Islamic Thought and Education in the Ottoman Period

Alparslan Aç kgenç received his PhD from the University of Chicago; member of the Turkish Academy of Sciences, taught at Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey and International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization; retired from Y ld z Technical University. Author of Islamic Scientific Tradition in History (Kuala Lumpur, 2014).

History of Islamic philosophy is the history of philosophical thought in Islamic civilization. Philosophical thought as a scientific enterprise cannot begin in a civilization out of external causes. There must be certain internal cause which gives a momentum for such activities; and as such these activities exhibit an unterrupted process throughout history. But this process also displays certain stages at specific periods within that history. Each stage can be named according to characteristics which they manifest. This was the case with Islamic thought as it gradually arose out of its own dynamics and resources. It thus continued in history until it reached the Ottoman Period (roughly 1300-1950). Today one can find a lot of sources in English in early periods of Islamic philosophy. But later periods especially Ottoman Period is almost utterly unknown for Western readers. The sources of this period is also not so readily available. This work although still not quite sufficient but at least it will provide an initial outlook for the Ottoman thought. It also gives an overview of Islamic education during the Ottoman period which provides a solid foundation for the Ottoman thought.