Gokhan Bacik

Bio: Gokhan Bacik is an academic researcher. The author has contributed to research in topics: Islam & Political authorities. The author has an hindex of 2, co-authored 5 publications receiving 11 citations.

The Islamic Idea of Nature

Abstract: This chapter explains the contending narratives of nature within the Islamic theological tradition. The chapter defines a religious idea of nature as the collection of theological propositions about how nature works that Muslims acquire in their religious socialization. However, those propositions are expounded in an immense body of literature. Therefore, the chapter first systematizes them in a plain and consistent framework. Accordingly, the Islamic idea of nature is examined in terms of four major constitutive elements: causality, free will, knowledge, and the concept of God. Then, the chapter explains these four topics according to the Ash‘ari, the Maturidi, and the Mu‘tazili schools of theology.

Mapping the Cases: Official Islam and Islamic Movements

Abstract: This chapter provides detailed information about the five selected cases of the book in terms of their genealogy, historical evolution, structure, and methods of activism. The main purpose of the chapter is to introduce the reader to the selected cases of the book: The Directorate of Religious Affairs, compulsory religious courses, Isṃikcilar, Iskenderpasṃa, and Erenkoy. The chapter also explains the rationale behind the selection of those five cases and clarifies their relevance to the understanding of the Islamic idea of nature in the Turkish context. In this vein, given that three of the cases are Islamic movements (Isṃikcilar, Iskenderpasṃa, and Erenkoy), the chapter includes a discussion on how to interpret them within the larger frame of Islamic activism by proposing three models: reformism, renewalism, and revivalism.

Origins: Sunni Orthodoxy

Abstract: This chapter studies Sunni orthodoxy as it is the grand social and historical complexity that determines the mainstream interpretation of Islam in Turkey. This chapter emphasizes that orthodoxy is both a set of ideas as well as a reflection of certain power relations. On this account, the chapter focuses on the power relations between religion and political authorities. The chapter discusses how historical and traditional modes of connections between Sunni orthodoxy and political power are critical to understand how Islamic actors interpret the idea of nature.

The Contested Boundaries of Turkish Islam

Abstract: This chapter examines the historical evolution of Turkish Islam (i.e. the negotiations of Turks and the Islamic theological schools) by studying how Islam in Turkey has positioned itself in the general debates about Islamic theology between two schools: the Ash‘ari and the Maturidi. One major purpose of the chapter is to investigate the historical patterns of continuity and differentiation that have affected Turks’ theological positions.

The Islamic Idea of Nature in Contemporary Turkey

Abstract: The purpose of this chapter is to explore how Islamic actors interpret and transmit the Islamic idea of nature to their followers as well as to the public in Turkey. In exploring its subject matter, this chapter studies how the five selected cases (The Directorate of Religious Affairs, compulsory religious courses, Isṃikcilar, Iskenderpasṃa, and Erenkoy) interpret and transmit the Islamic idea of nature in terms of causality, free will, knowledge, and the concept of God. While studying how Islamic authorities and actors articulate their idea of nature, the chapter also explains where their narratives situate within the Islamic tradition. Drawing from the works of scholars and leading thinkers of Islamic movements, the chapter offers a critical analysis of the Islamic idea of nature as interpreted and transmitted in Turkey.

Al-Akhlāqiyyāt al-ghā'iyya 'ind Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (Arabic translation of The Teleological Ethics of Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī)

Abstract: 5 الكتاب عبارة عن مقاربة تحليلية للفكر الغائى الأخلاقى عند فخر الدين الرازي، وهو في الأصل أطروحة دكتوراه قدمها المؤلف قبل سنوات بجامعة أكسفورد. وتروم هذه الدراسة إثارة الفضول إلى المزيد من البحث في فكر الرازي عموما، باعتباره أحد أهم الباحثين في الأخلاق في التاريخ الإسلامي، وأحد المفكرين الأكثر تأثيرا، لكن الأقل تناولا الأخلاقى، برزت خلالها مجموعة من النظريات الآخلاقية المتباينة، عند الفلاسفة والمتكلمين خاصة., إذ أن أبرز ما أثار اهتمام مدرسة المتكلمين الكلاسيكية في مجال الأخلاقيات البحث في طبيعة العدل الإلهي وأفعاله الحيرة بصفة عامة، بينما اهتم الفلاسفة بموضوعات من قبيل تغير الطبع البشري، والبحث فى الخصائص الفردية الداخلية، إلى جانب المناقشات الفقهية التى ركزت على العمل، واهتمت بوضع المبادئ المعيارية العامة للسلوك البشري. في هذا الإطارء وفي خضم المناظرات والمناقشات الفكرية التي ميزت تلك الفترة، فتح فخر الدين الرازي الأبواب على مصاريعها لتبادل فكري أكثر حرية، بل ساهم في الاندماج بين الكلام والفلسفة. وقد ظهر ذلك جليا فى مباحثه الأخلاقية أكثر من مجالات أخرى فى فكره. وتعد هذه الدراسة تحليلا لفهم أهم أوجه فكر الرازي، ونظريته الأخلاقية، وكشفا عن أهم التوجهات والمناقشات حول تراثه الفكري الواسع في الوقت نفسه. كما يتبين من خلالها أن الرازي وضع أسس نظرية أخلاقية متطورة

Political Thought in Medieval Islam: An Introductory Outline

Abstract: Part I. Constitutional Law and Muslim History: 1. The quest for happiness 2. The Caliphate: theory and function 3. Government 4. The theory of the power-state Part II. The Platonic Legacy: 5. Political philosophy in Islam 6. Al Farabi: the foundation 7. Ibn Sina: the synthesis 8. Ibn Bajja: individualist deviation 9. Ibn Rushd: the consummation 10. Al-Dawwani: application and integration Appendix Notes Glossary Index.