Research on conversion to Islam in the Ottoman Empire with an analytical focus on gender is still in its infancy. It relies almost exclusively on the Ottoman administrative sources, while exploring chiefly the problems of (in)voluntary conversion and the role of the Ottoman state in the process. Nevertheless, studies based on Ottoman court records (kadı sicilleri) and converts’ petitions to the imperial council (kisve bahası petitions) provide an important framework for inquiry.

A recent study suggests that in the Ottoman Empire women were approximately four times l…