Reflections of ‘European Islam’ Discourse to Germany and Recognition of Turkish-Islam

Year 2023, Issue: 104, 153 - 178, 30.01.2023

Mahmut Mazlum

https://doi.org/10.12995/bilig.10406

Cited By: 4

Abstract

Turkish-Islam has become a part of Europe today more than ever. Turkish immigrants and their religious institutions are the leading cause of this new situation, and they have been trying to legalize their belonging with their claims for recognition, especially in Germany. This article mainly elaborates on the recognition process with a focus on the reflections of European Islam discourse on the German scene and attempts to understand the reasons behind the current crisis around the recognition of Turkish-Islam. Even though the current perception of Islam in the host countries is the primary reason for many, this article approaches the issue from a historical institutionalist (HI) point of view and develops further arguments. Analysis of the empirical data shows that the lack of a unified voice in the Muslim society, structural inefficiencies of Islamic organizations, and politicizing of Islam-related issues could be counted as obstacles in the frame of recognition. However, the path dependency concept of HI allows this work to go beyond these visible problems and highlights the transnational linkages created in the foundation processes of these institutions as the main reason behind the failure.

Keywords

Turkish-Islam, Islam in Germany, DITIB, Recognition of Islam

Thanks

The data used in this paper were collected during the author’s Ph.D. education, which was funded in the frame of the MEB YLSY scholarship program.

Avrupa İslamı Söyleminin Almanya’ya Yansımaları ve Almanya’da Türk-İslam’ın Tanınması Meselesi

Abstract

Türk-İslam bugün tarihte hiç olmadığı kadar Avrupa’nın bir parçası haline gelmiştir. Bu durumun temel sebebi olan Türk göçmenlerin dini kurumları ise özellikle Almanya’da bu durumu resmiyete dökmek ve eşit haklar ele edebilmek için uzunca bir süredir mücadele etmektedirler. Bu çalışma temel olarak mezkur tanınma sürecini, Avrupa İslamı şeklinde ifade edilen kavramın Almanya’ya yansımaları ile birlikte ele almakta ve tanınma süreçlerinin başarısız olmasının sebeplerini irdelemektedir. Her ne kadar İslam çevresinde oluşan siyasi atmosfer, olumsuz durumun ilk akla gelen sebebi olsa da, ortadaki tek sorun bu değildir. Bu bağlamda çalışmamız toplanan ampirik yığının işaret ettiği tanınmanın önündeki çok seslilik, yapısal yetersizlikler ve siyasal etkenler gibi sorunların temeline tarihsel kurumsalcı bir bakış açısı ile yaklaşarak özgün bir iddia ortaya atmaktadır. Buna göre Türk-İslam’ın Almanya’da tanınmasının önündeki engeller başlangıç durumunda oluşturulan transnasyonel bağlantıların sebep olduğu “izlek bağımlığının” bir sonucudur.

Keywords

Türk-İslam, Almanya’da İslam, DİTİB, DİTİB,, İslam’ın Tanınması

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