And the Spirit of Sabbatai Zevi  Moved Upon the Waters

Modes of Authority and the Development of the  Donme Sects  The Donme, both in history and in theology, were a most unusual group. They began as Jews, followers of the 17th-century messianic claimant Sabbatai Zevi. When he was captured by the Ottomans and forced to convert to Islam, a number of his followers did so as well; these converts and their descendants became the Donme. Clustered in Salonika, they developed a blend of Judaism and Islam, outwardly completely Muslim but privately holding to many Jewish rituals and practices, altered somewhat to reflect their faith in Sabbatai Zevi.