Response to Elle's, "Muslims, Christians, and the Ottoman Empire."

Elle, a few comments on your investigation.

You began by asserting that Islam (specifically the Ottoman Empire) and Christianity became more strict and responsible as time passed. However, you provided no evidence to support your claim. Instead, you quickly moved on to discussing Columbus' explorations of the New World, and the harshness of devshirmes; neither of which relates at all to the development of responsibility or strictness in Christian or Muslim civilizations.

In fact, I would consider the kidnapping of young children to be an irresponsible act, yet it continued for roughly half of Ottoman history. The devshirme system only fell out of practice in the 17th century because these positions were only available to slaves, and those who were already at the upper echelon of society wanted to maintain political control within their own families (instead of giving away positions of power to slaves). Therefore, the Devshirme system fell apart due to a thirst for worsening the imbalance of power, not because the Ottomans strived to become a more responsible society.

Also, I find it difficult to accept your notion that an entity can become more responsible and strict simultaneously. When one becomes more responsible, strictness loses its purpose because they are sensible enough to make wise decisions. This concept is analogous to raising a child; as it grows up you don’t need to have as many rules for it, because it becomes more and more capable of taking care of itself.

Lastly, if you have evidence supporting the claim that the Ottoman Empire or Christianity (although due to its widespread nature and diversity, it could prove difficult to pinpoint its specific characteristics) became more strict and/or responsible as it developed through modern history, I’d love to hear it.