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

ghaza in central and eastern europe 175

eulogies of the companions,” as he prayed for all the ghazis and mujahids

who sacrifi ced their hearts and souls for the cause, Vani Mehmed Efendi de-

livered “a sermon and admonishing suitable for ghaza, jihad, and illustrious

conquests,” which “incited the soldiers of the army of monotheists to strive

and thank God in their hearts, minds, and souls.”^44 Yusuf Nabi adds that Vani

Mehmed Efendi’s discussion of the merits and virtues of jihad and conquest,

verifi ed by Qur’anic verses, was so beautiful it was as if his words spread per-

fume that rose to the dome of the mosque.^45 Then the grateful congregation

of Muslims and the army prayed heartily for the sultan and dynasty, since “the

powerful sultan who traverses the world causing dread” was among them.^46

Along with Fethiye, all the great churches, referred to as soiled or contami-

nated abodes of the idols of polytheism, were converted to mosques. According

to Yusuf Nabi, the zeal of Mehmed IV caused church bells in the citadel and

city to be replaced by the Muslim call to prayer, and the Brahman dwellings were

transformed into madrasas for Muslim students (taliban) and scholars and

places for chanting the Qur’an. Although there were no Hindus in that Polish

citadel, the term “Brahman” is used to make explicit the claim that Christian-

ity is polytheistic. Thus, in addition to a sultanic mosque, others were marked

for the grand vizier, deputy grand vizier, boon companion, and Vani Mehmed

Efendi. Each was given a church that was suitable for transformation into a

mosque, “purifi ed of infi del and polytheist rituals and illuminated with Islamic

worship.”^47 One mosque was also given to the valide sultan Hatice Turhan, an-

other to the favorite concubine, Gülnuş Emetullah, consolation prize perhaps

for her diligence in accompanying the sultan through the mud most of the way

to this remote citadel in Poland.^48

Ottoman chroniclers and historians praised the conversion of sacred space.

Appointed to write a poem celebrating the victory, Abdi Pasha boasted, “When

the group of infi dels left in safety, that great citadel became full of the light of

faith. A beautiful Friday mosque was built after numerous abodes of idols were

purifi ed of the fi lth of the marks of infi delity.”^49 Yusuf Nabi, in his chronogram

of the conquest of the citadel, also praises “the sultan of the religion, the king

of kings of the world, the khedive of the epoch,” Mehmed IV, “that strong royal

falcon,” for his conversion of Christian places. After the Ottomans took over

the citadel, “the community of Muhammad destroyed those monasteries of

soothsayers fi lled to the brimful with infi delity and all their places of worship,

breaking and destroying the idols and crosses, not allowing any infi delity in

the new Muslim citadel,” as “the light of Muhammad fell upon the fortress of

Kamaniça.”^50

As already seen in the case of the conversion of the landscape in Istanbul,

Ottoman writers viewed the conversion of churches to mosques as a conquest