Christian sects under the rule of the Ottoman Empire (The Levant as Model)

Abstract

The importance of the research lies in the fact that it discusses the policy of the Ottoman state towards the Christian community in the Levant. The Ottoman state was based on a policy of keeping the situation in most Arab countries as it was, especially with non-Muslims of the sects, and each sect was self-contained and enjoyed important privileges, especially in Religious and educational aspects. It has a head of the group working with a special council for his group and the council consists of two religious and civil divisions. The religious councils represented the legitimate authority or the legislative body in everything related to ecclesiastical matters. The Ottoman Empire promised education from matters related to religions and sects and granted them the right to establish and manage educational schools and these schools depended on Religious education developed in the nineteenth century to be the source of modern education.One of the important matters is the intervention of European countries under the pretext of protecting the Christian sects in the Levant and the great competition between those countries and their adoption by one sect over another. We find that the educated elite that contributed to the adoption of secular thought and modern education were mostly Eastern Christians.