On the Historical Development of the Western Studies of Islamic History

Abstract

The historical development of the Western studies of Islamic history can be distinguished into four distinct phases. The first phase is the “theological-polemical refutation” period. The works of this period were not based on the authentic source material; rather they aimed to show reaction to Islam as a newly emerging religion. This is followed by a period of descriptive studies that tend to give a coherent picture in line with the traditional accounts of the Muslim scholars. The third is the period of the critical analysis of the classical Islamic sources. The fourth and final phase is described as the period of “revisionist” scholars. Some of them maintain the view that the early history of Islam can scarcely be derived from Muslim sources which they regard as the product of salvation history while the others lean exclusively on the external sources of non-Muslims. The main objective of this survey is to provide a panoramic exposition into the studies of the representatives of these various approaches with regard to the early period of Islamic history.

İslâm Tarihi Çalışmalarının Batı’daki Tarihsel Gelişimi Üzerine

Öz

Batı’da İslâm tarihi çalışmalarının gelişim seyri dört farkı dönemler halinde incelenebilir. Birincisi, teolojik-polemiksel reddiyeler dönemidir. Bu döneme ait eserler kaynaklara dayalı bilgilerden yoksun olup, daha ziyâde, İslâm'a bir din olarak tepki göstermeyi amaçlayan çalışmalardır. Bunu klasik İslâm kaynaklarında sunulan bilgilere bağlı olarak bir anlatı ortaya koymayı amaçlayan tasvirci çalışmalar dönemi takip etmiştir. Üçüncüsü, klasik İslâm kaynaklarının eleştirel analizini önceleyen çalışmaların yapıldığı dönemdir. Dördüncü ve sonuncusu ise tarih inşâsında kurtuluş tarihinin ürünü olarak kabul ettikleri İslâmî kaynakların güvenilir olmadığını savunan revizyonistlerin öne çıktığı dönemdir. Revizyonist yaklaşımı benimseyenlerin bir kısmı, İslâmî kaynakları yalnızca edebî tahlillere elverişli metinler olarak görürken, bir kısmı da erken dönem İslâm tarihine ilişkin yapılacak çalışmaların daha ziyade gayrimüslimlere ait hâricî kaynakları esas alması gerektiğini savunmuşlardır. Bu makalenin temel amacı, bu farklı dönemlerin belli başlı temsilcilerini referans alarak Batı’da erken dönem İslâm tarihine ilişkin yapılan çalışmaların tarihi seyri hakkında genel bir panorama çizmektir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Tarihsel eleştiri,Kitâb-ı Mukaddes eleştirisi,edebî analiz,hâricî kaynaklar,revizyonist yaklaşım

Kaynakça

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