Muslimanka u bosanskohercegovačkom društvu

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MUSLIM BOSNIAN WOMEN UNDER OTTOMAN RULE

Aiša Purak

Course ID: IDS550 - Ottoman Bosnia

Professor, Dr. Mustafa Gökçek

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Abstract:

The aim of this study is to show the social and legal status of women under the Ottoman

Empire based on available and authentic documents. This study aims to show a clear portrait of

Muslim women in Bosnia during the Ottoman domination of the social and legal order. This

paper argues that the rights, privileges, and social status that women gained and enjoyed under

Ottoman rule are unmatched to any other ruling power of that time period, which was a direct

result of the practice of Islam. At the same time this paper will provide a brief overview of the

status of women in other parts of the world during this period. This research aims to show a clear

correlation between the Ottoman practice of Islam, and the protection of women and their rights

under Ottoman umbrella.

Keywords: Women, Bosnia, Ottoman Empire, Islam, Muslim

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Muslim Bosnian women under Ottoman Rule

The aim of this paper is to show that because Ottoman Empire implemented and used the

Islamic Law1, women in the Ottoman Empire had more rights than their counterparts around the

globe. When considering women and their roles in Ottoman societies, many people view a

gender that is oppressed, secluded, and considered inferior to men. Women are usually viewed as

invisible and repressed. However, this paper argues, keeping in mind the status of women in the

Middle Ages, that women in the Ottoman Empire played a huge role in their society and enjoyed

rights that were not granted to women outside the Ottoman Empire, and that was a direct result

of the Islamic law which was implemented in Ottoman Islamic society.

Social status of European women in the Middle Ages

John H. Mundy, in his Europe in the High Middle Ages, argues that women in Europe

were valued in the Middle Ages only as an economic commodity (1980, p. 212). Research by

Carlo M. Cipolla supports this statement and, in his book The Fontana Economic History of

Europe, writes that women served two main functions within medieval society: child bearer and

manual laborer. Because women represented a large source of cheap labor, they quickly became

the mainstay of the medieval economy. In many cases they would work alongside men in the

fields. However, women were paid less than children's wages for their work (1981). The Church

would not allow women to hold jobs that required literacy (Mundy, 1980). In fact, aside from

1 Islamic law - It is based on the Qur’an, which Muslims believe is the revealed book of God given to Muhammad PBUH (peace

be upon him ) over 23 years, and the Sunnah, or example of the Prophet Muhammad, whom Muslims believe was divinely

guided. The Hadith, which are sayings of Muhammad PBUH and provide information about the Sunnah, were recorded in the

two centuries after Muhammad’s death in authenticated hadith collections. Islamic law prescribes Muslim behavior in every

aspect of life from private matters between the individual and God to relationships with others from the family or the widest

community. The Shari’ah contains categories and subjects of Islamic law called the branches of fiqh (literally, "understanding").

They include Islamic worship, Family relations, Inheritance, Commerce, Property law, Civil (tort) law, Criminal law,

Administration, Taxation, Constitution, International Relations, War and Ethics, and other categories. In matters that were not

clearly spelled out in these sources, Muslim jurists developed other methods of finding a solution to a question. The first is ijma’

or unanimous consensus among jurists, and the second is qiyas, or decision by analogy.( Haqq, 2002).

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hard labor the only occupation open to women was midwifery. "In hospital work women were

almost as important as men" (Mundy, 1980, p.210). The textile industry was dominated by

women, especially the woolen and silk industries (Cipolla, 1981). Though women enjoyed

virtual domination in these crafts, they were still paid next to nothing. In addition to the intense

labor, women had household duties to fulfill, especially if a woman was married (Cipolla.1981).

This trend of exploiting women economically continued to push women into the depths of the

"culture of hopelessness" Cipolla, (1981, p.266).

Mundy further argues that where the husband's and employer's power over women was

practical, the clergy's was spiritual. These two worlds were in constant conflict (1980). This was

affirmed again by Wood, who said that women flocked to the Church in the Middle Ages. They

turned to religion for consolation and solace (Wood, 1970). More women attended mass, more

confessed, they were the true keepers of the faith (Mundy, 1980). Women provided the Church

with a source of cohesion (Mundy, 1980). Their fierce and desperate faith would lay the

groundwork for the growing dominance of the Church in medieval society (Wood, 1970).

Eileen Power (1970) argues that indeed, a wife's two main goals were the salvation of her soul

and the comfort of her husband. Though many conflicts arose from the vast age difference

between husband and wife, the chief duty of a wife was to make the last years of her husband's

life good ones (Power, 1970). Men often wrote treatises or manuals describing the duties of a

wife in detail (Mundy, p.213). One of these manuals is Le Ménagier De Paris, a French medieval

The Good Wife's Guide, a marvelous glance into a late 14th century household guide book. The

work was written by an older Parisian man for his very young bride who was fourteen years old.

It contains suggestions for running the household, morality, selecting servants, guidance of

purchasing and caring for horses, and a treatise on hawking. It has been an invaluable source of

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insight into the daily lives of women as well as men's attitudes toward women (Power, 1970).

When describing the ideal qualities of a wife the he states,

"She is to be loving, humble, obedient, careful, thoughtful for his person, silent regarding his

secrets, and patient if he be foolish and allow his heart to stray to other women” Power

(1970,p.99). Total submission was expected and given (Mundy, 213). Above all others, patience

was the virtue women struggled to practice every day (Power, 103).

Because girls counted as grown up when they were fifteen in the Middle Ages, they could be

married out of hand at twelve and they could become nuns for life at fourteen (Power, 1970).

For better or worse, this was the woman's domain. Here she bore her children, not

infrequently dying in the process. Here she awaited the return of husband and sons from

battle, with what mixture of emotions is hard to say. Here, in short, she spent her days in

an endless monotonous round of needlework, child rearing, and supervision of domestic

labors from which only death -or in widowhood or the convent- could provide release

Wood, (1970, p.56).

Through the Dark Ages churches conducted state- organized and persecution of so-called

"witches". Of the one hundred thousand people killed, two-thirds were women (Gisela Bok,

2002). According to Diana E. H. Russell and Robert A. Harmes (2001) under the guise of casting

out devils, churches in cooperation with the states of men, because women at that time were not

a social factor, organized probably the most massive genocide in history - femicide. Men killed

women just because they were women.

Many studies have been done, and many books and scientific papers written on

disadvantaged women throughout history, particularly during the Middle Ages. Depending from

state to state, ancient times had different portraits of women, but the dominant general rule

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regarding women was that during her childhood a woman depends on her father in her youth by

her husband, after the death of her husband, sons, and if there are no sons of the relatives of her

husband; conclusion is that a woman can never manage herself. (Muller, 2001). They did not

enjoy civil rights, nor were considered equal with men on any matter; they were not treated as

citizens, lacked the right to private property and were deprived of certain liberties. According to

Roman law, which later influenced European and American law, men and women are equal, but

the woman is the '' property'' of man. She has no right to dispose of his life, has no right to

money, land or children.

Social status of Bosnian women in the Middle Ages

Perhaps Bosnian women didn’t have femicide, as their counterparts did in other parts of

Europe, but the social status of Bosnian women during the Middle Ages was hardly

commendable. Social and legal status of women Bosnia changed according to the governing

structure of the state. Before the arrival of the Ottoman Empire in the region of Bosnia and

Herzegovina, there were several mass suffering of women, and after the withdrawal of the

Ottomans from Bosnia and Herzegovina region. Mass killings, rape, selling and buying, the

separation of children and forced religious conversion of all this is a bitter pill that followed the

fate of Bosnian women through the ages. For the women of Bosnia, this was their deadly toll that

through history, the suffering of the women paid, either from choice or fate of being different

from their neighbors, but also shameful stain of many governmental structures of Bosnia which

failed to protect them.

According to historical sources, the last of the territory by the Romans conquered the

Balkan Peninsula was central Bosnia. Alliance Desidijata Illyrian tribes who inhabited this area

three years offered fierce resistance to the Roman legions to preserve their freedom. The last

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battle took place around the city Arduba (once served), where the resistance of the Illyrians was

broken and many fighters along with tribal elders Baton trapped. In the last great battle , when

the Romans laid siege to Baton's last bastion of resistance , the city Arduba (today once served ) ,

Roman chroniclers recorded the following : " Proud Illyrian women with children in their arms

are thrown to the walls of the city in which the fire flare all around. They cannot surrender to the

Romans, and the Illyrian warriors deprive themselves living with their swords ... Preferring death

over slavery" (Stipčević, 1991).

In the history of medieval Bosnia, only a few women have left such a prominent mark as

Katarina Vukčić Kosača, who is one of the most compelling among them. Her life story

illuminates the history of the Bosnian Kingdom in its last few decades to such a remarkable

extent that it is no wonder that all those describing the 15th-century Bosnia devote to her all the

attention she deserves.

Last Bosnian Queen (1424-1478)

The women figure whose fate best mirror Bosnian women’s struggle throughout the history

is The Queen Katarina. Her life story is a story of so many Bosnians’ women who had to leave

their loved country to save theirs and children lives. Queen Katarina is otherwise known by the

title "the last Bosnian queen," even though she was not, but is certainly without a doubt, one of

the most interesting personalities of the Bosnian Dynasty. Accidents are the track started from an

early age because of early left without a mother, then her father, brother and children. It's a

misfortune that Katarina wasn't actually the last queen. That honor went to the wife of her

stepson. He reigned for less than two years before losing his head. Perhaps it wasn't only the

shortness of his reign that pushed Katarina's step daughter-in-law out of people's memories.

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Katarina Vukčić Kosača was a daughter of a distinguished Bosnian aristocrat, Duke

Stjepan Vukčić Kosača, and her mother Jelena. Around 1424, Jelena gave birth to a girl named

Katarina Vukčić Kosača, the late Bosnian Queen. Katarina grew up, and was raised in her

parents’ home. Her father, Stjepan, was a respected associate of his uncle Sandalj Hranić.

However, after Sandalj’s death in 1435, Stjepan took charge of his possessions. Katarina,

without any doubt, heeded her father’s undertakings, who discerning, enterprising, and

inconsiderate as he was, was spreading his possessions and reputation within the Bosnian

Kingdom. Once she turned twenty-one, and reached the marriage age, she became the focal point

of Bosnian politics, which happened in 1443, when Stjepan Tomaš (1443-1461) succeeded King

Tvrko II (1421-1443). (Pandzic, 1978).

By marrying Sjepan Tomaš, Katarina became the Bosnian Queen. Even though political

considerations played an important role when she was getting married, Katarina was faithful to

her husband throughout her entire life. She was forced to change her faith, for the “greater

good.” Namely, persuaded by advisers, King Stjepan Tomas (Stephen Thomas is perhaps best

known as the first ruler of Bosnia who engaged in religious persecution) chose Katarina,

daughter of Stjepana Vukčića Kosače, (who was a Bosnian Duke that ruled a hereditary region in

Hum, under King Stephen Thomas), who at that time was 22 years, for his wife. The wedding

took place at a Catholic rite. Before marriage, Katarina had to give up 2Bogomilism and accept

Roman Catholicism, (Matica hrvatska Mostar, Motrišta, 2001). (Pandzic, 1978).

After the death of Stjepan Tomas in 1461, Katarina was left with two weak children,

Sigismund and Katarina. Stjepan Tomasevic, the son Stjepan Tomas had with Vojaca, became

2 During the 1200s and 1300s, Bosnia was one of the regions where a variant of Christianity called Bogomilism,

which the world has since forgotten, took hold. Bogomils believed in Jesus but questioned the holiness of Mary,

rejected the crucifixion, opposed any kind of religious hierarchy, and believed that Satan and God had equal powers.

Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians considered Bogomilsim to be heresy.

(http://www.adherents.com/adhloc/Wh_39.html)

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the Bosnian king. He was the first Bosnian king to be crowned with a crown from Rome. His

main concern was to also be on good terms with Stjepan Vukcic Kosaca. Because of that, even

before he was crowned as king, he recognized Queen Katarina all rights as the Queen Mother.

In the meantime, in the spring of 1463, the sultan Mehmed II (1451-1481) with his

powerful army, conquered Bosnia with no difficulty. At that time, Katarina was visiting her

brother without her kids. Katarina fled to Duborovnik, Qroatia but her children were left behind.

Her son was taken to Istanbul where he attended school, but her young daughter died. (Pandzic,

1978).

At the beginning of July 1463, she moved to the Republic of Dubrovnik where she acted

as the legal representative of the Bosnian kingdom.

During her time in Dubrovnik, Katarina followed the situation in Bosnia, and hoped that

her kingdom would quickly be liberated. But as days passed, liberation did not happen, and she

moved to Rome in 1466. (Pandzic, 1978).

She never saw her childer again and died in Rome, 1479. According to her wishes, she

was buried in the Aracoeli church in front of the main altar where they made her a beautiful

tombstone, which depicted her in her actual size and with the royal crown on her head. An

inscription in 3bosancica was also put on the tombstone.

So many Bosnian women, after the Ottoman Empire left Bosnian territory, after the

World War ll and recently, after the latest attack an Bosnia (1991-1995) shared the same fate as

Last Bosnian Queen. Their son’s were taken from them and killed, their fathers, brothers,

husbands were killed and they had to leave their country and some of them never came back and

never saw their children again. (Walker, 2012).

3 Bosnian Cyrillic, widely known as Bosančica is an extinct type of the Cyrillic alphabet that originated in Bosnia

and Herzegovina. It was widely used in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the bordering areas in Croatia (southern

Dalmatia and Dubrovnik regions). (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosnian_Cyrillic)

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Women in Qur’an and Hadith

The position of Bosnian women in the Ottoman Empire is one of the areas in which

studies have not made much progress, especially concerning their domestic roles. This lack of

systematic study of women living in the Bosnia region, under Ottoman rule, provides the

opportunity for opening a new and unexplored field of historical studies. The aim of this paper is

to show that Bosnian women enjoyed the same privileges, that were not available in other

societies, as women living in other areas under Ottoman rule because of the Islamic law that the

Ottoman Empire implemented. Bosnian women had by far the highest level protection and

greatest amount of rights during the Ottoman reign, compared to other time periods, as no mass

killings or rapes took place under their rule (Inalcik, 2002). The reasons for this naturally include

the military strength of the Ottoman Empire, but they also include the legal system and political

order of the Ottoman Empire, which was based on Qur'anic principles, which emphasize that a

woman is to be treated as a complementary part of man, and vice versa. This is best illustrated by

the following verses: “And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that

you may find tranquility in them; and He placed between you affection and mercy. Indeed in that

are signs for a people who give thought.”(Qur’an, Surat Ar-Rūm, ayeta 21). “The believing men

and believing women are partners of one another. They enjoin what is right and forbid what is

wrong and establish prayer and give zakah and obey Allah and His Messenger. Those - Allah

will have mercy upon them. Indeed, Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise.” (Qur’an, Al Tawba,

ayeta 71).

Qur'an, as the first source of Sharia law, mentions several times the rights and roles of

women. The fourth chapter of the Qur'an is even entitled "Women". The Qur'an addresses both

women and men in text, and shows equality in every respect. This is especially evident in the

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following verse: “Indeed, the Muslim men and Muslim women, the believing men and believing

women, the obedient men and obedient women, the truthful men and truthful women, the patient

men and patient women, the humble men and humble women, the charitable men and charitable

women, the fasting men and fasting women, the men who guard their private parts and the

women who do so, and the men who remember Allah often and the women who do so - for them

Allah has prepared forgiveness and a great reward.”. (Qur’an, sure Al-Ahzab, ayeta 35).

This verse explains that the Holy Quran explicitly mentions both sexes. It should be

noted, however that several times the text of the Holy Qur'an uses the masculine form for words

to indicate both sexes. This verse clearly shows that gender is not a criterion for entry into

Paradise, but rather it is up to the person to uphold the teachings of Islam.

To understand a Muslim woman and her role in the society, one must turn to the primary

sources of guidance in Islam, namely the Qur'an and Sunnah. In the Qur'an, there is no concrete

barrier or restriction when it comes to women's involvement within the community. Specifically,

the Qur’an gave a woman and her role as a mother the greatest honor and respect, so that Allah

swt has linked the right of parents to His rights, and says “And your Lord has decreed that you

not worship except Him, and to parents, good treatment. Whether one or both of them reach old

age [while] with you, say not to them [so much as], "uff," and do not repel them but speak to

them a noble word" (Qur’an, sura El-Isra, ayeta 23).

There is almost no society during the Middle Ages that had enabled and supported its

cohabitation and multiculturalism coexistence of different nations, religions and cultures as did

the Ottoman Empire (Kahla, Lienaua, 2009). This also was a direct implementation of the

Qur'anic principles and proper interpretation of the Sharia law, as can be seen from the following

verse of the Qur'an: “O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made

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you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight

of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted.." (Qur'an, sura

Al Hugurat, ayeta 13).

History Islamic law rights in the Ottoman Empire

Norman Itzkowitz (1972) in his book Ottoman Empire and Islamic Tradition, writes that

at the very beginning, the Ottoman state was nothing more than a small tribal alliance led by a

Turkish bey, by the name of Osman. His beylik (small state) in western Anatolia bordered the

hostile Byzantine Empire. Osman was known as a ghazi, or a soldier of the faith. In the Trkish

culture of the time, huge emphasis was placed on being a Muslim soldier defending Muslim

lands against Byzantine attacks. The Byzantines had been in a state of war with Muslim empires

on and off since the Righteous Caliphate of Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali.

Prof. Dr. Fikret Karcic from Sarajevo, who is specialist in the history of Islamic law and

institutions, argues that Sharia law in the Ottoman Empire dates from its very inception. Fiqh or

Islamic law, is taken as the basis of private law and civil law regulations. Founder of the

Ottoman Empire, Osman I, when he was awarded the appropriate authority and power and

acknowledged its independence, seldžučki ruler Alauddin, sent him a special decree in which he

imperative highlighted the necessity of relying on the principles of Sharia law in the new state. (

2011). The principle of applying Sharia law were accepted and established in the country

through a general consent. Thus, in matters relating to personal status, family relations,

inheritance, contracts, real estate acquisition, principles of fiqh are respected and implemented.

Only in cases involving farmland Turks, inspired by its folk customs, applied its own regulations

(Karčić, 2011).

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Under Osman 1st, the Turks of Anatolia found a common identity in sticking to Islam in

all walks of life, and using their expertise as soldiers in defense of Muslim lands. This emphasis

on Muslim identity is seen in Osman’s advice to his son:

Son! Be careful about the religious issues before all other duties. The religious precepts build a

strong state. Do not give religious duties to careless, faithless and sinful men or to dissipated,

indifferent or inexperienced people. And also do not leave the state administrations to such

people. Because the one without fear of God the Creator, has no fear of the created…Depend on

God’s help in the esteem of justice and fairness, to remove the cruelty, attempts in every duty.

Protect your public from enemy’s invasion and from cruelty. (Itzkowitz, 1981).

The era of Ottoman rule in Bosnia

After the Turks conquered Bosnia in 1463 A.D., 36,000 Bogomil families came to the town

of Jajce to embrace the religion of Islam and accept Fatih Sultan Mehmed Han II as their ruler,

because they saw Fatih Sultan Mehmed as a savior from Papa’s persecution and Hungarians.

When the sultan saw their mass conversion to Islam , he said : "As far as I know , this is not an

bad group of people ", and then said, " Ask what you want from me . " According to the same

sources, from 4bogumili young men were taken to the imperial palace and the most celebrated

high honors and positions (HANDŽIĆ, 1940).

The Ottomans already at the time of the conquest of Bosnia (1463) showed great religious

tolerance. It was closely related to the fundamental principles of the Qur'an in which it is

4 By the Middle Ages, these people lived in Bosnia and were known by several names: Gnostics, Manicheans,

Patarens, Good Christians, Cathars and especially Bogumili. It appears that they derived the name ‘Bogumili’ from

one of their Popes. A record from 1223 speaks of a "Pope" named Bogomil, living "on the frontiers of Bulgaria

Croatia and Dalmatia, near the Hungarian Nation. This is the same Pope, who sent his vicar to the Albigensean

(Cathar) churches of southern France and northern Italy. In Germany, he was known as "Gottlieb’ and in Greece as

‘Theophilus’ (both names mean ‘beloved of God’) ‘(Bogomils of Bosnia and Serbia’, Published by American

Baptist Publication.

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unacceptable to force a religious belief. Tolerance in Bosnia still continues coexistence of people

of different religious communities. While not disappeared Bogomili and after the arrival of Jews

in these areas, five religions coexist: Bogomil (domestic), Islamic, Catholic, Orthodox and

Judaism (Inalcik, 2002).

The culmination of the Ottoman socio - political system in Bosnia and Herzegovina was

during the second half of the 15th century until the late 19th century, in which women enjoyed

rights and position in the family and in society in accordance with Islamic principles and the

interpretation of the Sharia law by the then Ottoman ulema . It is imperative to understand that

the success, progress and prosperity of the Ottoman Empire resulted in greatly in their attitude

towards Islam and the implementation of Sharia law principles, and with that vaso familiar place

and time where it appeared that Islam was the guiding principle of Ottoman Empire, as well as

legal and social status of women before the advent of Islam (Karčić, 2011).

Muslim Bosnian women under Ottoman Rule

Contrary to the popular notion that the position of women in Ottoman Islamic society was

an extremely pressed one, that they were denied participation in public life and access to the

economic, financial or legal spheres, the Ottoman socio-political system was such that the

woman was treated in her family and her broader community as a person with full civil rights.

She was active in the economic and financial areas and in a position to contribute to her

community. Thus women were able to establish waqfs using their own property, in order that

their personal funds should be used, in accordance with the ethical principles of Islam, for the

benefit of the broader community. The average women in the Ottoman Empire generally

endowed cash vaqfs, occasionally a house. Women usually did not earn their livelihood by

themselves, but according to the Qur’an and Sharia law they had the right to a part of their

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husband’s income. Besides, they could be given a cash gift from their husbands’, fathers,

brother, etc. And they could use it for God-pleasing deeds( Čar-Drnda, 2004).

What is quite clear from the surviving Ottoman documents is that, as far as Sharia law

court were concerned, the Islam law of inheritance was strictly implemented. Namely, wherever

a woman is referred to as an heiress of the deceased, whether a wife or a daughter, she is also

included in the list of those getting their share of the inheritance. (Gerber,1980).

Islamic law and tradition granted women specific legal rights. (Karčić, 2011).They had the

right to control property, which was unique case at the time, and neither fathers nor husbands

could make use of this property without their consent. They had the right to register complaints

and to claim their rights before the local qadi (Islamic judge). Women of all social levels, in the

country side and in the cities, regularly used the Ottoman court system to defend their interests,

and scholars have found that in most instances judges upheld women's legal and property rights.

Indeed, non-Muslim Ottoman women frequently took recourse to qadi courts because they were

perceived as more favorable in treating issues of concern to women (Faroqhi, 2002).

Recent research on marriage, however, has attempted to move beyond legal theory and

instead to examine actual social practice, which indicates a more favorable situation for Ottoman

women. Marriages were arranged by parents and families, but women had the right to refuse a

match, and prenuptial agreements were not uncommon. Throughout the Ottoman period,

polygyny was rare: probably well over 95 percent of all men had only one wife, though this

varied according to time and place. Members of the juridical and religious elite, as well as some

high divan officials, were more often polygynous, but merchant, artisan, and peasant men rarely

married more than one woman. In the case of divorce, studies of court records indicate that in

practice, Ottoman women had more flexibility in ending unwanted marriages than the legal

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codes would suggest. Separations and annulments were possible, and divorces initiated by

women in eighteenth-century Istanbul became common enough that they attracted concerned

comment by social observers. Women's motivations for divorce included abuse, abandonment,

and failure to provide adequate financial support. For non-Muslim Ottoman women whose

traditions did not normally permit divorce, conversion to Islam was a common way to be

liberated from an unwanted spouse (Dursteler, 2010).

Dursteler (2010) argues that if royal women wielded influence from behind the walls of the

harem, their power found public expression through their patronage of important architectural

projects. In the mid-sixteenth century, Hürrem Sultan (known in Europe as Roxelana), the

powerful wife of Süleyman the Magnificent, initiated the construction of the Haseki Hürrem

Külliye in Istanbul, a complex that included a mosque, several schools, a soup kitchen, a

women's hospital, and a bathhouse. The Mihrimah mosque in Edirne(Adrianople), Thrace, begun

in 1555 under the patronage of Hürrem Sultan's daughter, was designed and executed by the

greatest Ottoman architect of the early-modern era, Sinan. The Yeni Valide Mosque in Istanbul,

begun in 1598 by Safiye Sultan, is another dazzling example of royal women's architectural

patronage.

According to Suraiya Faroqhi, who is one of the most respected names in contemporary

scholarship on women in Ottoman Empire, there are two reasons why the contribution of women

in the Ottoman culture is forgotten. First, all of the patriarchal culture, not excluding even our

own, tends to be in this or that way to downplay the achievements of women in the collective

consciousness. Second, a certain image of women is an integral part of the conception of "exotic

Orient", which is already reflected in the painter 19th century, such as Delacroix (1798th to

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1863rd). This image was negative and misogynistic, but it is short-lived, mostly in supposedly

scientific literature (2002).

Islamic law and Islamic custom decreed that women had certain roles to play, and these

roles were enforced. Women had rights regarding inheritance, marriage, divorce and the like

which they had not had prior to the introduction of Islam, and although men had authority over

women, the latter could go to court to challenge actions that deviated from religious prescriptions

and often won these cases. There were the less wealthy people who could not afford more than

one wife and who usually lived as a family group – parents, married couple, children and

possibly other dependents such as foster children and in some instances servants who were

considered part of the family. With limited means, it was impossible to have a harem and more

than one wife, and in any case polygamy was frowned upon among the Ottomans. Prof. Dr. Ilber

Ortaylı has noted that in the 16th century Solomon Schweigger, a Catholic priest who traveled

through Turkey and translated the Qur’an for the first time into a modern European language,

reported: “The Turks govern the world and their wives govern them. In no other country women

do enjoy themselves as much.” This is further confirmed in the early 18th century letters of Lady

Mary Wortley-Montague, in which she exclaims that nowhere else are women as free as they are

in the Ottoman Empire (Yediyıldız, 2004).

Rusmir Mahmutcehajic, (2003, p 6), a leading Bosnian intellectual, in his book Sarajevo

Essays: Politics, Ideology, and Tradition argues that there must be a strive for a reconciliation

between modernity and tradition for the benefit of modern coexistence, not just in a man’s native

land, but throughout the world. As a brilliant historical example of religious freedom , he uses

The Oath Firman, which provided independence and tolerance to those who were of a different

religion, belief, and race. It was a declaration by Mehmed II the Conqueror which was granted to

MUSLIM BOSNIAN WOMEN P a g e | 18

Angjeo Zvizdovic of the Franciscan Catholic Monastery in Fojnica, Bosnia and Herzegovina

after the May 28, 1463 conquest of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The firman has been recently raised

and published by the Ministry of Culture of Turkey for the 700th anniversary of the foundation

of the Ottoman State. The edict was issued by the Sultan Mehmed II the Conqueror to protect the

basic rights of the Bosnian Christians, when he conquered that territory in 1463. The original

edict is still kept in the Franciscan Catholic Monastery in Fojnica. It is one of the oldest

documents on religious freedom. Mehmed II's oath began its enforcement in the Ottoman Empire

on May 28, 1463. In 1971, the United Nations published a translation of the document in all the

official U.N. languages (Catholic Church in Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2002).

From the standpoint of the Islamic legal system, women were a legal entity, unlike women

in Europe, who only in the nineteenth century began to fight for their legal rights. They could

own their own property and dispose of it at will, and its finances were not mandatory to

participate in the family budget. Even when they possessed great material resources, husbands

were obliged to care for economic stability and complete material security for the whole family.

This is also based on sheri’ah law, in which the man is obligated to financially support his family

(“Men are in charge of women by [right of] what Allah has given one over the other and what

they spend [for maintenance] from their wealth ...Qur’an, sura An-Nisa, 34 ajet).

During the domination of the Ottoman socio - political system in Bosnia and Herzegovina ,

which ran from the second half of the 15th c through the 19th century, women were treated in the

family and in society in accordance with Islamic teachings. It is known that women in the period

before the advent of Islam were treated as inferior beings. With the advent of the Qur'an and its

application into the social world, the position of women in family and society were significantly

improved. Woman began to gain legal rights, as well as an increased respect. The Quran limited

MUSLIM BOSNIAN WOMEN P a g e | 19

widespread polygamy by reducing the acceptable number of wives to four. The Quran accepted

existing polygamy, but with the obvious intention that in normal living conditions, the institution

of monogamy was recommended. That is why the Qur'an decreed that a man can marry four

wives, provided that he must be equally fair to everyone. If not able, and God knew the nature of

his creatures, then only one. So, in a logical sense guidance and recommendation of the Qur'an

are determined monogamy (Čar-Drnda, 2004).

Dr. Amila Buturovic who is an Associate Professor at York University, Toronto co-author

a book Women in the Ottoman Balkans: Gender, Culture and History (2007) and a pioneer on

women in Ottoman Balkans, wrote that women in the Ottoman Balkans were founders of pious

endowments, organizers of labor and conspicuous consumers of western luxury goods; they were

lovers, wives, castaways, divorcées, widows, the subjects of ballads and the narrators of folk

tales, victims of communal oppression and protectors of their communities against supernatural

forces. In their daily lives, they experienced oppression and self-denial in the face of frequently

unsympathetic local customs, but also empowerment, self-affirmation, and acculturation. This

volume not only deepens our understanding of the distinctive contributions that women have

made to Balkan history, but also re-evaluates this through a more inclusive and interdisciplinary

analysis in which gender takes its place alongside other categories such as class, culture, religion,

ethnicity and nationhood.

Dr. Hatidža Čar-Drnda (2004) affirms the above observations and states that women in the

Ottoman Bosnia and Herzegovina controlled their money and were able to do with it what they

pleased. In accordance with the inheritance rights of Muslims, females, as mothers, as wives, and

as sisters, had a right to share in the inheritance after the death of close relatives. Women would

MUSLIM BOSNIAN WOMEN P a g e | 20

receive less than their male counterparts, but it is justified, as they are not financially responsible

for others of their family (Bušatlić, 1926, p.131-158).

Because the Ottoman state was based on Islamic law, all donations, loans, and inheritance

transactions were legally regulated and recorded in writing. These records are kept in the several

institutions including: Basbakanlik Osmanli Arşiv in Istanbul , in the Archives in Ankara ,

Gazihusrevbeg library in Sarajevo Oriental Institute in Sarajevo, the National and University

Library in Sarajevo. Because of this extensive record keeping, financial activities of women can

be seen dating as far back as the 15th

Century. These records show that, compared to other

societies, women participated in many more activities outside the home than females around the

globe during this same time period. They help illustrate the social and economic life of a Bosnian

woman during the Ottoman rule. (Čar-Drnda,2004).

In 1770, 5Bašeskija described, in his personal records, a protest that took place in front of

the Begova mosque. In response to the raising of prices in the marketplace-because of artificial

inflation set about from the local government- a group of women gathered to begin their protest.

They called on their fellow residents to bring attention to the poor economic conditions of the

city. In the end, the female residents were successful in the in their attempts, as city

administrators met their demands. (Bašeskija).

During this time, women even had the right to seek justice in a court of law by appearing

before the court herself. An infamous story about a young man who kidnapped a girl in Sarajevo

by forcing her on a horse and riding her home, with the intention of marrying her, showcases this

5 Mullah Mustafa Bašeskija ( Sarajevo , 1731st or 1732nd - Sarajevo , August 18, in 1809. ), [1] BiH's chronicler,

poet , calligrapher and collector of folk and cultural treasures. The exact date of his birth is not fully established, it

came to know only what is left in his Chronicle.

Chronicle Mule Mustafe has great cultural significance, because it shows the history of Sarajevo in the second half

of the 18th century. Yearbook is written in the Turkish language , and includes a chronicle of a few decades, at the

end of the 18th century and the very beginning of the 19th century.

MUSLIM BOSNIAN WOMEN P a g e | 21

right. The girl, when taken to be wed, declared that she was kidnapped and she didn’t wish to

marry the man. The perpetrator ran off before he could be punished, but action had been taken by

the courts to locate him. Although this may seem insignificant, the story shows the law’s intent

on protecting all its citizens, not just the males. Bašeskija (1746-1804,p 192,235).

Bašeskija recorded another case where a woman was seeking her rights under Islamic law

and won the case. The woman, Nizama, from Sarajevo, went to Istanbul to present a grievance

to the Imperial Council because local judges from Sarajevo and Travnik ruled against her, in

favor of her in-laws. Nizama was a married woman whose husband, Bektas Alemdar, had left

their hometown of Sarajevo without providing his wife with an alimony that would enable her to

support herself during his absence. From the available documents it is not clear why her husband

left her, but the fact that he had not left alimony for his wife may imply that he had not planned

to extend his absence from Sarajevo for more than a few days. As time passed, however, Hizama

didn’t hear from her husband; therefore she didn’t know if he was alive or dead. Meanwhile,

Baktas’s father and brother had turned to the local judge demanding that Baktas be pronounced

missing, and consequently that his property be placed in their care. Their demand was in

accordance with a rule provided by Islamic law, stipulating that all property belonging to a

missing Muslim man was to be entrusted to a reliable guardian so that it could be preserved until

the circumstances surrounding his life became clear. The local judge clearly felt that such action

was necessary in the prevailing uncertain circumstances, and entrusted Bektas’s property for

safeguard in the hands of his father and brother, his closest living male relatives. The ruling was

one-sided, since, according to Islamic law, if a missing Muslim man was married, his wife had

certain rights in regard to her husband’s property. As long as she did not know whether he was

MUSLIM BOSNIAN WOMEN P a g e | 22

dead, that he had divorced her, or had converted to another religion, she was still considered his

wife.

After some time passed, Nizama was left without money and with no source of income.

Hence, she requested from her in-laws the alimony that her husband was legally obliged to

provide for her during his absence. When her in-laws refused to give her any portion of the

husband’s property, she brought the case to the attention of an Islamic court in Sarajevo, then

Travnik, but without any success. She decided to take her case to Istanbul, to present her case

before the Imperial Council. The trip from Sarajevo to Istanbul could take up to three weeks and

travel was only possible by horse. Finally, Nizama presented her case to the members of the

Imperial Council, who examined the case and the rights of the wife of a missing husband. The

ruling was made in her favor and a document bearing the order to was given to the Imperial

Chancery to be registered, copied and sent to the appropriate authorities in the province of

Bosnia. (1968, pg 64).

Conclusion

Ultimately we can conclude that there is no historic evidence that suggests that Bosnian

women were subjected to rape or killing during the Ottoman rule. Although their primary duties

were to uphold their roles as mothers and wives, while being excluded from the socio-political

scene, they enjoyed protection and safety during the Ottoman control of Bosnia. Compared to

other places at the time, Bosnian woman had the benefit of many rights commonly unheard of in

non-Islamic states because of the effects of implementing Islamic law.

However, under the influence of various external onslaughts of philosophy, the history of

the status of women in Muslim society in Bosnia and Herzegovina has evolved. Even after four

centuries under Ottoman rule, the social situation in Bosnia has not seen much change in regards

MUSLIM BOSNIAN WOMEN P a g e | 23

to women’s roles. Still, women take a backseat role in society. No Bosnian woman, even those

taken out of the Bosnian culture, religion, and history, has yet to make a large enough impact on

the global scale to garner any sort of name-recognition. Part of this can be attributed to the

archaic belief that society needs to protect or shield women, therefore the best place for them is

at home. From Queen Katarina to the time of the Ottomans and their rule in Bosnia, strong

female characters are hardly ever showcased in historical writings, except to demonstrate their

influence as a mother or daughter on the male protagonist. (Spahic, 2007).

The Last Bosnian Queen never saw her children again and that is a tragedy in itself. Her

son was taken to the Istanbul as a part of the Devşirme6, a practice started by Murad I as a means

of counteracting the growing power of the Turkish nobility which also violated Islamic

law7.Nevertheless, many families from Bosnia, not only those who converted to Islam, but also

the Christians and Orthodox, hoped their children would be taken to schools in Istanbul or other

Turkish cities. They hoped their children would receive schooling in places including the Palace

School, whose main purpose was to train the ablest children for leadership positions in either the

military or the government. Their futures would be filled with more opportunities away in the far

off Turkish cities than if they stayed with their parents in Bosnia.

Through history it is clear that women were actively involved in society during the time of

Muhammad pbuh. However, despite this and the lack of any actual barriers in the Qur’an barring

females from participating in society, the Ottoman’s didn’t follow this custom as well as they did

other aspects of Sharia law. It is important to note that the under the legal system, women in

6 The goal of the devshirme system was the select and train the ablest children for leadership positions. This includes

both military leaders and administrators for the empire. This was practiced by the Ottoman Empire.

Basgoz, I & Wilson, . (1989) retrieved from http://www.ask.com/question/devshirme-system

7 *Conflict and Conquest in the Islamic World: A Historical Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, ed. Alexander Mikaberidze,

(ABC-CLIO, 2011), 273;"This effectively enslaved some of the sultan's own non-Islamic subjects and was therefore

illegal under Islamic law, which stipulated that conquered non-Muslims should be demilitarized and protected."

MUSLIM BOSNIAN WOMEN P a g e | 24

Bosnia were treated as legal citizens because of the Sharia requirements. This, however, is not

consistent with many of the various governing bodies throughout Bosnia’s turbulent and bloody

history.

MUSLIM BOSNIAN WOMEN P a g e | 25

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