Transcript The Role of Islam in the Gunpowder Empires

The Role of Islam in the
Gunpowder Empires
Compare and contrast the role of
Islam in the three Muslim empires
Ottoman Empire
• Ottoman ruling elites were Sunnis
• Islamic law and customs applied to all
Muslims in the empire
• The government tolerated religious diversity
so long as they remained loyal to the empire
• Non-Muslims formed a significant minority
within the empire. They were required to
pay a head tax (because of their exemption
from the military).
Ottoman Empire Cont.
• Each religious group organized into
administrative unit called a millet
• Each group had own patriarch or grand
rabbi who was intermediary with the
government
• Each millet established own system of
justice, educational policies, and
welfare
Safavids
• Used Shi’ite faith as a unifying force
• Shah acquired divine quality and claimed to
be spiritual leader of all Islam
• Shi’ism was the official state religion
• Sufi mystical religious groups through out the
area
• Wore distinctive red caps that symbolized allegiance to
the twelve imams of the Shi’i faith – they were known
as the “red heads”.
Mughals
• They combined Muslim with Hindu and Persian
concepts of religion and cultural values
• Akbar (ruler of the Mughals), who was an Othodox
Muslim had been exposed to other religions,
therefore he accepted religious diversity among his
people
• Became steadily more hostile towards Muslims in
later years
• Sponsored a new form of worship called the Divine
Faith which combined characteristics of several
religions with a central belief in the infallibility of
all decisions reached by the emperor
Compare and Contrast
• All the empires were Muslim in their
religious affiliation
• The Safavids were Shi’ites rather than
Sunnis
• The Ottomans and the Mughals were
more tolerant of other religions while
the Safavids were more strict about
their faith