Ottoman Sunnism: New Perspectives, Paperback

Addressing the contested nature of Ottoman Sunnism from the 14th to the early 20th century, this book draws on diverse perspectives across the empire. Closely reading intellectual, social and mystical traditions within the empire, it clarifies the possibilities that existed within Ottoman Sunnism, presenting it as a complex, nuanced and evolving concept.

The authors in this volume rescue Ottoman Sunnism from an increasingly bipolar definition that seeks to present the Ottomans as enshrining a clearly defined orthodoxy, suppressing its contrasting heterodoxy. Challenging established notions that have marked the existing literature, the chapters contribute significantly not only to the ongoing debate on the Ottoman age of confessionalisation but also to the study of religion in the Ottoman context.

About author(s):

Vefa Erginbaş is an Assistant Professor of History at Providence College, USA. He has a Ph.D. in history, which he received from the Ohio State University. Erginbaş studies early modern Ottoman intellectual, social, and cultural history. His published works deal with the issues of religious sectarianism in the early modern Islamic world, as well as historical-writing in the Ottoman Empire and Enlightenment in the Islamic world.