Conversion in Ottoman Balkans: A Historiographical Survey

This article surveys the Islamization of South-eastern Europe under the Ottoman rule. In Balkan history writing the question of conversion to Islam was, and still is, a highly charged political issue. It is intrinsically linked to the issues of formation of national identities and rival territorial...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Kirmizialtin, Suphan (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Interlibrary Loan:Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany)
Published: 2007
In: History compass
Year: 2007, Volume: 5, Issue: 2, Pages: 646-657
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
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Summary:This article surveys the Islamization of South-eastern Europe under the Ottoman rule. In Balkan history writing the question of conversion to Islam was, and still is, a highly charged political issue. It is intrinsically linked to the issues of formation of national identities and rival territorial claims of the Balkan states. The nationalist discourse of the current Balkan historiography defines all forms of Islamization as results of the Ottoman government's centrally organized policy of forced conversion. This study argues against this position and maintains that Islamization in each Balkan country took place in the course of many centuries and its nature and phase was determined not by the Ottoman government but by the specific conditions of each locality.
ISSN:1478-0542
Contains:Enthalten in: History compass
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1111/j.1478-0542.2007.00420.x