Imams for the diaspora: the Turkish state’s International Theology Programme

Abstract

ABSTRACTStates that engage in diaspora politics inevitably attempt to promote certain political ideas and practices – or ‘political remittances’ – amongst their citizens in foreign countries. However, the efficacy of diaspora policies depends on the ability of state institutions to understand and adapt to the changing dynamics of diaspora communities. This article focuses on the International Theology Programme, a recent initiative of Turkey’s Presidency for Religious Affairs (Diyanet), which aims to recruit young second- and third-generation Turks to study Islamic theology in Turkey and thereafter work as imams or religious officials for the Turkish state abroad. While situating the programme within the context of a highly politicised transnational religious field, I ask which political remittances the Turkish state wishes to further or hinder by intervening in the religious affairs of its citizens abroad? Based on extensive fieldwork in Turkey, Germany, and France, including qualitative interviews with religious officials and the results of an online survey for graduates, I argue that the programme constitutes a key component of Turkey’s religious diaspora policies and seeks to ensure the continuity of the Diyanet’s influence in the transnational religious field while reinforcing home state conceptions of legitimate religious authority.