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Politics of Ethnicity, Identity and Religion: Turkish-Muslims in Britain
... The oldest community in Britain amongst Turkish-speaking people is Turkish Cypriots who initiated migration between 1933 and 1955 (Sonyel, 1988;Oakley, 1989) initially for primarily economic reasons and later because of political tensions in Cyprus in the 1970s. The first migration movement from Turkey to Britain mainly began with the bilateral agreement struck between the two countries in 1970 (Kucukcan, 1999;Mehmet Ali, 2001). However, the labour migration to the UK remained at extremely low levels compared to Germany, the Netherlands and France. ...
... However, the labour migration to the UK remained at extremely low levels compared to Germany, the Netherlands and France. In contrast with these three countries, Britain became one of the centres of political immigration from Turkey that began in the 1970s and 1980s (Kucukcan, 1999). As well as these, many more Kurdish people from Turkey began to immigrate to Britain in the mid-1980s because of the conflict between the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Turkish state. ...
... Because of this conflict, the young generation experiences hybrid identities 'as a third space'. Kucukcan's (1999) findings suggest the view that there are emergent identity formations among the second generation in the way in which identities are formed by local, European based perceptions, emerging German-Turkish, Dutch-Turkish, British-Turkish, and so on. According to Faas (2009: 180), Turkish youth in Europe had no singular identity but 'employed hybrid ethno-national, ethno-local and national-European identities as a result of their national location and, especially, schooling and social class positioning (rather than migration histories)'. ...
There is mounting evidence to suggest that young Muslims in the UK have been victims of
Islamophobia. The evidence of Islamophobia, however, is not necessarily the best predictor of actual ways in which young Muslims in Britain themselves describe and valorise their
perceptions and experiences of and further responses to Islamophobia. While scholarship on Islamophobia has focused heavily on its meaning, the roles of media and politicians, and, in part, the experiences of Muslims, it has not paid much attention to the supposed victims of Islamophobia and its neglect of this view has the effect of objectifying and homogenising their victimhood. In addition, Muslim communities in Britain are heterogeneous and thus have distinctive characteristics. Therefore, they may perceive, experience, and response to
Islamophobia in different ways. Taking into account the British context and the distinctive
legacies within the British Muslim communities, this thesis examines Islamophobia from the
perspective of one of its supposed victims that has been so far under-researched, i.e., young
Turks in Britain.The research aims to offer conceptual contributions to the current literature on Islamophobia and young Muslims in the UK. Firstly, it helps further develop literature on Islamophobia that addresses the roles of media and politicians from the perspectives of its supposed victims. Secondly, this thesis contributes to literature on the manifestation of Islamophobia and the racialisation process of Muslims. Thirdly and more importantly, it provides a novel contribution to the literature on what kind of identity strategies the supposed victims of Islamophobia develop in response to Islamophobia. To achieve these contributions, semistructured in-depth interviews (N=39) were conducted amongst 18–35-year-olds in London. Themes were generated through a data-driven inductive approach. This thesis has made clear that although some young Turks reported that Turks in Britain experience more subtle forms of Islamophobia which I call “everyday Islamophobia”, the vast majority of the respondents developed various discursive identity practices that culminated in efforts to demonstrate that Islamophobia is not an issue that concerns themselves or Turkish people in general.
... It is argued that cultural, religious, and political organisations serve a crucial function in the formation and maintenance of young Turkish people's identity in Britain (Kucukcan, 1999;Yalcin, 2000;Enneli, 2001;Communities and Local Government, 2009;Simsek, 2012). In London, there are many social, cultural, political, and religious organisations which are promoted by Turkish communities, whereas in Bristol, there are only just two official organisations, including the Bristol Somuncu Baba Turkish Mosque and the Bristol Yunus Emre Turkish Supplementary School. ...
... Due to these and other similar reasons, the majority of respondents stated that it is easier to make friends from the group that they belonged to rather than other ethnic groups. Earlier research also shows that the majority of young Turkish Muslims prefer having contact with their ethnic groups (Kucukcan, 1999;Yalcın, 2000;Enneli, 2001;Simsek, 2012). The idea is that those the young Turks feel close to are those who are socially, culturally, and emotionally close to them. ...
... The extant literature also shows a similar pattern. Kucukcan (1999), Yalcin (2000 and Simsek (2012)'s studies suggest that Turkish youths emphasised the importance of being with friends and people from the same background. The emotional attachment that makes people feel more comfortable, securer and solidarity as well as reducing the feeling of strangeness might be explained by a shared culture and shared institutions, "constructed primordiality", (Cornell and Hartmann, 1998, 85-90) that are the most important factors promoting group stability and the persistence of ethnic attachments (Jenkins, 2008, 126). ...
This paper examines the ethnic identity formation of young Turkish people in Britain. A review of the literature demonstrates four primary deficiencies. Firstly, the past research conducted on the issue of young Turks’ ethnic identity in Britain is few and far between. Secondly, these studies have overlooked either the internal or external dynamics of that community which significantly influence ethnic identity construction in younger generations. Thirdly, they have only examined the Turkish community living in London. Lastly, these studies, except one, are now over twenty years old. This paper aims to fill these gaps in the literature. By drawing on the experience of young Turks in London and Bristol, it examines how they construct their ethnic identity by looking at their relationships with their families, the Turkish community, the host society, and their religious attitudes and practices.
The focus of this paper is certainly Turkish youth who have been relatively ignored in multicultural British society. By the youth, I refer to the generation who were born in or arrived in Britain at an early age, who live in two different cultural spaces, who are more open to social and cultural changes in their everyday lives — particularly through school, college, and other institutions —than their parents, and who thus construct their ethnic identities through two ‘geopolitical dimensions’: ‘inside-out’ and the ‘outside-in’. This means that the identity process is built, not just in relation to individuals’ relationships with their family, inside the community, and so on, but also in relation to outsiders’ attitudes, treatments, and perceptions. What is important to grasp here is that there is a dynamic interaction from the inside-out and the outside-in. Britain allows one to better explore the effects of these two dimensions on the ethnic identity construction of young Turks. On the one hand, it is home to many social, cultural, political, and religious organisations which are promoted by Turkish communities to circulate and strengthen their identity. On the other hand, it also enables those young people to have relations with the wider society, especially the majority group. Thus, their identity negotiations are influenced both by internal and external forces.
This article draws on semi-structured in-depth interviews with young Turkish people who were born in or who arrived in Britain at an early age. Interviews were conducted in London and Bristol between 2016 and 2018 with 15 young Turks and, ranging in age from eighteen to thirty years. I also conducted unstructured interviews with 3 older Turkish people who gave information about the Turkish communities existing in Bristol. The interviews were sampled using the snowball technique, which served the purpose of accessing the participants and establishing trustworthy relations with them. To facilitate the coding of the transcripts, I used NVivo. I employed thematic analysis to identify and analyse patterns of meaning in the dataset.
The findings of the research show that the ethnic identity construction of young Turkish people has taken place on a tension line that arises between their own culture and the dominant culture. Most of my young respondents are aware of their ethnic identities and the cultural, social, and religious values which are the building blocks of their identities. Their relationships with the family, Turkish community, friends, and the host society, and their religious attitudes and practices have positively influenced the construction and maintenance of their ethnic identities. In this respect, this study makes a novel contribution to the literature on the ethnic identity formation of young Turkish people in Britain.
... Thus, Oakley argues, Cypriots have displayed a 'moving concentration' rather than a dispersal process. Kucukcan (1999) also stated that the establishment of a neighbourhood through 'clustering' around a particular area constitutes one of the first stages of the institutionalization and reproduction of values for migrants. In another interview, we asked a second-generation migrant, 'Where did you live when you first came to London?' ...
... Thus, Oakley argues, Cypriots have displayed a 'moving concentration' rather than a dispersal process. Kucukcan (1999) also stated that the establishment of a neighbourhood through 'clustering' around a particular area constitutes one of the rst stages of the institutionalization and reproduction of values for migrants. In another interview, we asked a second-generation migrant, 'Where did you live when you rst came to London?' ...
... Yalçın 2002: 56). The communication among the hybrid individuals who carry elements from both cultures realizes this through the mixture of the languages (Necef 1996, Küçükcan 1999, Yalçın 2000c.f. Yalçın 2002: 56). ...
... Therefore, these sub-groups are defined as the "Turkish-speaking communities". This operational definition has been used in academic studies (Kucukcan 1999 The push and pull migration factors for Turks, Kurds and Turkish Cypriots are mostly similar such as economic and educational opportunities, refugee and asylum, conflicts and social breakdown in homelands, etc. In addition, owing to the fact that there is not any bilateral agreement between Turkey and Britain, migration from Turkey seems less intense than other Muslim counties, such as Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, etc. (Communities and Local Government 2009b). ...
Turkish Muslim immigrants in Britain consist of Turks, Kurds and Turkish Cypriots migrating for different reasons at different times for immigration and asylum. This migrant community has a non‐homogeneous structure owing to differences in their life styles, experiences, ideas, feelings, hopes and expectations. Therefore, Turkish Muslim immigrants have been observed living for a long time in the different ethnic, ideological, cultural and religious communities. In this paper, these immigrants’ religious life and religious organizations in Britain will be focused on. The methodology of this research is based on the field research that the author did from July 9, 2012 to September 9, 2012 in London. According to the investigations, there are mainly four different Turkish Islamic tendencies in Britain. Also, there are about 10 Turkish religious organizations and 27 places of worship belonging to these Islamic discourses in Britain.
Keywords Turkish Muslim immigrants, religious life, Turkish religious organizations, Britain
This article addresses the question of how hometown associations (HTAs, hereafter) come to function as 'homes' for internal migrant groups in Turkey. While previous research has primarily focused on the functions, transnational and translocal interactions, and contributions of HTAs, spatial factors have often been overlooked. Utilising ethnographic research conducted from 2013 to 2018, alongside existing literature on 'home' studies, this study examines how migrants create a sense of 'home' in HTAs through various home-making practices and face-to-face interactions. The research demonstrates that the transformation of HTAs into a 'home' is contingent upon the actions of HTA leaders and the utilisation of home-making practices and objects. These processes and interactions are crucial for fostering a sense of familiarity and comfort among migrants. Furthermore, the paper emphasises that the formation of migrants' identities is influenced by their engagement with HTAs, which serve as a source of belonging for internal migrant groups in Turkey.
The UK branch has developed a strong sense of collective identity, known as the ‘Hizbi-personality’, about themselves and their opposition, believing the fight is between ‘us and them’. This process of ‘othering’ non-Muslims and Muslims that are not with Hizb ut-Tahrir can be traced back to the development and evolution of the ideology of the UK branch. The UK branch’s interpretation of Hizb ut-Tahrir’s ideology was articulated by Omar Bakri, who actively polarised the globe into a clash between Muslims and Non-Muslims. This combative worldview propagated the idea that conflict with the West is inevitable because Islam and non-Islam cannot co-exist. Omar Bakri sought to exploit the adverse interactions young British Muslims experienced during their early socialisation, fabricating a distorted narrative of British racism and Islamophobia. This manufactured polarisation between Islam and British society allowed Omar Bakri and the UK branch to demonise British culture and society. The early interaction with British society created a disposition amongst the UK branch that was rigid and uncompromising. This enabled the early members to transfer their negative social experiences onto those that rejected them in the first instance. Consequently, in this chapter, we explore how members struggled to integrate the ideology of Hizb ut-Tahrir into their everyday lives and social identities.
Türkiye has had multidimensional migration experience not only in its
past, but also in its present that has led to the formation of a dynamic
migration policy to govern such a dynamic process. Türkiye’s migration
policy has been informed and shaped by its geopolitical location as
a migrant receiving, labour migrant sending, and migrant transit country.
Today, Türkiye hosts the largest number of migrants and refugees in
the world with a far-reaching social, political, and economic impact on
the country. This article aims to shed light on the multidimensional
migration experience of Türkiye and analyse its migration policies to
govern manifold challenges brought about by the presence of almost
6 million foreigners in the country. It is argued in this article that the
integration of migrants in general and of Syrians in particular remains
a major challenge for Türkiye. Therefore, this article recommends that
Turkish decision makers should make short and long-term plans for the
integration of Syrians as the current conditions indicate that it is unlikely
that Syrians will return in any signifi cant numbers any time soon even
though the Turkish government has initiated a number of projects in parts of Northern Syria for the safe and voluntary return of its countrymen and women. One important area of integration in this context is higher education, which would enable Syrians to have access to employment and social mobility that would benefi t both themselves and Türkiye.
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any references for this publication.