Islam in Modern Turkey Kim Shively 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- din 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 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 Glossary aşık a Turkish bard; an Alevi musician who provides music for the cem rituals Aşure (Arabic: ashura), for Shi’a Muslims and Alevis, the day in the month of Muharram (in the Islamic calendar) when Imam Hüseyin was killed at the Battle of Kerbala in 680 ce. bağlama a long- necked lute, also known as a saz batini a search for deeper meaning in texts bid’a unlawful innovation in Islam, especially in Islamic law Buyruk ‘Decree’: the sacred book of the Alevis caliph (Turkish: halife), literally, the ‘representative’ of the Prophet Muhammad. The leader of the global Sunni Muslim community çelebi gentleman; title of the leader of a Tarikat cem the central ritual of Alevis, combining dancing, recitation and music cemaat a religious organisation, usually made up of followers of a particular religious leader cemevi a building, usually in a city, where the cem is performed Cumhuriyet Bayramı Republic Day, a national holiday commemorating the founding of the Turkish Republic, celebrated annually on 29 October cuz (Arabic: juz’), one- thirtieth of the Qur’an. During the thirty days of Ramadan, it is customary for Muslims to read one cuz of the Qur’an each day dede a senior member of a Tarikat; in Alevism, a holy man whose ritual authority is derived from his descent from Haci Bektaş Veli dergah dervish lodge or tekke dernek association or club dershane a tutoring and test- preparation school dervish (Turkish: derviş), member of a Tarikat Diyanet short for Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı (Directorate of Religious Acks Islam in modern Turkey Acknowledgements Turkish usage Islam in modern Turkey Notes on Turkish usage Gloss Islam in modern Turkey Glossary Glossary xi Affairs), a bureaucratic division that handles religious affairs in Turkey dua an invocation prayer in Islam ezan (Arabic: adhan), the call to prayer fetva (Arabic: fatwa), a legal decision by an Islamic judge or alim gecekondu ‘built at night’: a squatter house or settlement görgü a complex set of Alevi rituals designed to mediate conflicts in the community haci one who has been on the hajj hadith (Turkish: hadis), an account of the Prophet Muhammad’s sayings or actions hafız one who has memorised the Qur’an hajj (Turkish: hac) a pilgrimage to Mecca; one of the Five Pillars of Islam Hakikat full realisation of the divine, which is the ultimate goal of Sufi and Alevi ecstatic ritual. In Alevism, it refers to the ‘oneness of being’. hatip a Muslim preacher Hidrellez a popular spring festival celebrated on 6 May to commemo- rate the day when two especially righteous Prophets, Hızır (Khidr) and Ilyas (Elijah), were believed to have met on earth hijra the migration of the original Muslim community from Mecca to Medina in 622 ce; it marks year one of the Islamic calendar hizmet service; the name of the service organisation associated with the Gülen movement hoca master, teacher, leader iftar the meal that breaks the fast during Ramadan imam a prayer leader; also a successor to the Prophet recognised by Shi’i Muslims and Alevis irşad the propagation of Islamic knowledge jihad religious striving or warfare kalam Islamic theology Kandil günleri five holy nights relating to the life of the Prophet Muhammad when special prayers are said kaymakam mayor Kırklar Semahı ‘Dance of the Forty Saints’: an Alevi semah dance Kızılbaş a popular movement in the eastern Ottoman Empire whose members aligned themselves with the Shi’a Shahs of the Safavid Empire against the Ottomans Kurban Bayramı (Arabic: Eid al- Adha) the feast of sacrifice held at the end of the hajj xii Islam in modern Turkey Kurmanji a dialect of the Kurdish language meclis an assembly; a parliament medrese religious secondary school mehter Ottoman military band mescit a small mosque, not used for Friday communal prayers mevlit A Turkish poem recounting the birth of the Prophet Muhammad, recited at special events, such as weddings, circumcision ceremonies and death anniversaries mihrap a niche in a mosque wall indicating the direction of Mecca millet originally an autonomous community, in modern Turkish refers to a nation minber a pulpit reached by a straight set of stairs miraç the nocturnal ascent of the Prophet Muhammad to heaven muezzin one who calls the ezan Muharram first month of the Islamic calendar; on the tenth (ashura) of Muharram Shi’as and Alevis commemorate the Battle of Kerbala and the death of Imam Hussein mürid a disciple in a Tarikat mürşid a spiritual guide or master in a Tarikat namaz (Arabic: salah), the five daily prayers of Islam nefs the material or carnal self niyet intention oruç (Arabic: sawm), Islamic fasting Padişah Sultan pardesü a long overcoat worn by women to maintain modesty standards pir a master or sheik in a Tarikat rabıta the master- disciple relationship in Sufi orders Ramadan (Turkish: Ramazan), the ninth month in the Islamic calen- dar, the month in which the Prophet Muhammad received his first revelation Ramazan Bayramı (Arabic: Eid al- Fitr), the festival celebrating the end of fasting during Ramadan; also known as the Sugar Festival (Şeker Bayramı) sadaka any charitable giving beyond the requirements of zekat Safavid the enemy Shi’a Empire east of the Ottoman Empire saz a long- necked lute, also known as a bağlama sazende a bard who plays the saz secde the kneeling part of the Islamic ritual prayer semah dancing performed during the Alevi cem or during the rituals of some Sufi orders şeyh sheikh; a master in a Tarikat Glossary xiii Şeyhülislam the Grand Mufti, the leader of the muftis shahada the Muslim declaration of faith; the first Pillar of Islam Shari’ah (Turkish: şeriat), Islamic law silsile spiritual genealogy of the masters of Sufi orders site apartment complex siyer literature about the life of the Prophet Muhammad sohbet a sermon or conversation sünnet generally, Turkish for Sunnah (the sayings and deeds of the Prophet Muhammad); more particularly, ritual circumci- sion of boys following Muslim custom surah a chapter of the Qur’an takva love of and obedience to God talip student; in Alevism, a follower of a dede Tanzimat reforms, especially the centralising reforms of 1839–1973 Tarikat a Sufi order or brotherhood (Sunni Islam); ritual practice and moral conduct (Alevism) tasavvuf Sufism, Islamic mystic traditions tawhid the unity of God tefsir Qur’anic