The answer to this question is explored by Yasin Aktay, a Turkish\nacademic, politician and author, in an article cited from Al Jazeera on\nThursday (15 October 2026).<\/p>\n
The author argues that Max Weber approached Islam through inherited\nprejudices, unlike his treatment of other religions.<\/p>\n
Bryan S Turner\u2019s book Max Weber and Islam: A Critical Study<\/em>,\nwhich I translated into Turkish years ago, reveals one of the most\nstriking paradoxes in Weber\u2019s sociology.<\/p>\n Max Weber was one of the pioneers of \u201cinterpretive sociology\u201d\n(verstehende Soziologie<\/em>), a method that brought major changes\nto modern sociology.<\/p>\n He believed that, to understand social action, one must start with\nthe meaning that actors themselves attach to their behaviour.<\/p>\n Yet, when discussing Islam, Weber set this method aside to some\nextent. He did not begin by considering how Muslims understood their own\nworld, but instead relied on a framework of thought about Islam that had\nbeen shaped in the West over centuries.<\/p>\n The distinctive feature of Weber\u2019s method was its rejection of\nexplanations that reduce social reality to a set of external factors.\nInstead, he argued that one must first enter the world of social actors\nin order to understand their actions.<\/p>\n For example, when studying the economic behaviour of Protestant\nChristians, Weber paid close attention to their beliefs about\npredestination, salvation, work and worldly success.<\/p>\n He did not view Protestantism merely as a reflection of class\ninterests or economic conditions. Rather, he sought to understand how\nreligious beliefs shaped human behaviour.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/why-did-max-weber-betray-his-own-method-when-interpreting-islam-1792065133",
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