How did Muslim scholars and rulers react to the Reformation?

by aap5454
GeneralNMP

Also, what about the Orthodox?

EndlessMichael

Insofar as there was one, the response from Muslim rulers was quite positive. I think this was for two reasons. Firstly, many Protestant and Muslim leaders found themselves opposed to the Catholic rulers of Germany and the Mediterranean, so there were political factors drawing them together. Secondly, Muslims and many Protestants were opposed to idolatry and religious imagery and some Muslim rulers viewed the Protestants as closer to the ‘correct’ religion for this reason. I would say the first reason was more important, but the second reason was played up in diplomatic letters by both sides.

For example, Elizabeth I of England and the Ottoman sultan Murad III exchanged letters that emphasized their opposition to “all kinde of idolatries, of all that live among the Christians.” Elizabeth went on to refer to "that God who onely is above all things, and all men, and is a most severe revenger of all idolatrie.” In 1588, the Ottoman Grand Vizier supposedly declared that "there was nothing lacking for the English to become Muslims, except for them to raise their forefingers and recite the confession of faith.” (The person he declared this to was the Spanish ambassador, so it may be Catholic propaganda).

In reality, Ottoman-English relations were likely based on practical concerns rather than a true feeling of religious kinship. The Church had banned Catholics from trading with the Turks and the Ottomans were eager to circumvent this embargo via the English. Meanwhile, Elizabeth had been excommunicated in 1570 and had nothing to lose from allowing English traders to get rich in Turkey.

The Ottomans were similarly well-disposed to other Protestant rulers, who weakened their traditional Catholic enemies. Murad III sent a famous letter praising “the members of the Lutheran sect in Flanders and Spain…[for you] do not worship idols, you have banished the idols and portraits and ‘bells’ from churches.” When the Spanish ‘Moriscos’ revolted in 1568, the sultan sent a letter urging them to establish contact with Protestants and coordinate their attacks on the Spanish.

The benefits were mutual: on at least two occasions, the German Lutheran princes refused to aid the Emperor against the Turks until he granted them religious concessions, while the Dutch “Sea Beggars” confederacy actually had “rather a Turk than a Papist” as a slogan for a time.

That said, the Ottomans do not seem to have had a great deal of knowledge about the intricacies of the Reformation. In the early 16th century, a Turkish scholar referred to Elizabeth as “the ruler of the Lutheran kingdom among the Franks.” Murad’s letter goes on to praise the “Lutherans” [actually Calvinists] for “stating that God Almighty is One and Holy Jesus is His Prophet and Servant…the faithless one they call Papa does not recognize his creator as one, ascribing divinity to Holy Jesus” which suggests the Ottomans only had a vague understanding of actual Protestant doctrine.