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Early modern Protestant scholars closely engaged with Islamic thought in more ways than is usually recognized. Among Protestants, Lutheran scholars distinguished themselves as the most invested in the study of Islam and Muslim culture.... more
Early modern Protestant scholars closely engaged with Islamic thought in more ways than is usually recognized. Among Protestants, Lutheran scholars distinguished themselves as the most invested in the study of Islam and Muslim culture. Mehmet Karabela brings the neglected voices of post-Reformation theologians, primarily German Lutherans, into focus and reveals their rigorous engagement with Islamic thought.

Inspired by a global history approach to religious thought, Islamic Thought Through Protestant Eyes offers new sources to broaden the conventional interpretation of the Reformation beyond a solely European Christian phenomenon. Based on previously unstudied dissertations, disputations, and academic works written in Latin in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Karabela analyzes three themes: Islam as theology and religion; Islamic philosophy and liberal arts; and Muslim sects (Sunni and Shi'a).

This book provides analyses and translations of the Latin texts as well as brief biographies of the authors. These texts offer insight into the Protestant perception of Islamic thought for scholars of religious studies and Islamic studies as well as for general readers. Examining the influence of Islamic thought on the construction of the Protestant identity after the Reformation helps us to understand the role of Islam in the evolution of Christianity.
In Political Theology on Edge, the discourse of political theology is seen as situated on an edge, that is, on the edge of a world that is grappling with global warming, a brutal form of neoliberal capitalism, protests against racism and... more
In Political Theology on Edge, the discourse of political theology is seen as situated on an edge, that is, on the edge of a world that is grappling with global warming, a brutal form of neoliberal capitalism, protests against racism and police brutality, and the COVID-19 pandemic. This edge is also a form of eschatology that forces us to imagine new ways of being religious and political in our cohabitation of a fragile and shared planet. Each of the essays in this volume attends to how climate change and our ecological crises intersect and interact with more traditional themes of political theology.

While the tradition of political theology is often associated with philosophical responses to the work of Carl Schmitt—and the critical attempts to disengage religion from his right-wing politics—the contributors to this volume are informed by Schmitt but not limited to his perspectives. They engage and transform political theology from the standpoint of climate change, the politics of race, and non-Christian political theologies including Islam and Sikhism. Important themes include the Anthropocene, Ecology, Capitalism, Sovereignty, Black Lives Matter, Affect Theory, Continental Philosophy, Destruction, and Suicide. This book includes world-renowned scholars and emerging voices that together open up the tradition of political theology to new ideas and new ways of thinking.
Published in Indonesia, this book concentrates on the life and thought of the Ottoman Şeyhülislâm Mustafa Sabri Efendi (1869-1954), the chief jurisconsult of the Ottoman State and head of the religious establishment. As a leading scholar... more
Published in Indonesia, this book concentrates on the life and thought of the Ottoman Şeyhülislâm Mustafa Sabri Efendi (1869-1954), the chief jurisconsult of the Ottoman State and head of the religious establishment. As a leading scholar and politically active figure of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Sabri was appointed Şeyhülislâm four times in the final years of the Ottoman Empire, lived half of his life in exile in various countries, and died in Egypt. Unlike 19th and 20th century Muslim reformers, who believed Islam needed a "Reformation" like Protestants to regain their former political glory, Sabri scorned the acquisition of earthly power at the expense of Muslim values. Although Sabri wrote on theology, philosophy, Islamic law, and the Qur’an, the merit of his thought lies in its full reflection of the economic, political, and social problems of his day. Sabri’s ideas on religion and social justice remain relevant to the critique of neo-liberalism and the "spirit" of capitalism.
"Mehmet Karabela’s Islamic Thought Through Protestant Eyes is a welcome contribution to the fields of religious studies and Islamic studies. Karabela brings to light a topic that has long been neglected by historians and scholars of... more
"Mehmet Karabela’s Islamic Thought Through Protestant Eyes is a welcome contribution to the fields of religious studies and Islamic studies. Karabela brings to light a topic that has long been neglected by historians and scholars of religion, one that is of great importance to Christian-Muslim relations and to our understanding of 17th- and 18th- century European views on Islam..."

"This book is an excellent illustration of post- Reformation Protestant scholarly engagement with Islamic literature."
"Karabela’s volume is an extremely helpful resource for research and advanced-level classrooms. With an annotated bibliography of selected primary sources, a glossary of terms, and an extensive bibliography and index, Islamic Thought... more
"Karabela’s volume is an extremely helpful resource for research and advanced-level classrooms. With an annotated bibliography of selected primary sources, a glossary of terms, and an extensive bibliography and index, Islamic Thought Through Protestant Eyes should be in every Reformation and religious studies library."
By exploring the Protestant Reformations, in Islamic Thought Through Protestant Eyes, Mehmet Karabela is dealing with one of the critical chapters in the history of Christianity. Historians generally considered the Reformations solely a... more
By exploring the Protestant Reformations, in Islamic Thought Through Protestant Eyes, Mehmet Karabela is dealing with one of the critical chapters in the history of Christianity. Historians generally considered the Reformations solely a European and Christian phenomenon and, therefore, focused their attention on the Protestant-Catholic divide and the conflict between orthodox and Pietist Lutheran factions with their Calvinist opponents. A cursory look at the titles and indexes of the books on the history of the Protestant Reformations published in the last few decades reveals to us that, even in our contemporary times, the term “Islam” has not been generally associated with the study of Protestant Reformations.
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Therefore, Islamic Thought Through Protestant Eyes is an essential resource for libraries, graduate students, and scholars interested in studying the genealogy of Orientalism, the formation of Protestant traditions, European interactions with Islamic thought, and the construction of Protestant identity in the post-Reformation periods.
Mehmet Karabela expands our understanding of how seventeenth- and eighteenth-century European Protestant scholars understood Islam and learning in the Islamic world and often deployed this understanding for their own intra-Christian... more
Mehmet Karabela expands our understanding of how seventeenth- and eighteenth-century European Protestant scholars understood Islam and learning in the Islamic world and often deployed this understanding for their own intra-Christian debates.
Although Protestant theologians and scholars of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries closely engaged with Islamic thought, modern historians of religion have primarily focused on the Protestant-Catholic divide as the critical chapter... more
Although Protestant theologians and scholars of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries closely engaged with Islamic thought, modern historians of religion have primarily focused on the Protestant-Catholic divide as the critical chapter in the history of Christianity. This approach resulted in their seeing the Reformation and its aftermath as a European Christian phenomenon, isolated from other religious thought, including Islam. Therefore, this book addresses this gap by exploring the engagement of post-Reformation scholars with Islamic thought, as well as Protestant disruptions with Catholicism and Judaism, using previously unstudied dissertations and academic works of Protestant scholars— primarily Lutheran theologians—from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Mehmet Karabela draws upon Carl Schmitt’s analysis more explicitly to interrogate and understand how Islamic and Western scholars have conceptualized an “apolitical” Islam that could then be politicized. He applies Schmitt’s friend/enemy... more
Mehmet Karabela draws upon Carl Schmitt’s analysis more explicitly to interrogate and understand how Islamic and Western scholars have conceptualized an “apolitical” Islam that could then be politicized. He applies Schmitt’s friend/enemy distinction as characteristic of the political to the study of Islam and shows how Islam has always been political and religious at the same time in this context. Liberalism posits a separate realm of religion and politics that it charges Islam and other political religions wrongly mix, but there is no intrinsic separation of politics from religion in a post-secular context, and we have many lessons to learn of and from Islam. Rather than the modern nation-state, which is the locus for Schmitt, the polity of Islam is more situated on the Muslim community, which is less determinate and defined. Every community, particularly every religious community, is potentially political in the Schmittian context.
This chapter analyzes traditional archetypes of divan literature—‘āşık (lover), ma‘şūk (beloved), and rakīb (opponent)—to show the presence of a dialectical discourse in classical Ottoman divan love poems. In both style and content divan... more
This chapter analyzes traditional archetypes of divan literature—‘āşık (lover), ma‘şūk (beloved), and rakīb (opponent)—to show the presence of a dialectical discourse in classical Ottoman divan love poems. In both style and content divan poems display a comprehensive understanding of the postclassical Islamic philosophical conception of dialectic and argumentation theory, known as ādāb al-baḥth wa al-munāẓara. The focus on Ottoman love poetry and argumentation theory in this paper aims to demonstrate how the love poetry that developed in Ottoman culture is more dialectical in form and content than Ottoman literary studies have recognized.
Johann Michael Lange's dissertation considers the first Arabic edition of the Qur’an printed in Europe in the sixteenth century. He is not concerned with the Qur’an’s contents or with Islam per se, but rather with proving the existence of... more
Johann Michael Lange's dissertation considers the first Arabic edition of the Qur’an printed in Europe in the sixteenth century. He is not concerned with the Qur’an’s contents or with Islam per se, but rather with proving the existence of this early edition, about which there was some doubt in Europe at the time. Lange wrote his dissertation, he says, because of false information passed down by philologists about certain editions of the Qur’an. He sets out to recount the history of the first printed edition, destroyed by the Catholic Church, laying out the evidence in the writings of several European scholars who refer to this first edition, known as Alcorano di Macometto. He then evaluates whether the Church was justified in suppressing it. Lange thus tries to prove not only that a sixteenth-century Arabic edition of the Qur’an existed, but also that its destruction by the Catholic Church could not be justified on religious or any other grounds.

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Son of a Nuremberg pastor, Johann Michael Lange was born in 1664 in Etzelwang in the Duchy of Sulzbach. Lange studied philosophy, medicine, and theology at the University of Altdorf beginning in 1682. In 1687, he received the title of poet laureate and also his Master’s degree. In 1688, he began his advanced theological studies at Jena University with Johann Wilhelm Baier (d.1695), a disciple of the well-known Lutheran Johannes Musäus (d.1681), the representative of the middle party in the Syncretistic Controversy. In 1690, he became an adjunct in the Faculty of Philosophy at Jena. In 1692, he served as a pastor in Vohenstrauss in Sulzbach’schen, and studied theology at Halle in 1694. In 1697, Lange received his Doctor of Theology and was Professor of Theology at Altdorf until 1709. He also served as the rector of the university in 1704 and 1705. In 1709, he was involved in a dispute with his colleagues over his adherence to Pietism. Consequently, Lange was accused of open deviation from the confessions of the Orthodox Lutheran Church and he was forced to resign his position. He spent the rest of his career as an ecclesiastical inspector in Prenzlau in the Uckermark, where he died in 1731.

Variant Names: Johannes Michael Lang, Johann Michael Lang, Johann Michael Langius, Iohannes Michael Lange, Joh. Mich. Langi, and Joh. Michaelis Langii
Christian Benedikt Michaelis ends his disputation by dismissing the ritual ablutions of Islam as mere outward cleanliness and contrasts such rituals with Protestant inner purity and piety. As a Pietist, he concludes that Islam is, like... more
Christian Benedikt Michaelis ends his disputation by dismissing the ritual ablutions of Islam as mere outward cleanliness and contrasts such rituals with Protestant inner purity and piety. As a Pietist, he concludes that Islam is, like Catholicism, morally lax, superfcial, and concerned only with external appearances. Reformation scholars claimed that Islam’s rapid expansion was due to the sword, the political weaknesses of Islam’s enemies, Christian divisions, and God’s punishment. However, post-Reformation Pietist scholars’ preferred reason for Islam’s popularity was moral laxity; this allowed them to assert the moral superiority of Protestantism.
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Christian Benedikt Michaelis was born in 1680 in Ellrich in modern Thuringia, where he attended school. In 1694, Michaelis’ uncle Johann Heinrich Michaelis (d.1738) brought him to Halle, a Lutheran university and center for Pietism in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. In 1697, he went to the Gymnasium in Gotha and, in 1699, Michaelis moved to Halle to study theology and oriental languages, acquiring a Master’s degree in 1706.
German Lutheran scholar Johann Friedrich Weitenkampf (d.1758) sets out to explain and refute the Turkish concept of fate, dividing his dissertation into two sections: the first outlining the Turkish-Muslim view of fate; and the second... more
German Lutheran scholar Johann Friedrich Weitenkampf (d.1758) sets out to explain and refute the Turkish concept of fate, dividing his dissertation into two sections: the first outlining the Turkish-Muslim view of fate; and the second seeking to prove the invalidity of the Muslim concept of fate with philosophical argumentation. He begins with some brief notes on the historical origin of the Turks, turning then to the backstory of the Qur’an, which he claims can be divided into six sections or topics, the last of which concerns its teachings on fate. According to Weitenkampf, in mainstream Islamic thought, fate is predetermined and immutable. Weitenkampf categorizes most Turks as Jabrites who believe that God is the source of all evil and that men do not have free will. Therefore, men are compelled to do evil or good through God’s omnipotence. He offers examples of how this belief is manifested in the actions and values of the Turks. According to Weitenkampf, since Turks believe in predestination, they do not flee plague-ridden cities or shun contact with those infected. They do not fear death. If they suffer, they believe fate decreed it. In battle, this makes them brave to the point of foolhardy. Weitenkampf also paraphrases an exhortation from the Qur’an in which Muslims are told not to avoid danger, as God has already determined their fate.
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Weitenkampf’s dissertatio is a symptom of the struggle between the weakened Lutheran orthodoxy and the rise of Pietism and rationalism in the wake of the Enlightenment in the eighteenth century. Unlike other Lutheran authors, he analyzes Islamic thought through systematic philosophical argumentation, deeply influenced by his logic and metaphysics teacher Knutzen, who tried to combine Wolffan Enlightenment rationalism with pietistic spirituality.
In his disputatio, Hieronymus Kromayer tries to construct a position about what is ‘true’ in religion, based on its relationship to Christianity. In so doing, rather than providing an analysis of Islam as a single entity, he presents it... more
In his disputatio, Hieronymus Kromayer tries to construct a position about what is ‘true’ in religion, based on its relationship to Christianity. In so doing, rather than providing an analysis of Islam as a single entity, he presents it in relation to its Abrahamic predecessors, with a focus on Qur’anic conceptions of Christ. Islam, therefore, represents a ‘true’ religion, according to Kromayer, because, unlike paganism, it consists of conceptions of divinity that are reflected in Christian doctrine.

Although Kromayer’s title refers to Turkish and Persian Muhammadanism, his disputation focuses on comparing Islam to various heresies. However, Kromayer’s title, Turkish and Persian Muhammadanism, implies that the two main Islamic sects (Sunni and Shi'a) and their theological dispute were restricted to the Ottoman-Safavid political tension. In contrast, Pfeiffer’s use of "Alishiis" and "Sunnitis" in his title indicates, to a certain extent, a familiarity with the Sunni and Shi‘a schools of thought. In other words, for Kromayer, Muslim denominations are ethnic and political as much as theological.
Unlike other Lutheran authors, Friedrich Ulrich Calixt's dissertatio is a clear indication of his close engagement with the Syncretic movement, which supported the idea of conversion and ecumenism. As the Calixtinians wanted to create a... more
Unlike other Lutheran authors, Friedrich Ulrich Calixt's dissertatio is a clear indication of his close engagement with the Syncretic movement, which supported the idea of conversion and ecumenism. As the Calixtinians wanted to create a bridge between Lutherans and other Christian sects, including Roman Catholics and the Reformed Church, the struggle between the Orthodox Lutheran theologians of Wittenberg against the more liberal Calixtinian theologians of Helmstedt reached an impasse toward the end of the seventeenth century. Therefore, for Calixt, unlike Orthodox Lutherans, Muslims are not just a tool to criticize Catholicism, but present an opportunity to save souls through the adoption of universal basic Christian teachings, which are unanimously agreed upon. For him, only unity among Christian sects can accomplish this goal of conversion.

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Friedrich Ulrich Calixt was born in Helmstedt in 1622. His father, Georg Calixt, was a well-known theologian at the University of Helmstedt. Young Calixt studied philosophy and medicine at Helmstedt and Leipzig before turning to the study of theology. In 1650, he became professor of theology at Helmstedt and, in 1652, he became a Doctor of Theology. He upheld the theological opinions of his father, dubbed ‘Calixtinian,’ which argued against the claim to the theological and ecclesiastical exclusivity of Lutheran orthodoxy. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the whole seventeenth century of Helmstedt theology was dominated by the two Calixts: the younger Calixt and his more famous father. For his views, the elder Calixt had been accused of ‘syncretism’ and being a ‘crypto-Catholic’ during the Syncretic Controversy, which set the more extremist Lutheran theologians of Wittenberg, led by Abraham Calov, against the more liberal Lutheran theologians of Helmstedt. The Syncretic Controversy (1640–1686) was a theological debate provoked by the elder Calixt and his supporters; they wanted to provide a means to bridge the gap between Lutherans, Roman Catholics, and the Reformed churches. After the assumption of his professorship at Helmstedt, the younger Calixt renewed the Syncretic Controversy in 1662, arguing that all sects of Christianity contain some of the universal truths needed for salvation. He viewed the first five centuries of the Church as a pure and nearly uncorrupted age, with the worst heresies and corruption setting in afterwards. He believed the Roman Catholic Church was the most corrupt due to the papacy’s claims to supremacy and superstitious additions to fundamental articles of the faith, but he was also critical of various aspects of Reformed and Lutheran theology.
Johann Karl Valentin Bauer's dissertation sets out to explain (Turkish) Islamic theology using the Qur’an as the sole source in the spirit of the Lutheran belief in Sola Scriptura. He organizes points of interest into thirty-three... more
Johann Karl Valentin Bauer's dissertation sets out to explain (Turkish) Islamic theology using the Qur’an as the sole source in the spirit of the Lutheran belief in Sola Scriptura. He organizes points of interest into thirty-three sections, liberally quoting from the Qur’an in Arabic and providing a Latin translation. Although Bauer tends to portray Islam negatively, his dissertation is particularly worthy of study as he analyzes and compares Islamic and Christian theology articulated in the Qur’an and the Old and New Testaments, and as he examines intra-Christian differences between Catholics, Lutherans, and Calvinists (Reformed Church).
August Pfeiffer sets out to describe the religious differences between the Persians (Safavids) and the Turks (Ottomans), the two major powers in the seventeenth-century Islamic Middle East. He begins his dissertation with the proverb,... more
August Pfeiffer sets out to describe the religious differences between the Persians (Safavids) and the Turks (Ottomans), the two major powers in the seventeenth-century Islamic Middle East. He begins his dissertation with the proverb, “Truth is singular, falsehood is multifaceted,” implying that Islam is the latter. He says that Islam is divided into 73 sects, the most famous of which are the Sunni and Shi‘ite sects. Pfeiffer then states his intention to adumbrate the religious differences of the Shi‘ite Persians and Sunni Turks, using Muslim writings along with firsthand accounts of European observers. His work is divided into three chapters: the first contains background information on the ethnic origins of the Persians and the Turks and their pre-Islamic religions; the second outlines the articles of faith that both hold in common; and the third focuses on their religious differences, which Pfeiffer claims are the cause of their division and enmity. Unlike Pietist Lutherans or Calixtinians, Pfeiffer is not concerned with conversion of Muslims or the unity of religions as his interest lies with religious differences rather than similarities as he believes in Lutheran orthodoxy.
Cornelius Dietrich Koch (d.1724) remarks that throughout history learning has originated, flourished, and declined in various parts of the world. Intending to trace the history of learning among the Arabs, he begins by listing the... more
Cornelius Dietrich Koch (d.1724) remarks that throughout history learning has originated, flourished, and declined in various parts of the world. Intending to trace the history of learning among the Arabs, he begins by listing the categories of knowledge valued by the pre-Islamic Arabs, namely poetry, rhetoric, astronomy, genealogy, dream interpretation, and medicine. However, he thinks that the advent of Islam and their wars of expansion distracted the Arabs from their literary studies. According to him, fifty years or so after Muhammad’s death, learning resumed, this time with a considerable interest in a new category: Islamic law.
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Michael Wendeler’s disputation on the Turkish republic is a discussion of Ottoman history, political philosophy, and the concept of monarchy and tyranny. Half of his disputation concerns the identification of the Turks with the little... more
Michael Wendeler’s disputation on the Turkish republic is a discussion of Ottoman history, political philosophy, and the concept of monarchy and tyranny. Half of his disputation concerns the identification of the Turks with the little horn which arises on the head of the fourth beast in the prophet’s vision described in the Book of Daniel 7:1–28. Giving copious historical references, Wendeler explains that this little horn cannot be referring to Christ as the Jews believe, nor to the Seleucid monarch Antiochos Epiphanes as the Calvinists believe. Nor can it be identifed with the Antichrist as the Catholics believe. Wendeler puts forth a detailed argument that the little horn on the fourth beast in the prophecy of Daniel can only be identified with the Turkish monarch (Ottoman Sultan). In conclusion, Wendeler draws a parallel between the monstrous ‘little horn’—the tyrannical Turkish monarchy—and the tyranny of the Catholic Church, exemplified by the untrustworthy Pope and the satanic writings of the Catholic Machiavelli.

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Michael Wendeler was born in Schlettau in 1610. In 1628, he began his studies at Wittenberg, becoming a Magister in 1632. He initially studied philology with Erasmus Schmidt and mathematics and astronomy with Ambrosius Rhodius. Wendeler obtained his Master of Philosophy from the University of Wittenberg in 1633. He then advanced his study of theology with prominent Lutheran scholars, such as Jakob Martini, Paul Röber, Wilhelm Leyser, and Johann Hülsemann. Around 1637, he was an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Philosophy at Wittenberg. After a short training at the University of Helmstedt, he became professor of ethics at Wittenberg in 1640. He was also a visiting professor at the University of Helmstedt. In the same year, he became a professor of moral philosophy at Wittenberg. In 1650, he was a professor of theology, and in 1666, he became an assessor in the Faculty of Theology. As a Lutheran philosopher and theologian, Wendeler was a prolific writer, publishing many disputations on topics such as political philosophy, theology, moral philosophy, and Jewish political thought. He also wrote a manual on how to conduct an academic disputation, Breves observationes genuini disputandi processus, a handbook influential among Lutheran academic circles. He died in Wittenberg in 1671. Variant Names: Michael Wendler, Michael Wendelerus, Michaele Wendelero, Michael Wendlerus, Michaeli Wendelero, and Michaelis Wendeleri.
In his disputatio, Ludewig provides a history of rational philosophy among the Arabs and sets out to contextualize the Turks’ attitude to it. Like many Lutheran scholars of the time, Ludewig believed that Islam, as a religion, impeded the... more
In his disputatio, Ludewig provides a history of rational philosophy among the Arabs and sets out to contextualize the Turks’ attitude to it. Like many Lutheran scholars of the time, Ludewig believed that Islam, as a religion, impeded the development of rational philosophy in the Arab world. However, unlike those philosophers, he examines external influences that may have fed the interest of Arab Muslims in rational philosophy, especially dialectic. Unlike Orthodox Lutherans, such as Pfeiffer and Kromayer, in his conclusion, Ludewig prays that Muslim philosophers cultivate reason to overcome the "deceit of Muhammadanists" toward rational worship. The use of the contentious and seemingly oxymoronic phrase “rational worship” (logikē latreia: λογική λατρεία, from Rom. 12:1), combining “rationality” and “worship” together refects, to a certain extent, the Enlightenment belief that reason could be used to understand the nature of God against any type of irrational religiosity. The idea of worshipping God rationally and equating God with reason shows the intellectual engagement of Protestant scholars with Enlightenment rationalism.
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Johann Peter von Ludewig was born in 1668 at Schwäbisch Hall in Honhardt and, at an early age, he attended Latin school in Crailsheim, a town in modern Baden-Württemberg. He studied theology and humanities at Tübingen in 1688; then at Wittenberg he studied theology and philosophy and received his Master’s degree in 1690, before attending the University of Halle in 1693 to study law. After studying law and lecturing on the history of philosophy at Halle, Ludewig took up a professorship position there in theoretical philosophy in 1695. During his studies at Wittenberg and Halle, Ludewig was influenced by one of the most important figures in the evolution of German law, the jurist Samuel Stryk (d.1710). In this disputation written in 1699, Ludewig presents his ideas in a juristic systematic fashion by giving arguments and counter-arguments before expressing his own judgment.
August Pfeiffer presents Islam as a corruption of Christianity. He begins by arguing that Islam is constructed out of a misguided amalgamation of Quraysh paganism, Judaism and Christianity. Then he points out the similarities in Jewish... more
August Pfeiffer presents Islam as a corruption of Christianity. He begins by arguing that Islam is constructed out of a misguided amalgamation of Quraysh paganism, Judaism and Christianity. Then he points out the similarities in Jewish and Islamic discourses to demonstrate their teachings as analogous heresies. While there are similarities in Jewish and Islamic discourses, Pfeiffer notes that the Karaite Jews remained biblical literalists while the Rabbanites accepted both scriptural and subsequent rabbinical exegeses. Similarly, Persian Muslims accepted only the Qur’anic scripture as authoritative, while the Turks, Tatars, Arabs, Indians, and other Muslims embraced the Sunna, which is “oral law,” according to Pfeiffer, in addition to the Qur’an for religious guidance and law. Pfeiffer likens the Jewish Talmudic writings to those of the Sunna, as supplementary texts to the central sources of scripture, and refers to them as contaminations of the sacred histories. Here, Pfeiffer interprets the Jewish and Islamic intellectual histories from his own Protestant commitment to Sola Scriptura, seeing religious history as a struggle between scripturalism and non-scriptualism.
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August Pfeiffer was born in Lauenburg/Elbe in 1640. He was initially trained by a private tutor and then went on to study at the Hamburg Gymnasium, a humanist grammar school. As an adolescent, Pfeiffer was drawn to the mystical spiritualism of Christian Hoburg, but his professors influenced him away from this. Pfeiffer attended the University of Wittenberg in 1658 where he was fast-tracked in order to receive his Master’s degree in 1659. At Wittenberg, he studied with two champions of Lutheran orthodoxy in the seventeenth century, Abraham Calov (d.1686) and Johann Deutschmann (d.1706). In his works, Pfeiffer stressed the orthodoxy and the primacy of orthodox Lutheranism against Roman Catholicism as well as against all types of Pietism. He had a longstanding dispute with Philipp Jakob Spener, the ‘Father of Pietism’ and founder of the University of Halle. Pfeiffer is also considered to have strongly influenced the faith and thought of the famous composer Johann Sebastian Bach and some of his works can be found in Bach’s theological library. He died in Lübeck in 1698.
Sebastian Kirchmaier begins his speech by noting that most Europeans are unaware of Muslim sectarian violence or their differences. He states that these differences result from various interpretations of the Qur’an, differences in the... more
Sebastian Kirchmaier begins his speech by noting that most Europeans are unaware of Muslim sectarian violence or their differences. He states that these differences result from various interpretations of the Qur’an, differences in the understanding of sainthood, articles of faith, religious authorities (i.e., imāms), and miracles. After some brief invective against Muhammad and an account of the spread of Islam, Kirchmaier outlines the origin of sectarian differences between the Sunnis and the Shi'ites and the problem of the succession of Muhammad in Islam. Of the two sects, Kirchmaier sees the Shi‘ites as less hostile to Christianity, which might account for the Rector of Wittenberg University’s (Johann Erich Ostermann) favouring the Persians in his opening comments.
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Sebastian Kirchmaier was born in Uffenheim in 1641. He enrolled at the University of Altdorf in 1660 and at Wittenberg in 1661, where he earned a Magister der Philosophie in 1662. He became an adjunct professor of theology at the University of Wittenberg in 1665. Kirchmaier’s school remembrance book (Stammbuch) written between 1660 and 1667 reveals his significant Lutheran network at Wittenberg. Most prominent figures of seventeenth-century orthodox Lutheranism, such as Abraham Calov, Johannes Musaeus, August Pfeiffer, and Hieronymous Kromayer, wrote entries in Kirchmaier’s Stammbuch. Later, in 1668, he became professor at the college in Regensburg.
This is an analysis of the eighteenth century German Reformed scholar Christian Friedrich Rudolph Vetterlein's writing on (Ottoman) Turkish philosophy, published in Köthen in 1790. The post-structuralist philosopher Friedrich A. Kittler... more
This is an analysis of the eighteenth century German Reformed scholar Christian Friedrich Rudolph Vetterlein's writing on (Ottoman) Turkish philosophy, published in Köthen in 1790. The post-structuralist philosopher Friedrich A. Kittler considers Vetterlein an important figure in the transformative period of the German Protestant education system.
Johannes Steuchius’ disputatio uses Arabic logic to present an historical account of the development of philosophical thought in Arabia before and after the emergence of Islam. . . . Johannes Steuchius was a prominent Swedish Lutheran... more
Johannes Steuchius’ disputatio uses Arabic logic to present an historical account of the development of philosophical thought in Arabia before and after the emergence of Islam.
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Johannes Steuchius was a prominent Swedish Lutheran theologian and academic, a descendant of celebrated Lutheran bishops and academics. Born in 1676 in Härnösand in northern Sweden, Steuchius moved with his family to Lund in 1694 when his father, Matthias Steuchius, the renowned academic and theologian, was appointed Bishop of Lund. After completing his studies in logic and metaphysics at Uppsala University, Steuchius was given the opportunity to attend some of Europe’s foremost Protestant academic institutions, a luxury afforded to few. He continued his theological and philosophical studies as a visiting student at the universities of Rostock, Hamburg, Wolfenbüttel, Helmstedt, Wittenberg, Altdorf, London, Oxford, Amsterdam, Haarlem, and Leiden. During this period, he studied under many prominent Lutheran academics, such as Professor Johann Fecht, one of Germany’s leading representatives of Lutheran orthodoxy. He also met Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and visited the famous library in Wolfenbüttel during this time.
Ibn al-Rāwandī Abū al-Ḥusayn Aḥmad b. Yaḥyā Ibn al-Rāwandī (815-860 or 910), perhaps one of the most controversial figures in early Islamic history, is frequently called the "arch-heretic" (zindīq or mulḥid) of Islam. He was born in... more
Ibn al-Rāwandī Abū al-Ḥusayn Aḥmad b. Yaḥyā Ibn al-Rāwandī (815-860 or 910), perhaps one of the most controversial figures in early Islamic history, is frequently called the "arch-heretic" (zindīq or mulḥid) of Islam. He was born in Khurasan around 815 CE but flourished among intellectuals in ninth-century Baghdad. Around the year 854, he left Baghdad to escape political persecution and died either in 860 or in 910, according to some sources. The details of his early life are unknown, and documentation of Ibn al-Rāwandī began to surface once he became an intellectual enemy of his fellow Muʿtazilites, the rationalist thinkers of Islamic thought at the time. Information on Ibn al-Rāwandī is gathered mostly from the writings of his opponents. From these sources, we learn that both Muslims and non-Muslims (especially Jews) wrote polemics against Ibn al-Rāwandī in which they acknowledged the serious threat his work posed not only to Islam, but also to Judaism and all Abrahamic religions.
One and a half months after Victor Hugo died in 1885, Beşir Fuad published a biography of him, in which Fuad defended Emile Zola’s naturalism and realism against Hugo’s romanticism. This resulted in the most important dispute in... more
One and a half months after Victor Hugo died in 1885, Beşir Fuad published a biography of him, in which Fuad defended Emile Zola’s naturalism and realism against Hugo’s romanticism. This resulted in the most important dispute in nineteenth-century Turkish literary history, the hakikiyyûn and hayâliyyûn debate, with the former represented by Beşir Fuad and the latter represented by Menemenlizâde Mehmet Tahir. This article focuses on the form of this debate rather than its content, and this focus reveals how the tension between classical and post-classical Islamic intellectual history had become deeply embedded in Ottoman Turkish literary history by the late 1800s. This particular event demonstrates two points: that dialectical disputation (jadal) was viewed negatively as a return to the seemingly primitive practices of an antiquated mentality, as opposed to the relatively enlightened apodictic argumentation (munazara); and that trajectories of Ottoman Turkish literary history can be understood within the context of Islamic intellectual history.
Late Ottoman intellectual history, especially the nineteenth century, was seen by Bernard Lewis (in his The Emergence of Modern Turkey, 1961) and Niyazi Berkes (in his Aristotelian teleological work The Development of Secularism in Modern... more
Late Ottoman intellectual history, especially the nineteenth century, was seen by Bernard Lewis (in his The Emergence of Modern Turkey, 1961) and Niyazi Berkes (in his Aristotelian teleological work The Development of Secularism in Modern Turkey, 1964) as a "natural evolution" towards a "new" Republican Turkey leading up to the modernization/secularization of the country. Accordingly, political scientists and Orientalists in Europe and North America have commonly presented a history of Islamism outside of Ottoman experience, starting with the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood Hasan al-Banna of Egypt (d. 1949) in the early twentieth century, and respectively, Islamic modernism beginning in Egypt with Muhammad Abduh (d. 1905) during the nineteenth century. European and North American academics, including Brian Silverstein, Amit Bein, and Susan Gunasti among others, have only very recently turned their attention to the late Ottoman ulema and Islamist intellectuals, mainly in the wake of AK Party's success in the post-Kemalist/secular Turkey. However, up until now, there was no reliable comprehensive work on late nineteenth century Ottoman/Turkish Islamist thought in English. It is in this context that Ahmet Seyhun's work Islamist Thinkers in the Late Ottoman Empire and Early Turkish Republic proves to be a significant contribution to a vital but long-neglected chapter in the history of Islamism.
This small volume details the intellectual relationship between Jacob Taubes (1923- 1987), a rabbi, Gnostic, professor of Jewish studies, and philosopher; and Carl Schmitt (1888-1985), a political theorist, jurist, conservative Catholic,... more
This small volume details the intellectual relationship between Jacob Taubes (1923- 1987), a rabbi, Gnostic, professor of Jewish studies, and philosopher; and Carl Schmitt (1888-1985), a political theorist, jurist, conservative Catholic, and admitted Nazi.
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Jacob Taubes  (Author), Mike Grimshaw (Introduction), and Keith Tribe (Translator)
Periodization has repercussions in the study of history particularly because it affects the types of research pursued, drawing scholars towards some historical periods and away from others, making some eras appear exciting and fascinating... more
Periodization has repercussions in the study of history particularly because it affects the types of research pursued, drawing scholars towards some historical periods and away from others, making some eras appear exciting and fascinating and others dull and monotonous. Therefore, the manner in which different periods are represented is a central part of the historical enterprise. This begs the question of which developments the historian sees as important enough to justify his or her choices, or, to put it differently, which among the great mass of facts he or she recognizes as historically significant.
Ever since G. E. L. Owen’s well-known paper on Aristotelian logic (“Tithenai ta Phainomena,” 1986), there has been a growing interest on Aristotle’s dialectical method and its modern interpretations. Perhaps the most important of all... more
Ever since G. E. L. Owen’s well-known paper on Aristotelian logic (“Tithenai ta Phainomena,” 1986), there has been a growing interest on Aristotle’s dialectical method and its modern interpretations. Perhaps the most important of all contributions was made in 1997 by Paul Slomkowski with his detailed study of Topics, and in the same year by Robin Smith with his translation of Topics. More importantly, there were different interpretations of Aristotle’s Topics and dialectic among scholars such as J. D. G. Evans and P. M. Huby. In May Sim’s edited collection From Puzzles to Principles?: Essays on Aristotle’s Dialectic (1999), scholars of classical philosophy disputed whether or not Aristotle was a dialectical thinker.

Within this context, Marta Spranzi’s The Art of Dialectic between Dialogue and Rhetoric offers a comprehensive legacy of the Aristotelian dialectic while exploring the significance of the art of dialectic in the development of philosophical methods of inquiry. Spranzi tries to reconstruct an “Aristotelian tradition” in dialectic by using Aristotle’s Topics as a source text for the later philosophical development of dialectic, both in form and content. Spranzi’s central argument is that Aristotle’s text holds the blueprint for the later development of two different types of dialectic: opinion-oriented disputational and truth-oriented aporetic.
The majority of The Legend of the Middle Ages: Philosophical Explorations of Medieval Christianity, Judaism, and Islam has been published previously in different forms, but this edition has been completely revised by the author, the... more
The majority of The Legend of the Middle Ages: Philosophical Explorations of Medieval Christianity, Judaism, and Islam has been published previously in different forms, but this edition has been completely revised by the author, the well-known French medievalist and intellectual historian Rémi Brague. It was first published in French under the title Au moyen du Moyen Âge in 2006. The book consists of sixteen essays ranging from Brague’s early years at the Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris I) in the 1990s up until 2005. As a collection of articles, therefore, The Legend of the Middle Ages is not designed to be a monograph; one should not expect a single argument from the book, although it does explore key intersections of medieval religion and philosophy.
The field of philosophical theology has attracted much interest in the past fifteen years, and central European philosophers such as Giorgio Agamben, Alain Badiou and Slovaj Žižek have turned their attention towards religion. Philosophers... more
The field of philosophical theology has attracted much interest in the past fifteen years, and central European philosophers such as Giorgio Agamben, Alain Badiou and Slovaj Žižek have turned their attention towards religion. Philosophers seem to consider the topic too consequential to be left to theologians and religious thinkers alone, especially in the wake of the highly debated “return of religion.”
This dissertation is an analysis of the development of dialectic and argumentation theory in post-classical Islamic intellectual history. The central concerns of the thesis are; treatises on the theoretical understanding of the concept of... more
This dissertation is an analysis of the development of dialectic and argumentation theory in post-classical Islamic intellectual history. The central concerns of the thesis are; treatises on the theoretical understanding of the concept of dialectic and argumentation theory, and how, in practice, the concept of dialectic, as expressed in the Greek classical tradition, was received and used by five communities in the Islamic intellectual camp. It shows how dialectic as an argumentative discourse diffused into five communities (theologicians, poets, grammarians, philosophers and jurists) and how these local dialectics that the individual communities developed fused into a single system to form a general argumentation theory (adab al-bahth) applicable to all fields. I evaluate a treatise by Shams al-Din Samarqandi (d.702/1302), the founder of this general theory, and the treatises that were written after him as a result of his work. I concentrate specifically on work by 'Adud al-Din al-Iji (d.756/1355), Sayyid Sharif al-Jurjani (d.816/1413), Taşköprüzâde (d.968/1561), Saçaklızâde (d.1150/1737) and Gelenbevî (d.1205/1791) and analyze how each writer (from Samarqandi to Gelenbevî) altered the shape of argumentative discourse and how later intellectuals in the post-classical Islamic world responded to that discourse bequeathed by their predecessors. What is striking about the period that this dissertation investigates (from 1300-1800) is the persistence of what could be called the linguistic turn in argumentation theory. After a centuries-long run, the jadal-based dialectic of the classical period was displaced by a new argumentation theory, which was dominantly linguistic in character. This linguistic turn in argumentation dates from the final quarter of the fourteenth century in Iji's impressively prescient work on 'ilm al-wad'. This idea, which finally surfaced in the post-classical period, that argumentation is about definition and that, therefore, defining is the business of language—even perhaps, that language is the only available medium for understanding and being understood—affected the way that argumentation theory was processed throughout most of the period in question.The argumentative discourse that started with Ibn al-Rawandi in the third/ninth century left a permanent imprint on Islamic intellectual history, which was then full of concepts, terminology and objectives from this discourse up until the late nineteenth century. From this perspective, Islamic intellectual history can be read as the tension between two languages: the "language of dialectic" (jadal) and the "language of demonstration" (burhan), each of which refer not only to a significant feature of that history, but also to a feature that could dramatically alter the interpretation of that history.
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French Abstract:
Cette dissertation est une analyse de l'évolution de la théorie dialectique et d'argumentation dans l'histoire intellectuelle islamique post-classique. Les préoccupations centrales de la thèse sont les suivantes: les traités sur la compréhension théorique de la notion de la théorie dialectique (de logique) et d'argumentation, et comment, en pratique, la notion dialectique, tel qu'elle est exprimée dans la tradition grecque classique, a été reçue et utilisée par les cinq collectivités du camp intellectuel islamique. Cette étude démontre comment la notion dialectique en tant que discours argumentatif a été diffusée dans cinq collectivités (théologiens, poètes, grammairiens, philosophes et juristes) et comment ces notions logiques locales, développées dans les différentes communautés, se sont fusionnées en un seul système pour former une théorie d'argumentation générale (adab al-bahth) applicable à tous les domaines. J'évalue un traité de Shams al-Din Samarqandi (d.702/1302), le fondateur de cette théorie générale, et les traités qui ont été écrits après lui en tant que succession de son travail. Je me concentre spécifiquement sur les travaux de 'Adud al-Din al-Iji (d.756/1355), Sayyid Sharif al-Jurjani (d.816/1413), Taşköprüzâde (d.968/1561), Saçaklızâde (d.1150/1737) et Gelenbevî (d.1205/1791) et analyse comment chaque auteur (de Samarqandi à Gelenbevî) a modifié la forme du discours argumentatif et comment les intellectuels, venus par après dans le monde post-islamique classique, ont répondu à ce discours transmis par leurs prédécesseurs.Ce qui est frappant, de la période que cette thèse étudie (de 1300-1800), est la persistance de ce qu'on pourrait appeler le tournant linguistique dans la théorie de l'argumentation. Après plusieurs siècles, la notion dialectique de la période classique basée sur jadal fût remplacée par une nouvelle théorie d'argumentation qui était principalement de caractère linguistique. Ce tournant linguistique dans l'argumentation est daté du dernier quart du quatorzième siècle dans le travail sur 'ilm al-wad' impressionnant et prémonitoire d'al-Iji. Cette idée, qui est finalement émergée dans la période post-classique, disant que l'argumentation décrit une définition et que, par conséquent, la définition est l'utilité du langage —et même peut-être, que le langage est le seul moyen disponible pour comprendre et être compris— a influencé la façon dont la théorie d'argumentation a été formulée dans la majeure partie de la période en question.Le discours argumentatif qui a commencé avec Ibn al-Rawandi au troisième/neuvième siècle a laissé une empreinte permanente dans l'histoire intellectuelle islamique qui s'est remplie de concepts, de terminologie et d'objectifs de ce discours jusqu'à la fin du dix-neuvième siècle. Selon cette perspective, l'histoire intellectuelle islamique peut être lue comme une divergence entre deux langues: le "langage dialectique" (jadal) et le "langage démonstratif" (burhan), dont chacun se réfère non seulement à une caractéristique importante de cette histoire, mais à une caractéristique qui pourrait changer radicalement l'interprétation de cette histoire.
Mehmet Karabela’s dissertation is an example of the type of work that the best Islamic Studies doctoral programmes are producing. His thesis is based on a deep knowledge of the textual tradition that sits comfortably alongside confident... more
Mehmet Karabela’s dissertation is an example of the type of work that the best Islamic Studies doctoral programmes are producing. His thesis is based on a deep knowledge of the textual tradition that sits comfortably alongside confident familiarity with intellectual history and theory from outside the Islamic tradition, a willingness to find and edit hitherto undiscovered manuscripts, and a commitment to critical engagement with previous scholarship. Karabela takes the post-classical phenomenon of ādāb al-baḥth (general argumentation theory) and places it in the context of the broader dynamics of argument, dialectic, and demonstration that run through Islamic, and European, intellectual history. His core contribution to our field is the analysis of texts on ādāb al-baḥth by Samarqandī (13th century), ʿAḍud ad-Dīn al-Ījī (d. 1355), Sayyid Sharīf al-Jurjānī (d. 1413), Taşköprüzâde (d. 1561), Saçaklızâde (d. 1737), and Gelenbevî (d. 1791). His analysis reveals, for the first time in European-language scholarship, a discourse on truth and method that is worthy of sustained attention.
This core seminar investigates the relationship between Muslim and Jewish societies in medieval Spain, spanning from the establishment of Muslim Spain (Al-Andalus) in 711 to the expulsion of Jews from the Iberian Peninsula in 1492 after... more
This core seminar investigates the relationship between Muslim and Jewish societies in medieval Spain, spanning from the establishment of Muslim Spain (Al-Andalus) in 711 to the expulsion of Jews from the Iberian Peninsula in 1492 after the Christian ‘reconquest’. The course will analyze the concept of ‘peaceful coexistence’ among the Muslim, Jewish, and Christian communities, referred to as convivencia, and explore the evolving dynamics of power and interconfessional relations between them. By examining primary sources such as historical chronicles, legal documents, literary texts, and travelogues, students will explore various themes including religious and ethnic identity, gender and sexuality, religious conversion and tolerance, law and political authority, the notion of a ‘Golden Age’ of convivencia, Islamic architecture, intellectual encounters between Muslims and Jews, and their influence on Christian Europe. The course will analyze three historiographical issues, namely convivencia, reconquista, and conversos with an emphasis on how the memory of medieval Spain’s history is utilized in contemporary and academic discourse.
This course will explore how Leonard Cohen's music reflects his deep fascination with a wide range of religious and mystical concepts derived from Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, and Muslim traditions. From his hometown of Montreal to... more
This course will explore how Leonard Cohen's music reflects his deep fascination with a wide range of religious and mystical concepts derived from Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, and Muslim traditions. From his hometown of Montreal to the beautiful island of Hydra in Greece, and from a Zen Monastery in California to the vibrant streets of Mumbai in India, this course will embark on an immersive journey through Cohen's spiritual quest that illuminates the intersection between art, religion, and the human experience. It will delve into the themes present in his work, such as the relationship between sexuality and the divine, the haunting questions surrounding evil and the Holocaust, the search for redemption, exploration of death and darkness, and recognition of life's dualities. Exclusive access to archival audiovisual materials will enhance each class session while guest speakers who have had personal connections with Leonard Cohen will provide unique perspectives that enrich students' learning experience.
…I see my list on political theology functioning like Wittgenstein’s ladder metaphor in his Tractatus. Once graduate students read and grasp these important texts, they should “throw away the ladder”, so to speak, and deconstruct all they... more
…I see my list on political theology functioning like Wittgenstein’s ladder metaphor in his Tractatus. Once graduate students read and grasp these important texts, they should “throw away the ladder”, so to speak, and deconstruct all they have learned about political theology to illuminate contemporary problems on their own. Once they reach the top, they can throw away the ladder.
Saya melihat daftar saya mengenai teologi politik yang berfungsi seperti kiasan “tangga Wittgenstein” dalam bukunya Tractatus. Begitu mahasisawa pascasarjana membaca dan memahami teks-teks penting ini, mereka harus “membuang tangga”-nya,... more
Saya melihat daftar saya mengenai teologi politik yang berfungsi seperti kiasan “tangga Wittgenstein” dalam bukunya Tractatus. Begitu mahasisawa pascasarjana membaca dan memahami teks-teks penting ini, mereka harus “membuang tangga”-nya, boleh dikatakan seperti itu, dan mendekonstruksi semua yang telah mereka pelajari tentang teologi politik untuk menerangi masalah kontemporer mereka sendiri. Begitu mereka mencapai puncaknya, mereka bisa membuang tangganya.
Since the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the abolition of the institution of the Caliphate in 1924, Islam has become a focal point of reference for a variety of pan-Islamist movements, intellectual arguments and political activists.... more
Since the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the abolition of the institution of the Caliphate in 1924, Islam has become a focal point of reference for a variety of pan-Islamist movements, intellectual arguments and political activists. During the Cold War period, modern Muslim thinkers such as Abul A’la Maududi, Sayyid Qutb, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and Ali Shariati believed that Islam could provide a superior alternative form of governance to both capitalism, represented by the US, and socialism, represented by the former Soviet Union. Within this Cold War context, modern scholarship adopted the term “political Islam” or “Islamism” to identify a distinctive form of Muslim politics, referring to a political agenda that aims to establish an Islamic political order through a state whose governing system and principles are directly derived from its legal system, known as the Shari'ah.