Translational Trends Governing Titles of Qur'an Translations in Turkey

This study explores the prevailing concepts of Qur’an Translations in Turkish tercüme (translation) tefsir (exegesis) meal (meaning) te’vil (interpretation) and sadeleştirme (simplification) in particular. This study classifies Turkish Qur’an translations with respect to their historical and conceptual frameworks providing a detailed historical account of the Qur’an translations since its revelation in the seventh century. This study focuses on the translations of the Qur’an in Turkish prepared in the Republican period. The study first investigates the introduction of the first Turkish translations of the Qur’an and demonstrates the multiplicity of the concepts presented in the titles and other paratexts of the Qur’an translations since 1923. Subsequently it concentrates on the definitions of the concepts in a bi-directional manner with an emphasis on different approaches towards these concepts in the fields of Theology and Translation Studies. The variety in the concepts used in the denominations of Turkish Qur’an translations are explained with respect to their ideological political and social contexts.