Islamic Political Thought

In this seminar, which will involve the reading and discussion of prominent classical works of Islamic political thought, the distinctive features of selected works from Islamic sciences such as fiqh, kalam, and tasawwuf, as well as texts from Islamic political philosophy and adab literature (siyasatnama and nasihatnama), will be addressed in terms of their role as sources for political thought. In this context, questions such as “How can Islamic political thought be approached?”, “How is the necessity of politics justified?”, “What is the relationship between historical events and political thought?”, “What is the connection between core religious sciences and political thought?”, and “To what extent have Persian, Greek, and Indian-origin texts influenced the formation of political thought?” will be examined. Issues such as regime debates, mechanisms for balancing and monitoring power, and the general principles of politics (justice, consultation, caliphate, merit, allegiance, etc.) will also be addressed within the framework of the main approaches of the great political thinkers of the classical period.