Christians Converted To Islam In The Modern Mediterranean World
12 December 2019. From 18:30 | Workshop | English | IEMed, BarcelonaNoel Malcolm, Senior Research Fellow at All Souls College (Oxford University) provides a new perspective on the “renegades”. In his lecture “Christians converted to Islam in the Modern Mediterranean world”, he discusses the change of religious identity of this group of converts. Most of the so-called “renegades” were slaves who saw in the conversion to Islam a possibility of improving their living conditions and a possible return of their freedom; he adds, however, that a small number of Christians voluntarily moved to Ottoman territory and converted.
Sir Noel Malcolm studied history and literature at Cambridge University. He has published books on the philosophy of the first modern era and the history and culture of the Balkans. His research currently focuses on the history of Western knowledge about the Ottoman and Islamic world. He taught Islam and the Ottoman Empire in Western political thought and the relations of early modern Europe with the Ottoman Empire. His recent publications include Useful enemies. Islam and the Ottoman Empire in Western Political Thought (2019, Oxford University Press).