The Ottoman Policy Towards Church Construction: The Issue of Church Construction and Restoration in Antakya (Antioch) in the 18th and 19th Centuries
The Ottoman Policy Towards Church Construction: The Issue of Church Construction and Restoration in Antakya (Antioch) in the 18th and 19th Centuries

Summary/Abstract: The rules of restoring or building a church in the lands of Islam were determined by Islamic law. It is believed that the Ottoman authorities followed these rules and applied some restrictions concerning construction and restoration of worship areas worship areas of non-Muslims. However, this study suggests that, in some cases, Ottoman pragmatism, the domestic and the international economic and political developments, and the Ottoman reforms, especially the Tanzimat Reforms between 1839-1876, forced the state to overlook the Shari’a rules regarding church restoration and construction. Besides these factors, as in the case of Antakya (Antioch), regional political developments that was the control of the city by the governor of Egypt between 1832-1840 and the Muslim reaction to church construction or restoration attempts of non-Muslims were determinant in church construction and restoration process.

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