Turkey: The Trojan horse of Islam? Identity, politics and the myth of islamization in modern Turkey, prof. Bülent Şenay, 14 June, 17:00, Sala Negulescu
Bülent Şenay (PhD in religious studies from Lancaster University, UK), professor of history of religion and culture at Uludag University, Bursa, Turkey, started as a lecturer of Muslim philosophy and Ethics at the University College of St. Martin’s (1996-1999), Lancaster, UK. He continued as Associate Professor of History of Religion, Interreligious Hermeneutics, Religion and Ecology, Islam in Modern World (BA level), Civilisational Landscapes and Christian-Muslim Relations throughout history (MA level), and Islam and Religious Other (PhD level), at the Faculty of Islamic Theology, Uludag University (2000-2008). During 2008-2012 he was counselor for Social and Religious Affairs at the Turkish Embassy in The Hague, Netherlands. His biography includes various publications and lectures on `religious other`, `teaching religion in multicultural / plural society`, `interreligious dialogue/trialogue`, `ethics of disagreement and public space in Islamic Thought`, `anatomy of contemporary Islamic movements`. His research interest is focused on comparative religion, religion in multicultural societies, identity and religion, Christian-Jewish-Muslim relations, religion in Europe. He is a member of several international associations (British Association for the Study of Religion, British Sociological Association, British Society for the Philosophy of Religion, Turkish Association for the History of Religion) and member of the editorial board of “Islamic Studies” (Ankara), “Journal of Hadith Studies” (Istanbul), and Ilahiyat Studies-Bursa. He was special guest in many international conferences and coordinated several European projects. Dr. Şenay was also a participant at both academic and diplomatic level in the Intercultural Exchange Project of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. He took part as guest speaker in OSCE Review Conferences on Islamophobia and Freedom of Religion in Vienna, Warsaw, and Astana. He also teaches at various European universities. In 2008 he was William James Visiting Professor at Bayreuth University, Germany and he was a member of several PhD commissions at the University of Amsterdam. In 2010 he was special guest speaker at the Princeton University’s Institute for International and Religious Studies.