Bingöl Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi

Öz

Ottoman society had a multicultural structure. People of different faiths were able to perform their worship comfortably, peacefully and safely with religious and cultural freedoms. In this way, their temples have survived for centuries. On the other hand, there was an intense interaction among people with different beliefs and cultures. After mutual interactions, there were people who converted to Islam by changing their religion. There were many different factors underlying this preference. However, after giving up their old religion and deciding to live as a Muslim, it is a matter of curiosity what problems they faced and how their lives were affected in this regard.
In the present study, the main reasons underlying the phenomenon of conversion were briefly examined based on archival documents. Then, the difficulties faced by those who became Muslims were discussed by starting from some examples in the Ottoman society, again based on the documents.
As a conclusion, it was found that some of the people who later became Muslims of their own free will had to fight many problems arising from their close family and environment, non-Muslim clergy, and foreign state consuls because of these preferences.
Ottoman society had a multicultural structure. People of different faiths were able to perform their worship comfortably, peacefully and safely with religious and cultural freedoms. In this way, their temples have survived for centuries. On the other hand, there was an intense interaction among people with different beliefs and cultures. After mutual interactions, there were people who converted to Islam by changing their religion. There were many different factors underlying this preference. However, after giving up their old religion and deciding to live as a Muslim, it is a matter of curiosity what problems they faced and how their lives were affected in this regard.
In the present study, the main reasons underlying the phenomenon of conversion were briefly examined based on archival documents. Then, the difficulties faced by those who became Muslims were discussed by starting from some examples in the Ottoman society, again based on the documents.
As a conclusion, it was found that some of the people who later became Muslims of their own free will had to fight many problems arising from their close family and environment, non-Muslim clergy, and foreign state consuls because of these preferences.