Books by Dietrich Jung

This book combines contemporary discussions on modernity with the history of the Muslim world. This framework attempts to accommodate a core assumption of classical modernization theory - the global nature of modernity - with the pluralistic perspective of the rise of a multiplicity of historically concrete forms of modernities.

In light of the ongoing public debate that focuses on differences between Islam and the West, this book suggests a change of perspective. It departs from the observation that both western Orientalists and Islamist activists have defined Islam similarly as an all-encompassing religious, political and social system.

In this book the authors examine Turkey's attempts at modernization, from the Ottomans in the 19th century to the Kemalist Republic and developments since 1945. They look at the challenge to Kemalism posed by Islamism and Kurdish nationalism.