Faith and Fashion in Turkey
- Submitting institution
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Birmingham City University
- Unit of assessment
- 32 - Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory
- Output identifier
- 32Z_OP_A0002
- Type
- A - Authored book
- DOI
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- Publisher
- Bloomsbury
- ISBN
- 978-1-350-12932-0
- Open access status
- Out of scope for open access requirements
- Month of publication
- -
- Year of publication
- 2019
- URL
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- Supplementary information
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- Request cross-referral to
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- Output has been delayed by COVID-19
- No
- COVID-19 affected output statement
- -
- Forensic science
- No
- Criminology
- No
- Interdisciplinary
- No
- Number of additional authors
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- Research group(s)
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- Proposed double-weighted
- No
- Reserve for an output with double weighting
- No
- Additional information
- This monograph presents different understandings and practices of Islam in Turkey. It does so by examining ‘modest fashion’ and the way Muslim men and women dress in three faith-inspired communities: the Gülen, Süleymanlı, and Menzil. It explores the political and socioeconomic events that affected these communities between 2011 and 2016, particularly the power struggle between the Turkish government and the Gülen, and its impact on the community. The research was undertaken through ethnographic fieldwork, including semi-structured, in-depth interviews, observations, and used visual and textual data such as photographs and field notes.
The inclusion of Muslim men in the analysis is its strongest contribution because earlier scholarly discussions relating to the ‘Muslim’ body have generally concentrated on the ‘female’ form. This monograph, therefore, contributes significantly to the literature on gender in Islam and Muslim societies. It also adds to our knowledge of agency, identity, social movements, space, fashion, and consumption. Moreover, it validates the application of Bourdieu’s field theory outside European and Christian contexts because it investigates positions, practices, and struggles for position within a Muslim social arena alongside the lived religion approach, examining the interpretation, practice and expression of religion by laypeople. By illustrating diversification and horizontalization of religious authorities and sources, and by investigating the utilization of religious power and authority in several fields (e.g. education and bureaucracy), the monograph demonstrates that religious hegemony involves the power to transform everyday lives and the state. This analysis of everyday lives of observant Muslims shows that there are diverse experiences and expressions of Muslim male and female agency at individual and community levels within a particular context and period of time.
The book has attracted both scholarly and media attention. It is an important contribution to Turkish, Middle Eastern and Islamic studies, regarding gender, fashion, consumption and the sociology of religion.
- Author contribution statement
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- Non-English
- No
- English abstract
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