ALL NOVEL Chapter 180 Republic Of Venice and the Ottoman Empire Part :2
Chapter 180 Republic Of Venice and the Ottoman Empire Part :2
Constantinople, the royal palace.
Mehmed IV is enjoying a luxurious evening playing with his new concubine. He has been in a good mood recently as the battle against the Republic of Venice has been going on smoothly. According to his expectations, within a few years, the Venetian Republic, which was so glorious in the past, would just turn into a name.
"Hehe."
He couldn't help but chuckle when he thought about it as he got out of bed and went to attend to his affairs.
Surprisingly, the Imam of Hagia Sophia, Ekrem Sabri, was awaiting him with a worried and fearful expression. Mehmed does not know what is wrong with Sabari. Wasn't he just happy a week ago when he met him at the banquet?
"What is the problem, Ekrem Sabri? Why do you look so worried?"
"Your Majesty, please take a look at this," he said as he handed over a book to Mehmed.
Curious, Mehmed turned over the book and saw that it was written in Quranic Arabic. However, as he continued reading, his veins started to pop out on his neck and head, indicating his growing fury.
"Who the Fuck committed such a blasphemous act? I want their family violated in front of them, limb by limb, and give them the most cruel death possible to appease Allah."
"Ekrem Sabri, WHO... IS... IT?" Mehmed said, practically roaring the last words word by word.
Sabri was startled by the emperor's anger as he quickly knelt down and replied, "Your Majesty, I do not know. But since a few days ago, this book has been circulating throughout the European continent. European merchants managed to sell it to our northern territories. It has caused a lot of discussion among the newly converted Muslims in Greece, Bulgaria, Albania, Macedonia, and Serbia."
"According to my knowledge, conversions to this new Dharmic Islam have been increasing. Apparently, when inquired, the reason is that this new version of Islam does not oppose its believers from having multiple beliefs. They believe that all gods in the world come from the same energy, so they think that Jesus and the Prophet Muhammad could be the same person interpreted in different ways and different views. Despite how appalling this sounds, it has gained traction among the newly converted Muslims and some religious intellectuals."
"No, no, this cannot happen. This is blasphemy to the gods. This must be stopped at any cost."
"Hey, go call Grand Vizier," he ordered his servant.
Soon, the Grand Vizier, Koprulu Mehmed Pasha, arrived at the royal palace and greeted His Majesty. He also cast a sidelong glance at the Imam of Hagia Sophia who knelt down on the ground not daring to raise his head, but he couldn't comprehend the circumstances the Imam was in.
As His Majesty handed him the Dharmic Quran, he too was shocked and angered. As the top politician in the empire, he could grasp the immense political and religious significance of this book. The book practically advocated that its followers should not guide the infidels toward the light of the Lord. Accepting this book meant denying the opportunity for the rest of the world to experience the glory and kindness of the Almighty God.
"God dammit, who could be so cruel?" he cursed but quickly shut his mouth in the presence of His Majesty, the Emperor, and apologized.
Then, he humbly knelt down and asked for instructions. "Your Majesty, what can this humble servant do for you?"
Mehmed replied, "Find out about anyone who converted to this Dharmic Islam and slaughter him in public as an example for the people who try to blaspheme against God."
"Impose a strict ban on this book throughout the empire. If this book is found in the possession of someone, burn down his house along with him and his family."
"If a merchant is found smuggling this book into the empire, slaughter his whole caravan, no excuses."
"If a high-level intellectual is found secretly holding onto this Dharmic Islam, shame him in public, tie him to a horse, and drag him throughout the thorny path naked. Let him bleed to death, and let his family be sold as sex slaves."
"Send a notice to anyone who brings forward evidence of possession of Dharmic Islam. He would be granted a virgin 16-year-old slave, along with some of the money the blasphemers had."
Both the imams and grand viziers were chilled by the decisions made by their emperor. This was the most cruel step he had taken to block some news. Still, They sort of understood the reasons. This Dharmic Islam is a knife directly to the heart of Islam. How could the Ottoman Empire, the torchbearer of Islam, tolerate this?
As both the imam and the grand vizier left, Mehmed called for his intelligence officer, Mustafa Kemal. "Mustafa, find out where this new Dharmic Islam originated. I suspect, from the name of it, it should have originated from some eastern country. Give your attention to this."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Soon, a bloodbath unfolded in the Ottoman Empire as new converts were ruthlessly slaughtered, and the streets became stained with blood. Before the emperor took any action, Dharmic Islam gained popularity due to its tolerant stance toward Christians and followers of other faiths. Because of this, those who had been forcibly converted felt a glimpse of spiritual solace for their sinful soul and turned to Dharmic Islam. In the main cities of the Empire, several hundred people openly declared their faith in the new belief, attempting to persuade fellow Muslims to join them.
However, this wave of conversions came to an abrupt halt due to the emperor's fury. Houses were set ablaze on almost every street in the empire's cities. Scholars who supported the new ideology faced brutal punishments, being stripped naked and dragged along thorny paths, tethered to maddened horses. Their families suffered even more, being turned into sex slaves and sold in the market.
These atrocities suddenly stifled the new wave of Dharmic Renaissance that had almost taken over the European part of the Islamic country. With the acceptance of Dharmic Islam and its more tolerant nature, the Ottoman Empire could have become more consolidated, given its diverse population that included Christians, Muslims, Jews, and other faiths.
The inclusion of Dharmic Islam with its tolerant nature might have lessened the influence of Islamic extremists, making consolidation within the Empire stronger. This could have made it difficult for any independent movements to occur within the European part of the Empire.
Unfortunately, unknown to Mehmed IV, his decision today led to an increase in Islamic extremism due to the West attempting to impose this new Dharmic ideology on what they perceived as the 'real Muslims,' causing more pressure on minority religious groups in the empire as they were coerced to convert, which led to freedom movements occurring much faster than in the previous life. The once-secular approach of the Ottoman Empire had also become more and more of a joke.
Fortunately, Despite the brutal suppression, Dharmic Islam had not been entirely wiped out. Some scholars who adhered to its ideology managed to survive and preserve their lives. These individuals didn't forget the atrocities they witnessed; instead, they secretly documented everything. Later in their lives, they passed on their values to the younger members of their families. Surprisingly, this led to a positive phenomenon for the Turks.
In the Second World War, following the dissolution of the Ottoman Caliphate, many followers of Dharmic Islam rose to power in the Republic of Turkey. They carefully propagated this ideology among the people. As a result, Turkey became more accepting of secularism when it joined the European Union as an observer state, a process that unfolded more swiftly than in Vijay's previous life.
Now back to the present, Mustafa Kemal finally concluded his investigation and brought back the news to his majesty, emperor, Mehmed IV.
Mehmed IV was reading the reports of the decreasing new cases of Dharmic Muslims as Mustafa entered his room. Mehmed put aside the report and asked, ''So did you find out where this poison originated from?''
''Yes, Your Majesty, this book was imported from the Southeastern country called Dakshin Bharat Empire. It was previously named The Vijayanagar Empire. It is the country that is neighbouring the Mughal Empire, and I believe we have some connection with the Mughal Empire.''
''It's that country, no wonder. It is that cursed land that produces all these demonic practices like Hinduism, Buddhism, and any other -isms that those kafirs call as gods.'"
Mustafa continued, "Despite my initial conclusion that the Dharmic Quran may have been authored by some Hindu intellectual who knows Arabic, it turned out not to be true. I have confirmed this, as our sources within the Mughal Empire informed me that the young emperor of the Bharatiya Empire did not even bring up the reform of Muslims in his reign. On the contrary, he was more eager to enslave all the Muslims, as he managed to arrest half of the Muslim population in the empire (the Mughals' gaslighting).
Additionally, it was confirmed that this new Dharmic Islam had its roots in an ancient inscription found in a cave, rumoured to have been owned by one of Prophet Mohammed's disciples. The speculation went further, suggesting that Dharmic Islam was endorsed by Prophet Mohammed himself. While the authenticity of this information might be a matter of claim, there's no conclusive way to disprove it as the inscription is genuinely old, according to the reports available older than the empire.
"Fuck it," Mehmed IV cursed, finding it difficult to deal with now. If the book was just some alteration from a bastard born from 10 fathers, it would have been easy by just capturing the bastard and tearing him to pieces in front of the public.
Now that he knew it was actually a copper inscription that could potentially be older than the Ottoman Empire, he found it very hard to deal with. In anger, he yelled, "Can't that bastard Muhammad deal with this pesky idol-worshipping empire?"
"His Highness, Muhammad tried, Your Majesty, and lost very badly with a staggering 30000 - 40000 casualties. The army strength of this Bhartiya Empire also recently has been increasing from 50,000 to 100,000, and now there is a rumour circulating that more soldiers are being recruited. Also, it is rumoured that the technology of this empire in military artillery is not very backwards compared to the European continent, so it is actually Muhammad who is afraid that his seat in the Indian subcontinent is not very stable."
Sweat trickled down his head as he heard the numbers. Even the Ottoman Empire at its strongest only had a 250,000 army, which has now been reduced to a 150,000 army, responsible for the security of the vast empire.
He went into contemplation, denying direct intervention as he was not stupid and brave enough to fight a war against a strong enemy thousands of kilometres away who could always replenish his army from the 35 million population.
But soon he thought of a solution, "Send a message to Mohammed. Ask him to prepare gold and silver. The Ottoman Empire is ready to manufacture 10 man-of-war, ship-of-the-line battleships for the Mughal Empire at cost price. Also, explain that this construction will be completed within the year if the deal is reached."