Orthodox Christians in the Kadi courts: The practice of the Sofia Sheriat court, Seventeenth century
The Orthodox Christians in Sofia wanted to stay away from other people in the territory. The Ottoman Empire had appointed Kadi so that any injustice against the Christians in the empire can be avoided but it was realized that these Kadis were sympathetical to Christians and they went out their way to protect them. It was also noticed that the kadis started protecting the Christians at the cost of Islamic laws. Kadi courts were set separately for the Christians in Sofia but that didn’t stop them from coming to Sofia Sheriat court. They use to come to Sofia Sheriat court if they wanted to form a guild or they had problems with distribution of taxes and others.
The Christians in the Ottoman Empire were termed as Zimmis. Zimmis were, basically, people who enjoyed a special position in the society as they were granted special rights so that they can be safeguarded from the rest of the society. Separate courts were set to protect the orthodox Christians. The Christians in the community went to church courts when they had religious issues like that of marriage or divorce and for other issues, they use to go to Kadi court. If any Christian has a problem that involves one or more Muslims then they use to go the Sheriat court. The Christians strongly believed that they will get favorable decisions in Kadi courts rather than at the Sheriat court.
The usage of Kadi court was reduced drastically among the non-Muslims population. People preferred to go to Church court rather than that of the Kadi court. There were mainly two reasons for this. Firstly, the number of non-Muslims in Sofia were declining at a faster rate and at the same time, the number of Muslims in the empire was increasing. The number of Christians who were visiting the court for some or other problem were also reducing simultaneously. Secondly, the church noticed that the number of Christians who have converted themselves to Islam was increasing rapidly. The church decided to stop the intervention of all the things that are related to Islam. The church believed that Kadi court was also a Muslim body so the church had laid down strict rules so that the non-Muslims don’t go to Kadi court for justice. A strict rule was laid down, that is, if any Christian visited a Kadi court or any other alien court for justice then they will be strictly prohibited from coming to church court for any problem of theirs in the future.
Even after this law was stated, many Christians turned to Sheriat court for justice. The cases which can be dealt at the Christian court were also coming to Sheriat court thus, disturbing the clergy in the church court. In many situations, the people use to convert them to Islam so that they can get rid of the punishment that has been allotted to them by the church court. Most of the cases in the Kadi court or Sheriat court was property dispute. The parties in dispute, generally, recorded their case at the court so that the property wasn’t taken by the government after the death of one of the parties. The Christians don’t prefer to stay in the area where a mosque was located so this led to a lot of movement in the city.
Property transaction between Christians and Muslims started taking place. The property, basically, means farm, shop, house, workshops and others. It was noted that this kind of transaction in the society was started by Christians and not the Muslims. The property transaction took place between people in villages and towns as well.
The Christian court expected that this kind of transaction will be stopped after the introduction of strict law but that didn’t work. The transactions between Muslims and Christians continued to be the same as it was in the past. The personal interest of people from both the community took priority rather than that of the prevailing law. Apart from the purchase of land and other property, the transaction, further, extended to taking loans as well. Loans were taken by both Muslims and Christians from that of each other. It was noted that this trend again was started by the Christians rather than that of the Muslims in the community. It was noticed that the guarantors who signed on the legal document, stating that the agreement between both the parties are true, were also Christians.
In such prevailing situations, the Christians had to visit the Sheriat court for justice because one of the parties involved were Muslims. Mostly, the Christians use to visit the Sheriat for solving cases related to a property dispute, payment of taxes and other such contracts. Kadi court was still used by people to solve religious issues like that of marriage and divorce. Kadi court mostly dealt with cases that involved payment of alimony by the husband to the wife for divorce. Most divorced women use to come to Kadi court to get back the dowry, that they had given at the time of marriage.
Apart from that, the elders in the village formed a small group so that they take decisions regarding problems that are arising in the village or town. There were lots of problems with this kind of justice because the law of these justice groups was different than that of the law which was followed in the courts, both Sheriat and Kadi. This justice group believed that physical violence by the husband to the wife was considered to be a normal part of husband and wife relationship but on these grounds, the wife can claim for divorce in the Sheriat and Kadi court. If a person wasn’t able to get justice from the local justice groups then they use to visit courts.
Another reason for the increase in the number of people visiting Sheriat court increased was the expense factor associated with it. If a woman wants a divorce from her husband in the church court then she had to travel all the way where the bishop was located. The travelling expense and the boarding expense to the other city had to be taken care by them but Sheriat court was at an accessible distance thus, the cost factor involved was reduced automatically.
After reading the whole thing, any historian will understand that the orthodox Christians manipulated the courts for their advantage. It can be noted that different courts followed different laws so the orthodox Christians looked for courts wherein they can get a judgement that they want. Christian courts didn’t entertain any transaction between a Christian and a Muslim but the Orthodox Christians realized that life will be really difficult for them without any transactions with the Muslim and hence, they visited Sheriat court when the problem was between them and Muslim. Sheriat court was a bit partial towards women and hence, women preferred to visit the Sheriat court because they very well knew that the judgement will be in their favor. According to Kadi court, when the owner of the property dies and there wasn’t any will to transfer the property then the same use to be considered as a public property but Kadi court helped the heirs to create a document pertaining to their name. The non-Muslims, generally, turned to Kadi court in such situations so that they can have a document in their name and the property can be transferred to their names.
Orthodox Christian wanted to maintain a separate society for themselves but things didn’t work out that way. The Ottoman empire was, no doubt, having all sympathies for them and hence, they established a legal system for them. The legal system was established so that the Christians can be protected as a whole from the Muslim population. The church court restricted people to follow the laws that were set forth by the church and the Christians weren’t happy with those laws because those laws were very strict. The church court also stopped people from going to other courts by laying down strict rules like once a person goes to an alien court then he cannot visit the church court but this didn’t stop them from visiting other courts. Christians also started the transactions with Muslims because they knew that acquisition of property and other things from a Christian only, will be an impossible thing because the number of Christians in the society were decreasing continuously. Women also thought that getting a divorce from Sheriat court is much easier than going through a long and expensive process of the church court.
Orthodox Christians, initially, weren’t happy with the things that were introduced by the Ottoman empire but sooner they realized that they will be getting a royalty status in the society. Various courts were introduced in Sofia and Christians were given access to all the courts; thus, allowing them to visit courts where they thought that the decision will be in their favor for sure. Many Christian women took advantage of this to get a divorce from their husbands and at the same time, they also got the alimony that they needed.
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