Description
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewKatsikas's impressive archival research sheds light on a neglected topic...In this original study, the author demonstrates how conversion to Christianity in the age of nationalism was a survival tactic and a means to acquire the attendant privileges of being a member of the victorious side in post-Ottoman Europe. * Marc David Baer, author of The Ottomans: Khans, Caesars, and Caliphs *
This book represents considerable scholarship on the important question of conversion from Islam to Orthodox Christianity during and in the aftermath of the very violent period associated with the War of Greek independence from the Ottoman Empire. Drawing on a wealth of archival and other primary sources, Katsikas presents a clear and engaging analysis of the conditions under which Muslims became Orthodox Christians in this period of dramatic political and demographic change. * Benjamin Fortna, Director & Professor, School of Middle Eastern & North African Studies, University of Arizona *
Lost in the literature of nationalisms and 'ethnic awakenings', the fate of those individuals and communities converting to a new nation (and religion) has received little attention so far. Stephanos Katsikas successfully unpacks this aspect of modern Greek history and the fate of its first Muslim citizens providing an impressive array of legal, political and historical data to inform one of the most problematic aspects of nation-building in Europe * Neophytos Loizides, Director of Conflict Analysis Research Centre, University of Kent *
This book is, without any doubt, a major contribution to the field of Balkan history and broadly, to modern European history. It is based on an unexplored cache of unique source material that is meticulously analyzed and convincingly laid out. * Maria Todorova, Gutgsell Professor of History, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign *
Katsikas' work lays an important foundation in the English language scholarship of post-independence Greece. * Alexander Billinis, The Hydramerican *
