Dialectical Encounters

Abstract

Discussions of Turkish Islam are still frequently dominated by political considerations and dualistic paradigms: modern vs. traditional, secular vs. religious. Yet there exists a body of Muslim institutions in Turkey, Turkish theology faculties, or ilahiyat faculties, whose work cannot always be so easily reduced to political considerations or black and white paradigms. By taking Turkish theology up on its theological rather than political concerns, this book sheds light on complex Muslim theological voices already entangled in encounters with a largely Western and Christian modernity. Rather than ask whether or not Turkish Muslim theology is “modern,” this book aims to re-frame the binary implied in such a question by delving into the conceptual worlds of Turkish Muslim theologians. As part of this reframing, this book examines how Turkish theology dialectically mediates multiple intellectual traditions, lending particular focus to Turkish Muslim engagement with Western Christian thought. Featuring the work of RecepAlpyağıl (Istanbul University) and Şaban Ali Düzgün (Ankara University), this study provides a concise survey of Turkish Muslim positions on religious pluralism and atheism as well as detailed treatments of both critical and appreciative Turkish Muslim perspectives on Western Christianity. The result is a critical reframing of the category of modernity through responses of Turkish theologians to the Western intellectual tradition alongside a detailed exploration of an ongoing chapter in Muslim-Christian relations.