It was in 1856 that for the first time a non-Christian nation, Turkey, was considered fit to benefit from the European Public Law of Nations, and this was the true beginning of internationalising the public law of Christian nations. That, however, does not mean that international law, with its modern connotation, was born then and there; it already existed elsewhere. For, Islam had recognized that all states, irrespective of religion or race, have similar rights ...
