Contemporary Islamic Thinkers

It is extremely important to cross-read the basic works of scholars who try to find philosophical solutions to the economic-political problems of the Islamic world, but have different thinking models. We have been reading on “Contemporary Islamic Thinkers” for nearly 25 years at Çorum Hittite Faculty of Theology. We prioritize the texts of scholars who know the epistemic foundations of Western domination and create a state of consciousness by bringing the possibility of an Islamic resurrection/Renaissance to the agenda, especially in producing solutions to the problems experienced by the Islamic world. Finally, we succeeded in putting these texts together in a tidy manner, and we will soon present them to the public for criticism with the suggestion of my brother/teacher Murat Demirkol and a meticulous final reading. (Contemporary Islamic Thinkers, Bilay Publishing, February 2020)

Cross-reading Mindset Analyzes

In this context, one of the contemporary Islamic thinkers, Aliya Izetbegovic's Islam Between East and West, Fazlur Rahman's Islam and Islam and Contemporary, Sayyid Hussein Nasr's Traditional Islam in the Modern World and the Modern World Guide to the Young Muslim, Roger Garaudy's Islam Their Promised and Our Future Is Islam, İsmail Raci Fârûkî's Contemporary Islamic Thought and the Islamization of Knowledge, M. Aziz Lahbabi's National Cultures and Civilization, Abdulkerim Süruç's Maximum and Minimum Religion. We analyze Ali Shariati's works called Religion Against Religion.

Thus, we introduce scientists who make mental analysis to the problems experienced in the Islamic world in the context of philosophy of knowledge and think differently. Then, from Turkey, we give priority to Nurettin Topçu's Revolt Ethics, Tomorrow's Turkey, The Case of the Will, Islam and Man, and Erol Güngör's The Issues of Islam Today, Issues of Islamic Sufism, and Turkish Culture and Nationalism. Based on these, we determine a thesis topic by centered on a problem, and make in-depth readings.

While doing this, we draw attention to the fact that the elite minds of the Islamic world produce solutions to the social problems they live in, based on Islamic principles, we point out the possible problems of carrying their proposals to Turkey exactly, and we criticize the findings that we doubt the consistency of.

Method:

The method we follow here is based on our late teacher Erol Güngör. The "Foreword" written by Erol Güngör, whose books we primarily read the Today's Issues of Islam and Issues of Islamic Sufism, to the Books That Changed the World, translated from Robert B. Downs, gives the criteria for our readings:

“The books often carried messages that were very exciting, that appealed to millions of people. Their impact was sometimes good, sometimes bad. Obviously, books can be a force in both good and bad ways. In any case, our aim here is to show that books are dynamic and powerful tools, vehicles or weapons, rather than measuring their moral worth.” <8Robert B. Downs, Books That Changed the World (Istanbul: Ötüken Publications, 1994), 26)

By following the method here, we go beyond simply mentioning the contents of the works and giving information about their contents, and try to analyze both the author of the text and the other works of the author and the historical context in which the works emerged. In this process, we prioritize the texts of scholars who know the epistemic foundations of Western domination and create a state of consciousness by bringing up the possibility of an Islamic resurrection/Renaissance, especially in producing solutions to the problems the Islamic world is experiencing.

The aim here is to make and interpret a radically different reading. If we say with the determinations of Popper, who reads Plato in this way, each generation has its own problems, problems and, accordingly, their own interests and perspectives. Therefore, every generation has the right to look at history in a way that complements the perspective of the older generation and to reinterpret it. Because we study history to learn something about our own problems. We need to do it this way, because a history that conveys past events and historical figures to us as they are is not possible. Therefore, as Gadamer says, it is natural for each period to make its own interpretation together with the discourse in which it lives, and to seek a "merge of horizon" with the historical event. In fact, Popper says it's an obligation to do so. “Because there is an urgent need that really needs to be met. We want to learn how our troubles are related to the past and to see which way we should go to solve the problems that we consider our main task.” (Karl Popper, Open Society and Its Enemies (Does History Have a Meaning?), trans. H. Rızatepe (Istanbul: Remzi Kitapevi, 1994), 226-232)

Which of Our Problems Will We Consider Most Urgent and Can We Solve Them?”

If we don't, “Which of our problems will we consider most urgent, how did they arise, and how can we go about solving them?” Instead of a rational question like “Where are we going?”, “What task did history give us?” 

Irrational questions like this are prioritized and historicist interpretations predominate in our mental world. At this point, it should be noted that the historicist elements in religion do not turn into a kind of idolatry and misleading elements. Because religion should not be turned into a lottery ticket or an insurance policy; It should not replace dreams and aspirations, such as living in an open society. In this sense, Popper especially emphasizes that “historicism cannot be defended in terms of rationality and cannot be compatible with any religion that teaches the importance of conscience. Because such a religion's rational interpretation of history should be compatible with its stance that insists we are ultimately responsible for our actions and that they have an impact on the course of history. Yes, we need hope, because to act without hope is beyond our power to live.”

In this context, while trying to describe and understand historical events, we focus on specific events and individual figures, and we try critical readings, being aware of the fact that event interpretations are made from a certain point of view. We are aware that comments are a moderation issue, even if they are cited with all records. However, comments are important because they represent a "point of view", but it is clear that the preferred interpretation will be difficult to control even if it complies with all records, and this is a vicious circle. Because there may be a very different possibility of interpretation in the same records, but this does not show that every interpretation is of the same value.

Our Main Goal:

The main goal of this work, which will be presented to the public this week from Bilay publications within Fecr Publishing House, is to open up for discussion the existential concerns about how Muslims develop projects against the Western knowledge and science imagination and the globalization/domination of technology in the context of "Contemporary Islamic Thought". The difference of this book from the others, in my opinion, is the effort to bring the symbol scholars to the agenda again in the Ottoman-Turkish Republic transition period, as well as the contemporary Islamic scholars who grew up in the Middle East-North Africa and Indo-Pakistan region in general.

In this context, first of all, the formation process of "Contemporary Islamic Thought" will be outlined, and firstly, Yusuf Akçura, Ziya Gökalp, Mehmet Ali Ayni, Ömer Ferid Kam, who are the symbolic names of the cultural continuity of the Ottoman Empire - the Republic of Turkey, will be emphasized. It is important to examine Ahmet Vefik Pasha, the pioneer of Akçura and Gökalp, as the intellectual who constitutes the theoretical background of the transition process in the context of "An Ottoman Intellectual". Our aim is to remember and remind how important Vefik Pasha's changes in the architectural and cultural life of this city were, especially in the face of the possibility of Bursa becoming the capital city again, in the context of the worst-case scenario of Abdülhamid, and that his contributions in the field of theater still continue. While promoting the scholars in the Islamic world, we always have one foot in Anatolia. In this context, we outlined the views of Erol Güngör, Cemil Meriç and Nurettin Topçu by focusing on their life, works and a basic concept. We got to know İsmail Raci Fârûkî, Muhammed Abid Cabiri, Fazlur Rahman and Muhammed İkbal, who, after stiffening our right foot in Anatolia, walked around like a compasses with our other foot and researched the epistemic foundations of the resurrection in the Islamic world.

Finally, by bringing our left foot to Anatolia over Europe, we tried to give Fuat Sezgin's views on the formation, development and dissolution process of the Islamic Science Civilization, taking into account the history of science studies of my teacher Mehmet Bayrakdar. Thus, we aimed to prepare the ground for a comparative discussion of the knowledge and science conception and civilization revealed by the traditional Islamic structure and the informational ground of the current dominant Western paradigm.

Let the last word be in the form of "Peace be to those whose breath is right", which is the projection of the Prophet's saying "Actions are according to intentions" in Çorum.

We welcome your criticisms/contributions.