Christians Jews Ottoman Arab World: The Roots of Sectarianism (Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization)

Masters explores the history of Christians and Jews in the Ottoman Empire and how their identities evolved over four hundred years. While early communities lived within the hierarchy of Muslim law, the nineteenth century witnessed radical change. In response to Western influences, conflict erupted between Muslims and Christians across the empire. This marked the beginning of tensions that informed the rhetoric of religious fundamentalism in the empire's successor states throughout the twentieth century. Thus Masters negotiates the present through the past, contributing to our understanding of the contemporary Muslim world.

"...a thoughtful and thought-provoking book..." American Historical Review

"This book reconfirms Bruce Masters as the preeminent expert in Ottoman-and-Arab history." The MIT Electronic Journal of Middle East Studies

"Christians and Jews in the Ottoman Arab World is an excellent study of the history of the Arab Christians in Syria and the development of the Arab Catholic community in Aleppo under Ottoman rule. Bruce Masters, probably the most knowledgeable historian of Aleppo during this period, uses his experience and familiarity with the history to provide us with a penetrating analysis of one of the central features in the early modern history of the region." Middle East Journal

"Bruce Masters's work is a welcome addition to a growing number of monographs that bring to light hitherto neglected aspects of Ottoman history and the complexities of the human experience of the human experience that it represent. Master's book provides rich information...a commendable effort to draw as holistic and dynamic a picture as possible."
Engin Deniz Akarli, Journal of Near Eastern Studies