What would Spinoza do?
An old friend entices me to write on Substack and here I am.
Happy to share this piece that I wrote on Mustafa Öztürk, one of Turkey’s most interesting (and progressive) theologians:
And here is the background of how this little project (and in a way, Literary Liberties) came to be:
I first met
of the one and only Substack darling in late 2010 or early 2011. Fortune brought us to the same outfit, the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey, TEPAV, where we both worked as researchers. Then, last June, fortune brought his newly published book to my attention:New Turkey and the Far Right: How Reactionary Nationalism Remade a Country.
It’s a fascinating read, I highly recommend it, and I’ll make sure to review it here on LitLib as soon as possible.
When I contacted Selim to express my congratulations for the book, I found out that he was a doctoral researcher at the University of Nottingham, my alma mater, he became a father just a month before I did, and he was going to be in İzmir in the coming weeks which was where I was headed on my way from the UK to Cyprus. University, family, city. Three stars aligned, so I decided to add a fourth and followed him to the same platform.
In İzmir, we met for an evening chat over a drink. You’ll know what I mean when I say that with some friendships, the passing of time doesn’t dim the rapport. Of course, it helps that our interests are still quite similar: All things Turkey, foreign affairs, political philosophy, fatherhood… and Mustafa Öztürk, too!
Comparing notes on my favourite progressive theologians is not the first thing I’d do when catching up with a friend I haven’t seen in ages. But Mustafa Öztürk’s God works in mysterious ways. I mentioned to Selim how much I enjoy Öztürk’s YouTube channel, mainly because Öztürk’s theology is political theology and as a great communicator, he really makes you care about the crisis of faith inflicted upon Turkey by the powers that be.
As our conversation with Selim continued over Whatsapp, he began to explain to me how Substack worked and then encouraged me to try writing here as a freedman of the gig economy. He also generously extended an offer to write for , which, once again, if my blabber distracted you, led to this piece:
Selim is a great friend and, as I found out during this collaboration, a formidable editor. I am grateful for his support and look forward to new opportunities to work together.
Hope you enjoy the piece.