The relationship between the political and religion in Farabi and Carl Schmitt

The study aims to examine the religion-political relationship in the political philosophies of Fârâbî and Carl Schmitt in the context of their metaphysical thoughts. The metaphysical picture that a particular period drew about the world is similar to the form of political organization. In this context, Fârâbî's theory of ideal society is compatible with the hierarchy of existence in his metaphysics, and Schmitt's ideas about society and politics are related to his theological acceptances. In addition to this, especially in research on Schmitt, it seems that the metaphysical context on which he based his political and legal thoughts is often ignored. However, Schmitt defines himself as a political theologian, not a political philosopher. On the other hand, it has been claimed that Fârâbî was in the same group with Schmitt due to the relationship he established between religion, philosophy and politics. Evaluation of this approach is not possible without taking into account the metaphysical assumptions on which the philosophers in question are based. As a matter of fact, Fârâbî and Schmitt's classifications of society, the education of the society, the qualifications of the sovereign, their duties and powers, and their views on forms of government are the political reflections of their metaphysical thoughts. Of course, the metaphysical approaches of both thinkers are significantly different. Whereas Fârâbî envisioned an ideal society based on metaphysics, for Schmitt, who operates from a concrete existentialist perspective, metaphysics is necessary for reading the political. While religion (mille) is an element of government in Fârâbî's virtuous city, for Schmitt it is a means of maintaining the current political power and stability. This points to the fact that, in addition to the apparent similarities in their political thoughts, there are also fundamental differences.