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Between Mezhep and Minority : Twelver Shiʿism in the Turkish Public Sphere

Williamson Fa, Stefan LU (2023) In International Journal of Middle East Studies 55(3). p.479-497
Abstract
Despite the growth in scholarship on diverse religious communities in Turkey, little attention has been paid to Twelver Shiʿi Muslims. Since the founding of the Republic, the Turkish state's foundational secularist agenda has attempted to control and promote a single hegemonic form of Islam, and Shiʿa have faced continuous issues practicing their faith in public as a result. While the liberalization of the past three decades has allowed Shiʿism to enter the public sphere, the community has had to continue navigating limitations on their expression of religious difference. Based on fieldwork in Eastern Anatolia, this article deepens understandings of Islam in Turkey by showing how Shiʿa have negotiated their position vis-à-vis both... (More)
Despite the growth in scholarship on diverse religious communities in Turkey, little attention has been paid to Twelver Shiʿi Muslims. Since the founding of the Republic, the Turkish state's foundational secularist agenda has attempted to control and promote a single hegemonic form of Islam, and Shiʿa have faced continuous issues practicing their faith in public as a result. While the liberalization of the past three decades has allowed Shiʿism to enter the public sphere, the community has had to continue navigating limitations on their expression of religious difference. Based on fieldwork in Eastern Anatolia, this article deepens understandings of Islam in Turkey by showing how Shiʿa have negotiated their position vis-à-vis both secularist and Sunni-majority actors and policies across various religious and political currents. Rejecting categorization as either mezhep (sect) or minority, Shiʿa have demanded independence from state religious control while also asserting their allegiance to the Republic and nation as Turkish Muslims. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Turkey, Sectarianism, Shi'ism, minority politics, Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Islam, Shiʿa, Religious Minorities, Sects
in
International Journal of Middle East Studies
volume
55
issue
3
pages
19 pages
publisher
Cambridge University Press
external identifiers
  • scopus:85172466778
ISSN
0020-7438
DOI
10.1017/S0020743823001083
project
Alterumma - Creating an Alternative umma: Clerical Authority and Religio-political Mobilisation in Transnational Shii Islam
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
777cea6a-7bff-4f08-9390-1403a7dab840
date added to LUP
2023-09-18 10:23:52
date last changed
2023-12-21 14:23:45
@article{777cea6a-7bff-4f08-9390-1403a7dab840,
  abstract     = {{Despite the growth in scholarship on diverse religious communities in Turkey, little attention has been paid to Twelver Shiʿi Muslims. Since the founding of the Republic, the Turkish state's foundational secularist agenda has attempted to control and promote a single hegemonic form of Islam, and Shiʿa have faced continuous issues practicing their faith in public as a result. While the liberalization of the past three decades has allowed Shiʿism to enter the public sphere, the community has had to continue navigating limitations on their expression of religious difference. Based on fieldwork in Eastern Anatolia, this article deepens understandings of Islam in Turkey by showing how Shiʿa have negotiated their position vis-à-vis both secularist and Sunni-majority actors and policies across various religious and political currents. Rejecting categorization as either mezhep (sect) or minority, Shiʿa have demanded independence from state religious control while also asserting their allegiance to the Republic and nation as Turkish Muslims.}},
  author       = {{Williamson Fa, Stefan}},
  issn         = {{0020-7438}},
  keywords     = {{Turkey; Sectarianism; Shi'ism; minority politics; Middle East and North Africa (MENA); Islam; Shiʿa; Religious Minorities; Sects}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{09}},
  number       = {{3}},
  pages        = {{479--497}},
  publisher    = {{Cambridge University Press}},
  series       = {{International Journal of Middle East Studies}},
  title        = {{Between Mezhep and Minority : Twelver Shiʿism in the Turkish Public Sphere}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0020743823001083}},
  doi          = {{10.1017/S0020743823001083}},
  volume       = {{55}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}