Mission as factor of change in Turkey (nineteenth to first half of twentieth century)
This article explores the complex role Protestant missionaries played in late Ottoman Asia Minor. For several generations they were important, even if today almost forgotten, actors of social and mental change. They succeeded in establishing autonomous schools, hospitals and factories not only in th...
| Published in: | Islam and Christian-Muslim relations |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic/Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Routledge
2002
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| In: |
Islam and Christian-Muslim relations
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| Further subjects: | B
Jahrhundert, 20
B Gesellschaftsmodell B Protestant Church B Turkey B Islam B century, 20th B Jahrhundert, 19 B mission / world mission B Social System B Christianity B Mission / Weltmission B century, 19th |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | This article explores the complex role Protestant missionaries played in late Ottoman Asia Minor. For several generations they were important, even if today almost forgotten, actors of social and mental change. They succeeded in establishing autonomous schools, hospitals and factories not only in the capital, but also in the provinces. They had a vision of integrating minorities into an egalitarian pluralist society which was diametrically opposed to the ideas of the ruling groups and the nationalists. Instead of homogenizing society and strengthening its (Turco-)Muslim unity, missions were differentiating society in religious, ethnic and social terms. Protestant missions supported religious minorities such as the Armenians and Assyrians, heterodox groups such as the Alevis and Yezidis and the poorer classes, but could not win over the state, which was based on the support of the Sunn I majority and saw the missions' successful puritan and liberal modernity as a threat. Even if during and after World War I the missionaries' human networks and social visions tragically broke down, their strong contribution to modern education in Turkey remained. |
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| ISSN: | 0959-6410 |
| Contains: | In: Islam and Christian-Muslim relations
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/0959641022000016384 |