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

Abstract

AbstractAn 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.