Gayri-Kozmopolit Erasmus: Erasmus’un Türkofibik/İslamofobik Retoriğine dair Bir İnceleme

Authors : Nathan RON

Pages : 86-114

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Publication Date : 2020-03-30

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :Erasmus despised the Turks, their achievements, and their religion, at a time when the Ottoman Empire was at its peak under Sultan Suleiman I (the law giver; the Magnificent). However, as a rule Turkophobia/Islamophobia been passed over by scholars and writers. Stephen Zweig, an important biographer, and Johan Huizinga, the prominent historian, both admirers of Erasmus, are by no means the only ones to ignore it. Another important historian, Heiko Oberman, was exceptional in claiming that Erasmus had little patience with the modern ideal of toleration, whether religious or ethnic. However, Oberman focused on Erasmus’ anti-Jewish rather than his anti-Turkish/Islamic attitudes. In this study Oberman’s arguments are supplemented by analyzing Erasmus’ rhetoric concerning the Turks and Islam, concluding that Erasmus was captivated by the intolerant Eurocentric spirit of his time even more than Martin Luther.
Keywords : Erasmus, Luther, Islamophobia, Turkophobia