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19th century Middle East politics

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governments were diverse and minimal

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governments recognized the existence of groups and not individuals

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each group was governed in different ways and by different laws

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Muslims followed the Sharia

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Christians and Jews followed their ecclesiastical or legal frameworks

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tribesmen had their own modes of settling disputes

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foreigners were granted special legal privileges

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Capitulations of the Ottoman Empire

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contracts between the Ottoman Empire and European powers, particularly France

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traders entering the Ottoman Empire were exempt from local prosecution, local taxation, local conscription, and the searching of their domicile

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government and taxation was minimal

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services like law and education were not supplied by the central government

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they were provided by the various communities

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to outside observers, these characteristics gave the impression of an ineffective government in decline

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but in the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century, the locus of power began to shift from individual groups to the Grand Vizier, the chief minister of the Ottoman Empire

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provinces were often controlled by local potentates

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e.g. Egypt

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in Arab cities, notable families, some Arab, some Turkish, assume positions of considerable wealth and power

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because of the importance of religion, families sent their children to get a religious education

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waqf (plural awqaf), religious endowments, sources of wealth and political control

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boys but not girls were schooled in the traditional schools, schooled in:

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Koran

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religious jurisprudence

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some secular subjects such as mathematics and astronomy