History and Christian-Muslim Relations

[email protected]

B.A. – Ege University, 2004 

M.A. – Ege University, 2006 

M.A. – Catholic Theological Union at Chicago, 2010  

Ph.D. – The University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2018  

Areas of Specialization: Islam in Central Eurasia, History of the Middle East, Christian-Muslim relations, Turkish literature

Selçuk Altuntas received his early education in his native city of Ordu, a coastal city in the Black Sea region of Turkey. He received his BA and his first MA in Turkish Language and Literature from Ege University in Izmir, Turkey. He did a second MA in Theology with a focus on Christian-Muslim dialogue in Catholic Theological Union at Chicago (CTU). In his MA thesis at CTU, The Mufti of All: Christians and Jews In the Fatwas of Ebussuud Efendi (1490-1579), Dr. Altuntas looked at the ways in which the most prominent Ottoman jurisconsult Ebussuud Efendi dealt with the Christian and Jewish population of the Ottoman Empire in his fatwas, legal opinions. Dr. Altuntas earned his PhD in Languages and Culures of Asia from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison). In his dissertation How to Be A Proper Muslim In the Russian Empire: An Intellectual Biography of Musa Jarullah Bigiyev (1875-1949), using prominent anthropologist Talal Asad’s idea of Islam as a discursive tradition, he looked at the ways in which Bigiyev, a Tatar Muslim scholar from Russia, challanged the religious establishment of the time and offered alternative ways of practicing Islam.

As Lecturer, Dr. Altuntas has taught courses in the Middle East history at UW-Madison and The Ohio State University, and courses in Christian-Muslim relations at Edgewood College in Madison, WI. At Respect Graduate School, he has taught courses in Islamic jurisprudence and Islamic history. Dr. Altuntas has published scholarly articles on the discussions of translating the Qur’an into the Tatar language in the beginning of the 20th century. He is currently working on a book project which will be a compilation of intellectual discussions among the Muslims of Russia between 1905 and 1917. In addition to his academic background, Dr. Altuntas is a board certified chaplain, providing spiritual care in both healthcare and correctional settings.