On Honored by the Glory of Islam
Baer, Marc David. Honored by the Glory of Islam: Conversion and Conquest in Ottoman Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011. pp. 344. Paperback.
The topic of the book is interesting, but it’s nothing in comparison to how unintentionally funny the introduction is. The author translates “Alo fetva,” a Turkish telephone line for Islamic legal advice, as “Hello Islamic Legal Opinion,” instead of the much easier and understandable “Hello Fatwa.” Then there are hilarious nuggets in there like “Inevitably, the head of the archive would put his hand on my shoulder and, inexplicably addressing me by the Muslim name Ahmed [. . .].”
This is the glorious content we need.