Orthodox clergy’s depiction of Ottomans conflated religious and ethnic identity.

Evidence

A question may arise as to whether the Orthodox clergy were referring to Muslims or Turks in their discourse. In the former reading, they would see the invading Ottomans as a manifestation of Islam and in its essence a Muslim enterprise. On the latter reading, they would view the Ottomans as any other racial group like how they saw the Mongols. — Ali Qureshi, The Fall of Constantinople, 46

Categorization

• DEFINE: Distinguishes the ‘Muslim enterprise’ vs. ‘ethnic group’ readings of how Byzantines categorized the invaders.
• XREF: connects to: The term ‘Turk’ replaced ‘Saracen’ and carried ethnic, political, and religious meaning — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 144; Biblical villains were costumed as Turks in Renaissance church imagery; Doctrinal inflexibility within Orthodoxy undermined defense against the Ottomans — Ali Qureshi, The Fall of Constantinople: A Critical…, 24 (+4 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)
• Ottomans were seen as a political threat rather than a religious one #contradicts (0.70) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 76
• Orthodox clergy preferred Ottoman rule over Latin rule during the fall of Constantinople. #exemplifies (0.60) — Ali Qureshi, The Fall of Constantinople, 60
• Ottoman proximity shifted Muslim-monster stories toward miscegenation fear #complicates (0.50)