When the Turks entered the Islamic civilization as a political force in 1040, the latter was about 400 years old and was disintegrated politically and intellectually. Trying to construct a common/meta language, the Turkish scholars first adopted the concept of Being developed earlier by Muslim predecessors, then reached a common framework for the expression of the knowledge regarding Being. Ibn al-Arabi's system had produced a common vision of Being/God, creating the possibility of a common metaphysics. The meta/common language was composed, with the contributions of Fahreddin al-Razi, by Necmeddin Kazvini and Siraceddin Urmevi within the framework of Avicenna's philosophy, which had been influenced by al-Ghazali. It might be argued that, due to this language, starting from Avicenna, the different traditions of thought in the Islamic philosophy-science have been complimentary with each other rather than conflictual and exclusive. The Islamic-Turkish philosophy-science has profoundly analyzed the paradigm that was shaped by Avicenna and Ibn al-Haytham. For this reason, Turkish thought is a natural extension of the earlier Islamic tradition. This, however, is based on further verification (tahqîq) and analysis (tadqîq), rather than mere imitation (taklîd). Also, the madrasas made it possible to transmit knowledge through generations and thus the socialization of theoretical knowledge, which in turn led to the systematic analysis of social problems. In conclusion, it may be said that the substance of the Islamic philosophy-science was formed before the Turks, and its form by them; the combination of substance and form was achieved in the Ottoman period.

Understanding the Turkish thought in an integrated framework and overcoming its problems requires questioning the method(s) used in studies on the Turkish history and thought. Since conventional methods are not enough to sufficiently understand it, it is imperative to construct a new methodology. In studying social thought, one must pay attention primarily to principles upon which values, institutions and traditions of a society are built, and to ideas framing these principles, rather than the ideas put forward by particular intellectuals. Also, the intellectual rigor of a society is rooted in the continuity of its historical existence, rather than in the number of intellectuals living in that society. Studying social thought in an integrated framework requires establishing necessary connections among values, traditions and institutions in terms of their relations with the cosmological view of a society. In this context, it can be argued that values, traditions and institutions, rooted in a world view, play an important role in the Turkish thought. This study aims to analyze the role played by these values, traditions and institutions in relation to the State. The State is central in this analysis because it has immanent connections with both this cosmological view and those values, traditions and institutions. Below it will be explored how the problems involved in the Turkish thought can be overcome with a new methodology and approach.

This paper essentially presents a bibliography of the works on the Ottoman madrasas carried out during the Republican period. There were a few studies during first years of this period. But there was an increase after the 1940s and the increase was steeper after 1980s. Initially, the studies reflected a negative outlook but later they became more objective. The paper also gives an outline of the nature of the education in the Ottoman madrasas. In this framework, the paper reviews the structure of the organization, the status of teaching staff, and the nature of educational activities in these institutions. I believe that the paper gives the reader a sound knowledge about how the Ottoman madrasas progressed right form their foundation, the changes in their structure and in the nature of educational activities.

In this essay, after a short presentation of the life and works of Erzurumlu Ibrahim Haqqi (d. 1194/1780), the text of his work, Tartîb al-?ulûm, is given and the name of books and their authors mentioned in the Tartîb are introduced. In his book, which consists of 125 couplets, Ibrahim Haqqi mentions the name of sciences and their texts in thirty one chapter, believing that these are necessary for everybody who wants to be a scholar. It is possible to say that, compared to other texts in the same field, Tartîb al-?ulûm is in line with the main characteristics of the general trend of the Ottoman scholarly public. In addition, despite the opposing ideas including those of Katip Celebi, this work maintains the general level of the Ottoman madrasa system. The irshâdî character of the Tartîb, in addition to its scholarly aspects, shows both the fact that Ibrahim Haqqi was a murshid as well as being a mudarris, and that eastern madrasas had closer relationships with tekkes compared to those in Istanbul. On the other hand, such new aspects as ilm al-tashrîh in the Tartîb reflect the intellectual context of the Lale Devri as well as the author's own inclinations.

The topic of this paper is Abhari, who is one of the most eminent philosophers following Avicenna's tradition, who is the apex of Islamic philosophy, and his classic textbook Hidâyat al-Hikma read in the Ottoman Theological School. In the first and the second chapter of the article after brief information about Abhari's life is given, the content of Hidâyat al-Hikma is mentioned. The book consists of three chapters: Logic, physics, and metaphysics. There is also an appendix on the Hereafter. Numerous commentaries and supercommentaries have been written on Hidâyat al-Hikma throughout history. They have also been studied in madrasas and private lessons stretching from North Africa to the Indian subcontinent. In the third chapter the commentaries of Hidâyat al-Hikma and their supercommentaries written and read in the Ottoman madrasas have been studied. Some general thought on the Ottoman madrasa and commanteries' tradition have also been criticized.

The pre-conquest era is the period of the formation of the Ottoman Empire. It is thus important to understand the goal of the attempts at the interpretation of the Qur'an, how and by whom they were done, and most importantly the interpretive framework in which it is understood. This article tries to explore, in light of above questions, the ulemâ who in their books attempted to interpret the Qur'an in the pre-conquest era.

This essay has two chapters. The first one focuses on the life, works and students of Mehmed Shah Fanârî. The aim of the second chapter is to study the sciences mentioned in Fanârî's Enmûzac al-ulûm, and to evaluate the understanding of science in Ottomans before the conquest of Istanbul on the basis of the same book.