Ottoman decline opened non-hostile European study of Islam

Evidence

As the military and political threat of the Ottoman Empire diminished, a space was opened for the study of Islam and even the Middle East that was not rooted in religious hostility. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, a greater interest in the study of Arabic and Islam developed. Some European universities sponsored Arabic studies, and a host of histories, dictionaries, and textbooks about Islam and Arab peoples emerged. The pieces were in place for a more nuanced picture of Islam. — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 160

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Reformation-era Christian scholars rarely studied Islam seriously — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 147; Islam became the convenient enemy to mobilize Europe’s territorial ambitions — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 60; Ottomans were seen as a political threat rather than a religious one — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 76 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• The fear of Islam intensified amid Ottoman decline and colonial expansion #expands (0.75) — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 166
• Western hostility to Islam shifted from theological to political rationales across the centuries #expands (0.60) — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 106
• Ottomans were seen as a political threat rather than a religious one #complicates (0.50) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 76
• Islam became the convenient enemy to mobilize Europe’s territorial ambitions #complicates (0.40) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 60