Intellectual roots of ‘Turkish Islam’ and approaches to the ‘Turkish model

Bibliographic Data

ID6086049
AuthorsEtga Uğur
Year2004
Volume24
Issue2
Pages327-345
Publication date2004-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueInstitute of Muslim Minority Affairs Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0266-6952 • E-ISSN: 1469-9591
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/1360200042000296690
OpenAlexW2072891998
LanguageEN
Citations received12

This paper examines the notions of 'Turkish model' and 'Turkish Islam' which have caught significant interest among the political circles in Turkey and the West but which failed to receive adequate attention from the academia. This paper argues that there are three main outlooks that conceptualize and idealize the Turkish model vis‐à‐vis its relation to Islam: nationalist, orientalist, and liberal. These perspectives depart from a set of assumptions and practical objectives in order to make their proposal appealing. After examining their premises, it is evident that the intellectual roots of Turkish Islam do not receive adequate attention in these three models. Thus, it would be more accurate to name the Turkish model as the 'Kemalist model' of modernization since the historical evolution and intellectual roots of Turkish Islam remain undervalued. The paper concludes that rather than presenting modern Turkey as a role model to the Greater Middle East or the Muslim world, a more comprehensive and nuanced analysis of social, historical and intellectual roots of Turkish Muslimness is necessary. This attitude can make the discussion on Turkish model well founded and better suited for the ongoing debates regarding the future of the Muslim world in terms of its economic, political and social transformation

Art · Islam · Linguistics · Literature · Modernization theory · Nationalism · Orientalism · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Relation (database · Social science · Sociology · Turkish · Computer Science · History · Islamic Studies and History · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies · Law · Philosophy · Turkey's Politics and Society

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub