The Miseducation of Jubril Aminu

(This article was first published on Nigeriaworld.com on May 5, 2001. It is republished here unedited)

In 1300, as the Byzantine Empire was declining, the Turks in Anatolia began to conquer neighboring regions and by doing so, founded what was later known as the Ottoman Empire. Through war, alliances, and outright purchase, the Ottomans in 1481 had expanded into much of Europe’s south. The Ottomans evolved a unique military and administrative system called the devsirme. Under the system, Christian youths from the Balkans were drafted and converted into Islam and subjected…