Dislodging Sufism: Sufi Lodges, Their Material Heritage, and Historical Preservation in the Early Turkish Republic (Brett Wilson, 26 Mart 2024)

The next guest of the Nafi Baba Sufism Talks is Brett Wilson. "Dislodging Sufism: Sufi Lodges, Their Material Heritage, and Historical Preservation in the Early Turkish Republic" will be held on March 26, at 17:00 (GMT +3).

The lecture will take place at Nafi Baba Building 103, South Campus. Registration required for campus entrance: nafibabamerkezi@bogazici.edu.tr. Otherwise, you may attend online (bit.ly/NafiBaba).

Abstract:

In 1925, the Turkish Republic outlawed Sufi orders and confiscated their properties and possessions. This talk will explore what happened to Sufi buildings and complexes as well as their art, sacred objects, and books after Sufism was officially "dis-lodged." Via museums, the academy, and cultural projects, the early republic absorbed many aspects of Sufi tradition and marshalled them in support of the nation-building project. The fate of Sufi properties and edifices varied widely, reflecting inconsistencies and tensions in the state approach not only to Sufi heritage but also to historical preservation more broadly.

Biography:

Brett Wilson is Associate Professor of History and Public Policy at Central European University and the Director of the Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies in Vienna Austria. He earned his PhD at Duke University and taught at Macalester College in the Department of Religious Studies. He is the author of Translating the Qur'an in an Age of Nationalism: Print Culture and Modern Islam in Turkey (Oxford University Press, 2014) and the editor and translator of Nur Baba: A Sufi Novel of Late Ottoman Istanbul (Routledge, 2023). His research has appeared in Comparative Islamic Studies, Die Welt des Islams, the International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, and the Journal of Qur'anic Studies. Wilson's current book project explores the cultural and political history of Sufi orders and lodges during the empire-to-republic transition.