Islam in Modern Turkey

217 Pages·2021·10.846 MB·English

by  Kim Shively

Islam in Modern Turkey
The New Edinburgh Islamic Surveys
Series Editor: Carole Hillenbrand
Contemporary Issues in Islam Asma Asfaruddin
Astronomy and Astrology in the Islamic World Stephen P. Blake
The New Islamic Dynasties Clifford Edmund Bosworth
Media Arabic Julia Ashtiany Bray
An Introduction to the Hadith John Burton
A History of Islamic Law Noel Coulson
Medieval Islamic Political Thought Patricia Crone
A Short History of the Ismailis Farhad Daftary
Islam: An Historical Introduction (2nd Edition) Gerhard Endress
A History of Christian–Muslim Relations (2nd Edition) Hugh Goddard
Shi’ism (2nd Edition) Heinz Halm
Islamic Science and Engineering Donald Hill
Muslim Spain Reconsidered Richard Hitchcock
Islamic Law: From Historical Foundations to Contemporary Practice Mawil Izzi Dien
Sufism: The Formative Period Ahmet T. Karamustafa
A History of Islam in Indonesia Carool Kersten
Da’wa: A Global History of Islamic Missionary Thought and Practice Matthew Kuiper
Islamic Aesthetics Oliver Leaman
Persian Historiography Julie Scott Meisami
The Muslims of Medieval Italy Alex Metcalfe
The Archaeology of the Islamic World Marcus Milwright
Twelver Shiism Andrew Newman
Muslims in Western Europe (4th Edition) Jørgen S. Nielsen and Jonas Otterbeck
Medieval Islamic Medicine Peter E. Pormann and Emilie Savage-S mith
Muslims in Eastern Europe Egdūnas Račius
Islamic Names Annemarie Schimmel
The Genesis of Literature in Islam Gregor Schoeler
Islam in Modern Turkey Kim Shively
The Qur’an: A Historical- Critical Introduction Nicolai Sinai
Modern Arabic Literature Paul Starkey
Islamic Medicine Manfred Ullman
A History of Islamic Spain W. Montgomery Watt and Pierre Cachia
Introduction to the Qur’an W. Montgomery Watt
Islamic Creeds W. Montgomery Watt
Islamic Philosophy and Theology W. Montgomery Watt
Islamic Political Thought W. Montgomery Watt
The Influence of Islam on Medieval Europe W. Montgomery Watt
Muslims of Central Asia: An Introduction Galina M. Yemelianova
edinburghuniversitypress.com/ series/ isur
Islam in Modern Turkey
Kim Shively
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Published with the support of the University of Edinburgh Scholarly Publishing
Initiatives Fund.
Contents
List of figures vi
Acknowledgements viii
Notes on Turkish usage ix
Glossary x
Preface xv
Map of Turkey xxi
1 Islam and the formation of the modern Turkish Republic 1
2 Sunni Islam in Turkey: institutions and practices 24
3 The Alevi minority in Turkey 44
4 Practising piety: popular religious organisations 62
5 Islamic political parties 87
6 Religious education: institutions and popular practices 113
7 Neoliberalism and the transformation of the 2000s 134
8 The latest chapter 161
Bibliography 177
Index 187
Figures
1.1 Safranbolu houses 3
1.2 Zehra Hanım’s house in Safranbolu, with her oldest son, Erol 4
1.3 Schoolchildren dressed for a folk dancing performance on National
Sovereignty and Children’s Day, Istanbul, 1998 17
2.1 Kocatepe mosque in Ankara 25
2.2 A Ramazan band collecting tips during Ramazan Bayramı, Izmir,
1999 38
2.3 Boys in Sünnet costumes, Şanlıurfa, 2012 42
3.1 Boy with bağlama 53
3.2 A gecekondu neighbourhood outside Izmir, 1998 56
4.1 Students of Fethullah Gülen studying at the Golden Generation
Compound in Saylorsburg, PA, 2015 63
4.2 The türbe complex for Jalal al-d in Rumi in Konya, Turkey 70
4.3 The türbe of Bediüzzaman Said Nursi, Şanlıurfa, 2012 76
4.4 Praying at the türbe of Molla Yahya Efendi (1494–1570), Istanbul,
2014 85
5.1 Mehter band playing at a political rally in support of the Virtue
Party, Ankara, 1999 88
5.2 Atatürk’s mausoleum in downtown Ankara 92
5.3 Republic Monument in Taksim Square, Istanbul 93
5.4 Ottoman- style teahouse at Çamlıca Park in Istanbul 94
5.5 Village women selling handiwork to tourists, Cappadocia, 1992 100
5.6 Women wearing tesettür 102
5.7 Atatürk helps a young girl working at a computer, 1999 105
6.1 Women studying the Qur’an at a home in Sincan, Ankara, 1998 131
7.1 Şakirin mosque in Istanbul, 2010 135
7.2 Prayer room of the Şakirin mosque 136
7.3 The mihrap of the Şakirin mosque 136
7.4 A billboard advertising modest clothing, Istanbul, 2012 142
7.5 A display in a shop selling modest clothing, Fatih, Istanbul, 2010 143
7.6 The tuğra of Suleyman the Magnificent displayed in a private home 143
7.7 Boys in Ottoman- style circumcision costumes, Ankara, 2014 145
8.1 Çamlıca mosque front entrance, 2019 163
Shively running heads
Section Verso Recto
Figures Islam in modern Turkey Figures
Figures vii
8.2 Vendor selling face masks, goggles and Guy Fawkes masks, Ankara,
2013 166
8.3 Young Gezi protestor in a Guy Fawkes mask, Ankara, 2013 167
8.4 Informal school for Syrian refugee children in Kilis, 2014 170
Acknowledgements
I am humbled by the fact that so many friends and colleagues have been willing
to read and comment on drafts of chapters and provide interesting insights
into the issues discussed in this book. While I drew on the wisdom of many
researchers who have studied Islam in modern Turkey, I especially want to
thank Mustafa Kaya, Halim Çalış, Züleyha Çolak, Hikmet Kocamaner and
Fabio Vicini for their input into various parts of the manuscript and for answer-
ing my many questions about matters large and small. I am also indebted to
my student assistant, Greg White, who checked the clarity of the prose and
copy- edited a number of the chapters. I cannot thank enough my many Turkish
friends and interlocutors who have helped me at various stages of my research
in Turkey – some of them appear under pseudonyms in this book. I will forever
be grateful for their boundless wit, wisdom, kindness and hospitality.
I wish to acknowledge the institutions who supported me in my research and
writing. Various components of my research in Turkey were made possible by
grants from the Wenner- Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, the
Institute of Turkish Studies, the Sachar International Scholarship of Brandeis
University and the Research Committee at Kutztown University. I am further-
more grateful to Kutztown University for twice awarding me sabbatical leave,
once for conducting research in Turkey and a second time to work on complet-
ing this book. Nicola Ramsey at Edinburgh University Press has been especially
helpful with the project as she approached me with the idea for the book and
has been kind and supportive throughout the editing process. I thank my chil-
dren, Emre, Benjamin, Evren and David, for tolerating my absentmindedness
and occasional lapses into obsession as I researched the material for this book.
Finally, I am grateful to my husband, Deniz, not only for supporting me in the
writing process, but also for being willing to hunt down information, find images
and double- check facts. I dedicate this book to him.
Note on Turkish usage
Since 1928 Turkish has been written in a modified Latin alphabet, rather than
in the Arabic script that was used during the Ottoman Empire. The modern
Turkish alphabet consists of twenty- nine letters, including most of the letters of
the English alphabet plus six additional letters to indicate and distinguish par-
ticular sounds. Turkish spelling does not use q, w and x. The beauty of modern
Turkish writing is that every letter is pronounced consistently from one word to
the next, which means every Turkish word is pronounced how it is spelled. The
following is a guide to the pronunciation of certain Turkish letters:
c a hard j sound, as in judge
ç a ch sound, as in church
g always pronounced as a hard g, as in goat
ğ mostly silent but used to lengthen the preceding vowel
ı an eh sound, as in dozen
i always pronounced ee, as in tee
j a soft j, as in pleasure
o a long o, as in home
ö pronounced like the French eu, as in monsieur
ş a sh sound, as in shoe
u as in put
ü pronounced like the French u, as in tu