The discipline of Kalam focuses on deriving the theological principles of the Islamic religion outlined in the Qur’an and defending these principles against other philosophical and theological world-views. Kalam analyzes the Islamic conception of belief (called tawhid in the Qur’an) and other central articles of faith in Islam, including Deity (uluhiyya), Prophethood (nubuwwa), and Afterlife (ma‘ad). The Department of Kalam has two sub-fields: History of Kalam and Systematic Kalam. In the former, there are courses on the formative period and conditions of the discipline, the main theological paradigms and principles that have emerged throughout its history, and the like. Islamic theological schools (Murji’a, Jabriyya, Mu‘tazila, Ash‘ariyya, Maturidiyya, Shi‘a, etc.) are investigated from a comparative perspective. In the latter sub-field, there are courses on classical theological issues such as deity, prophethood, afterlife, the human being, morality, and reason and revelation, as well as contemporary theological topics such as secularism, atheism, reincarnation, religion and science, religion and politics, democracy, human rights, and the environment.
History of Islamic Sects
The Department examines various political and theological understandings of the Islamic religion and the intellectual manifestations of these understandings. The Department has two sub-fields: Classical Islamic Sects and Contemporary Islamic Trends. The former investigates denominational groups (Khawarij, Shi‘a, Mu‘tazila, Murji’a, Ash‘ariyya, Maturidiyya, Druze, Nusayriyya, Yazidiyya, etc.) that came into existence with certain political and theological objectives during the classical Islamic period. The latter examines contemporary national and international religious trends. The Department studies the conditions under which the sects came into existence, the reasons for their coming into being, and their formative periods, main ideas, followers, literatures, regions, and contributions to Islamic intellectual history. By its nature, the Department is widely open to interdisciplinary study. Accordingly, depending on the topic under investigation, it cooperates closely with various disciplines including Islamic History, Kalam, Islamic Jurisprudence, Sufism, and Sociology of Religion.
Member of Department
Prof.. Cenksu ÜÇER (Anabilim Dalı Başkanı)
Assist. Prof. Abdullah DEMİR
Assist. Prof. Mehmet Akif CEYHAN
Research Assist. Kamile AKBAL