Christians preferred Ottoman tolerance over Catholic persecution

Evidence

Just as during the early conquests of the Muslim armies in the seventh and eighth centuries, some people in Christian states welcomed the Turks in order to escape religious persecution, this time at the hands of the Roman Catholic Church. The Ottoman policy of “live and let live” stood in contrast to the intolerance that Orthodox Christians and other religious minorities faced under the Church. Balkan peasants captured this mood with the saying “Better the turban of the Turk than the tiara of the Pope.” — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 75

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s frame: domestic European religious terror driving people toward the Muslim ‘enemy’ — parallels how domestic fears shape foreign-policy stances toward Islam throughout Kumar’s thesis. — connects to: Islamic conquests disestablished Christianity without systematic persecution — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 115; Bayle argued Islam was more tolerant than Christianity — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 162; The schism within Christianity was perceived as a greater threat than that of a foreign invasion; the Orthodox were relatively receptive towards having the Ottomans as material rulers in contrast to the Latins. (+14 more)

Broader Connections

• The essay critically assesses the contemporary scholarship on Christian Islamophobia, arguing that it often overlooks the internal Christian divisions and portrays Christianity as a monolithic… #expands (0.80)
• The Ottoman Empire sheltered religious refugees persecuted in Europe #exemplifies (0.75) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 79
• Medieval Christian infighting outweighed the shared threat of Islam #corroborates (0.70) — Ali Qureshi, The Fall of Constantinople, 45