Letteratura scientifica selezionata sul tema "Turkish Religious literature"

This research contains a short sketch of Gibran’s life, his intellectual background, and a review of the translations of his works and studies on him in Turkiye. It indicates that the first translation of Gibran into Turkish was done in 1946 by Ömer Rıza Doğrul. Almost all of Gibran’s works have been translated into Turkish. As the researcher mentions, the most famous translator of Gibran is Cahit Koytak, a well-known poet in Turkiye. The researcher argues that Gibran was perceived in Turkiye, as a Sufi – sage, and, had never been considered an “eccentric”, or “alien”. Furthermore, he argues that The New Age Movement of the ‘70s might have increased translations of Gibran in Turkiye. After reviewing remarkable academic activities, the researcher determined that most of the Gibran studies in Turkish academia focus on this unique author's philosophical and religious aspects. Keywords: خليل جبران, Kahlil Gibran, Gibran Translations, Gibran Studies in Turkiye

Turkish poets turn to religious topics immediately after converting to Islam. The orientation towards Western literature led to the adoption of the poetic forms. Society's worldview changed. After the Tanzimat, the religious elements continued to be present in Turkish literature, but through the prizm of social relations in Turkish society. The authors found inspiration in the religious images in the holy books. Both their hardships and their personal virtues were described. The poets emphasized their determination and steadfastness in the name of good. They set personal examples of modesty, tolerance, strength and self-sacrifice. Through the religious images, poets sent messages to the modern people.

While victimhood has been studied from very different perspectives, the question how secular nation states have instrumentalised religion for the politics of victimhood has not been studied. This paper addresses this gap in the literature on victimhood by analysing the empirical case of Turkey. As is well known, the constitutionally secular Turkish state, first under the rule of the Kemalists and now Erdoganists, has been using the Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) to propagate the state ideology to the faithful. This paper shows that the Turkish state has recently been using Islam to construct and disseminate a religious victimhood narrative, mainly based on conspiracy theories via the Diyanet’s Friday sermons. To do this, the article investigates the texts, such as the sermons produced by the Diyanet that are read verbatim, in every mosque in Turkey during Friday prayers that are attended by more than half of the adult male population. The paper contributes to the victimhood literature by showing how religion, i.e., Islam, has been instrumentalised by a secular state in the construction of an Islamist populist and civilisationist victimhood narrative. Further studies are needed to see if and to what extent the Islamist victimhood narrative of the Turkish state has been impactful on the mosque-goers in the country.

While there is a large body of literature on different models of secularism and religion and politics, relatively scarce attention has been devoted to the experimentation of the moderate secularism model in authoritarian and Muslim-majority countries. This article brings a novel insight into the literature by unpacking the complex relationship between secularism, politics, and religion in Turkiye. The Turkish Republic was founded on the norm of authoritarian secularism that promulgates the exclusion of religion both from the political and public spheres. After the Justice and Development Party (JDP) came to power, Turkiye appeared to be moving toward moderate secularism through policies, such as the liberalization of the headscarf and the expansion of non-Muslim rights. By examining the transformed role of the Diyanet (the Presidency of Religious Affairs), Imam Hatip schools, and the conversion of church-turned-museums into mosques, this article illustrates that rather than moving in the direction of moderate secularism, the JDP has rather instrumentalized it and has eventually worked toward infusing Islamic norms into the Turkish state through bureaucratic and political initiatives. By examining and contextualizing the trajectory of secularism in Turkiye, this study contributes to the literature on religion, authoritarianism, and secularism in general, and ongoing debates on Turkish politics in particular.

Objectives: The objectives of this study are to define Islamic poetry, explore its analytical methodology, and provide examples that illustrate its thematic concepts within modern Turkish poetry. Methods: To achieve these objectives, the study employs the document analysis method, which is a qualitative research approach. The analysis focuses on modern Turkish poetry, examining examples across eight distinct categories of Islamic poetry. Results: The analysis of Islamic poetry within modern Turkish literature reveals its diverse manifestations across various thematic categories. These include Islamist Poetry, Turkish-Islamic Poetry, Sufi Poetry, Islamic Mystical Poetry, Islamic Metaphysical Poetry, Islamic Cultural Poetry, Religious Poetry, and Islamic Romantic Love Poetry. Each category is exemplified with a poem, showcasing the rich tapestry of Islamic sensibility, motivation, and thematic concepts present in modern Turkish poetry. Conclusion: In conclusion, this study highlights the enduring influence of Islam on Turkish poetry, both historically and in contemporary times. Through the exploration of Islamic poetry across different thematic categories, the study illustrates the depth and breadth of Islamic sensibility within modern Turkish literature. The researchers' conclusions drawn from the analysis further contribute to our understanding of the role of Islamic poetry in shaping cultural and literary discourse in Turkey.

Ekolojik sorunların beraberinde getirdiği olumsuzluklar arttıkça ve görünür hâle geldikçe bu durumun çeşitli alanlardaki yansımalarında bir fazlalaşma yaşanmıştır. Edebiyat da yıllar içerisinde bu yansımanın gerçekleştiği alanlardan birisi olagelmiştir. Bu çalışmanın amacı, edebiyat ve çevre ilişkisini öne çıkaran çevreci akım içerisindeki “derin ekoloji” akımına ve kurmaca metinlerin ekolojik okumasını yapan ekoeleştiri kavramına odaklanarak söz konusu yaklaşımların Türk edebiyatındaki etkilerini tespit edebilmektir. İnsanın çevreyi tahrip ederek doğaya zarar vermesi ve bunun yansımaları, 20. ve 21. yüzyıl edebiyatının önemli konularından biridir. Derin ekoloji akımından sonra çevreci edebiyat sadece insanın doğadaki yerini sorgulamakla kalmamış, insan dışı varlıkları da ele almış ve araştırmıştır. Derin ekoloji akımının getirdiği farkındalık aynı zamanda ekoeleştiriyi doğurmuştur. Ekoeleştiri çevreye yönelik hem bireysel hem de toplumsal bilinçlenmeyi edebiyat aracılığıyla sağlamayı amaçlar. Edebiyatın bu durumu amaç edinmesiyle birlikte “çevreci eleştiri” kavramı belirmiştir. Çalışmada, çevreci akımların kaynaklarına, konusuna ve yöntemine ilişkin genel bir değerlendirme yapılacaktır. Öncelikle çevreci akımların beslendiği görüşlerden biri olan “derin ekoloji” kavramı ayrıntılarıyla ele alınacak, sonrasında ekoeleştiri kavramına yoğunlaşılacak ve Türk edebiyatında çevrecilik ve derin ekolojinin izleri tespit edilecektir. Türk edebiyatı ürünleri kapsamında ekolojik bunalım, ekoeleştiri ve derin ekoloji arasında bağlantı kurularak kapsamlı bir şekilde gerçekleştirilen başka bir çalışmaya rastlanmadığından dolayı böylesine bir incelemenin bu çalışmanın özgün yönü olduğu ifade edilebilir.

Majority of Turkish society adheres to the Sunni Islamic faith, while the Alevi group has emerged with a different faith. The Alevi are a complex and diverse religious and cultural identity that has undergone numerous changes in its position, outlook and interactions with the rest of Turkish society. Turkish society is not static, the contradictory attitudes taken by Turkish society towards the Alevi community, and the shifting perspectives on Alevi religious life, are often questioned. Their society changes over time due to factors such as political developments, generations and social movements. By 2022, 25 million Alevi people in Turkey will have no legal security. Alevis have faced challenges such as discrimination, unequal treatment and lack of recognition for their unique religious practices. This raises the issue of the Turkish government’s policy in dealing with the problems of the Alevi community, the attitude of Turkish society in dealing with the contradictions of the Alevi community, and the comparison of Alevi beliefs with the beliefs of Turkish society and the impact of Alevi groups on Turkish society. This paper uses a descriptive qualitative research method with data analysis and literature review. The findings of this study are that the Turkish government does not have a structured and official policy on the acceptance or rejection of the Alevi community, and Turkish society is beginning to open up to the understanding of Alevi culture. Despite the differences between Sunni and Alevi Islam, Alevi community is still able to perform their rituals without any hindrance.

Abstract The religiosity of academics has been studied for over a decade. With few exceptions, this research has been conducted on American “elite” scientists, and data from non-Western countries is lacking. Drawing from psychological and sociological literature, the present exploratory study investigates the religiosity of Turkish academics (N = 361) and their perceptions on the relationship between religion and science, and associated variables such as interpretation of the Quran, and belief in evolution and creationism. Moreover, we address criticism directed at previous research by probing for different God concepts among believing academics. Although cultural differences can be identified, the results generally support the idea that academics are less religious with 54% identifying as “less religious” or “not religious,” compared to 24.2% self-identifying as “religious” or “extremely religious.”

This paper focuses on Pax-Ottomanica in a case study of the Millet System through multi ethnic and multi religious communities in the Ottoman Empire. In particular, the Millet System has successfully roamed people in Europe, Asia, and Africa for nearly 600 years. This paper also discusses Islamic law on the relationship between other religions such as Judaism and Christianity. This study uses a qualitative method with a whole literature approach. Based on the data analyzed, it was found that harmony occurs between fellow religious and ethnic people with the freedom to embrace their respective religions and maintain their respective cultures. This paper aims to analyze the state of the multi-ethnic and multi-religious society in the Ottoman Empire by providing various references from both Turkish and Western historians. In addition, this paper aims to introduce Ottoman-style freedom through this Millet system, which has succeeded in bringing all non-Muslim communities into one Ottoman commonwealth.

The process of globalization have a profound effect on the economy and politics of all countries, as well as on national cultural aspects. This process is changing the inner and outer nature of every nation. The changing world as a result of globalization, the individual, the problems that arise in the life of every nation as a result of its influence; news about what is happening; one of the most important tasks of literary criticism is the reflection of the contemporary image of those who are in search of solutions to their problems, from one side, in the literacy literature, from the other side, in the literacy process, from the scientific point of view. Although works of art are created in a particular language, over time, they also “move” to other languages, inviting different nations to kindness and mutual love. For the original works of literature, time and place cannot be maintained. For them, religious beliefs and boundaries between countries can never be the “Great Chinese Wall” because they embodied the divine miracle power of the word.

This thesis presents a comparative and interdisciplinary investigation into the relationship between politics and the Turkish and Kurdish novels, which are treated not only as artistic constructions but also as socio-cultural and historical artefacts. The primary objective of this investigation is to understand the principle social, political, and historical reasons and root causes behind the close relationship between politics and literatures in Turkey and the principle socio-political and literary ramifications of such strong relationship. Towards this end, the thesis focuses on four main themes: language, love, religion, and history. Besides being the most common novelistic themes in the Turkish and Kurdish literary institutions, these are inherently heavily politicised and ethno-nationalistically charged themes - thus especially suitable for such inquiry. In line with this politico-historical and literary vein, the thesis also discusses some of the main political questions in Turkey, viz., the reasons behind the failure of Turkish democracy, its maladies and the resultant deadlock on some of the most important issues of the modern history of the country such as the Kurdish imbroglio and the conflict of secularisation and Islam. As the discussions on politics of love, language, religion, and history show, profound ideological competitions and antagonisms do not necessarily mean divergent political and literary structures. As such, the strong links between the Turkish and Kurdish literary institutions, as well as the ordeal of the Kurdish question and democratisation in Turkey, is as much caused by rival nationalisms, hostile ideological positions, and the like as by congruity, parallel political visions, and similar power structures. The main argument of the thesis, thus, is that the Kurdish and Turkish literary, political, and intellectual actors could not contribute towards the solution of the persistent political and literary questions in Turkey because of their failure in adopting a transformative politics and developing fully autonomous literatures. The future of the two literatures, as was in the past, this thesis argues, will remain intrinsically bound to the political structures and developments and the future of democracy in Turkey.

This dissertation shows that ideas of science and religion are not transhistorical by presenting a longue durée study of conceptions of science and religion in the Ottoman Empire. I demonstrate that the idea of science(s) was subject to a tectonic change over the course of a few centuries, namely between the early modern and modern period. Even within a specific epoch, conception of science and religion were in no way monolithic, as evidenced by the diversity of approaches to these categories in the early modern period. To point out continuity and change in the ideas of science and religion, I study classifications of sciences in the early modern Ottoman Empire, by comparing two works; one by Yahya Nev‘î and the other by Saçaklızâde Muhammed el-Mar‘aşî. Nev‘î wrote from the context of the court in Istanbul, while Saçaklızâde represented the madrasa environment in an Anatolian province, thus providing a contrast in their orders of knowledge. In addition, the dissertation includes a study of the concept of "jihat al-waḥda" (aspect of unity) of science, as discussed by commentators from the early modern period. After first providing a textual genealogy, I argue that this concept reveals the dominant paradigm of scientific thinking during this period. The last two chapters of the dissertation deal with modern Ottoman history. The third chapter analyzes Ahmed Cevdet Pasha's (d. 1895) translation of Ibn Khaldun's Muqaddimah into the Ottoman Turkish in order to show the shift in the conception of science in the mid-nineteenth century. I demonstrate both continuity and a break between the thought of Ibn Khaldun and Ahmed Cevdet Pasha. In the fourth chapter, I draw upon archival documents, a scientific journal, and a correspondence between two intellectuals namely Fatma Aliye and Ahmed Midhat, to point out that science, religion, and politics were separated as a consequence of state regulations over publications and civil societies together with other institutional reforms and educational policies. The dissertation raises questions about the historiography of science in the modern period, which takes the modern idea of science for granted and projects it back on to the earlier periods. Noting the anachronistic and presentist approach to the early modern period, the dissertation calls for a new kind of historiography that not only goes beyond our modern biases but learns from past experiences by seriously engaging them.

The topic of dissertation is the view and the understanding of term ?love? in Turkish-German coexistence. The dissertation is divided into two main sections. The first one contains general information about life of Turks in Germany. The history-overview of migration to Germany precedes this description. In the theoretical section there is also described the meaning of intercultural life, intercultural literature and intercultural movie. This section is based especially on the studied literature. The second section of dissertation includes analysis of literature work and movie from the view of characters-characteristic and their understanding of term ?love?. Also we can find here the description, how each character copes with the feeling ?to be in love?. The goal of the dissertation is to show intercultural life in the context of the basic human feeling?in the context of love.

AbstractThe chapter provides insight into the focus of the book, which is on the person, teaching, and practice of Fethullah Gülen, rather than on Hizmet, which his teaching and practice has inspired, and which is addressed more fully in the complementary volume by the same author and also published by Palgrave Macmillan, on Hizmet in Transitions: European Developments of a Turkish Muslim-Inspired Movement. The chapter discusses the book’s disciplinary and methodological approach which is situated within Religious Studies and takes seriously Gülen’s deep rooting in the Qu’ran and Sunnah. Given the controversies that exist around the person and work of Fethullah Gülen, it situates this book within the context of the wider literature that discusses his person and work, including other publications by the author. Finally, it explains the book’s approach to its use of evidence and discusses the issue of positionality in relation to work of this kind.

The present chapter explores some of the pre-Ottoman cultural dynamics in the Middle East that led to the meeting of Turkish, Arabic and Persian as densely intercrossing languages in the formation of the classical Ottoman cultural sphere. It aims to chart the movement of people, knowledge, customs, practices and centers of power across the Middle East in a historical survey that will offer a networked flow of such movements and highlight the place of translation in the process. It roughly covers the period from the 5th century to the 14th century, which is about a hundred years into the start of the Ottoman empire in the region. The central premise is that the historical flows between the three cultures associated with Arabic, Persian and Turkish led to the classical Ottoman setting of interculture (Paker 2002), whereby Ottoman translators engaged with Persian and Arabic as both source languages and language components of an Ottoman epistemic discourse. It highlights the degree to which cultural input can be influenced by intercultural transfers in several domains such as science, literature, bureaucracy, education and religion.

Abstract Despite their historical and sizable presence in parts of the country, Twelver Shi‘a Muslims, or Caferis, are practically absent from the scholarly literature on religion in Turkey. As a predominantly Turkish-speaking Muslim community, albeit a denominational minority, Shi‘a are not officially recognized by the Turkish state. They have therefore faced barriers to the construction and management of their own mosques and public expressions of religious difference. This chapter provides an overview of Twelver Shi‘a in Turkey over the last century, tracing the ways the community has navigated its position in the Turkish public sphere vis-à-vis the state and other religious groups. It also provides insight into Shi‘i piety and religious life by ethnographically highlighting sensory-aesthetics forms and practices of devotion to the Family of the Prophet (Ehl-i Beyt), a distinguishing feature of Twelver Shi‘i religiosity.

This chapter is about the houses of Alaçam in the province of Samsun in Turkey, which is one of the settlements experiencing the compulsory migration under the “Convention and Protocol Concerning the Exchange of the Turkish and Greek Peoples” signed on 30th January 1923 by the Turkish and Greek delegations. The author describes the layout plan, construction materials, and façade characteristics of the buildings accompanied by the historical background related to the pre- and post-population exchange period of Alaçam. Further, information is provided about how the Orthodox Greeks of Turkish nationality and Moslems of Greek nationality used the houses, the changes depending on their use by both communities, and their present condition. In this chapter, the author tries to establish the association of the traditional house architecture in the Black Sea Region with the “history of exchange” for the first time in literature.

The love of Ahl al-Beyt is one of the significant and basic topics that were included in religious and sufistic sphere of Turkish literature. There are numerous pieces of literary work that are about the love of Ahl al-Beyt, and one of such genres is referred to as mevlid which is written in verse. Mevlids are poems mostly about the Prophet Muhammad and his birth. The first Turkish mevlid in Turkish literature was written by Süleyman Çelebi, it was called “Vesîletü’nNecât” that literally means the cause of salvation. After Süleyman Çelebi, many mevlids were written about the Prophet Muhammad, yet day by day the love

Abstract In the past three decades, the multifaceted relationship between Islamist activists and secular feminists has shaped women’s religious and social activism in Turkey. A fascinating literature has assessed the significance of these bridges and influences that have created forms of cooperation since the 1980s. Stemming from this scholarship, the chapter problematizes how the incorporation of Muslim women in the Turkish state bureaucracy has affected women’s religious and social activism. Drawing on extensive ethnographic research on women employed as religious officers at the Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), it casts light on how Muslim women’s activism has been affected by the conservative gender regime which accompanied the current AKP’s authoritarian turn.

This chapter focuses on childhood and its representation in Turkey, locating the subject within a broader theoretical discussion of the representation of childhood and of the history of modern Turkish society. Cuteness is explored as an important emotional and affective category, and the role of commodity cuteness in consumer culture is also explored. Drawing on the substantial literature on cuteness in Japan, the chapter explores how adults deploy cuteness as an aspirational category and a strategy for dealing with moral ambiguity, anxiety, and discomfort, especially as it relates to sacrifice. It explores these strategies through visual representations in Turkish religious books for children, locating them within the broader history of religious education and publishing in the country.

This chapter explains how an understanding of Turkish theology as Muslim theology in dialectical tension with multiple traditions can develop and challenge previous literature on Turkish theology, addressing the work of two scholars of Turkish theology faculties: Felix Körner and Philip Dorroll. Körner’s writings on Turkish revisionist Qur’an hermeneutics depicted Turkish theology in a unique position to undertake a truly modern Muslim approach to the Qur’an. This chapter raises the concern that when the standard that constitutes a truly “modern” approach is brought in from outside Turkish discussions, it is liable to reinforce a questionable Islam vs. modernity binary. Dorroll comes much closer to breaking out of binaries in his treatment of Turkish theology in his work on the Ankara Paradigm. He argues for a seminal vein in Turkish theology that considers itself modern by tradition, even if his discussions are still largely framed within a religious vs. secular binary. By elaborating the decision to treat Turkish theology as both subject and source of conceptual frameworks, this chapter emphasizes the dialectical aspect of Turkish theology in its interactions with Turkish identity, the classical Arabic tradition, and Western intellectual tradition, highlighting theological moments of engagement that resist reduction to binary frameworks.

Classical Turkish literature is a literary tradition of approximately six centuries, within the general development of Turkish literature, whose theoretical and aesthetic principles were formed within the circle of Islamic civilization and shaped especially by the influence of Arabic and Persian literature. Classical Turkish literature, which is based on religious, historical, mythological and folklore foundations, also serves as a historical source with the "human" element it contains. Its’ statesmen, scholars, philosophers, poets, religious and sufi elders, legendary heroes and similar figures who left their mark on the culture and history of the society in which they lived are the most important sources of Classical Turkish Literature. Starting from this point, in this study, the names of the individuals mentioned in the Divan of Babur, one of the most important works of Chagatai Turkish, were examined and it was aimed at revealing the influence of the individuals within Babur's poetry world.

While the appeal of ‘civilisational dialogue’ is on the rise, its sources, functions, and con- sequences arouse controversy within and between faith communities. Some religious lead- ers have attempted to clarify the religious foundations for such dialogue. Among them are Jonathan Sacks, the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of Britain and the Commonwealth, Edward Idris, Cardinal Cassidy of the Catholic Church, and Fethullah Gülen. The paper compares the approach of these three religious leaders from the Abrahamic tra- dition as presented in their scholarly works – Sacks’ The Dignity of Difference, Cardinal Cassidy’s Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue, and Gülen’s Advocate of Dialogue. The discussion attempts to answer the following questions: Can monotheistic traditions accom- modate the dignity of followers of other monotheistic and polytheistic religions as well as non-theistic religions and philosophies? Is a belief in the unity of God compatible with an acceptance of the religious dignity of others? The paper also explores their arguments for why civilisational and interfaith dialogue is necessary, the parameters of such dialogue and its anticipated consequences: how and how far can dialogue bridge the claims of unity of God and diversity of faiths? Islam’s emphasis on diversity and the Quran’s accommodation of ear- lier religious traditions put Islam and Fethullah Gülen in the best position to offer a religious justification for valuing and cherishing the dignity of followers of other religions. The plea for a dialogue of civilizations is on the rise among some policymakers and politi- cians. Many of them believe a dialogue between Islam and the West has become more urgent in the new millennium. For example following the 2005 Cartoon Wars, the United Nations, the Organization of the Islamic Conferences, and the European Union used a joint statement to condemn violent protests and call for respect toward religious traditions. They pled for an exchange of ideas rather than blows: We urge everyone to resist provocation, overreaction and violence, and turn to dialogue. Without dialogue, we cannot hope to appeal to reason, to heal resentment, or to overcome mistrust. Globalization disperses people and ideas throughout the world; it brings families individuals with different beliefs into close contact. Today, more than any period in history, religious di- versity characterizes daily life in many communities. Proponents of interfaith dialogue claim that, in an increasingly global world, interfaith dialogue can facilitate mutual understanding, respect for other religions, and, thus, the peaceful coexistence of people of different faiths. One key factor for the success of the interfaith dialogue is religious leaders’ ability to provide an inclusive interfaith theology in order to reconcile their commitment to their own faith with the reality of religious diversity in their communities. I argue that prominent leaders of the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) are already offering separate but overlapping theologies to legitimize interfaith dialogue. A balanced analysis of multi-faith interactions is overdue in political science. The discipline characterises religious interactions solely from the perspective of schism and exclusion. The literature asserts that interactions among believers of different faiths will breed conflict, in- cluding terrorism, civil wars, interstate wars, and global wars. According to this conven- tional depiction, interfaith cooperation is especially challenging to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam due to their monotheism; each claims it is “the one true path”. The so-called “monothe- istic exclusion” refers to an all-or-nothing theological view: you are a believer or you are an infidel. Judaism identifies the chosen people, while outsiders are gentiles; Christians believe that no salvation is possible outside of Jesus; Islam seems to call for a perennial jihad against non-Muslims. Each faith would claim ‘religious other’ is a stranger to God. Political “us versus them” thinking evolves from this “believer versus infidel” worldview. This mindset, in turn, initiates the blaming, dehumanizing, and demonization of the believers of other reli- gious traditions. Eventually, it leads to inter-religious violence and conflict. Disputing this grim characterization of religious interactions, scholars of religion offer a tripartite typology of religious attitude towards the ‘religious other.’ They are: exclusivism, inclusivism, and pluralism. Exclusivism suggests a binary opposition of religious claims: one is truth, the other is falsehood. In this dichotomy, salvation requires affirmation of truths of one’s particular religion. Inclusivism integrates other religious traditions with one’s own. In this integration, one’s own religion represents the complete and pure, while other religions represent the incomplete, the corrupted, or both. Pluralism accepts that no religious tradi- tion has a privileged access to religious truth, and all religions are potentially equally valid paths. This paper examines the theology of interfaith dialogue (or interfaith theology) in the Abrahamic religions by means of analyzing the works of three prominent religious lead- ers, a Rabbi, a Pope, and a Muslim scholar. First, Jonathan Sacks, the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of Britain and the Commonwealth, offers a framework for the dialogue of civilizations in his book Dignity of Difference: How to Avoid the Clash of Civilizations. Rather than mere tolerance and multiculturalism, he advocates what he calls the dignity of difference—an active engagement to value and cherish cultural and religious differences. Second, Pope John Paul II’s Crossing the Threshold of Hope argues that holiness and truth might exist in other religions because the Holy Spirit works beyond the for- mal boundaries of Church. Third, the Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen’s Advocate of Dialogue describes a Muslim approach to interfaith dialogue based on the Muslim belief in prophecy and revelation. I analyze the interfaith theologies of these religious leaders in five sections: First, I explore variations on the definition of ‘interfaith dialogue’ in their works. Second, I examine the structural and strategic reasons for the emergence and development of the interfaith theologies. Third, I respond to four common doubts about the possibility and utility of interfaith di- alogue and theologies. Fourth, I use John Rawls’ overlapping consensus approach to develop a framework with which to analyze religious leaders’ support for interfaith dialogue. Fifth, I discuss the religious rationales of each religious leader as it relates to interfaith dialogue.

The people (al-ummah) Who were destined to receive the revelation in which the above verses are contained, could not remain unaffected on the human level by either the central significance of the Pen which God takes to witness in the verse cited above, nor by the inexhaustibleness of the treasury of the Words of God. The ummah which created Islamic civilization could not but live by the pen and its fruit in the form of the written word. Nor could it cease to produce a great number of works written primarily in Arabic, secondarily in Persian, and then in nearly all the vernacular languages of the Islamic world ranging from Turkish to Malay and Bengali to Berber. The civilization which received the imprint of the Qurʾānic revelation produced a vast corpus of writings which has probably not been matched in quantity by the literature of any other civilization before the discovery of printing. It also produced a body of writings which contains not only the thought. art, and sentiments of that notable segment of humanity which comprises the Islamic people, but also many of the intellectual and scholarly treasures of The civilizations of antiquity to which Islam became heir and much of whose heritage it preserved in accordance With its function as the last plenar religion of this humanity. Moreover, manuscripts were written by Muslims or minorities living within the Islamic world which contain knowledge of other civilizations and peoples.