British views of Ottomans mixed fear and awe without colonial designs

Evidence

Nabil Matar, who has written extensively on the relationship between Britain, Western Europe, and the Islamic Mediterranean, argues that English attitudes toward the Ottomans, whether as ally or enemy, always constructed the Muslim as equal. The Ottoman state was viewed as on par with England if not superior to it and other European states. Orientalism based on a notion of a superior Europe and an inferior Orient had not yet emerged, not least because it made no sense given the grandeur and advances of Muslim empires both in the Near East and South Asia. If anything, the Muslim empires had superior accomplishments in comparison to their Western European counterparts both in this period and during the Middle Ages more generally, and many Muslim authors wrote of Europe’s backwardness. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 110 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Stereotyping of Muslims was constrained by England’s inability to challenge the Ottomans — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 140; English attitudes treated Ottomans as equals before Orientalism’s emergence; Pre-modern England viewed the Ottomans as equals, not inferiors (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Pre-modern England viewed the Ottomans as equals, not inferiors #corroborates (0.90)
• Europeans regarded Ottomans as equals before Orientalism’s hierarchy emerged #corroborates (0.90) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 110
• English attitudes treated Ottomans as equals before Orientalism’s emergence #corroborates (0.86)
• The waning Ottoman threat turned European orientalism from fear into amusement #qualifies (0.75) — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 183
• Western fear of the Ottomans collapsed within a few decades #qualifies (0.72) — Robert Irwin, For Lust of Knowing, 192