Moderation and al-Ghazali in Turkey

Turkish theology faculties are an important but understudied source of moderate Muslim responses to the challenges of modernity. Although it is strongly associated with questions of such Enlightenment values as tolerance and freedom of thought, modernity is also tied to skepticism, atheism, and plu...

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Autor principal: Taraneh Wilkinson
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Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: International Institute of Islamic Thought 2015
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Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/71473cc3bd73439cb6eaeb007e8602f5
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spelling oai:doaj.org-article:71473cc3bd73439cb6eaeb007e8602f52021-12-02T19:41:38ZModeration and al-Ghazali in Turkey10.35632/ajis.v32i3.2692690-37332690-3741https://doaj.org/article/71473cc3bd73439cb6eaeb007e8602f52015-07-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.ajis.org/index.php/ajiss/article/view/269https://doaj.org/toc/2690-3733https://doaj.org/toc/2690-3741 Turkish theology faculties are an important but understudied source of moderate Muslim responses to the challenges of modernity. Although it is strongly associated with questions of such Enlightenment values as tolerance and freedom of thought, modernity is also tied to skepticism, atheism, and pluralism. Thus one way to examine whether the label of “moderate” applies to a given case is to examine how such a position reflects both the positive values of modernity in addition to how it addresses modernity’s challenges. This paper deals with the resources for religious moderation found in the thought of al-Ghazali and how they are used and analyzed in modern Turkish theology faculties. By focusing on two recent works by Turkish theologians Mehmet Bayrakdar and Adnan Aslan, this paper explores skepticism, atheism, and religious pluralism. I argue that not only are both thinkers “moderate,” but that they also engage this label by using their own theological interests and interpretations of al-Ghazali. Both theologians were trained in Turkish theology faculties and did significant graduate study in Europe. Their work reflects an active engagement with the western intellectual tradition. Al-Ghazali plays a crucial – but not final – role in each of their responses to modernity and the western intellectual tradition. For Bayrakdar he functions as a symbol of Muslim intellectual independence, whereas for Aslan he serves as a fundamental resource for making sense of the religious “other.” Thus, a case is presented for the increasing relevance of Turkish theological responses to debates outside Turkey. Taraneh WilkinsonInternational Institute of Islamic ThoughtarticleIslamBP1-253ENAmerican Journal of Islam and Society, Vol 32, Iss 3 (2015)
institution DOAJ
collection DOAJ
language EN
topic Islam
BP1-253
spellingShingle Islam
BP1-253
Taraneh Wilkinson
Moderation and al-Ghazali in Turkey
description Turkish theology faculties are an important but understudied source of moderate Muslim responses to the challenges of modernity. Although it is strongly associated with questions of such Enlightenment values as tolerance and freedom of thought, modernity is also tied to skepticism, atheism, and pluralism. Thus one way to examine whether the label of “moderate” applies to a given case is to examine how such a position reflects both the positive values of modernity in addition to how it addresses modernity’s challenges. This paper deals with the resources for religious moderation found in the thought of al-Ghazali and how they are used and analyzed in modern Turkish theology faculties. By focusing on two recent works by Turkish theologians Mehmet Bayrakdar and Adnan Aslan, this paper explores skepticism, atheism, and religious pluralism. I argue that not only are both thinkers “moderate,” but that they also engage this label by using their own theological interests and interpretations of al-Ghazali. Both theologians were trained in Turkish theology faculties and did significant graduate study in Europe. Their work reflects an active engagement with the western intellectual tradition. Al-Ghazali plays a crucial – but not final – role in each of their responses to modernity and the western intellectual tradition. For Bayrakdar he functions as a symbol of Muslim intellectual independence, whereas for Aslan he serves as a fundamental resource for making sense of the religious “other.” Thus, a case is presented for the increasing relevance of Turkish theological responses to debates outside Turkey.
format article
author Taraneh Wilkinson
author_facet Taraneh Wilkinson
author_sort Taraneh Wilkinson
title Moderation and al-Ghazali in Turkey
title_short Moderation and al-Ghazali in Turkey
title_full Moderation and al-Ghazali in Turkey
title_fullStr Moderation and al-Ghazali in Turkey
title_full_unstemmed Moderation and al-Ghazali in Turkey
title_sort moderation and al-ghazali in turkey
publisher International Institute of Islamic Thought
publishDate 2015
url https://doaj.org/article/71473cc3bd73439cb6eaeb007e8602f5
work_keys_str_mv AT taranehwilkinson moderationandalghazaliinturkey
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