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Pro-Kurdish Mevlid Commemorations in Turkey: Contested Understandings of a Popular Islamic Practice among Rival Ethno-Political Actors

Project description

Religion and politics in Kurdish Turkey

With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) programme, the HOLYBIRTH project explores how rival factions of the Kurdish movement use alternative mevlid celebrations to commemorate the birth of Prophet Muhammad as a strategic means of expressing political subjectivities. Through ethnographic fieldwork in Diyarbakir, the project investigates how these rituals have become contested political arenas where religious and political identities are intertwined. It highlights the influence of local power structures and daily practices on identity and belonging. By combining ethnography with political science, the project provides a unique perspective on everyday human interactions.

Objective

"This project is an inquiry into how actors strategically utilize religious repertoires and practices to articulate their political subjectivities. It mainly focuses on alternative mevlid celebrations organized by the rival factions of the Kurdish movement in Turkey, the Sunni Islamist Hizbullah and the secular ethnonationalist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), to commemorate the birth of Prophet Muhammad. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in Diyarbakir, the project will investigate how a local Islamic practice has become a contested political arena in Turkeys predominantly Kurdish region, where rival nationalist interests and imaginaries compete for political dominance and legitimacy. Particular attention will be given to the conditions embedded in local power structures and everyday practices, which shape actors sense of identity and belonging. Drawing upon Bells theoretical exposition on ""ritualization"" and Connertons commemorative ritual theory, this project will offer a new perspective to investigate the intersection between religion and politics by analyzing a politicized ritual environment, in which various public expressions of Kurdish and Muslim identities are produced and disseminated. The methodological novelty of this project lies in its attempt to combine ethnographic inquiry with political science to shift the analytical focus from organizational and structural level explorations to daily human practice and interaction in social contexts."

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HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01

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Coordinator

KOBENHAVNS UNIVERSITET
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 214 934,40
Address
NORREGADE 10
1165 KOBENHAVN
Denmark

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Region
Danmark Hovedstaden Byen København
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

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