Louis Sauveur, Marquis de Villeneuve was French ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from 1728 to 1741. He was instrumental in pushing the Ottoman Empire to war with the Russian Empire, in the Russo-Turkish War (1735–1739).[1] He was also put in charge of negotiating the peace to this war, managing to impose unfavourable conditions on the Austrians, as a result, the 1739 Peace of Belgrade was extremely favourable to the Ottomans, thanks to Villeneuve's intervention.[2]
During his service de Villeneuve made a point to learn more about the Ottoman madrasa system, the religious educational institution that had been operating in the Empire continuously since its establishment in 1330 by Orhan Gazi. Submitting the request to the Ottoman Foreign Ministry, de Villeneuve was presented with the Seven Stars curriculum (Kevakib-i Seb'a). This curriculum, of unknown authorship, expressed regrets that Islamic scholars had not made greater inroads into Christian countries where they were widely regarded as ignorant and superstitious. The Seven Stars curriculum presented to de Villeneuve aimed to overcome language barriers and improve the image of the Islamic world in the West.[3]
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