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Abstract

From Studying Islam to Studying Muslims: Towards the Anthropology of Islam- : In this paper we have observed the debate stemming from the question ‘what is the anthropology of Islam? We still cannot define (and probably do not need to do so) what the anthropology of Islam may be (or even should be), we can surely affirm what is not. The anthropology of Islam is not theology. This means going beyond the question of Islam or Islams, and observing the dynamics of Muslim lives expressed through their ideological and rhetorical understanding of their surrounding environment. Yet many events have changed the relationship between the Muslim and non-Muslim world since Geertz wrote his seminal book Islam Observed, and Asad reopened the debate on the idea of an anthropology of Islam which el-Zein had started.

Keywords

• Islam, Anthropology, Anthropology of Islam, Discourse, Dichotomy

İslam’ı İncelemekten Müslümanları İncelemeye: Bir İslam Antropolojisine Doğru

Abstract

Bu yazıda “İslam antropolojisi nedir” sorusu üzerinde odaklanan tartışmalar ele alınmaktadır. İslam antropolojisinin ne olabileceğini, hatta ne olması gerektiğini
tanımlayamıyorsak da (aslında buna gerek de yok) kesinlikle onun ne olmadığını söyleyebiliriz. İslam antropolojisi teoloji değildir. Bu İslam ya da İslamlar
nedir sorusunun ötesine geçmek, Müslümanların çevrelerini kendi ideolojik ve retorik anlayışıyla ifade ettikleri dinamikleri incelemek demektir. Ama Geertz’in çığır açan kitabı Islam Observed’ı yazdığından ve Asad, El-Zein’ın
İslam antropolojisi fikri üzerine açtığı tartışmayı tekrar başlattığından beri, birçok olay Müslüman olan ve olmayan dünya arasındaki ilişkiyi değiştirmiştir. 

Keywords

• İslam, Antropoloji, İslam antropolojisi, Söylem, Dikotomi

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