Diyanet Institute Intensives
The Diyanet Islamic Research Institute Intensives series introduces a thematic subject area of concern to academic and public audiences alike in a one day, two seminar format. The intensive seeks to introduce the participants to a survey of broader debates and perspectives in areas that are critical intellectually, thematically, and academically to the research foci of Diyanet Institute.
The Spring 2017 Diyanet Institute Intensives will focus on the following themes:
- Ottoman Political Thought; Huseyin Yilmaz
- Islam in America: Historical Perspectives, Current Dynamics; Ahmet S Tekelioglu
- Muslim Prayer Spaces and Gender Dynamics; Seyda Karaoglu
During the intensives expert instructors explain historical and contemporary perspectives and trends that influence Muslim life and thought. The seminars are structured around foundational and critical texts. The participants are expected to be broadly familiar with these texts in order to benefit fully from the seminars – after the seminars the attendees will gain foundational, multi-disciplinary knowledge about each theme and broad academic debates that ensue in that area.
The project serves to simultaneously build communities of interest and knowledge while bridging the gap between academic and public knowledge.
SPRING 2017 INTENSIVES
DIYANET INTENSIVES- OTTOMAN POLITICAL THOUGHT
Professor Huseyin Yilmaz, Professor of History and Director of Ali Vural Ak Center for Global Islamic Studies at George Mason University delivered the third lecture in the Spring 2017 Intensives series organized by Diyanet Islamic Research Institute on May 13 ,2017. The talk was entitled Ottoman Political Thought and covered a broad spectrum of political and philosophical thought.
Professor Yilmaz first laid the background by outlining three broad approaches to political and moral thought and philosophy; namely the juristic, the bureaucratic, and the philosophical approaches. Following the manifestations of these approaches in Islamic thought, Yilmaz examined Ottoman political philosophical tradition, also addressing the role and influence of Sufi movements.
Professor Yilmaz’s forthcoming book, Caliphate Redefined: The Mystical Turn in Ottoman Political Thought will be released by Princeton University Press in November 2017. Diyanet Islamic Research Institute’s Intensives Series will resume in the Fall and will offer multi-week crash courses on important themes affecting global Muslim experience.
DIYANET INTENSIVES- ISLAM IN AMERICA
On Saturday, April 29, 2017 Dr. Ahmet Selim Tekelioglu, a research fellow with the Diyanet Islamic Research Institute presented a case study of Muslim life and institutions in the city of Boston in a presentation entitled “Islam in America: Historical Perspectives, Current Dynamics.”
Tekelioglu’s talk was part of Diyanet Institute’s 2017 Spring Intensives Series. Based on his doctoral research project, Tekelioglu examined broader narratives on Islam in the US through a closer look at Masjid Alhamdulillah, Masjid al-Qur’an and Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center. The Intensives Series will continue through the month of May.