Muslim monarchs initiated Western-style modernization to defend against colonialism

Evidence

The first efforts at modernization were initiated from above. The monarchs who presided over Turkey, Egypt, and Iran looked to the West to find ways to develop their military in order to better defend themselves from colonial conquest. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 299

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Dependent countries had to westernize even when resisting the West; Muhammad Ali’s secular schools created a new colonial intellectual class; Historians portray Mehmed Ali’s reforms as a master-planned modernization with independence aims (+5 more)