Religious justifications Religious justifications for power were used by the leaders of the Ottoman Empire, Tokugawa Japan, and the Mughal Empire , these justifications were accepted because religion was a driving force in these societies and anyone who opposed or disagreed with these religious beliefs risked being persecuted. Some of these civilizations offered more tolerance than others, but overall persecution of religions other than the accepted one was common because authority often felt threatened by the growing popularity of a religion other than the one commonly accepted and supported. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The Ottoman Empire was ruled by a sultan named Suleiman from 1520 to 1566. He proclaimed his power by stating, “I am a slave and sultan of God” of this world. By the grace of God I am the leader of Muhammad's community. The power of God and the miracles of Muhammad are my companions” (60). Since the sultan ruled through the power of their god, any religion other than Islam could seem threatening to his authority, and if his authority was threatened he would feel the need to control the growth and spread of religions that opposed the belief that the authority was given. by a divine force. This would lead to persecution. Although the Ottoman Empire was relatively tolerant of “the people of the book (Christians and Jews), there was still persecution and discrimination against them. Two important manifestations of this persecution where: Christians had to pay an extra tax to be able to practice their religion, and the Devshirme who took Christian boys from their families and sent them to the capital where they would be converted to Islam and trained to become administrators , soldiers of the Janissary corps or palace officials. During the time of the Ottoman Empire this would have been considered very tolerant, but if this happened in modern times it would be illegal and there would be numerous problems. The Mughal Empire was founded by a man named Babur, who used religious reasons to To justify his brutal conquest of lands, he called himself “the sword of Islam,” but also demonstrated tolerance towards Hindus: “To consolidate the his new dynasty Babur carefully avoided acts of intolerance against the Hindus” (360). His acts of tolerance continued with his nephew Akbar, who believed that all religions should be tolerated and that all believers should be treated equally. “Akbar was extraordinarily open-minded towards other religious traditions, including Christianity” (67). He removed taxes that non-Muslims had to pay, allowed non-Muslims to have their own laws and institutions, and his government included many Hindus in positions of responsibility. Akbar was so accepting of Hinduism that he “married a Hindu princess and allowed Hindu women to practice their religion openly” (360). The early Mughal Empire was very tolerant and did not persecute people because of their religion. The demolition of the tolerant structure of the Mughal Empire began with Jehan but was most evident when his son Aurangzeb, who was the last Mughal emperor, ended the religious tolerance that the other emperors had supported, also reinstated the non-Muslim tax and forced the The Mughal Empire The Hindu community lives according to Islamic law. This discrimination was not caused by religious justifications for power, but occurred because Aurangzeb was a very religious Muslim and did not accept Hindu tradition. Tokugawa era Japan.