Sunnis and Shiites and Protestants and Catholics all fused religion to politics, making their wars not only about empire but also about eternity. The Ottomans, however, were singular among these states, because they initiated this political and religious struggle for world domination—winning territory that led their enemies to predict that the ultimate battle was nigh, proving the bankruptcy of the supposed divinity of various imperial rulers, and challenging the notion that God was on the side of anyone other than themselves. Many Muslims today ignore the fact, or simply do not know, that
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