Five Allusions in Hamlet to Islam
ALLUSIONS TO ISLAM IN HAMLET: BACKGROUND: Some Protestants like Luther viewed Islam with concern and envy, regarding Islam as (to them) a “false” religion but admiring the unity of the Ottoman Empire compared to Christianity. Luther compared an emphasis discipline in Islam to Catholic emphasis on works (not "faith alone" for salvation). Luther was also instrumental in the publication of a German translation of the Qur’an. Political leaders viewed the Ottoman Empire as a geopolitical threat, concerned about reports that Turkish pirates in the Mediterranean had captured Christians to use as slaves or deck hands, and that some of these converted to Islam. Three of the more explicit references in Hamlet to Islam or its adherents: A. A reference by Hamlet to Termagant [1] in 3.2.14, with Termagant as a fictional god, in Christian propaganda, falsely attributed and used to discredit Islam, a word also used by Falstaff who calls Hotspur a "hot termagant Scot" in Henry IV...