An Analysis of Muslim-Dhimmi Relations in the Light of the Records of Cyprus Law Courts in 17th and 18th Centuries in Terms of the Islamic Family Law

Cyprus, as a region which was under control of Ottoman Empire between 1571 and 1878 for 3 centuries, is a significant source to analyze Muslim-dhimmi (non-muslim) relations thanks to its demographic structure. This situation can also be seen on Qadi registers of Cyprus law courts. These aforementioned registers, in addition to shedding light on Muslim-dhimmi relations on the is-land, also contain so much priceless information in terms of prac-tices of Islamic law in the Ottoman period. Therefore, 22 volumes of qadi registers in 17th and 18th centuries constitute the basis of this research and in this article an evaluation is going to be made by focusing on issues related to Islamic family law and submitted to Islamic courts that were occured between Muslims and dhim-mis in the Ottoman Cyprus, solutions generated for these cases by qadis, and within this scope the extent to which Islamic law were implemented.