TODAY: Anthropology of Islamic Authority and Knowledge in Europe
Neelanjan Sircar
presents:
"Anthropology of Islamic Authority and Knowledge in Europe: Turkish
Islamic Communities in Germany and the Netherlands"
A talk by
Ahmet Yükleyen
Croft Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of Mississippi
with a discussion by
Brinkley Messick
Professor and Department Chair, Department of Anthropology, Columbia
University
Date: TODAY
Time: 12:30-2pm
Place: Room 801, International Affairs Building, Columbia University
The paper compares three Turkish Islamic communities that represent
the spectrum from moderate to radical Islamic opinions in Europe: a
mystical Sufi order (Süleymanli order), Turkish civil Islam (Gülen
community), and a movement seeking an Islamic revolution in Turkey
(Kaplancilar). These groups produce, follow, and support a particular
interpretation of Islam through their activities and organizational
networks composed of associations, federations, foundations,
educational institutions, and mosques in Germany and the Netherlands.
This comparison provides the empirical data for the analytical
framework to examine the development of Islamic authority and
interpretations, as well as providing the trajectory of change
concerning the possibilities and constraints in the development of
Islam in Europe. In short, the paper examines the interpretations of
Islam as part of the process in which the power to define "true"
Islamic knowledge is produced and disseminated among actors that are
socially organized and disciplined to accept the religious message
through various media of representation.
This talk is a part of the speaker series entitled, ?Transforming
Secularism, Democracy, and Nationalism in Turkey.? To learn about
future events in the speaker series, please visit:
http://www.sipa.columbia.edu/cdtr/events/index.html
A copy of the paper may be downloaded at the following web address:
http://www.sipa.columbia.edu/cdtr/pdf/AYukleyenPaper.pdf
For more information, please contact Ahmet Kuru at ak2...@columbia.edu
?Transforming Secularism, Democracy, and Nationalism in Turkey? is
co-sponsored by the Center for the Study of Democracy, Toleration, and
Religion (CDTR), Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy
(ISERP), and the Institute for Religion, Culture, and Public Life
(IRCPL).