This chapter discusses the complex forms of domination and subordination within the Ottoman Empire, focusing on the Janissaries, an elite soldier group forcefully recruited from Christian families. It emphasizes the need to understand the Ottoman past without imposing European categories and delves into the author's book, highlighting the overlooked history of coexistence in the Arab provinces.
Featuring Ussama Makdisi on the late Ottoman Empire's Arab culture of Muslim, Christian, and Jewish coexistence—an ecumenical frame that was interrupted by European colonialism and Zionism, which exacerbated and exploited sectarianism. This is the first of a two-part interview.
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