Anglo‐Muslim relations in 18th‐century literature and culture

Abstract

An analytical toolkit particular to English constructions of the Ottomans is needed to grapple with representations of Anglo-Muslim relations in the 18th century. That toolkit is a work in progress, but would include recognition of the following: (1) the current state of archival access reinforces a Eurocentric perspective; (2) the relative geopolitical power of England and the Ottoman Empire shifted drastically in the 18th century; (3) the necessity of a strategic post-Saidian theoretical framework; (4) a polemical repertoire of comparison and projection ("Mahometanism") often used stereotypically imagined Muslims as stand-ins for non-Muslim targets; (5) the politics of confessionalization meant that Islam's non-Trinitarian monotheism was a challenge to Anglican authority; and (6) polemical uses of Islam particularly focused on issues of political authority, religious toleration, and women's rights.