime State shall
be forcedby anyoneto convertto Islamagainsttheirwishes."It had cometo
theForeignMinistry's attention that:
Therearemany where
casesreported isa childwhohasbeenimportuned
thesaidperson
as itis entirely
to acceptIslam .... In no wayis thistobe admitted
byan insistence in
contravention
ofcurrent as setdownintheletters
lawsandregulations ofpatent
(berat)
giventothevarious
Archbishoprics.90
CONVERSION AND APOSTASY IN THE LATE OTTOMAN EMPIRE 56I
Thepattern is usuallythesame.A Christian converts toIslam,thecommunity

intervenes, claimingsomeirregularity in theconversion process,thevictimis
calledbeforetheKadi's court,andthecourt,no doubtunderinstructions from
Istanbul, findssomesortofface-saving solution.All thisis a farcryfromoffi-
ciallysanctioned executionof apostates.At leastin one instance,theofficial
policyofthestatewas statedveryclearlyintermswhichcan onlybe described
as "youareinstructed to looktheotherway."On 30 October1844,theMu#ir
oftheArmyof Rumelia,Resid Pasa, was giveninstructions regardinghis re-
questforinstructions on whatto do withtheapostatesin theregionofNove-
berde.He was toldin no uncertain termsthat:"In offensive matters(madde-i
mekruhe) suchas these,[theoffenders] shouldbe sentto Istanbul,without be-
ingofficially referredtothelocal Kadi court."It was deemedessentialthatthe
apostatesbe removedfromtheirlocalitywiththeminimum offanfare as, "if
thecase is announced inthecourt,thentheyareshippedofftoIstanbul, themat-
terwill stillcometo theattention of theforeignembassiesandcause useless
loosetalk."Therefore, "theabovementioned (apostates)shouldbe putinprison,
and thenaftersometime,whentheaffairhad quieteddown,theyshouldbe
madetoappeartohaveescapedfrom jail andspeedilysentontheirway"(habis-
hanedenfirar edmiscesine hakimane def'lerine).As a secondoptiontheywere
to setoutontheirexiletoIstanbulunderescort,but"be madeto appeartohave
escapedduringthejourney"(esnaylrahdabirtarafasavugturulmak).91
Whenthecase ofconversion involveda priest,matters couldbecomeeven
moreentangled. On 31 October1852 it was reported thatan Armenian priest
hadconverted toIslamin a villagenearVanin easternAnatolia.Notonlyhad
he converted, buthe hadsetaboutdemolishing thevillagechurch, "inan actof
wantonenmity againstthelocal population." Understandably, thishad"caused
muchsuffering anddiscomfort forthepopulation." Actingon a complaint from
theArmenianPatriarchate, thePorteorderedthatsincetherewereno other
Muslimsin thevillagethepriestshouldbe warnedtobehavehimself, butifhe
persistedhe wouldbe removedto a nearbyMuslimvillage.92
Here,as in thecases above,pragmatism and expediencyseemto have de-
termined theofficialresponse,ratherthandoctrinal rigour.Yet here,too,the
questionsof whythepriestconverted in thefirstplace, and whyhe feltso
strongly abouthisnewfaithremainunanswered.
Another thorny andambivalent issuewas thequestionofwhatdefinedvol-
untary orforcedconversion. In all thedocuments claimingthatthevictimhad
been forced,theturnof phraseis invariably: "althoughnothingcan be said
againstthosewhogenuinely acceptIslam,theuse of forceis againsttheSul-
tan'swishesandagainsttherulingsoftheSharia."
In August1844 a Christian girlwas abductedby a MuslimAlbanianwhile
working in a fieldintheregionofLeskofcanearNis.Themanintended torape
her;in orderto save herlifeandhonour, thegirldeclaredthatshewas willing
toconvert. Later,uponbeingquestioned bytheKadi's court,sherecantedand
562 SELIM DERINGIL
toldthecourtthatshehad onlyconverted to save herlifeandhonour,andshe

was stilla Christian. She was thenkeptin confinement in a Muslimhousehold
whileherparentscomplainedtotheMetropolitan atNi?,whoin turnforward-
ed thecomplaint totheOrthodox Archbishop inIstanbul. Theparents ofthegirl
continued to complainthatshe was beingpressured in theMuslimhousehold
whereshe was confined.The Portedealt withthe matterand orderedthe
Kaimakamtodetermine whether theconversion was forcedorsincere.93 A sim-
ilarcase was reported inThessaloniki in thesameyear.A ten-year-old Armen-
ian girl,havingsecuredherfather'spermission, was takento thelocal bath-
houseby a Muslimwoman.Whenshe did notreturn homeat theappointed
hour,herparentswentto theMuslimhome,onlytobe toldthattheirdaughter
had converted to Islamandthattheyshouldgo away.The girl'sparents, after
failingto securejusticelocally,had arrivedinIstanbulto lodgea formalcom-
plaintwiththePatriarchate statingthatthegirlwas underageandthatduress
was used.The Porte,usingtheformulaabove,"althoughnothing can be said
... ," ordered thatthelocal authorities determine thesincerity of theconver-
sion,theage ofthegirl,andstatedveryclearlythat:"iftheillegaluse offorce
has occurred, thisis verydamagingfortheconfidence of thepopulationand
can cause disruption oftheorderof thestate. . ." (insilab-zemniyet-i reayayl
mucibve ihlal-inizam-imemleketi mustevcib).94 On 16 July1853,it was re-
portedthatinthesmalltownofBandirmain theMarmararegion,a Greekgirl
namedDespinahadannounced thatshehadconverted toIslam.She didso "as
a fullyconsciousadultpersonand notas theresultof threats or fearof any-
body."This she freelydeclaredin theadministrative councilof thekaza of
Bandirma. Thecommunity thenwarnedherfamily thatshewas abouttobe sent
to Istanbul,and somehowarranged forhermotherto smuggleheroutof the
Muslimhouseholdwhereshe was beingkept.The representative of thelocal
Metropolitan was summoned, andthe"townwas searchedhighandlow" with
noresult.Twothingsstandouthere.First,theChristian population couldopen-
ly appealtojusticeandclaimthattheconversion hadbeencarriedoutin con-
traventionoftheacceptednorms.Second,as in thecases above,thepersonin
questionsomehow"disappears,"thusceasingto be a problemforall con-
cerned.95
A caseoccurring inthekazaofGolosinAlbaniais veryinteresting, as itgives
us somerareinsights intotheactualprocessandprocedure ofconversion, and
indeedapostasy.A reportsignedby all of themembersof theadministrative
councilofGolos(Kaza IdareMeclisi)anddated23 June1852dealtwitha min-
er namedAleksi,whohad converted to Islam aboutone yearpreviously. The
conversion,itwas stated,"hadbeencarriedoutaccordingto theproperproce-
dure,theconvertappearedbeforethecouncilwhereall theleadersofthereli-
giouscommunities (riiesaylmillet)werepresent. The councilthendelayedde-
liberations
andhe was askedrepeatedly ifhe was actingofhisownfreewill."
Aleksirepliedin theaffirmative andtookthenameofAhmed.96 One yearlat-
er,Ahmed/AleksionceagainappearedbeforetheCouncil,declaringthathehad
reverted
to Christianity.
Whenquestionedby theCouncilhe declared,"I had
thenbecomea Muslim,butI remainedhungry and naked,and couldfindno
bread,nowI wantto go backtomyold religion."The councilrepeatedly
tried
toconvincehimthatwhathe was doingwas a bad idea:
We triedseveraltimestoconvincehim,buthe insistedI am Christian notMuslim.The
rulingoftheShariaforsuchcases is wellknown.However,inordertoavoidloosetalk,
theImperialorderof 16 Uevvalhas specifiedthatall thoseChristians
convertingtoIs-
lam shouldbe questionedfirstin theirlocalitiesandthenbythekaza councils.We beg
tobe informed ifthereis a similarregulationdealingwiththosewhofirstacceptIslam
thenbecomeapostates.97
Severalpointsstandout.First,Aleksihopedto improvehis lotin lifebycon-

verting, andwas disillusioned,decidingthatifhe weretobe poorhewouldpre-
fertobe a poorChristian. Second,thecounciladmitted thattheShariaruledin
favourofexecution, butwas also awarethatthiswas notreallyfeasibleorde-
sirable,hencethecall forinstructions whichcouldprovidea wayoutof their
dilemma.Third,thedocument specifiedthattheconversion procedurewas to
be carriedoutinaccordancewithspecificgovernment regulations.
Fourth, the
reference to "loose talk,"ormorespecifically "thewaggingoftongues"(kil-u
kal), refersalmostcertainly to meddling foreigners.
Sometimespeopleconverted fromsomewhatpedestrian motivations.This
was thecase fora Frenchdoctor, MonsieurMerlot,whoconverted andtookthe
nameof MuradEfendiin 1852. Havingincurred ratherlargegamblingdebts
whileservingas an Ottomangovernment doctorin Erzurumin easternAnato-
lia, he presentedhimselfin Istanbul,declaringthathe had becomea Muslim.
The Portewas somewhat embarrassed becausehiscreditors, whowereFrench
citizens,wereapplying pressure throughtheFrenchEmbassy.In theenditwas
decidedthatMonsieurMerlotbe acceptedas a Muslimandgivenanother post-
ing,thecaveatbeingthata certainpercentage ofhis salarywas tobe withheld
atsourceandhandedovertotheFrenchconsulateinErzurum.98 A similarcase
was thatofAgob,an Armenian medicalstudentwho expressedthedesireto
convert. The directorateoftheImperialMedicalSchoolwas directed to ascer-
tainwhether Agobhadanydebts.99
Straightforwardmaterial gainis givenas themotiveforconversion ofa Jew,
a certainHidayet,who appearsin thememoirsof a well-known YoungTurk,
EUref Ku?cuba?l.Ku?cuba?l,whilehe was a prisoner ofwarin Egyptin 1917,
metHidayet,a medicalorderly inBritishservice.His accountoftheencounter
is worthquotingatlength:
According thistruant
tomydetailedinvestigations, fromthesynagogue[havrakaugini]
a GeliboluJewwhoentered
was originally theserviceofsomeonefromthePalace and
converted orsixteen.He thenstudiedattheveterinary
attheage offifteen schoolinIs-
tanbul.MeanwhileFreedomwas declared.[Thisis a referencetotheYoungTurkRevo-
lutionof 1908-S. D.]. AtthispointHidayetinterpretednationalfreedomas religious
564 SELIM DERINGIL
freedom andunsuccessfully triedto reconvert At somepointHidayet

backto Judaism.
decidedthathisconversion was sincere.No doubtbearingin mindthepossibilitiesof
promotion butmaybealso as a resultofhisuneasyconscienceoverhistreach-
andprofit,
eryto Moses as well as his treasonto Muhammed,(Hz. Musadyakanciklik ve Hz.
Muhammed'e or evensimplya de-
kahpelik)as well as a desireforGod's forgiveness,
beforethepublic,hewentonthehaj,ascendedAraratandprayed
siretocleanuphisfilth
attheProphet'stomb.ButevenintheHolyPlaceshe was unabletorepresshistruena-
ture,buyingrugsand othergoodsfromneedypilgrimsat scandalously low prices.100
Justwhatwas theprocedure involvedin theprocessof conversionandin the
eventofapostasy?We derivesomeidea ofthedetailsfroma case in Edremid,
on theAnatolianAegeancoast.A "KirmansonofYanko,"actuallyan inhabi-
tantoftheislandofMytiliniwhowas a guestin thetownofEdremit, claimed
tohaveconverted toIslam:
Whenquestionedin theKadi's courtthesaid convertpronounced thesacredformula
and declared,"yesI am leavingthefalsereligion(din-ibatil)and acceptingtheTrue
Faith,amen."He was giventhenameofMehmed.However,someeightdayslaterhe
appearedagainbeforeus declaring, thosewords,butI spoke
"yesI hadthenpronounced
torepent,
theminjestas a joke (latifeve ma'ukaten). He was givenampleopportunity
butinsistedin hisapostasy.
The courtpointedoutthat,"in accordancewiththerulingsof theSharia,the
abovementioned apostatewas imprisoned, andsentofftoIstanbul."101
Whatis worthnotingin thiscase is thepronouncement "I spokein jest,"
which,together witha plea oftemporary insanity,was a standard formula em-
ployedwhenapostatesstrovetoescapetheconsequencesoftheiracts.Theoth-
aspectof thisepisodeis thattheShariacourt'srulingordered
er interesting
nothing worsethantheimprisonment oftheculprit. The courtalso pointedout
thattheyhadbeenorderedto sendtheoffender to Istanbul.As in othersimilar
cases by thisdate,thechancesare thatKirmanwould"getlost"or "escape"
somewhere alongtheline.
In someofthecases it seemsthata veritable"tug-of-war" tookplace over
thereligiousloyaltiesofconverts/apostates. On 8 March1853itwas reported
fromthekaza ofTekirdaginThracethata certainyoungwomannamedAgasi
had acceptedIslam and been takenintothehouseholdof theKadi's deputy
(naib). The woman'shusband,together withotherChristians, contestedthe
conversion andhadAgasibrought beforethelocal council,whereshe denied
havingconverted, claimingshe was abducted.She was thengivenintothe
chargeof therepresentativeof theGreekMetropolitan, and forsometwenty
daysshe was keptin thehouseof thelocal Greekheadman(kocabai). This
time,however,theMuslimpopulation abductedherandplacedherwitha Mus-
limhousehold. The matterwentup as highas thePatriarchate inIstanbul,who
requestedthatthegirlbe brought to Istanbulforquestioning. 102
CONCLUSION
NehemiahLevtzionhas statedthat"Successwas Islam'sadvertisement."The

in varioussocietieswas thatIslamappeared
forconversion
peacefulincentive
as thereligionofthepowerful, thewarrior, prosperous trader,

ornuminous di-
vine.103In Africa,as RobinHortonhas noted,Islamservedas a "catalyst" for
changeswhich"werein the air anyway,"and once people appearedto go
through themotions, Islamwas quitehappytoacceptitsroleas a "catalyst" and
"notnag excessivelyat thosewho lie towardthepagan end of thecontinu-
um."1104Thesamecanbe saidtobe trueforOttoman TslamintheheydayofOt-
tomanpower.ButwhathappenedwhenOttoman Islamwas manifestly unsuc-
cessful,suchas inthenineteenth century, whenIslamwas onthedefensive, and
Muslimsfearedlossesin theirranks?We maypositthatas a contextin which
shifting internal religiousbalances,foreignpressure,and a sinceredesireto
"catchupwiththeworld"causedthesubsequent transformation inlateOttoman
society.
On theonehand,thestatesincerely soughttoprevent thekillingofapostates,
yeton theother,it was desperateto safeguard itsflockagainstforeign(mis-
sionary/diplomatic) incursions.105This became manifestwhen the Porte
crackeddownon Protestant missionary workin 1864: "The Ottomanauthori-
ties,in typicalform,struckwithforcethatwhichtheyhad leftunchecked."
Manyofthefifty or so Turkishconvertswereseized,othersdisappeared, the
booksof theBible Societywereconfiscated andmissionaries wereputoutof
theirdwellings."TheTurkish Government demonstrated that,regardlessofits
firmans, conversion fromIslamwas notpermitted."106
It may well be thecase also thatthecentersentmixedmessagesto the
provinces, on theonehandtellingthemtoprevent forcedconversions andsub-
sequentapostasy,buton theother,urgingthemto standfirmagainstforeign
pressure, as certainly happenedinthesubsequent Hamidianperiod.107As Vry-
onishasveryaptlyputitinreference to an earlierperiod:"Withthecollapseor
weakening of... centralized statesorattimeswhentheyfeltthreatened bythe
realorpotential powerofChristians (eitherinternally orexternally)
thenthele-
gal statusand protection of thenon-Muslims lapsedin someformor anoth-
er.1108
Particularly aftertheReformEdictof 1856,fearmountedamongtheMus-
lims.The generalambianceevenfounditswayintocontemporary fiction.Ed-
winPearscitesa novelpublishedin 1864,in whichtheprotagonist, a Muslim
TurkfromSalonica,arrivesin Damascusand witnessestwoChristians being
physically andverballyabusedin themarket place andasksa shopkeeper:
ButhaveyounotalwayshadChristians amongyou?Whathavetheydonelatelyto ex-
citeyouranger?[The shopkeeper screams]Whathavetheydone?Theyhave yearby
yearbeeninvadingourprivileges.
WhenI was a boytheywerehumblerayahs;noChris-
tiandurstmounta horse,or takethewall of a Moslem,or dressin handsomeclothes;
nowtheyarericherthanourselvesandseekprotection consuls... I haveeven
offoreign
seenone or twobeararms.May God Cursethem.Waituntilthefirman comesto Da-
mascus,andwe willmakeshortworkofit.
The herothenprotests thatthisis wrongand inhuman,onlyto be accusedof

beingan infidelkafir:"He calls himselfa Moslemandtalkslikea Christian.
566 SELIM DERINGIL
Whatis he?A Turksurely... Na 'am,yesindeed,he is one oftheStamboulis

whocometo governus."109
The cases citedin thearchivalmaterialabovearerepresentative ofthegen-
eralpattern in thesematters andtheexamplescan be multiplied. The factthat
something fundamental had changedin therelationship betweenthestateand
itsnon-Muslim subjectsis brought outbyphraseslike"damagingforthecon-
fidenceofthepopulation," "no-oneshallbe importuned bypressureto accept
Islam,"or"theprevention ofloose talk."Itwas increasingly takenforgranted,
by therulersandtheruled,thatthepopulacewas nota facelessmassof infi-
nitelyreducibleparticles, butan aggregate ofindividuals, whocould,anddid,
demandjustice.The documentation showsalso thatpeoplebecametraceable.
Ifanapostateweretobe killedorotherwise disappearintransit whilebeingdis-
placed,thechancesarethathis orherfamilycouldanddid demandan expla-
nation.Moreover, perhapsunlikeearlierperiodsin Ottomanhistory, accessto
"properchannels"fortheseekingofsuchjusticewas,atleastostensibly, more
easilyavailableto non-Muslims. Also,itmaywellbe thecase that,as theem-
pirebecamemorecentralised, thestatepermeated levelsofsocietywhichithad
notreachedbefore.Thiswouldmeanthatdisputesoverreligiousaffiliation, cit-
izenshipandthelikewouldbe treated as opposedto beinginformal-
publicly,
lyresolvedatthecommunity level.1'0
Yet,evenin officialdocuments, withtheir"proper"guardedwording, one
sensesan undercurrent ofdistrust andfear.One thingthatimmediately stands
outin all ofthecases is theoft-repeated formula fromthecen-
in instructions
ter:"forceshouldnotbe usedin a case ofconversion." Yetthefactthattheor-
deris repeatedin so manycases leads one to thinkthatcoercionwas indeed
prevalent. The emphasison bureaucratic regularity,and thedesireto prove,
timeandagain,to theforeign powersthata conversion was voluntary,points
in thesamedirection. This does in factlead one to speculatewhether, in the
daysbetweentheTanzimatEdictof 1839 and theReformEdictof 1856,the
newatmosphere ofreligiousfreedom forChristians causeda panicamongMus-
lims,who feltthattheirhitherto dominant positionwas threatened, making
themmoreproneto forceChristians to convert.The obviousdifficulty forthe
in suchcases was thattheywerebeingtoldtopassjudgement
local authorities
oversomething thatwas so relativeas tobe nearlyimpossibleto quantify, that
is, sincerity.
Another matter whichshouldbe takenintoconsideration is thatofcommu-
nicationbetweenthecenterand theprovinces.It mustbe remembered that
at thetimeof thecases mentioned above,thetelegraph had notyetreached
theprovinces;thefirstlimitednetwork of cableswas putup onlyin 1854.111
The roomformanoeuvre allowedbythevagariesofcommunication withthe
provinces was tobe considerablyconstrained afterthearrivalofthetelegraph.
The gistof all ofthesedocuments is thatjusticehad to be seento be done.
Moreoftenthannot,theconcernwas tofindsomesortofface-saving solution
thatwouldsatisfy all sides.Howeverthiswas verydifficult, as thedecisionhad

tosatisfy thePorte, the foreignpowers, thenon-Muslim community, andthelo-
cal population. Yet,thisis nottobuyintotheEasternQuestionnotionthat"The
Turksareonlysetting up a smokescreen"ofpromised reforms. The desireand
for
perceivedneed reform weregenuine enough, itwas just thatfor the"Turks"
savingfacewas a vitalmatter-one thatthe foreigners chose to ignore.
Evenmorestrikingly, itbecomesapparent frommostofthedocumentation
thatwhatwas at issuewas notreligionat all,butsovereignty. The Greekman
claiming Austrian protection, theGeorgians beingclaimed by the Russians,the
GreekwomanbeingclaimedbytheBritishconsulatPreveze,theJewconver-
tingto Protestantism andclaimingBritishprotection, eventhedeadbodyof a
convert, all becameareasof contestationbetween rival claimsof sovereignty.
WhyshouldtheAustrian Empirebecomeinvolved in the deathofanobscure
servant? Whyshouldas seniora statesman as SirStratford Canning takeitupon
himselfto personally pursuethecases of obscure converts and/or apostates?
One can onlysurmisethattheissuewas nottheapostatesthemselves butna-
tionalprestige, in an age whenprestigewas everything. One recallsdrawings
intheillustrated British pressliketheoneofa lone,apparently unarmed "white
man"beingcarriedon theshouldersof "nativebearers,"as he nonchalantly
readshisnewspaperin a streetthronged by "natives."The captionreads:"By
prestigealone."'12
The convertor apostatebecamethebone of contention in an international
prestige war,in whichtheGreatPowerssoughtto imposetheirwillon thelast
remaining non-Christian GreatPower,thataberration whichruledmillionsof
Christians as a Muslimempire.In a worldcontext whereBritainwas emerging
as theleadingworldpower,followedbyothersalso imbuedwiththeirversions
of themissioncivilizatrice, conversion to Islam seemeda refusalof thevery
normsofcivilization. ForWestern Orientalistsandstatesmen alike,conversion
to Islamwas seenas "somewhataberrant behaviour, a businessofexchanging
a patently superior creed(i.e.,Christianity orJudaism) forone whichwas both
alien and relativelyprimitive,"'113 whereasconversionback to Christianity
seemeda reaffirmation ofWestern superiority.The Ottomanfallbackposition
inall thesecaseswas toarguethattheconcernwas first andforemost theircon-
cern.Iftherewas something untoward surrounding thedeathofa person,itwas
"partofthejusticeseekingnatureoftheSublimeState"to orderan autopsy. If
therewereprivileges ofnon-Muslims whichneededprotecting, why,ithadal-
waysbeenthehistoric todo precisely
tradition that.ForboththeOttomans and
theWestern Powerstheissueofprestige was nothing less thana matter ofcon-
testedsovereignty.
It has beenthecontention of thisstudythatmass conversionof non-Mus-
limswas neverofficialpolicyintheOttomanEmpire,as itwas intheSpanish
and Russianempires.Onlywhenconfronted witha massivemissionary in-
cursionin thenineteenth century,and afterit becamelegal fora Muslimto
568 SELIM DERINGIL
changehis/her religion,
didtheOttomanauthorities seekwaystoprotect their
Muslimpopulation. Whether ornotthisprotection includedcomplicity ofthe
centerwithradicalmeasurestakenagainstapostatesintheprovincesis a moot
point.AhmetYa?arOcak has statedunequivocally: "The Ottomancenternev-
erusedIslamas a weaponfortheconversion ofnon-Muslims, infactitdelib-
eratelyavoideddoingso. [However]SunniIslamwas used,as an ideologyof
suppression, in themostunremitting fashion,againstdeviantsor hereticsthat
sprangfromamongtheirownranks."114Therefore, in earlierperiodsofficial
Islamanditsenforcers weremuchmoreconcernedwith"deviant"beliefsys-
temssuchas Shi'ismorotherformsofIslamicreligioussyncretism, rather than
withenforcing massconversion amongnon-Muslims. It is thusat thelevelof
officialstateinvolvement in theconversion processthattheOttomanposition
acrossthecenturies remainsambivalent. In earlierperiodssuchas thefifteenth
or sixteenthcenturies, whenthebordersbetweenorthodoxy andheresywere
somewhatvague,particularly in frontierzones suchas Anatolia,thereligious
borderlines, so to speak,remainedvague and fluid.In laterperiods,particu-
larlyas thestateexpandedandmodernised aftertheTanzimat,itbecamenec-
essaryto definewhobelongedandwhodidnot.This concernwas to overlap
withthenew legal infrastructure, as exemplified by theCitizenshipRegula-
tion(TabiyetNizamnamesi) passedin 1869.115In thelatenineteenth century,
whentheempirewas verymuchon thedefensive, indeed,was fighting forits
life,itbecamea matter ofvitalinterest thatthereshouldbe no defection from
itsranks.
NOTES
1. Manyfriends andcolleagueshavehelpedme in theformulation of thisarticle.I
wouldliketo thankMarc Baer,SelqukEsenbel,EdhemEldem,MuigeGogek,Daniel
Goffman, ArielSalzman,andCemal Kafadarforreadingearlierversionsandforgen-
erouslyproviding extremely usefulcriticism and comments. Manythanksgo also to
CarolineFinkelforproofreading theseconddraftandforhermanysuggestions regard-
ingformandcontent. Mythanks go toGtilenAkta?forherhelpandpatiencewitha com-
person.I wouldalso like to thanktheKevorkianInstitute
puter-illiterate and theDe-
partment of NearEasternStudiesat NYU, as well as theInternational Instituteof the
University ofMichiganforhostingme on variousoccasions.Finally,I wouldalso like
to expressmygratitude to theeditorsof CSSH and theanonymous outsidereaderfor
theirhelpfulcomments.
2. This paperis thefirstfruitof a largerprojectthatwill examineconversionand
apostasyin thelateOttomanEmpirefromtheTanzimatera through to theendof the
Empirein 1918.
3. The definitionofmiirdin theRedhouseTurkish EnglishLexiconis: "Dead, (Not
said of Muslims)."Uemseddin Sami's Kamus-uTuirki is moreoutspoken:"Croaked,
kickedthebucket,usedforanimals"(Gebermizs, Hayvanatiginkullanilir).Merhumis
definedin Redhouseas "Deceased andadmitted intoGod's mercy."My thanksto Pro-
fessorMichaelRogersforbringing thisdistinctiontomyattention.
4. KemalKarpat,An InquiryintotheSocial FoundationsofNationalism in theOt-
tomanState,WoodrowWilsonSchoolResearchMonograph no. 39 (Princeton Univer-
sity.1973),23-24: "ConvertsintheOttoman statenevercarrieda stigmalikethemawali
inearlyIslam.Thisattitude mustbe attributed. . . notonlytotheOttoman largessed'e-

spritandtolerance butalso totheneedoftherulingbureaucratic ordertoallowcapable
elements tojoin itsranks."Thequote,"Go through themotions... etc."is myownfor-
mulation.
5. RichardW Bulliet,"Conversion Storiesin EarlyIslam,"in MichaelGerversand
RamziJibran Bikhazi,eds.,Conversion and Continuity. IndigenousChristianCommu-
nitiesinIslamicLands.EighthtoEighteenth Centuries (Toronto,1990), 131.
6. MariaTodorova,"The OttomanLegacyin theBalkans,"in Carl Brown,ed.,Im-
perialLegacy: The Ottoman Imprint on theBalkansand theMiddleEast (New York:
1996),47.
7. Geza David, "Administration in OttomanEurope,"in MetinKuntandChristine
Woodhead,eds.,Suileyman theMagnificent andHis Age (New York:1995),77.
8. Karpat,AnInquiry,15.
9. VictorMenage,"Islamization ofAnatolia,"in NehemiahLevtzion,ed., Conver-
siontoIslam(New York:1979),64.
10. On Jannisaries or thedev~irme, see Halil Inalclk,TheOttoman Empire.Classi-
cal Age (London:1973).
11. R. StephenHumphreys, Islamic History.A Framework for Inquiry,rev. ed.
(Princeton: 1991),274-76.
12. Geza David,"Administration in Ottoman Europe,"76-77.
13. Todorova,"TheOttoman Legacyin theBalkans,"49.
14. Halil Inalclk,"OttomanMethodsofConquest,"StudiaIslamica11(1954), 103-
29. Thetimarwas theOttoman military fiefheldbya memberofthemilitary class,the
askeri,inreturn formilitaryserviceonthepartofthetimarholderanda specifiednum-
berofmen-at-arms. Inalclkpointsoutthatmanymembers oftheBalkanaristocracy had
beenholdersofsimilarpositions(pronoia)intheByzantine system. The tahrirregisters
wereregisters oftaxablepopulation andrevenuein newlyconqueredterritories, which
wereperiodically updated.
15. Halil Inalclk,An Economicand Social HistoryoftheOttomanEmpire,(Cam-
bridge1994), 69. It is interesting to notethatLevtzionfundamentally divergesfrom
Inalclkand Todorovain arguingthatthelack of nomadicinsurgency in theBalkans
in theearlierOttomanperiodmeantminimalIslamizationand "Turkicization." See
N. Levtzion,"Towarda Comparative StudyofIslamization," inLevtzion,ed.,Conver-
siontoIslam,1-23.
16. Thispracticeofdishonouring thecrossis mentioned intwosources.
specifically
See HouariTouati,EntreDieu etlesHommes.Lettre's saintsetsorciersau Maghreb(17e
siecle) (Paris:1994), 171: "Sometimestheconvertwouldbe obligedto perform a rite
ofexecration likespittingon thecrossortrampling it,to showthesincerity ofhiscon-
version"(mytranslation). Touatimakesclear,however, thatthispracticeis byno means
doctrinally justified.On thesomewhat unorthodox practicesofconversion in a corsair
society,see PeterLambomWilson,Pirate Utopias.MoorishCorsairsand European
Renegadoes(NewYork:1995),90, 133,138.Wilsondoes,however, pointoutthatmany
oftheChristian renegadesandcorsairsinAlgiersand Sale whoconverted, forcibly or
voluntarily, becameloyalMuslims.On theissueofJewsfirstconverting to Christiani-
ty,see JohnK Cooley,Baal, ChristandMohammed. Religionand Revolution inNorth
Africa(NewYork1965),175.
17. Wilson,PirateUtopias,35-62.
18. Cooley,Baal, ChristandMohammed,159.
19. EnginAkarli,TheLongPeace. Ottoman Lebanon1861-1920,(Berkeley:1993)
197.He renamedhissonsAdamandLadislasas EnverandMuzaffer, although theyre-
mainedRomanCatholic.SadikPa,a, afterfighting intheCrimeanWaron theOttoman
side,returned toPolandandconverted to Orthodox Christianity.
570 SELIM DERINGIL
20. Ibid.,21.
21. Kais M. Firro,"TheAttitude oftheDruzesandAlawisvis-a-visIslamandNa-
tionalism in SyriaandLebanon";also,AharonLayish,"The Statusof IslamicLaw in
theDruzeFamily," bothinKrisztina Kehl-Bodrogi,BarbaraKellner-Heinkele andAhke
Otter-Beaujeau, eds., SyncretisticReligiousCommunities in theNear East (Leiden:
1995),90, 144-45.
22. KemalKarpat,AnInquiryintotheSocial Foundations ofNationalism intheOt-
tomanState,39, 71.
23. Humphreys, IslamicHistory, 275.
24. See MercedesGarcia Arenal,"Conversionto Islam in the Mediterranean-
MuslimWorld,"in publishedworking papersofIndividualand SocietyintheMediter-
raneanMuslimWorld,RandiDeguilhem,ed. A researchprogramme of theEuropean
ScienceFoundation (Paris:1998),15: "Forcedconversion re-
usuallyentailsa stronger
jectionanddistrust oftheconvert groupbythedominant society."
25. JerryBentley, Old WorldEncounters (Oxford:1993), 171.
26. Yetapostasywas verycommonintheearlydaysofIslamicexpansion.Some Is-
lamicsourcesactuallyclaimedthattheMoroccanBerbertribesmen apostasizedtwelve
timesbeforefinallysettling intoIslam.On this,see Levtzion,"Towarda Comparative
StudyofIslamization," 1-23.
27. M. Ertugrul Duizdag,EbussudEfendiFetvalarlIliffnda16. AsirTurkHayati"
(Istanbul:1972),90.
28. ColinImber,Ebu's Su'ud.TheIslamicLegal Tradition (Stanford:1997),70-7 1.
Thisworkis nowacceptedas themodemstandard amongOttomanists. However,there
arealso referencestoEbu's Su'ud as a moderate jurist.See forexample:J.H. Kramers,
"Shaikhal Islam,"in TheEncyclopaediaofIslam(London:1934),277:
"The declineoftheOttomanEmpirehas sometimes beenattributed to thereactionary
oftheShaikhal-Islamat;
spirit itshouldbe noted,however, thatinmanycasesthemuftis
haveshownthemselves thanthemajority
lessreactionary oftheclergyandthrough their
theywereable to prevent
intervention fanaticalandarbitraryacts,(e.g.,Abu'l Su'ud's
oppositiontotheforcedconversion ofall Christians)."
29. WilliamHasluck,Christianity andIslamundertheSultans(Oxford:1929),453-
54.
30. MichelBalivet,RomanieByzantine etPays de RumTurc.Histoired'un espace
d'imbrication gre'co-turque(Istanbul:1994),187.Balivetmentions a similarcase atthe
endoftheseventeenth century whentheapostate,GedeonofKarakallou(againa monk
fromMountAthos)wentaboutIstanbulwherehe proceeded, inpublicplaces,toexhort
thepopulation torejectIslam.He was nottakenseriously andtreated as a madman, un-
tilfinally,afterhavingbeen sentoffseveraltimeswitha beating,he gothis wishand
was beheaded.In boththesecases it wouldbe fairlysafeto assumethattheapostates
wereeitherrecentconverts orperhapsforcedconverts.
31. Ibid., 155. For theviewsof a committed evangelist,see SamuelZwemer,The
Law ofApostasyinIslam.Answering theQuestionwhythereare so fewMoslemCon-
verts,and givingexamplesoftheirMoral Courageand Martyrdom (London:1924).
32. CyrusHamlin,AmongtheTurks(New York:1878),80-81.
33. IlberOrtayll,"TanzimatDonemindeTanassurve din degi,tirme olaylarl,"in
Tanzimat'in 150. yildbnUmii uluslararasiSempozyomu (Ankara:1989),481-87.
34. IlberOrtayll,"Les GroupesHeteredoxes etl'Administration Ottomane," inSyn-
cretisticReligiousCommunities, 205- 11.
35. JohnElliot,ImperialSpain1469-1716 (Middlesex:1972),49-52.
36. Eva AlexandraUchmany, "ReligiousChangesin theConquestof Mexico,"in
David Lorenzen,ed.,ReligiousChangeand CulturalDomination (MexicoCity:1981),

80-81, 88, 92-93.
37. WilliamMadsen,"ReligiousSyncretism," in ReligiousChangeand Cultural
Domination, 134.
38. RosarioMendozaCortes,"ThePhilippine Experience UnderSpain,"inReligious
Changeand CulturalDomination, 112.
39. JamesE. Keifer,"BartolomeDe Las Casas, Missionary, Priest,Defenderofthe
Oppressed," BiographicalSketchesofMemorableChristians ofthePast. http://justus.
anglican.org/resources/bio/203.html.
40. JohnElliot,ImperialSpain,73. Also,Las Casas remainsa controversial charac-
terforsparingtheIndiansbutencouraging theimportofAfricanslavesin theirstead.
See Bartolomede Las Casas: A TragicHero,http://www.uhhp.com/hc6.html.
41. MichaelKhodarkovsky "'Not by WordAlone': MissionaryPoliciesand Reli-
giousConversion inEarlyModemRussia,"Comparative StudiesinSocietyandHisto-
ry38 (1996): 267-93.
42. Ibid.,287.
43. ChantalLemercierQuelquejay,"Les MissionsOrthodoxes en PaysMusulmans
de Moyenneet Basse Volga 1552-1865," Cahiersdu MondeRusse et Sovietique8
(1967): 369-403. My translation.
44. Ibid.,397. In fact,thetermkrjaseny (convert)becamesynonymous withcrypto-
Muslim.
45. Khodarkovsky "NotbyWordAlone,"275.
46. Ibid.
47. Ibid.,291.
48. On theofficeoftheUeyhtilislam see "Shaikhal Islam,"TheEncyclopaediaofIs-
lam,(London:1934),275-79.
49. Gregory L. Freeze,"Institutionalizing Piety:The ChurchandPopularReligion
1750-1850,"in JaneBurbankandDavid L. Ransel,eds.,ImperialRussia.NewHisto-
riesfortheEmpire(Bloomington, IN: 1998),210-49.
50. Balivet,RomanieByzantine, 190-91.
51. AhmetYa,ar Ocak, OsmanliToplumunda Zindiklarve Muilhidler (Istanbul:
1998),94.
52. On theHamidianconversion policy,see SelimDeringil,TheWellProtected Do-
mains,esp.Chapter2.
53. Cemal Kafadar,BetweenTwoWorlds:The Construction of theOttomanState
(Berkeley:1995),127.
54. Ibid.,56-57, 146. A?lkpa?azadeparticularly Mehmed'sdiscontinua-
criticized
tionofthepractice oftheSultanrisingwhenheheardmartial musicas a signofhisreadi-
nessforghaza.Comparethiswith,A?lkpa?azadeAhmedA,iki,Tevarih-i Al-i Osman,
NihalAtsiz,ed. (Istanbul:1947),173:
[WhenSalonicawas conquered bytheOttomans] The greatwarriorforthefaith,
Sultan
MuradKhansaidontotheghazis:'O ghazis!Thisis thegreatest ofblessings!Beloved
arethoseghaziswhoraidthefortress
andforcetheseinfidels intoIslam.I nowlovethese
ghazisdearly.God Willingfromnowon I willjoin themin theirghaza.
55. Ibid.,71, 73.
56. SperosVryonis, TheDeclineofMedievalHellenism inAsiaMinorandtheProcess
ofIslamizationfromtheEleventh through theFifteenthCentury (Berkeley:1986),359.
57. OmerLtitfti Barkan,"OsmanliImparatorlugunda bir Iskan ve kolonizasyon
metoduolarakVakiflar I: IstilaDevrininKolonizatorTurkDervi,lerive
ve Temlikler
Vakfiyeler,"VakflarDergisi2 (1942): 283, 284, 303, 304.
572 SELIM DERINGIL
58. Ibid.,282. It musthoweverbe notedthatBarkanhas an axe to grind,in thatthe

majorpointonhisagendais to"prove"thattheOttoman statewas "essentially Turkish"
andnotmadeup ofIslamizedChristians, as claimedby somehistorians, suchas Her-
bertA.Gibbonsinhis TheFoundationoftheOttoman Empire(Oxford:1916).
59. The Bekta,iwereone oftheearliestdervishlodgesto settleand spreadinAna-
tolia.Theywererenowned fortheirsyncretism, whichenabledthemtorelatemucheas-
iertoChristians. The seminalworkon theBekta,iorderis J.K Birge,TheBektashiOr-
derofDervishes(London:1937).
60. Hasluck,Christianity and Islam UndertheSultans,436. On theaspectsof the
BektaEiorderwhichmostappealedtoChristians, see whatis stilltheseminalstudy:John
K. Birge,TheBektashiOrderofDervishes(London:1937).
61. Kafadar,BetweenTwoWorlds, 71, 72, 73.
62. AhmetYaEarOcak,OsmanliToplumunda Zzndzklarve Muilhidler, 102.
63. ColinImber,Ebu's Su'ud,92.AhmetYa,arOcakhas drawnattention tothesame
problem:see his "XVI. YiizyllOsmanliAnadolusunda Mesianikhareketlerin birtahlil
denemesi,"V: Milletlerarasi TiirkiyeSosyalve IktisatTarihiKongresi(Istanbul:21-25
August1989).
64. See Deringil,TheWellProtected Domains,esp. Chapter3.
65. Diistur(Registerof OttomanLaws) Tertib-i Evvel (IstanbulMatbaa-iAmire:
1329),4-7. The actualwordingstates:"As thereis nothing morepreciousintheworld
thansecurity of lifeand honour,evena personwho maynotbe naturally inclinedto-
wardsseditionwilldoubtlessseekotherwaysifthesearethreatened" (mytranslation).
For thestandard Englishtranslation oftheTanzimatEdict,see J.C. Hurewitz, Diplo-
macyintheNear and MiddleEast,Vol. 1 (Toronto:1956), 113-16.
66. Hurewitz, Diplomacyin theNear and MiddleEast, 151.
67. M. M. A. Ubicini,Etat Pre'sentde L'EmpireOttoman(Paris: 1876), 5-6:
"Amongtheprovisions oftheEdictrelating toreligiousmatters one mustnotetheabo-
litionofthelaw,veryrarely brought tobear,itis true,oftheexecution ofapostates"(my
translation).
68. Forthecase ofnineteenth-century Nablus,see BesharaDoumani,Rediscovering
Palestine:Merchants andPeasantsinJabalNablus,1700-1900 (Berkeley:1995),23:
"[In Nablusin theearlynineteenth century] mostoftheChristians wereGreekOrtho-
dox.The restbecameProtestants aroundthemid-nineteenth century in responseto the
evangelicalactivities of ... theChurchMissionarySociety."Another majoraspectof
conversion was conversion withinIslam,fromShia to Sunniorvice-versa. Thataspect
oftheconversion processis beingdeliberately excludedhere.On thatissue,see Selim
Deringil,"The StruggleagainstShi'ism in HamidianIraq," Die Weltdes Islams 30
(1990): 45-62.
69. See Dustur,10. Also see IsmailHakkiDani,mend,Izahli OsmanliTarihiKro-
nolojisi,Vol.4 (Ankara:1955),175.In facttheEdictof 1856wasreceivedbytheChris-
tiancommunities withmixedfeelingsbecauseitbrought mixedblessings,suchas mil-
itaryservicefornon-Muslims, thepayment ofregularsalariestoreligiousfunctionaries,
makingitillegalforthemto "milk"theircommunities, thepresenceoflaymenon mil-
letcouncils,andso on. On thisaspect,see Dani,mend,Izahli OsmanliTarihiKronolo-
jisi, 176.
70. Jeremy Salt,Imperialism, Evangelismand theOttoman Armenians, 1878-1896
(London:1993),37.
71. Ba,bakanlikAr,ivi (PrimeMinistryArchives), Istanbul. Hereaftercitedas (BBA).
HariciyeMektubi.ForeignMinistry Correspondence (hereafter HR.MKT), 1/53 10
Muharrem 1260/31January 1844.The archivalcitations andabbreviations usedarethe
catalogueentries
official as published intheArchive Catalogue,theBabakanlikOsmanli
ArqiviKilavuzu.Becauseofthenatureofthearchivalcatalogues(lackofindexing, etc.)
itis difficulttogiveprecisefigures on thenumber ofcases dealingwithconversion and/
orapostasyinthelatenineteenth My feelingis thattheyrunintothehundreds.
century.
It willbecomemorepossibletogivefigures as theresearchprogresses.
72. Ibid.
73. Ibid.
74. BBA HR.MKT 49/95.The onlydateis 1268(1851).
75. Duistur, 8-9.
76. BenjaminBraudeandBernardLewis,eds. Christians and Jewsin theOttoman
Empire,Vol. 1 (NewYork:1982).
77. HalilInalclk,"TheStatusoftheGreekOrthodox PatriarchundertheOttomans,"
TURCICA(1991): 409,415,416. Inalclkleavesno doubthowever, that"TheOttomans
favoredtheGreekOrthodox Church,"and"recognizeditas partoftheOttomanstate"
(415,416).
78. BBAHR.MKT42/7;4Rebiyulahir 1268/27January 1852.Mutasamfofthe san-
cakofLazistanAbdiillatif BeytoSublimePorte.Thegenderofthechildren is notspeci-
fied,thechancesarethattheywereboys.
79. Ibid.In fact,theymadereference to an incident in thepastwhensomeone hun-
dredpeoplefromthetownofArhavihad crossedoverto Russia andnotreturned. On
justhowporousthebordersin theregionwere,see ThomasM. Barret,"Linesof Un-
certainty: TheFrontiers oftheNorthern Caucasus,"in BurbankandRansel,eds.,Impe-
rialRussia,148-73.
80. See HakanErdem,Slaveryin theOttoman Empireand itsDemise,1800-1909
(London:1996),esp. 102-7: "MeasuresagainsttheWhiteSlaveTradeintheBlackSea,
1854-1857."
81. On theissueofOttomansubjectsclaimingforeigner statusin thepre-1839peri-
od, see Ali IhsanBag-i,OsmanliTicaretinde GayriMiislimler (Ankara:1983).
82. BBA HR.MKT 49/36;13 Eylul 1852/28 Zilkade1268. Ministry of Interior to
ValiofIoannina.
83. BBAHR.MKT 54/42;30 Rebiyulevvel 1269/12January 1853.SublimePorteto
theMutasarnf ofI?kodra.
84. BBAHR.MKT47/81;26 Sevval1268/13August 1852.SublimePortetotheVali
ofYanina.
85. Leila Fawaz, OccasionforWar:CivilConflict in theLebanonand Damascusin
1860 (Berkeley:1994),152.
86. BBADahiliyeNezaretiHukukMui~avirligi (DH-HM5) 13/47;23 Haziran1320/
6 July1904.Generalno: 244. File Number62570. (Ministry oftheInterior. Legal Ad-
visorsBureau).In thecatalogueofthedocuments oftheMinistry oftheInterior Legal
AdvisorsBureauthereis a specialcategoryentitled ihtida(conversion). Although the
regulations citedabove datefrom1904,theyare theupdatedformulations of earlier
practices.
87. Osman(_etin, SicillereGore Bursa'da IhtidaHareketleri ve Sosyal Sonularz
1472-1909 (Ankara:1994),3-5.
88. R. M. Ramsay,Impressions ofTurkey DuringTwelveYears'Wanderings (Lon-
don: 1897),163.
89. BBA HR.MKT 3/65; 16 Rebiytilahir 1260/5 May 1840. ForeignMinistry to
Commanders ofAkkaandSayda.
90. Ibid.The phraseusedis "arz-"Islamiyet'le ibramve ilhah."
91. BBA IradeDahiliye4627 17 evval 1260/30October1844.
92. BBA HR.MKT 53/7;Selh-iMuharrem 1269/31October1852.Enclosingletter
fromArmenian Patriarch.
574 SELIM DERINGIL
93. BBA HR.MKT 6/48; 6 5aban 1260/21August 1844. Instructions to the

KaimakamofNi?.
94. BBAHR.MKT; 4/10;Gurre-i Cemaziyelahir 1260/18June1844.SublimePorte
totheMu?irofThessaloniki.
95. BBA HR.MKT 63/96;9 5evval 1269/17July1853. Memorandum of theAd-
ministrative CounciloftheKaza ofBandirma.
96. BBA HR.MKT 41/93;5 Ramazan1268/23June1852.Administrative Council
ofthekaza ofGolos to SublimePorte.
97. Ibid.
98. BBA HR.MKT 49/70;2 Cemaziyelahir 1268/24 March1852.Vali ofErzurum
toSublimePorte.HR.MKT 54/86;6 Ramazan1269/17January 1853.SublimePorteto
Vali ofErzurum.
99. BBAHR.MKT 54/56;30 Rebiyulevvel 1269/12January 1853.SublimePorteto
DirectorofImperialMedicalSchool.
100. E?refKu?cuba?l, Hayber'deTurkCengi(Istanbul:1997),123.E?refKu?cuba?l
was a notorious hitmanoftheCommittee ofUnionandProgress(fedayi),andone of
thefounders of theYoungTurkIntelligence Organization, theTeskilatiMahsusa.His
accountstrongly reflectstheanti-Semitic prejudicescommonamongsomeofthesemen.
Hidayetis a nameoftenindicating thatthepersonis a convert,meaning"therightway
orthewaytoIslam."
101. BBAHR.MKT 50/63;8 Zilhicce1269/12September 1853.Memorandum from
Kadi CourtofEdremid,signedandsealedbyall thosepresent.
102. BBA HR.MKT 56/65;26 Cemaziyelevvel1269/8March1853.Requestfrom
theGreekPatriarchate.
103. Levtzion,Conversion to Islam,12.
104. RobinHorton,"African Conversion,"AfricaXLI (1971): 85-108.
105. On thetensionbetweenthePorteandtheProtestant missionaries, see Salt,Im-
perialism,Evangelism and theOttoman Armenians.
106. LyleL. VanderWerff, Christian MissionstoMuslims.TheRecord.Anglicanand
Reformed ApproachesinIndiaand theNearEast,1800-1938 (NewYork:1942),162-
63. Similarly,CyrusHamlinwastobemoanthefactthat"England'sflagofreligiouslib-
ertyinTurkeyhadbeenstruck, andherinfluence sincethenhas beenweakandwaver-
ing."See AmongtheTurks, 92.
107. Deringil,TheWellProtected Domains,112-34.
108. SperosVryonis, "TheExperience ofChristians underSeljukandOttoman Dom-
ination,Eleventhto Sixteenth Century," in MichaelGerversandJibran Bikhazi,eds.,
Conversion and Continuity: IndigenousChristian Communities inIslamicLands,Pon-
tificalInstituteof MedievalStudies(Toronto:1990), 185-216. AlthoughVryonisis
speakingof a muchearlierphenomenon, thebasic principleis applicablein thenine-
teenth century.
109. EdwinPears,Turkey andItsPeople (London:1911),370-7 1. It shouldbe not-
ed thatSirEdwinPearswas no loverofTurkeyorTurks,andthenovelhe is citingis
TheHakimBashi,written bya Dr.Humphry Sandwith. Nonetheless,itis illustrative,
as
itappearsin a sectioninPears'bookcalled"SignsofImprovement inTurkey," andthe
herois projected as a positivefigure.
110. I am grateful toDr.Mige Goek forbringing thislatterpossibilitytomyatten-
tion.
111. StanfordShaw,Historyof theOttomanEmpireand ModernTurkey, Vol. 2,
(Cambridge, UK: 1977)120.The installation of thetelegraph linesbeganduringthe
Crimeanwar.The furthest extentof telegraphic servicewas to be in the1890s,when
therewas a widespread network ofcables.My thanksto theanonymous outsidereader
fordrawingmyattention to this,and forremindingme thatthetelegraph

spreadover
muchofNorthAmericaat thesametime.
112. Sema Goksel, ImperialVisionsand Narrations:BritishImperialism in India
and itsReflections inLiterature. ofHistory,
M.A. thesis,Department BogaziqiUniver-
sity(Istanbul:1997),54. The drawingis takenfromtheGraphic.
113. R. S. Humphreys, IslamicHistory,274.
114. AhmetYa,ar Ocak,OsmanliImparatorlugu'nda ZindiklarveMuilhidler(Istan-
bul: 1997),95. Thisis a path-breaking workwhichstandstobecometheseminalrefer-
encevolumeon thisissue.
115. Duistur,l.Tertip,16-18.

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Cambridge University Press

SOME GENERAL QUESTIONS

This essayis a preliminaryattempt to place nineteenthcentury Ottomancon-

For therulingelite,conversion to Islamwas simplya wayto qualifyfora

Thus,a changeofcreedandritual,graveas itwas,was notnecessarily a terri-

washeAmirBashirShihab,a Christian Lebanesewhointheearly1820s,"prac-

THE ISSUE OF APOSTASY FROM ISLAM

The issue of apostasyfromIslam (irtidad)is a particularly thornyone. The

CONVERSION IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE: A COMPARATIVE OVERVIEW

vatingmotiffortheconquistaofIndiansoulsin villagefestivals in the1550s:

recentmajorstudybyAhmetYa?arOcak on heresyin theOttomanEmpirein

CONVERSION IN THE EARLY OTTOMAN PERIOD

CemalKafadar'srecentworkhas castnewlighton thehitherto-accepted wis-

dervishes" in thisprocess.The picturehe presents is a somewhatstylizedim-

phrasessuchas the"correction of theirbeliefs"(tashih-iakaid) andthefight

FROM THE TANZIMAT TO THE REFORM EDICT:

TheTanzimatEdictof 1839was intended toguarantee equalitybeforethelaw

Duringtheyearsleadingup totheReform Edict,thereis a risingtideofdocu-

The Ottoman Ambassadorfurther pointedoutto Canningthat,"ourreligious

theHat of 1856specifically mentioned FatihSultanMehmedbyname.75This

convert hadbeenbeatenorotherwise abusedwhilebeingpressured to convert.

CASES OF CONVERSION AND APOSTASY

Inthedocumentation oftheperiodonefindsfrequent tocasesofcon-

munity oftheconvert hadto be presentat theconversion. Together withhim,

Thepattern is usuallythesame.A Christian converts toIslam,thecommunity

toldthecourtthatshehad onlyconverted to save herlifeandhonour,andshe

Severalpointsstandout.First,Aleksihopedto improvehis lotin lifebycon-

freedom andunsuccessfully triedto reconvert At somepointHidayet

NehemiahLevtzionhas statedthat"Successwas Islam'sadvertisement."The

as thereligionofthepowerful, thewarrior, prosperous trader,

The herothenprotests thatthisis wrongand inhuman,onlyto be accusedof

Whatis he?A Turksurely... Na 'am,yesindeed,he is one oftheStamboulis

thatwouldsatisfy all sides.Howeverthiswas verydifficult, as thedecisionhad

inearlyIslam.Thisattitude mustbe attributed. . . notonlytotheOttoman largessed'e-

David Lorenzen,ed.,ReligiousChangeand CulturalDomination (MexicoCity:1981),

58. Ibid.,282. It musthoweverbe notedthatBarkanhas an axe to grind,in thatthe

93. BBA HR.MKT 6/48; 6 5aban 1260/21August 1844. Instructions to the

fordrawingmyattention to this,and forremindingme thatthetelegraph

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