The Divergence of Judaism and Islam. Interdependence, Modernity, and Political Turmoil

(Joyce) #1

54 · Ömer Turan


From the Bulgarian perspective, the conception was similar. Although
Shealtiel claims that anti-Jewish activities in Bulgaria began only in 1939,
anti-Semitic remarks can be found in Bulgarian literature and folklore of
the Bulgarian revolts, including the work of Ivan Vazov.^12 The Bulgarian
revolutionary press was openly anti-Semitic. The Jews were portrayed
as dishonest, corrupt, and avaricious people in the speeches of Bulgar-
ian National Revival figures.^13 After describing the cruelties of Bulgar-
ians toward the Muslims and Jews during the Ottoman-Russian War of
1877–78, Sir Austen Henry Layard, the British ambassador at Istanbul,
stated that “the hatred of the Bulgarians for the Muslims proceeds more
from religious animosity and prejudice than from any other motive. The
Bulgarians can certainly not complain that they have been misgoverned
or oppressed by the Jews.”^14
The Jews and Christians were competing for places close to the Otto-
man Palace and trying to hold commercial and financial superiority in
Istanbul for centuries. The execution of some Jewish bankers in the 1820s
ended the rivalry, and the Jews were the losers. As a result of moderniza-
tion, brought to the Jews of the Ottoman Empire through state schools,
schools of Alliance Israélite Universelle, and the other European orga-
nizations, a growing Jewish middle class emerged during the late nine-
teenth century. “Equipped with modern education and skills, increasing
numbers of Jews were steadily able to make their way into the liberal
professions, new sectors of commerce and finance, governmental service,
and the trades.” Even though the Jews still were poorer than the Greeks
and Armenians, the development of the Jews in the economic and social
fields increased anti-Semitism among the Christian Balkan nations.^15


The Attacks on Jews and Muslims


Since Muslims and Jews were considered the enemy during the revo-
lutions, whenever the central government could not protect them, both
groups were attacked. These attacks began even before the nineteenth
century. In the second half of the eighteenth century, as anarchy increas-
ingly prevailed in these areas, the Jews came under the attack of Greek
insurgents and bandits. At that time, several long-established Jewish
communities—including those of Chalcik (Eğriboz), Thebes (Istifa), and
Navpaktos (Inebahtı, Lepanto)—were either abandoned or destroyed.^16

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