A comparision of Cemil Meriç and Ümit Meriç's main opinions related to İslam

The concept of religion is one of the main focus areas of sociology. The western sociologists have concentrated on the religion concept since 19th century. But, they were not always objective in their analyses toward Islam and the Islamic civilization. They tended to analyze Islam within stereotyped framework. On the contrary to these stereotypical and subjective approaches, there were sociologists from the western world who have a more balanced view on Islam. Hereby, we focused on two of the intellectuals who developed a comprehensive and subjective understanding of Islam, Cemil Meriç and Ümit Meriç. We strived to reveal their analysis of Islam and divergency and overlapping of their views on Islam. Two pioneering intellectuals of Turkish intellectual history in modern times, Cemil Meriç and Ümit Meriç's approach to Islam is different than other Turkish intellectuals and sociologists who simply followed the footsteps of the western sociologists. Cemil Meriç and Ümit Meriç elaborated what Islam is, its main priniciples and components. They managed to develop a comrehensive analysis on Islam's role and function in today and in the past instead of reading Islam from an orientalist perspective. Cemil Meriç and Ümit Meriç conceptualized Islam as a civilization, a light from east and a world religion by emphasizing on its significance for individual and society. They argued that Islam is a social project and a world view. Cemil Meriç analyzed culture and comprehension (irfan) terms in his analysis on Islam. He associates irfan concept with the spirit of Islam. Cemil Meriç suggests that Islam is a universal religion based on unity, love, oneness and justice. Meriç emphasized that Islam, firstly, is a morality which advocates equality and has a mediatory ground, while Ümit Meriç treated Islam from the perspective of customs in the society and individual habits. Ümit Meriç analysed Islam more in the context of pilgrimage (hajj), prayer (namaz) and praying (dua). Meriç took hold of namaz, hajj and dua sociologically. Moreover, Ümit Meriç featured dressing and covering issues in his analysis of Islam. Cemil Meriç and Ümit Meriç agree on that Islam is a big civilization project and a universal religion and belief system. Yet, Cemil Meriç is more engaged in the theological and philisophical depthness of Islam, while Ümit Meriç focused on the formal side (rituals and coverings). Key Words Cemil Meriç, Ümit Meriç, East, West, Civilization, Capitalism, Socialism, Oriantalism, Globalization, Religion, Islam