Conclusion: Reflections on Turkish Islam, Modernity, and Dialogue

Abstract

This concluding chapter draws together the host of dialectical elements encountered in the work of Alpyağıl, Düzgün, and those Turkish theologians touched upon in the previous chapter’s survey. After reaffirming the dialectical aspects of Turkish theology, that is, Turkish theology’s complex relationship to multiple intellectual traditions, the discussion takes up a broader treatment of modernity and academic inter-religious dialogue in light of Turkish Muslim responses to and understandings of modernity. Finally, the chapter closes by touching upon the implications these Turkish dialectical encounters might have for conceptualizing modernity’s relationship to Islam and the implications Turkish theology might have for continued Muslim-Christian encounters at the academic level.