Honored by the Glory of Islam. Conversion and Conquest in Ottoman Europe

116 honored by the glory of islam

in an attempt to emulate Suleiman I’s fi rst acts after he was enthroned,

Mehmed IV prohibited the playing of the saz and other musical instruments,

including the lute, and the singing of wandering minstrels.^44 Contemporary

miniatures of young women musicians hint at other sins. They appear in racy

outfi ts showing cleavage as they pluck phallic-shaped instruments held across

their bodies.^45 Prohibiting the consumption of alcohol was a step Suleiman I

had not taken. According to Vani Mehmed Efendi, taverns and the wine trade

caused moral corruption, especially when located in neighborhoods that were

predominantly Muslim. Another miniature from that epoch shows an amorous

young couple, a lover and his beloved, sitting and embracing while looking

intently into each other’s eyes; the woman clutches a cup of wine to her breast

as the man places his right hand on her right thigh. Their turbans touch.^46

Accordingly, at least twice during the 1 660s and 1 670s, orders were issued

to destroy all taverns in Istanbul and end the legal trade in alcohol in order to

enforce Islamic morality. Reducing or eliminating the consumption of alcohol

in the imperial capital was an important attempt at putting Muslims back on

the straight path, the empty space of taverns further contributing to a more

Islamic landscape.

It was only natural for an Islamic dynasty to forbid the consumption of wine

and spirits by its Muslim subjects. In the sixteenth century, for example, an im-

perial order had been issued that hindered Christians and Jews from selling

wine to Muslims and openly selling and consuming alcohol themselves.^47 But at

that time the pragmatic sultan did not ban the wine trade: instead, he appointed

a commissioner to collect a tithe and thus benefi t the imperial treasury as he

tried to prohibit taverns being opened where Muslims resided, particularly near

mosques.^48 Christians and Jews were allowed to produce and consume alcohol

for their own purposes. But bear in mind all the complaints of Muslims con-

cerning the wine drinking of their new Christian and Jewish neighbors follow-

ing the fi re in 1 660. Muslims were concerned that consumption of alcohol led

to immorality and vice and even prostitution in their neighborhoods.

Some Muslims enjoyed drinking and the company of prostitutes. The

anonymous author of A Treatise on Strange Events noted that Muslims drank

wine, caroused with Christians and Jews, and owned taverns. Tavern owners

sold wine in Muslim neighborhoods.^49 Shariah court records demonstrate that

other Muslims were upset by this situation. Muslims from the neighborhoods

of Soğan Agha, Yakub Agha, and Emin Bey in Istanbul complained that Chris-

tians had rented three stores from Muslim endowments and turned them into

a tavern in 1 664.^50 Notable Muslim men of the neighborhood attested to the

sale of wine and spirits. An imperial writ was issued warning Christians not to

sell alcohol.