Part I
The Safavid and Mughal Empires were based on Islam but were tolerant of other religions and people of other ethnicities besides the majority. For these empires overall, “In North Africa, Asia Minor, and the Middle East, the conquered populations had accepted the religion of the victors [Islam] either because of forced conversions or because of the attractiveness of the simple, dynamic creed” (Barni 84). When these empires took over land, the people were open to Islam in many other regions than the origin of the empire. More of these connections from one empire to newly conquered nations is shown as one empire to another. Abbas, in the Safavid Empire, allowed foreign people to take up government positions (Wood W8 Lecture 1 29:23). This shows tolerance for people that the empire doesn’t reign over. For tolerance of other people within an empire, women were included in society. Rajput Manmati, of the Mughal Empire, “founded the Begum Shahi Mosque in Lahore (1611-14) and constructed a cascading fountain” because this time was full of women helping to design and create mosques without rulers’ input (Schimmel 148). Therefore, women had the ability to contribute to society as an individual, showing tolerance from the empire.
Part II
These empires appear tolerant, but they still prefer themselves. In general, for these empires, “The existence of a large non-Muslim population presented a serious problem to the Muslim rulers. The Koran plainly stated that the duty of a ruler was to convert infidels” (Barni 84). The Safavid Empire consisted of Shi’a Muslims, yet Armenian Christians were a part of the empire. However, as Professor Wood points out, these Armenian Christians were forced to move into Safavid for economic profit (Wood W8 Lecture 1 21:10). Women were considered a part of the Mughal Empire, but women were still being used for convenience. Women were another line in a contract and were an asset to marry away for politics and being recognized only for their familial contributions (Schimmel 145). This shows that people are only meant to be used and these empires were not tolerant.
