Islams and Modernity in Cyprus and Turkey: A Comparative Perspective

This article critically analyzes Aziz Al-Azmeh’s concept of Islams, while arguing for a context-based analysis of the meeting between religious identity and modernity. It provides a loose framework for analyzing encounters between Islams and modernity in the cases of Cyprus and Turkey. Despite their close cultural and political connections at the rise of modernity, these two cases diverge, showcasing a high degree of public and private secularism in Cyprus and a contested public secularism and significant private religious identification in Turkey.