In contrast to much of the Muslim world, a majority of Turks consider Islam to be primarily a matter of personal choice and private belief. How did such an arrangement come about? Moreover, most observant Muslims in Turkey do not see such a conception and practice of Islam as illegitimate. Why not? Islam and Modernity in Turkey addresses these questions through an ethnographic study of Islamic discourses and practices and their articulation with mass media in Turkey, against the background of late Ottoman and early Republican precedents. This ground-breaking book sheds new light on issues of commensurability and difference in culture, religion, and history, and reformulates our understanding of Islam, secularism, and public life in Turkey, the Muslim world, and Europe.

Autorentext
BRIAN SILVERSTEIN Assistant Professor in the School of Anthropology at the University of Arizona, USA.

Inhalt
Introduction: Islam and Modernity in Turkey PART I: GENEALOGIES OF THE TURKISH PRESENT Ottoman Reform, Islamic Tradition and Historical Difference Sufism and Modernity from the Empire to Republic PART II: DISCIPLINES OF PRESENCE Everyday Ethics and Disciplinary Practice Discourse, Companionship and Spiritual Exercise PART III: ISLAM AND LIBERAL PUBLICS Muslim Sociality and Mass Mediation Liberal Islamic Religiosity