Islam and Christian-Muslim Relaıions, Vol. 14, No. 3, July 2003 ~ Carfax Publishing ~~~~ To~ylof&ftanciı(in)up

The Application of Western Comparative Religious and Linguistic Approaches to the Qur'an in Turkey

BILAL GÖKKIR

ABSTRACT In this study, in order to deseribe fuZZy the impact of Western scholarship, we first explore the Western-oriented study of religion in Turkey. Secondly, by making special reference to the treatment of theforeign vocabulary of the Qur'iin by Turkish intellectuals, we investigate the extent of Western infiuence in the first half of the twemieth century. Thirdly, considering an institutional attempt to understand Western academia, we discuss Zeki Velidi Togan and the Institute of Islamic Studies (established in 1953). Fourthly, we examine the relationship between Western-oriented studies of religion and the classical study of Islam in Turkey, explaining the palemical nature of these studies in Turkish academic circles. The Turkish treatment of the Bible and the Turkish evaluation of the Westenı treatment of the Qur'aı: will provide case studies. The last part of the work discusses recent developments in Turkish sekalarship dealing with the application of modern eritic al and linguistic nıethods ıo the. Qur'iin.

Introduction

In this paper, we discuss developments in the study of religion in Turkey under the infiuence of Western scholarsbip. To demonstrate the Western infiuence on Turkish academic circles, we need to start with the Iate Ottoman era, that is, the end of the nineteenth century, when the transition to a Western educarionaJ system gathered pace. We .also Iook at the relevant educarianal and intellectual developments in twentieth­century Turkey, as the West continued ever more intensively to infiuence the educa­tion~I institutions of the T urkish Republic.

It is important to bear in mind that the study of religion for our present purposes consists of both Islamic studies and the discipline of the comparative study of religion. It will be observed that the latter has not been as independent in Turkey as it has become in the Westerri academic world. Studies in comparative religion in Turkish academic circles, as we shall explain, have come under the theological infiuence of Islamic studies, particularly when Islam and the Qur'lin are involved in the comparison. On the other hand, scholars in Islamic studies have tried to implement same Western methodologies in their approach to Islamic issues. For that reason, in approaching a given subject it is hard to find a dividing line between the study of comparative religion and of Islam wbich is sufficiently clear-cut to allow exclusive attention to be given to either of the given subjects. The examples and aspects of Turkish scholarship that are referred to will derrionstrate this blend of methodologies and approaches.

This article also explores the way Muslim intellectuals, embracing Western academic · principles in modern times and wanting to import and employ the methods and theories they suggest, have failed to take stock of or fully recognize the theological ~ackground of these so-called linguistic or literary approaches. This is perhaps most

ISSN 0959-6410 print!ISSN 1469-9311 onlioe/03/030249-15 © 2003 CSIC and CMCU DOI: 10.1080/0959641032000104628

250 Bilal Gökkir

obvious in the case of Muslim scholars such as İsmail Hami Danişmend who, when discussing views on the foreign vocabulary of the Qur'an, use, or rather simply quote, Jeffery's argument to dismiss the classical Muslim approach.

Early Attempts to Adopt Western Academic Approaches

Before going into the details of this issue, we should emphasize the fact that, despite i ts hundreds of years of Islamic cultural and scholarly heritage, Turkey has been experi­encing a process ofWesternization and modemization for almost two centuries, the last 80 years of which have seen these processes intensify under the Republic of Turkey.

Westernization has permeated Turkish life and institutions, including education, the political system, the law and other areas. It is no wonder, then, if many scholars have come to adopt Western perspectives. In addition, following the Tanzimaı (1839), Turkish students were seat to be educated in Europe, particularly in France. They came under the intellectual and cultural influence of the West and, naturally, brought Western ideas and methodologies ~o their academic studies. 1

The comparative study of religions has been a part of the academic and educari ona! curriculum since the end of the Ottoman Empire. Just as the example provided by the West guided every step of the social, political and instirutional life of Turkey, so intellectual and educarianal developments also adopted Western models. This was also the case in religious studies, with the comparative study of religion towards the end of the Onoman Empire already beginning to sbape itself along Western lines. Turkish literature in the field echoed exactly its Westem counterparts when discussing totemism, taboo and the maı~a theory of religion. .

Traces of these Westem academic influences can easily be observed in the books of Ahmet Midhat Efendi/ Mahmut Esad Seydişehri,l Amasyali Esad Bel and M. Semseddin Gunaltay.5 These scholars, mostly hlstorians, were appointed to teachlng positions when, in the Onoman period, the History of Religions (Tarih-i Edyaıı) entered the curriculum of Madrasatu'l-vaiziıı (School for Preachers), and Da,.u'l-fuııuıı llahiyaı" (Faculty of Theology).7 Their contribution to the field, entitled Tarih-i Edyaıı (History ofReligions), was the calleetion of their lectures in these institutions, as taught using the Westem sources of the time.

Although in Onoman institutions, some initial attempts were made to employ the classical Islamic sources in the field, such as Shahristaıü's Al-mi/al wa-al-nil}al, Ibn l:Iazm's Al-faşl and Ral;ımatulHilı al-Hindi's I~hö.r al-l}aqq, the teaching was mainly carried out from Westem sources, especially works in French, whlch, as the dominant Westem culture and language of that period, became the principal source of Westem influence on Turkish intellectuals in the Iate nineteenth and e"arly twentieth centuries.8

After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the Turkish Republic implemented an intensive Westernization and modernization policy. Western influence increased partic­ularly with the enactınent of the Tevhidi Tedrisat Kanunu (Uı:i.ification of Education Act), not only on the study of comparative religion but also on the study of Islam.

Alongside Westernization, however, nationalism also played a significant role in the academic oneotation of the study of religion in the twentieth century. Nationalism had become the dominant ideolqgy of the new Republic, so much so that, in i ts early years, we find a great number of studies that neglect the Islamic heritage in an efiort to create a new nationalist hlstory. This 'new history' discussed 'the ancient national' reÜ~ons of the Turks such as Shamanism and Old Turkish deities, investigated the religions and deities of Anarolia and, prospecting for further links and insights, examined Sumerian

Applicaıion of Wesıem Approaches to the Qur'lin in Turkey 251

history. During · the struggle to construct a new nationalist history,9 scholars with pro-Western an.d nationalist tendendes tried to link this new Turkish history to the existing world history, with all the ramifications this implied for Turkey's own profile and standing as a na tion of widely connected and deep-rooted culture. The relevance of the ancient religion and deities of Egypt and Sumer to T urkish history, Shamanism as the ancient religion of the Turks in history and totem.ic remains of ancient Turks were some of the main concerns of Turkish intellectuals and scholars of this period .10

In the creation of a new history, language and especially etymology were frequendy employed by scholars to support their arguments. In particular, the Sun Language Theory (Gilne; Dil Teorisı) 11 attempted to demonstrate that much of the value and relevance found in other cultures, civilizations and languages could ultimarely be given a Turkish ancestry.

A significant correlation between Westernization and nationalism is worth mention­ing here. As Grunebaum noted, nationalist movements in Muslim countries tend to have an anti-Islamic and secular nature and to reflect a Western ideological stance rather than an inherendy Islamic attitude. 12 The secularist and na tionali st policies of the Republic, then, were instrumental in the creation of this new religious and secular history of modern Turkey .B

It was in this nanonalist and secular context that a Turkish nanonalist historian, 14

İsmail Hami Danişmend (1889-1967),15 wrote his Türklerle Hind-Avrupalılann .Menşe Birligi (The Single Origin of Turks and Indo-Europeans) (Istanbul, 19?5-6). Danişmend argued that the Turks came from the same Arian race as the Europeans. Based on the ecymological methods of the popular Güneş Dil Teoıisi (Sun Language Theory), he tried to prove that the Turkish language also came from the same Indo-European language family and we shall now see how he examined the foreign vocabulary of the Qur'an within a similar framework.

The Turkish Vocabulary in the Qur'an: a clash of Muslim and pro-Western understanding

The nanonalist and pro-Western attitude of Danişmend is clearly evidem in his approach to the foreign vocabulary of the Qur'an. His artide, and the debate it caused ab out the so-called Turkish vocabulary of the Qur'an, 16 is highly illustrative of the then current nanonalist and pro-Western approach to the study of religion, and the use of linguistics in Isianık studies.

When Danişmend wı:ote that the Arabic language contains some Turkish vocabulary and that two of these words even exist in the Qur'an, 17 he was certainly echoing the intellectual climate of the time, when it was fashionable to talk about the Turkish influence on other cultures since the Turkish language and culture were held to be the primary language and culture of the world. At the time, Danişmend touched on one of the most sensitive issues in Islamic theology. Being such a sensitive issue, it caused a debate which continued over a series of anides to which we shall refer in due course.

The two words in the Qur'an for which Danişmend suggests a Turkish origin are ghassliq and akwiib. Danişmend employed his knowledge of Turkish history and ecymology, a popular device among his contemporaries, to point out the two modern

. versions of these two words: kusuk and küp. The response to Danişmend's article came from Hasan Basri Çantay (1887-1964),18

who represents the classical and traditional Muslim approach. Çantay challenged Danişmend's theory on the basis of the classical sources. He denied the Turkish origin

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of these words and rejected the idea that the Qur'an contains foreign vocabulary. Çantay defended this position by saying that the Qur'an itself states that it is 'an Arabic Qur'an' (qur'anun 'arabiyyun). Although the existence of foreign words in the Qur'an was a matter of dispute among salaf (predecessors) and 'ulama', the majority of them, in Çantay's view, rejected the existence of foreign words in the Qur'an. Like them, Çantay seemed to insist that there are no foreign words in the Qur'an apart from foreign proper names such as Ihrahim and Jibrll. 19

Danişmend, as a pro-Western scholar, not surprisingly began to present the debate as a clash between tradition and modernity and, most imponantly, stressed the superiority of Western scholarship. By shutting the doors to the West, stated Danişmend, the 'ulama' of the madrasas had deprived themselves of Western-oriented scieoces and scholarship. Today, he continued, we have, in the Western world, comparative philology and linguistics of whose existence Eastern scholars are unfortu­nately not even aware.

Asa result of this ignorance ofWestern sciences, lamented Danişmend, these 'ulama' are unaware that modern scientific scholarship states that there is no pure language in the world since all languages borrow from each other's vocabularies. Arabic, Danişmend stressed, is no exception to this rule, being an ordinary human language like any other, and, therefore, like any other, subject to a process of development and evolution. God addressed human beings in their own tongue and there is no such thing as a divine language.20

Danişmend next adopted the position of rejecting the idea of a majority- minority dichotomy in Çantay's methodology. In today's scholarship, Danişmend states, such a dichotomy is nonsense and ijma' al-unınıa (consensus of the nation) is no langer a valid device in academic and scientific scholarship. To treat such an idea as a valid method, Danişmend stresses, is to depart from scientific and academic method, and to give eredir only to Imam al-Shafi'I's words or SuyüJi's account on a matter is to display a medieval mentality. According to Danişmend, one can consider their views only from tb-e point of view of their piace in the past history of ideas, no more.21

In this context, Danişmend referred to Jeffery's The Foreign Vocabulary of the Qur'an (1 938). Having underlined the significance of Jeffery's work, he added that those who denied the existence of the foreign words in the Qur'an would be shocked when they sa w demonstrated in Jeffery's work that even the most holy words of the Qur'an such as Allah, ra~ınıaıı, rabb, jamıa, juhanııam, aya, süra, dfn, şawm and zakaı were proved by the most eminem scholars of East and West to be foreign in origin.22

Ironically, having surnmarized Jawaliqi and SuyüJi ön the matter, Jeffery expresses strong doubts about the influence of any Turkish dialect on Arabic in the pre-Islaİnic period and, furthermore, he doubts the existence of any Turkish vocabulary in the Qur'an. As for ghassaq, Jeffery merely quotes those Muslim scholars who considered the word ghasstiq as being of Turkish origin23 but does not agree that it is a word loaned from Turkish and so contradicts Danişmend's view:

The only reason one can suggest for the comman opinion that it [ghasstiq] was Turkish is that the word may in later times have come to be commonly used by the Turkish soldieiY, at the Muslim courts, so that the scholars, at a loss how to explain so curious a word, jumped to the conclusion that it must be Turkish, and this opinion was then, as usual, attributed to the circle ofThn Abbas.24

One might argue that Jeffery's explanation does not fit the histarical and linguistic set.

Applicatioıı of Westenz Approaches to the Qur'iiıı iıı Turkey 253

Although there was a Turkish political or military authority in the Arab world in the twelfth century:_ and Jawaliqi seemingiy speculated that the word might have been Turkish at this time, the word ghassiiq does not apparently have any military or juristic sense that would make us think it, as Jeffery assumed, 'to be commonly used by the Turkish soldiery at the Muslim courts'. In any case, the important issue here is not how convincing or otherwise Jeffery's explanation is in itself. What seems a much more decisive matter is the fact that Jeffery does not, in fact, suggest that the word ghassiiq has a Turkish origin. Danişmend, nevertheless, in his eagerness to recruit Jeffery to the cause, or claim his support, overlooks the reality that Jeffery has done nothing more in fact than to quote and discuss the theories of the Muslim scholars.

An optimistic interpretation of Danişmend's reference to Jeffery might be to suggest that in referring to Jeffery's work in this context, his intention was not to prove that ghassö.q in particular was Turkish, but rather to prove the existence, in general, of foreign vocabulary in the Qur'an. One might, however, feel justified i.ıi asking why Danişmend did not directly refer to the relevant Muslim sources, which, as it happens, did indeed speculate on the existence of Turkish words in the Qur'an. Such Muslim sources might, in that respect, have provided a much more useful witness than Jeffery.

This is quite a significant point, which leads us to the privileged position ofWestern academia in the minds of Danişmend and his contemporaries. It seems that, for these Turkish scholars, Western intellectuals and sources were more credible, more deserving of attention than were Muslim sources. Muslim sources, it seems, might be giveh eredence only if read through the eyes of some Western intellectual authority who happened to endorse the source in question. Here it is appropriate to qtiote Grunebaum, who believed that Westernization pushed cultures and civilizations in the direction of uncertainty not only for the present but also with regard to the past. In the midst of such 'uncertainty', Grunebaum felt, perhaps unsurprisingly, that 'Muslim history needed to be rewritten'. 25 In the rewriting, continued Grunebaum, 'in part, occidental methods had to be applied to the unearthing and sifting of objective fact'.26

For Grunebaum this is also a moment of decision making: where should the modern, pro-Western Muslim scholar place 'the guilt for the predicament of the present ... was it the theologians of the Middle Ages whose distortion of the prophetic message caused the drying up of the Islamic inspiration?'27

Jiı the rewriting of history, it was inevitable that Western methodologies and perspec­tives should be adopted. The following seetion deseribes one significant attempt to produce Turkish scholars who could apply Western methodologies to Islarnic issues.

The Institute of lslaınic Studies: attempts to form 'T urkish orientalists'

The establishment and contribution of the Institute oflslamic Studies (Islam Terkikieri Enstitusu) could well be regarded as one of the most significant results of the prevailing highly opt:i.rn)stic view of Western academia. The mstitute was established in 1953 in Istanbul University and its contribution to Turkish scholarship owed much to the dynamism and diligence of Zeki Velidi Togan (1890- 1970) who, convinced of the need for a Western-style· academy for the furtherance of Islarnic studies in modern Turkey, made every effort in the newly established institute to implement and adlıere to those fundamental Western academic principles by which he set such store.

There were three points Togan constantly promoted in studying Islam. The :first was to study and approach Islam along the lines ofWestern academic methodologies; the

254 Bilal Gökkir

second was to study Islam in the broader context of Seınitic studies; and the third was to produce studies based on the languages of the original sources.

Togan took every available opportunity to emphasize that the institute was not a faculty of theology, and that dogmatic and normative teaching ofislam had no place in its curriculum. He made it clear that its goal was neither to train imams nor to assert the superiority of Islam over other religions. Its purpose was, rather, to produce experts in Islaınic studies in the Westem sense.28 With his pro-Westem approach, the curricu­lum for Islaınic Studies and Civilization that Togan was suggesting was naturally ideally adapted to a Western pattern of delivery. Togan proposed five main modules for the curriculum, namely:

• Islamic Theology; • Islamic History; • Islamic Sects, Schools, Philosophy and History of Religion; • Islamic Studies and Civilization; • Current Muslim Culture.29

Togan urged that Islaınic Theology, which consisted of the Qur'an, I;Iadith and ka/am, should be taught in the context of comparison with Seınitic and other religions and cultures. The study of the Qur'an and sryarwere planned along methodologicallines set down by the Frenclı-educated Muslim scholar Professor Hamidullah, wlıereas ıajsfr and I;Iadith would follow frameworks suggested by the German scholar, I. Goldziher.30

Togan advocated studies in original languages and wanted to see specialists leaming different languages so as to involve themselves in the acadeınic activities of both West and East and to achieve the. ability to follow the literatures on Islam and present .a critique of them to the nationY Just as Islaınic studies is taught from the original Arabic and relevant Muslim languages, so likewise, for Togan and his colleagues, studies in other religions were to be ta"ught from sources in their own languages, be it Hebrew for Judaism, or Latin for Catholic Christianity.32

When, between 1960 and 1964, Togan with his two colleagues33 tried to persuade the faculty to establislı a chair in Islamic studies, they emphasized strongly the need for Western-style, acade~c Islamic studies, repeatedly pointing to the inability of the current system to train modern generations. In their view, this education could not be left to the faculties of theology as they were advocating a new confessional approach to the study of Islam; what was needed was an acadeınic and purely scientific approach which called for corresponding alignment of expertise and motivation on the part of academic staff. 34

In his proposal, however, he suggested two duties for this çlıair, one being teaclıing (ıedris) and the other being research (ıeıkik). As for teaclıing, the specialists and professionals would be appointed to teach Islaınic studies based on the Sunni-l;Ianafi doctrine to which the na tion subscribed. In matters of research, however, Togan looked forward to the institute being given a free hand. The researchers should not be involved in teaching and should be free of religious concerns. This meant that even a non-Mus­lim could be appointed.35

Consistent with his enthusiasm for the values ofWestem sclıolarship, Togan invited non-Muslim, Westem spei::~alists to lecture at the Institute.36 One of these scholars, Prof. A. Guillaume of London University, gave five lectures between ll and 17 May 1954 on 'Islaınic Studies in the West'Y Following Prof. Guillaume's lectures,·ıiowever, and presumably arising from the nature of the questions put to the speaker, Togan had to remind the audience that the intention in inviting non-Muslim specialists to give

Application of Westem Approaches to the Qur'iin in Turkey 255

seminars and l!!ctures was neither to leam about Islam oor to argue with the speaker about Islaınic ··issues. The only valid purpose within the given framework, Togan cautioned, was discussion of recent research developments, or of methodologies, or of recent publications arising from studies in the speakers' own universities and coun­iries.38

As we have seen, Togan tried to ereare 'Turkish orientalists', educated to think and approach Islaınic issues from a Westem point of view. The institute's graduates have included some very important national and international figures, among them Fuat Sezgin, Salih Tug, Mustafa Bilge, Mehmet Akif Aydin, Mehmet Erkal, Ramazan Sesen and Yusuf Ziya Kavakci. The institute became the Islamic Research Centre (Islam Araştumalan Merkezi) in ı 982 and to day continues under the directian of Mahmut Kaya of Istanbul University.

Faculties of Theology: between Western approach es and Islamic theology

The study of religion was to gain a new dimension when the first modem Faculty of Theology was opened in 1949 in Ankara University. Here Omer Hilmi Budda taught comparative religion un til ı 952. He was followed by the German scholar, Annemarie Schimmel, who not only gave lecrures on Comparative Religion in this faculty (1954-9), but also published Dinler Tarihine Giris (lntroduction to the History ofReligions) in 1955.

The changes in the field of History ofReligions, however, began with Hikmet Tanyu (ı 918- 92) who started to teach in the faculty after completing his PhD39 in ı 959. Contrary to the excessively nationalistic approach of the first part of the century, Hikmet Tanyu, while maintaining a nationalist approach, brought local dimensions to the comparative study of religions. He himself srudied local beliefs in Turkey40 and encouraged his students to study Judaism, Christianity and the Judaeo-Christian scriprure in relation to the history of Turkish religion. Many Turkish scholars of comparative religion in the second half of the twentieth century owe their acadernic development to Tanyu. Furthermore, his works and academic enterprise shaped the study of comparative religion in TurkeyY

However, this was a period during which lslaınic studies increased in popularity and since 1960 the number of faculties of theology has increased. From 1960 onwards, the struggle between classical and modem Westem methods and approacbes became more obvious. Works on the study of religions in the second half of the twentieth century mostly blend the classical and the modem. In paraUel with the mix of methodologies, comparative studies of Muslim and Judaeo-Christian creeds and scriptures appeared. The comparison was initially intended for polemical purposes, and eventually created a considerable amount of literature in Turkish, particularly on the subject of Judaeo­Christian beliefs and scriptures.

As for the study of scripture, biblical studies has ı:ıever existed as a di srinet discipline in Turkish academia, as it has in the West. The Bible has nevertheless represented a major focus for the discipline of comparative religion and has also been of academic interest to srudents. of lslaınic studiesintheir pursuit of comparisons with the Qur'an and the }:lac!Ith literature.

lt should be stressed that, as mentioned earlier, in terms of the methods and theories applied, there is no clear-cut demarcation between works produced in Islarnic studies and in comparative religion. This has happened because it is predominantly Muslim theologians who have srudied the discipline of comparative religion and they were

256 Bilal Gökkir

essentially educated in Islamic theology. Tberefore, comparisons of biblical and qur'anic issues in these works usually have a palemical approach to such topics as ıalpif (the corruption of the Bible) and the personality ofJesus (Christology).42 In these types of studies, not surprisingly, more references are made to classical Muslim historians of religion and apologetics such as Shahristaru,43 lbn I:Iazm,44 Bi.runi45 and Rabmatullah al-Hindı-ı6 than to Westem historians of religion.47

Although the discipline of comparative religion entered the Turkish academic world as a result of the Westcrnization and modemization process, it did not, particularly in the earlier decades, seem to succeed in changing the potemical attitude towards the Judaeo- Christian scriptures. This negative approach has roots in palirical and theolog­ical disputes between the Muslim and Christian worlds. As a result, for Turkish scholars of both comparari ve religion and Islamic studies, as advocated by Ibn }:iazm and many others, the traditional view of the texrual and exegetical corruption of the Bible, for example, has been dominant.

In recent works, however, some different attitudes have emerged among Turkish theologians towards the no tion of the ıa~ınf of the Bible48 and a few works have shown an unbiased interest in the histarical development of the :Bible and modern develop­mentsin Westem biblical srudies.49 This change in attirude and approach has not been restricted only to the study of the Bible but has also been felt in qur'anic and Islamic studies.

Recent Developmentsin ~ttitudes towards the Application ofWestern Theo­ries to the Qur' an

Although in the Iate twentieth century there was a variety of scholarly attitudes to Western academia, for the most part scholars seemed to show greater caution than in the earlier period. While this caution with regard to embracing Westem approaches was evident, the same caution or general hesirance has alsa restrained scholars from rejecting the influence outrigbt. Particularly towards the end of the century, Turkish academics who can daim greater contact with and direct experience of the Westem academic world, such as Isınail Cerrahoglu and Salih Akdemir or Ankara University, found it useful to inttoduce their findings with a general outline of Western qur'anic studies.50 As a principle for dealing with Westem ideas, Suat Yılclınm of Marmara University (Istanbul) advised Muslim scholars to understand the West as it is and to evaluate the ideas of Western scholars, as far as possible, without any prejudice, subjectivity or emotion. The important thing, Yılclınm said, was for scholars to know their Islamic heritage well and to take a rational approach to the acadernic probl.ems they came across.5 1

Oriencalism and ı/ıe Ongins of the Qur'iiıı: aıı evaluaıion

Works which were decidedly palemical intone were stili very much in circulation and these were indeed often based on modern Westem sources and sametimes on Westem methods. This kind of work arises as a direct response to unsympathetic allegations about Islam. One such ret:lliatory effort made by Abdulaziz Hatip52 defied Western allegations that the Qur'an originated from biblical materials.

From the very beginning of the work, the palemical tone is obvious and the style and language used give the dearest indication that this must be the work of a religious pen. The author, however, seems to know where he stands and .his rhetorical tone and scyle

Applicaıion of Western Approaches co the Qur'lin in Turkey 257

are in no way :jn anempt to cover for a weak or unsure position. In any case, he says he does not believe in the objectivity of the social sciences at all and he does not impose it upon himself.

Moreover, in view of his doubts about the sincerity and consistency of Westem scholars, Hatip warns the Muslim reader against orientalists, advising caution. An orientalist's modest and sensible opinion upon one particular matter should not deceive Muslims, since, warns Hatip, orientalist bigotry will show itself sooner or later.53

Furthermore, Hatip daims that Westem scholars may easily be shown to be in error and that they can be proved wrong by the simple application of their own methods.54

Hatip disagrees with the orientalist daim that the Bi b le is the source of the Qur'an. The only relation between the Qur'iin and the Bible, Hatip says, is that they are both inspired by the same source. Wa~y is from the Almighty being, Allah. Later followers corrupted the Bible. There were, bo tb at the time of the Prophet and today, differences in style and content between the Bible and the Qur'iin. The Bible, either as it is today or as it was at the time of the Prophet, could not be the source of the Qur'iin in any a.rguable sense. 55 Hatip's argument, however, may appear subjective when he highlights the contradictions that exist in the Bible in order to justify its rejection as a source of the Qur'iin, which is free of contradictions. The contradictions within the Bible, Hatip argues, have been fully studied and finally proven by Westem scholars themselves. A book, Hatip concludes, full of contradictions and corruptions could hardly be the source of the flawless Qur'an.56

Hatip finally goes on to address the data in the Qur'iin and endeavours to answer the orie.ntalist daim from the qur'iinic discourse. He believes that the content of the Qur'iin itself leads us to i ts origin, which is wa~y from Allah. 57

The Applicaıion of Wesıem Literary and Lingıtistic Theories to the Qur'lin

Discussion of Westem ideas in Turkey took place with increasing frequency and was fuelled by Westem linguistic and literary theories. The 1990s brought, along with linguistic and sernantic analysis of the Qur'iin, new discussions such as those cancem­ing its historicity and the application ofhermeneutics. Only between 1994 and 1996 do we .observe that a number of symposiums took place on qur'iinic studies58 with contributions from scholars from Islamic studies as well as from other social studies backgrounds. The discussion was mainly on the application of modem linguistic and literary theories. Apart from these symposiurns, discussion continued in journals and books, anempting to ~valuate the linguistic, literary and hermeneutical theories that had eriginared in Westem academic circles and influenced the Muslim academ.ic world.59

Among linguistic theories, semantics became very popular. Following the translation of certain works of Toshika Izutsu, a Westem-educated Japanese scholar, new discus­sions on semantics were stimulated in a debate that mostly centred upon Izutsu's sernantic approach. Although Izutsu's works discussing the qur'iinic vocabulary alongside sernantic theories had been available in Turkish for some time, 60 these works and sernantic methodology did not gain the full anention of Turkish academics un til after 1990 when they started to discuss the application of semantics to the Qur'iin.

Attitudes towards this new Westem methodology varied. While, for example, Isınail Yakıt emphasized 'the İnıportance of the sernantic method in the accurate translation of. the Qur'iin' in his speech at I Din Surasi, Dini Yayinlar Komisyonu (First Religious Consultation: Comm.ission for Religious Publishing) ( 1993)61 and wanted to see the

258 Bilal Gökkir

immeeliate application of the method to qur'anic sructies, many others remained sceptical.

Ali Bulaç, for example, believed that Izutsu, in his application of sernantic method to

qur'anic and Islamic temıinologies, neglected I:Iadith and overstressed the pre-Islamic Arab tractition. Izutsu might be successfı.ıl in his sernantic application, but, as Bulaç objected, Izutsu's methodology could only be deseribed as anthropological, an ap­proach that understood the Qur'lin not as the word of God but as the word of Muhammad, developed under cenain social and environmental circumstances. 62 This anthropological approach, according to Bulaç, puts the universalicy of the Qur'lin in jeopardy and rather highlights its historicicy.63

Bulaç indicated that in the tractitional methodology there had been two modes of interpretation: the Qur'lin explained itself and I:fadith explained the Qur'an. Pre-Is­lamic poetry might be used, and had been used by Muslim scholars before. A serious problem arose when I:Iadith was ignored since semantics were considered as the single key to an understanding of the universal and monotheistic worldview of the Qur'lin. 64

Izutsu's sernantic method overstressed pre-Islamic poetry and neglected I:Iaciith. Bulaç took his critique funher when he turned towards the background of this type

of study in the West. He claimed that at the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth Western orientalisrs utilized pre-Islamic poetry in two ways: first as a means of understanding the Qur'an, and second as a source when comparing Islamic, pre-Islamic and other cultures. He did not believe that the main concern of Western scholarship was scientific. Bulaç considered naive any assumption that their srudy was driven solely by purely academic concerns. The fact that their concerns were potirical was evident from the close relationships between the orientalises and their miniseries of foreign affairs. 65 In cooclusioo, Bulaç suggested that I:Iaciith should be used in ecymological and sernantic analyses of the Qur'anic vocabulary.66

In brief, according to Bulaç, semantics that ignored I:Iadith and reduced the Qur'lin to a social platform, as in ~tsu's treatment of the qur'anic vocabulary, produced an anthropological reading of the Qur'lin. The goal of such readings was to reduce the Qur'lin from being universal and eternal to occupying one place in history. 67

Having maintained a similar approach in his ctiscussion of 'the problem of historicism in understanding the Qur'lin',68 Bulaç persistently asserted that historicism was a Western-orieoted anthropological perspective and that this perspective could be re­duced to three principles. The first was the deistic understanding of religion that ignored the concept of ctivine revelation. The second was that historicism e.xplained away the revealed religions with social and eovironmental factors. The third was that it evaluated religious and histarical materials from the standpoint of a progressive histari­cal perspective.

On the other hand, having acknowledged the Western rationalist orientation of the histarical approach to religious literature, Mehmet Paçaci69 assened that Muslims were not unfamiliar with the histarical approach. To begin with, he drew attention to the insistence of the Qur'lin itself on the human personali ey of the Prophet who lived in a particular histarical time and place. Moreover, in this cantext I:Iaciith and siyar presented a record of the Prophet's history. Asbiib al-nuzül, niisikh-mansüklz, Meccan and Medinan ö.yliı with respect to the Qur'an, and asbiib al-wurüd with respect to I:Iadith, were all incticatioos that wa}Jy and Prophecy took place in history. According to Paçaci, that is how the histarical approach, as developed in Western thought and applied to Muslim sources by Western orientalists, · found an abundance of materials ready and available in Muslim literature.

Application of Westenı Approaches ıo the Qur'an in Turkey 259

Although it was admitted that the Westem disciplines and perspectives had affected Muslim historicists such as Fazlurrahman who was Paçaci's own example of a Muslim historicist, Paçaci also saw historicism as an internal discussioo. Both Muslim and Westem approaches shared similar perspectives. Paçaci, however, went further and said that as higher criticism, rextual criticism was relatively new, and he referred to the influeoce of Muslim !iterature on Christian scholars in the pre-Reforrnatioo period.70

Conclusion

To conc!ude, Westernization in the Turkish case brought change not only in the political and social arenas but also in educarianal and academic circles. We have noted the inc!usion of the comparative study of religion, a Westem-oriented discipline, in the curriculum, and we have evaluated Togan's approach to Westem academic methodolo­gies which, together with Danişmend's dependence on Westem argumentation as against the classical Muslim approach, showshow Westem scholarship was seen at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century in Turkish academic circles.

The comparari ve study of religion had first entered the curriculum in Onoman times, but overall this made little change to the mainstream academic approach or to the understanding of the West and Westem religious elements. •

In the modem period, in the Muslim world, alongside rejection there has ~een an acceptance and adaptation of Westem orientalist methodologies. Muslim intellectuals like Zeki Velidi Togan encouraged Muslim academia to incorporate Westem disciplines such as Semitic studies and the comparative study of religion. Some atlıers blindly accepted the Westem understanding, as in the case of I. Hami Danişmend, adapting their arguments against classical traditionalist Islamic views. Danişmend, as a pro­Westemer who had no deep understanding of Westem arguments, refers to Westem intellectuals only to use them against his classical opponents.

In the Iate twentieth century, as we have seen from the discussioos on semantics and historicism, we find a more critica! approach to Westem-orieoted theories, with Turkish intellectuals no langer accepting anything and everything introduced by West­em academia without critica! analysis. It is interesting that at the same time Westem academia was maving towards anather stage in intellectual development with the advent of post-modernism.

It has been evidene that Turkish scholars held in high esteem the linguistic method­ology that Western s.cholars used in their discussions, prizing its objectivity and neutrality, without realizing that these Westem scholars had religiqus-theological purposes for which their so-called detached linguistic analysis could serve in some ways as a vehicle. An example is the case of the discussion of Turkish vocabulary in the Qur'an, in which I. Hami Danişmend (1957) adopted Westem scholars' arguments against classical traditionalist Islamic views, blindly accepting a Westem approach without any criticism. ·

Generally speaking, Muslim critics of orientalism in both the modem and post-mod­em period have be.en very much involved in investigating orientalists' motives and the goals behind orientalism. The question <why?' has always overriddeo the questions <how?' and <what?' In other words, the precise matters and subjects that Westem orientalisrs proposed for discussion, the way they handled these issues and the method­ology they applied have scarcely become the subject of criticism. Muslim critics seem to confine themselves to the political and polemical discussion of orientaıism. Rather

260 Bilal Gökkir

than looking into the background of the theories asserted by orientalists, Muslim critics have preferred to taekle in a more global way the potirical or economic and social motives of orientalism. Consequently, methodologies developed or borrowed from other disciplines have been missing from the repertoire of Muslim critics.

NO TES

1. David Commins, 'Modeımsm', in: Tlıe Eızcyclopaedia of ılıe Modem lslamic World (New York/Lon­don, Oxford University Press, 1955), vol. 3, 118-19; see also W. M. Warr, 'Islam and the West', in: Denise MacEoin & Ahmed Shahi (Eds), Islam iıı the Modem World (London/Canberra, Croom Helm, 1983), 4-5.

2. Tarilı-i Edyaız (Istanbul, 1328 AH). 3. Tarilı-i Edyaıı (Istanbul, 1330 AH). 4. Tan7ı-i Edyaıı (Istanbul, 1336 AH). 5. Ibid. 6. lt needs to be noted here that the word ilalıiyaı is a calque on the \Vestem term 'theology' rather

than a traclitional lslarnic term. 7. For details see Bilal Gökkır, 'Türkiye'de Dinler Tarihi Sahasında Yapılan Çalışmalar (Stuclies

carried out on the history of religions in Turkey)' (unpublished MA thesis, Marmara University, Istanbul, 1993).

8. As a sign of intelleetual and scholarly internetion between the two, we may mention Ömer Hilmi Budda and his teaeber Dumezil. As a Turkish historian of religions, Budda was edueated in France. Larer his teaeber Dumezil came to Istanbul to reach History of Religions until 1936 when he was succeeded by his student Budda, who, it was said, acquired the surname Budda because of his intensive interest in studying Buddhism and Buddhist philosophy.

9. Türk Tan·lı Kıınmm (Turkish Hisrorieal Society) (esr. 1931) and Tiirk Dil Kunmm (Turkish Language Society) (esr. 1932) were C\VO srate establishments for these purposes.

10. For examples of these kinds of works, see M. Semseddin, 'Kablel Islam Araplarin tedeyyuoleri (Religioos of the Arabs before Islam)', Danılfımwı flalıiyaı Fakültesi Mecmuasi I (3), 1 12-76; Ziya Gokalp, Türk Medeııiyeıi Tan·lıi (History- of Turkish Civili:ıation) (Istanbul, 1 926), 36-9; Yusuf Ziya Ozer, 'Mısır Din ve lJahlarinin Türldükle Alakası (The relation of Egyptian religion and deities to Turkishness)', Türk Tari/ı Kımımu Dergisi, vol. 1, 243-60. ·

ll. For fıınher information about Sun Language Theory, see Geoffi:ey Le\vis, Tlıe Turkish Language Refomı (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1999), esp. 57-74.

12. See E. von Grunebl;lum (1956), 'Problems of Muslim Nationalism', in: Richard N. Frye (Ed.), Islam and the Wesı (The Hague, Mouron & Co., 1956) 7-29.

13. The extent to whicb secularism, a notable policy of the Turkish Republic, was helpful in the construction of the objective and impartial study of religion is an imponant subject which needs close examioation. For funher reading on the develoP.ment of secularism in Turkey see Niyazi Berkes, 'Hisrorical backgrouod of Turkish secularism', in: Frye, Islam and ı/ıe W esc, 41-68.

14. Izah/i Osman/i Tan.,ıi Kronolojisi, 1-4 (Istanbul, 1947-55). . 15. For Danişmend's biography see Diyaneı Islam Aıısiklopedisi (Istanbul, 1993), vol. 8, 465-7. 16. Both Muslim and non-Muslim scholars have suggested that some Tıirkish words are also found in

the Qur'an, as well as vocabulaı:y from many other laoguages, for example Jawaliqi in his Al-mu'aırab, 107, lbn Qutayba in Adöb al-klitib, 527 and most imponantly Suyüp. In his Al-iıqliıı and Al-mulıadlıdlıab, Suyüp speculates about the Turkish origin of several words; in his Al-mut­awakkili, however, he mentions only the word glıassliq under the subtitle 'Diıiknı ma warada bi-al-luglıat al-wrkiyya'.

17. 'İslarniyat ve Türkiyat Tedkikleri: İslam Menbalarina Go re Kur'an-ı Kerimdeki Türkçe Kelimeler' (Research on Turkish and Islarnic Studies: Turkish Words in the Qur'an According to Islarnic Sources), Islam Mecmuası 7 (1956).

18. Çantay is particularly known for his Turkish translation of the Qur'ao, Kur'an-il Hakim ve Meal-i Kerim (Istanbul, 1953). F.or Çanray's biography, se~ Diyanec Islam Aıısiklopedisı~ vol. 8, 218-19.

19. Hasan Basri Çantay (1957), 'Kur'an-i Kerim'de Türkçe Kelimeler mi? (Are there Turkish words in the Qur'an?)', Sebilurreşad 10, 242-53.

20. Danişmend, 'Kur'an'da Yabancı Kelimeler', Sebilurreşad 10 (1957), 244. 21. Ibid., 245.

Applicaıion of Westem Approaches to the Qur'an in Turkey 261

22. Ibid., 344. 23. Seeal-Suyüp in William Y. Beli (Trans. & Ed.), Tlıe Muuıwakkili of as-Suyuti (Yale, ı924), 29. 24. Aıthur Jeffery, Tlıe Foreign Vocabıtlary of rize Qur'öıı (Baroda, Oriental Institute, 1938), 30. 25. Gustave E. von Grunebaum, 'The problem of cultural influence', in: Dunning S. Wilson (Ed.),

Islam and Medieval Hellımism: social aııd cultural perspectives (London, Variorum, 1976), 97; fi.rst published in Clıarism·a Orieııuılia (Prague, 1956), 86-99.

26. Ibid. 27. Ibid. 28. Z. V. Togan, 'Islam Arasormaları Enstitusu ve Umumi Türk Tarihi Kürsüsü Calısmaları', Islam

Terkikieri Eıısıitusu Dergisi 3 (1964), 273. He says 'garb manasıyla "lslamolog!ar" yetistirmek (ro train Islamicists in the Western sense)' (ibid.); 'Universite'de lslamoloji sahasında muasır tipte ilim adar:nlari yetistirmek (to train modern-type scholars in the field of Islamic studies in univcrsities)' (ibid., 272); 'Garpta oldugu gibi islamiyat mutehassısları "orientalist-Islamist'' yetistirmektir (as in the West, to train specialists in Islamic studies who would be "orienralist-Islamicists" ' (ibid., 273). W e see Togan especially stressing this non-dogmatic feature of the institute when be suggested thar the university should set up a new chair for Islam Rimleri ve Medeniyeri Kilrsrısa (Chair for Islamic Sciences and Civilization), since the lectures and teaching in Islamic studies in the institute were carried out undcr Umumi Türk Tarihi Karsüsü (Chair for General Turkish Histoıy). See ibid., 274.

29. Z. V. Togan, Mehmet Kaplan & Ahmet Ares, 'Islam ilimleri ve Medeniyeri Kürsüsünun Tesisine Dair Rapor (Report on the founding of the Chair of Isl~c Sciences and Civilization)', Islam Terkikieri Emrirıısu Dergisi 3 (ı964), 271.

30. Togan, 'Islam Arasormaları Enstitusu', 273. 31. Ibid. 32. Togan, Kaplan & Ares, 'Islam Ilirnleri', 271. They state: 'Bizde de dinler tarihi ogrenirken ibra.İtice

ve arami dillerinde yazilınis Lut golu yazmalarini ogrenen elemanlar cikacaktir. Burun dıınya universiteleri ve ilim akademileri bunlari asillarindan ogrendikleri halde biz neden bu.nlari ogren­meyelim (In the teaching of hismry of religions, we shaU also have scholars trained ro read the Dead Sea Serolis in Hebrew and Aramaic. When all the universities in the world are studying these texrs in their original languages, why do we nO[?)'. Concerning the study of Semiric and biblical languages, i.e. Latin, Greek, Syriac and Hebrew, Togan's wish for experts in these languages does not seem to have materialized so far. However, some important efforts, although inclividual and insu.fficient, have been made and as a result we now have Mehmet Celik's thesis on the history of the Syrian church: 'Antal.."}'a Sucyani Kaclim Kilisesi, Dogusu ve Gelisınesi (The ancienr Syrian church of Anrioch: its rise and development)' (PhD thesis, Atarurk University, Erzurum, 1986). The University of Marmara, however, took a most important step in biblicallanguages when in the Faculty ofTheology, four biblicallanguages-Hebrew, Syriac, Greek and Latin-were introduced into the cwriculum of Comparative Religion in postgraduate programmes. Students starting from MA level are given the opportunity to specialize in one biblical language throughout their srudy.

33. · Prof. Mehmet Kaplan and Prof. Ahmet Ates. 34. Togan, Kaplan & Ates, 'Islam llimleri', 271. 35. Togan, Islam Terkikieri Eıısıirıısu Dergisi 1 (1954), 143. 36. Zeki Velieli Togan and his colleagues and students took pan in the 22nd International Congress

of Orientalisrs at Israi:ıbul University, 15-22 Seprember 195ı, and the evaluation of the pro­gramme was published in the journal of the institute Islam Tezkikieri Eıısıitıısu Dergisi ı (1 954), 142.

37. Prof. Guillaume's conferences were la ter published in Islam Terkikieri Eııstiııısu Dergisi ı (1954), ıı9-45.

38. Togan, Islam Teıkik/eri Eııstiııısu Dergisi 1 (1954), ı43. 39. 'Ankara ve Cevresinde Adak ve Adak Yerlerine Dair Bir Arastirma Denemesi (A study of

consecration and sacred sites in Ankara and its environs)' (PhD thesis, Ankara University, Faculty of Theology, 1959).

40. Hikmet Tanyu, 'Türklerde Tasla Dgili Inanclar' (Assistant Professorship, Ankara Unive.rsity, Faculty of Theology, 1964).

41. See Gökkır, 'Türkiye'de Dinler Tarihi Sahasinda Yapilan Calismalar'. 42. In respect of poleınics, the conrribution of Mehmet Aydin, Muslımıa11lan·ıı Hrisıiyaııliga Karsi

Yazdıgi Reddiyeler ve Tartisma Komı/an· (Muslim Polemics againsr Christianity and their Themes) (Konya Selcuk University, 1979) is worth empbasizing. As the title of the work inclicates, Aydin coUeets the refutations Muslims wrore against Chrisrians and the subjecrs of their clispures in Arabic and Turkish.

262 Bi/al Gökkir

43. Al-mi/al wa-al-ııilJal. 44. Al-faşl. 45. Al-Talıkik ma lil-Hiııd 46. J~lıiir al-~ıaqq.

47. For the relevant works see Gökkir, 'Turkiyede Dinler Tarihi Salnasinda Yapilan Ca!ismalar'. 48. Having srudied the relevant ve.rses of the Qur'an, Suleyman Ates stated his disagreemenr with the

exegeres who interpreted ıalpif as a rexmal corruprion in the Bible. Basing his main argument on the qur'anic account (Q. 5: 48) that the Qur'an con.firms the Bible, Ares interpreted the ra~ırif accusarion of the Qur'an as altering the mcaning of the verses when interpreting the Bible, and for Ares, these corruprions rook place in the Talrnud and Mishna not in the Bible. Ares is quite persistem in this viewpoint throughout his ıafsir, Yuce Kur'an 'iıı Cagdas Tejsin· (The Conremporary loterpretation of the Noble Qur'an) (Istanbul, 1989). Ares, however, did not subject the Bible to critica! examination and only rook the qur'anic dara as a starting point. It was Baki Adam's work that based its argument on orig:inal Je\vish sources in Hebrew, Arabic and Westem languages and arrested that some of the verses of the Torah were altered when interpreted in Talmudic and Mishnaic lireranıres. Adam's work is a PhD thesis (Ankara Uıllversity, 1994), entitled 'Yahudi Kaynaklarina göre Tevrat ve Yahudi Hayatindaki Yeri (Torah and its place in Jewish life according ro Je,vish sources)' (published Ankara, 1997).

49. Omer Faruk Harman of Marmara University (Istanbul) srudied the Hebrew Bible employing Westem sources. His work, Metin, Mulııeva ve Kayııak acisiııdan Yahudi Kuısal Kiraplan· Gewish Holy Scriprures: Text, Content and their Sources) (Istanbul, 1988) is a summary of relevant Westem literanıre abour the sources, reı.."tS and contents of the Bible from Spinoza to Wellhausen and later.

50. See the foııo,ving a.rticles, !smail Cerrahoglu, 'Oryanralizm ve Batida Kur'an ilimleri Uzerine Arastirmalar (Orienralism and srudies in the qur'anic sciences in the Wesr)', Ankara Universicesi, Dalıiyat Faktılıesi Dergisi 31 (1989), 109; Salih Akdemir, 'Mustesriklerin Kur'ani Kerim ve Hz Muhammed (sav) e Yaklasimlari (Orientalists' approaches ro the Qur'm and Mubammad)', Ankara Universiıesi, Dalıiyat Fakalıesi Dergisi 3ı (ı989), 193.

51. Suat Yıldınm's preface to Selahaddin Sonmezsoy's, Kur'an ve Oryamalisrler (The Qur'an and the orienralists) (Ankara, 1998), 15- 16; Yıldınm, specialized in qur'anic srudies, but following the principles he stressed, \vrote one of the best accounts in Turkish of Christianiry, Bati Kaynaklan·na Gore Hrisıiyanlik (Christianiry According "ro Westem Sources) (Ankara, Diyanet Yayinlari, 1988).

52. A Turkish acadernician working at Marmara University, Faculty of Theology whose relevant work was supervised, ironically, by Suat Yıldınm.

53. Abdulaziz Hatip, 'Kur'anin Kaynagiyla llgili Mustesrik Iddialarinin Degeriendirilmesi (An evalu­atian of orientali srs' claims about the Qur'an and i ts origin)' (unpublished PhD thesis, Marmara University, Istanbul, 1996), 18: 'Musres.riklerin bir konudaki insaf ve itidali bizi alda=amalidir. Cunk-u cok gecmeden baska bir konuda dengesizlik ve asiriligi hemen kendini gosterir (W e do not allow ourselves to be deceived by the apparent objectiviry and moderntion of the orintalisrs in some subjecrs, because in other subjects their exrretnism and Iack of moderation are irnmediately obVious)'.

54. lbid., 9: 'Pek cok mustesrikin, kendinden son derece emin bir eda ile ileri surdugu pek cok ithamin, iyice retkik edildigind~ gercekle bir ilgisinin bulunmadigi, bizzat kendi olculeri J..-ullanilarak bile rahatlikla ortaya konulabilmektedir (When some charges of the orientalisrs are thoroughly investi­gated, using their own assumptions, it may be demoostrated that the charges they make so confidently are not bome out by the facts)'.

55. See ibid., 2ı9-30. 56. lbid., 216-17. 57. lbid., 273. 58. ı Kur'an Sempozyurnu, ı-3 April ı994, organized by Bilgi Vakfi, published Ankara, 1996; 2

Kur'an Sempozyurnu, 4-5 November 1995, organized by Bilgi Vakfi, published Ankara, ı996; ı Kuran Haftasi, Kur'an Sempozyurnu, 3-5 February 1995, organized by Fecr Yayinevi, publislıed Ankara, ı995; 2 Kur'an Haftasİ, Kur'an Sempozyurnu, 2-4 February 1996, organized by Fecr Yayinevi, published Ankara,' 1996; Kur'an'i Anlama da Tarihsellik Sorunu Sempozyumu, 8-ıo November ı996, published Istanbul, 2000.

59. See Islami Arasıimıalar, vol. 9, 1996. 60. Kur'anda Allalı ve Jıısaıı, trans. Suleyman Ares (Ankara, Dalıiyat Fakultesi Yayinlari, 1975); Kur'an

da diııi ve Ahlaki Kavramlar, trans. Selahanin Ayaz (Istanbul, Pinar Yayinlari, 1983); Islam Duswıcesiııde Imaıı Kavrami, trans. S. Ayaz (Istanbul, Pinar Yayirılari, 1984).

Application oj Wesıenı Approaches to the Qur'an in Tuı·key 263

61. Published in the Journal of Suleyman Demirel Universitesi, Dalıiyat Fa.J..·uhesi, 1994, 17- 24. 62. Ali Bulaç, Kuıspla, Tarihe ve Hayata Dön aş (Retumiog to History and Life) (Istanbul, Iz Yayincilik,

1995), ı 09. Bulaç elsewhere stated 'Ancak hemen baririatmak gerekir ki, Izutsu bu yomeıni başariyla kullanirken, Islam oneesi cahiliye siirini esas aldigindan, biz buna 'cahiliye süri per­spektifinden Kur'ani okuma' diyebiliriz. Bazi yonleriyle bu yomem ilgi eelcici gorunse bile, sonueta vahy fenomenini tabü ve sosyal cevre faktarlerinin yard.iıniyla anlama esasina dayandigindan, son tahlilde bir antropolojik ok"Uillad.ir (But it must be remembered that in using this method Izutsu takes pre-Islarnic Arabic poetry as the basis. We therefore deseribe this method as reading the Qur'an in the light of pre-lslarnic Arabic poerry. Even if this method appears aı:ı:ractive, in the Iast analysis, it is an amhropological reading because it tries to understand the phenomenon of revelation with the help of narure and social factors)' (ibid., 108).

63. ' ... antropolojik okumanin ama ci da Kur'an'in evrenselligi yerine tarihselligini one cikıırnıakrir (the aim of the anthropological reading is to give precedence to the hisroriciry of the Qur'lln, not ro its universaliry)' (ibid., 112).

64. Jbid., 125. 65. In his own words, Bulaç writes 'Sozkonusu calismalarin salt 'bilimsel kaygilar'la -ortaya cik"rigini

sanmak safdillik olur. Avrupa'nin somurgecili.k faaliyederine parallel olarak gelişen filoloji akimlari ve bu alanda yapilan calişmalar Avrupanin uzun vadeli siyasetiyle daima yakindan ilisicili olmuştur {It is simple-minded to tbink that the studies in question were carried out with a purely scientific motivation. Trends in philology developed in paraUel to European colonialist activities and studies in that field have always been closely related to the furure strategy of European policy)' (ibid., 1 14).

66. Ibid., 127- 8. 67. Not all Turkish inteUectuals share Bul aç' s perspective. There are eveo some critics of his

evaluatioo of Izutsu. Among them is Mustafa Armagan who, having examined Izutsu's seman.tic approach, concludes that Izutsu by focusing on the qur'llnic vocabulary is lettiog the Qur'an speak. Armagan does not agree with the view that Izutsu's semantics is igooring the l;ladith tradition. See Mustafa Armagan, Geleııek ve Modemlik Arasiııda (Istanbul, Insan Yayinlari, 1995), 185- 99.

68. Ali Bulaç, 'Kur'an'i Bir Metin Ola.rak Anrroplojik Gozle Okuma (Reading the Qur'an as a text through an antbropological eye)', Kur'aıı'i A11lama da Tarihsellik Soruııu Sempozywııu Bursa 1996 (Istanbul, 2000), 125-30.

69. Mehmet Paçaci, 'Kur' an ve Tarihsellik Tartismasi (Ibe Qur'an and the discussion of historicicy)', Kur'a11'i Anlama da Tari/ıse/lik Sonmu Sempo:zyumu Bursa 1996 (Istanbul, 2000), 18-19 (also published as 'Kur' an ve Ben Ne Kadar Tarihseliz? (How far are I and the Quran historical?)', Islam Arasıinııa/an· 9 (1996), 119-34).

70. For historicism, see ibid., 19- 20. See also ümer Ozsoy, 'Kur'an Hitabioin Tarihselligi ve Tarihsel Ritabin Nesnel AoJarni Uzerine (On the historiciry of qur'linic speech and the objective meaning of historical speecb)', Islam Arasıimza/azi 9 (1996), 135-43; Necdet Subasi, 'Arkoun'un Kur'an Okumalarinda Tarihsellik ve Kutsallik (Historiciry and holioess in Arkhoun's readings of the Qur'lln)', Islam Arastinııalari 9, 204-24.