Skitsnack. Det var välkänt som en av de största slaverimakterna i världen och vi har ögonvittnesbeskrivningar som talar om hur högt de värderade dem som revisionister brukar påstå, genomförliga beskrivningar av hur de hade slagit ihjäl svarta afrikanska kvinnor för att de inte längre orkade gå.
Det finns inte många stater som inte slog ihjäl svarta under någon tid, t. ex. Belgien eller Storbritannien hade i Afrika en stark sådan närvaro. Fast nu pratar jag ej om ras, jag pratar om religiös tolerans i Ottomanska riket.
Det finns t. o. m. forskare som hävdar att många kristna hellre ville leva under Ottomanska rikets muslimska styre än Byzantinska, då den ortodoxa kyrkan under Byzantinska styret mer förtryckte kristna än vad den muslimska ledaren gjorde.
Kristna och judar tilläts t o m vara utanför obligatorisk tjänstgöring i den Ottomanska armén pg. a. skatten, Jizya, de betalade. Denna skatt köpte även dessa minoriteter rätten att bli tolererade.
Här ett utdrag ur en relevant text:
The benefits of Ottoman rule are seen when one compares Ottoman practice with what was occurring in Europe at the time. In Europe only one religion was tolerated and conversion, exile or death was the rule for those who dissented. An example was Spain which, when conquered by Christian rulers, expelled the Muslims and Jews who had lived there for centuries. The Ottomans took them in. While Jews lived through ages of pogroms in Europe they lived in peace among the Turkish Muslims. In their time, the tolerance of the Ottomans was remarkable.
.. Why, if it was imperfect, was Ottoman religious toleration so noteworthy? Historical comparisons can be made to ideals. Compared to an ideal of a democratic government of complete equality for all citizens, the Ottoman Empire was deficient. Comparisons can also be made to modern times. Compared to today's governments in Western Europe or North America, religious, toleration in the Ottoman Empire was also deficient. Such comparisons help us evaluate history, but they are surely not fair criteria to use to praise or damn peoples of other times. To truly evaluate the Ottomans they must be compared to others who lived in their own time. It is in that comparison that Ottoman toleration is shown to be exceptional and laudable as it was. Ottoman toleration was not so notable because it was perfect. It was notable because it was so much better than what existed elsewhere.
TL;DR var Ottomanska riket ett himmelsrike för minoriteter? Nej. Men det är inte för inget som Ottomanska riket är känt för sin, för tiden, starka tolerans mot minoriteter.