the empire that suleiman ruled over had ottoman turkish as its main language. the religion of islam played a central role during his reign. a variety of people were ruled over by the ottoman empire. they were separated by differences in race, language, religion, and customs. this variety of people included those who were favored as they had the state religion, which was islam. others may have had a lesser position but still were allowed to have their own religion, for example jews and christians. throughout suleiman's reign, the government was made up of the ruling institution. this institution included the family of the sultan, the ministers of the sultan, and the army. during suleiman’s reign, it can be said that the muslim institution had more power and influence than the ruling institution. however, the muslim institution was aiming to catch up with the sharia institution.