(Reproduced by permission of Cambridge University Press and the author)

International Journal of Middle East Studies

Vol. 33. No. 4, November 2001, pp. 646-7

AdIl �zdemir and Kenneth Frank, Visible Islam in Modern Turkey, Library of Philosophy and Religion, ed. John Hick (London: Macmillan Press, 2000; New York: St Martin�s Press, 2000; Istanbul, SEV Printing and Publishing, 2000). Pp. 270. $75.00 cloth.

Reviewed by Anna G. Edmonds, Bainbridge Island, Wash.

      Visible Islam in Modern Turkey by Adil Ozdemir and Kenneth Frank is an objective, readable handbook of Islamic worship practices. The authors offer an introduction to the basics of Muslim worship in Turkey and to expressions of faith and identity, prayer, alms-giving, the fast, and the pilgrimage to Mecca. Along with some history behind the practices, they also present their combined interpretations of the present religious climate. This last issue lifts parts of the book above the level of general guide to that of social commentary, as the authors point out the tensions between secular and non-secular worldviews.

      Ozdemir and Frank assume that they are writing largely for a Western Christian audience who know little about Islam but are willing to listen. At the same time, they are sensitive to their Muslim readers. They intend their book to do two things: to answer general questions about Islamic practices and to introduce to non-Muslims �the ideals, the viability, and the humanity of an Islamic way of life.� They are unusually well qualified for this work because of their backgrounds: Ozdemir is a Muslim theologian and a member of the Department of Basic Islamic Disciplines of Dokuz Eylul University; Frank has been an educational missionary of the United Church of Christ for three decades in Zambia and Turkey. Both men now live in Izmir, Turkey. They have come to their co-authorship through years of interfaith dialogue, and share the understandings each has thus won in the hope that their readers may themselves engage in such a faith journey.

      Going beyond the customary descriptions of the �Five Pillars of Islam,� Ozdemir and Frank extend their discussions to include both canonical sacraments such as recitations of the Qur�an, non-canonical sacraments such as interpretations of dreams, and practices contrary to the spirit of both the Qur�an and the hadith such as astrology. They stress that the practices are embedded in the total Turkish social, economic, political, and historical framework, and that an understanding of them comes only from within this context. �For non-Muslim observers to witness the practices of Muslims, and then to generalize from these observations about Islamic views of God, nature, human beings, and society, is . . . to look at this matter from the wrong direction, from outside in.�

      The first section of Visible Islam in Modern Turkey deals with background information for the rest of the book. The authors discuss some of the problems they faced in the writing, among them finding fresh and meaningful English ways to express basic Islamic ideas. In so doing, they are concerned to avoid hackneyed or pejorative phrases. They note that public worship is in itself a �conspicuous socio-political statement,� and thus suspect in secular circles. Although they recognize the many dimensions of religion in Turkey, they concentrate on �orthodox� Sunni beliefs and practices because they are shared by the majority of the population.

      In the main part of the book, titled �A Portrayal of Worship in Turkey,� Ozdemir and Frank discuss the elements of Islam in the order that non-Muslim visitors are most likely to notice them. Thus, they begin with various ways in which Muslims express their faith and their identity, including first the testimony, the shahadah, with the reminder that the contemplation of �the confession of faith is to dwell on the ultimate meaning of existence, . . . to see the Prophet Muhammad as one great example, and model.� Warning that mere private testimony must be accompanied by actions, they go on to discuss male circumcision, the role of the Qur�an, frequent pious phrases, prayer beads, and the sacred nights.

      The roles of the major religious orders, the tarikats, are characterized with the comments that, although they have been illegal since the early days of the republic, they have persisted not only because they fill a need for community loyalty and support, but also because they exercise an influence over Turkish politics. Fasting and the month of Ramazan, the funeral prayer and burial, religious functionaries, the call to prayer, the pilgrimage to Mecca, and charity merit their own separate chapters, as do cleanliness and the physical elements of the mosque.

      The chapter on the sacrament of prayer illustrates one of the unique qualities that characterizes the whole book in the warmth and mellow wisdom it portrays of Islam: �The worship we are describing is not a dominantly cognitive process, but it does have its own rationality. Islam is ultimate trust in, and commitment to, the unseen, the invisible, the Divine Mystery.� In recounting the story of the Night Journey of Muhammad when he prayed with both the Jewish prophets and Jesus, the authors point out that it �depicts ritual prayer itself as an interfaith gathering point for the established religious traditions.� This is in welcome contrast to the more common portrayal of Islam as legalistic and exclusive of other faiths.

      The authors are straightforward in presenting the contradictions between traditional Islamic and current secular concepts. They use the issues of the alms tax (zakat) and the Animal Offering Holiday to raise questions for both secularists and non-secularists concerning charity and responsible social service, concerning ecology and a way to show gratitude to Allah for the abundance of the Earth, and concerning private versus communal worship. Although these points of friction figure large in the picture of Islam that visitors may see in Turkey, the authors might have added that a resolution of them is beyond the responsibilities of outsiders.

      The final pages of the book include fifteen appendices that cover a variety of specialized subjects. These make for quick references, with a list of current areas of controversy, Sunni celebrations and their dates, a discussion of gender issues, and sets of the stations of the prayers. They give the floor plan of a mosque, with a description of the uses of each element. Brief footnotes, a glossary of Islamic terms with variations in their spellings, a short bibliography, and the index complete the book.

      If Ozdemir and Frank are considering a second edition of this book, I suggest including more information about music and musical instruments specific to the Sufi zikir (dhikr) as elements of worship that communicate beyond conscious cognitive processes. Likewise, in the interest of attracting more of their readership, they might provide some photographs or line drawings.

      The one book I found missing in the bibliography, and the one to which I would compare this one favorably, is Edward Lane�s Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians, now more than 150 years old. Although Lane�s book is a more comprehensive study, it addresses the same subjects as Ozdemir and Frank�s book in a similar spirit of carefully reasoned fairness and accuracy. Visible Islam in Modern Turkey admirably fills a void in recent Islamic reference materials for both casual tourists and long-term non-Muslim residents in Turkey. It is the authors� unique blend of scholarship, personal experience, and spirituality that give the book its lasting validity.

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