Mapping Anti-Diyanet Oppositional Publics During the 2018 Deism Controversy on Turkish Twitter

Ivo Ozan Furman; Kaya Akyıldız

doi:10.16878/gsuilet.1314765

TR FR EN

2018’de Türkiye Twitter’ında Diyanet Karşıtı Muhalif Kamusallıkta Vuku Bulan Deizm Tartışmasını Anlamak

Öz

Deizmin Türkiye’de imam hatip okulu öğrencileri arasında yaygınlaştığına dair tartışmalar sürerken Diyanet İşleri Başkanı Ali Erbaş 12 Nisan 2018 tarihinde deistleri “sapık ve batıl felsefi bir düşüncenin takipçileri” olarak tanımladığı bir açıklama yaptı. Açıklamanın ardından sosyal medya, A. Erbaş'ın beyânatına verilen sert tepkiler ve kısmen de olsa destek açıklamalarıyla dolup taştı. Erbaş'ın açıklamasının tetiklediği bu tartışmayı anlamlandırabilmek amacıyla Twitter’da beyânattan sonraki 48 saatlik süreyi mercek altına almaya karar verdik. Sayısal veri toplama yöntemlerini kullanarak elde ettiğimiz 15.226 farklı Twitter kullanıcısına ait 21.674 tweetten oluşan bir veri seti ile tartışmada gündeme gelen temaları ve alınan pozisyonları analiz ettik. Hem niteliksel içerik analizi, hem de sosyal ağ analizi kullanarak gerçekleştirdiğimiz araştırmamızın bulguları, Twitter’da A. Erbaş’ın tetiklediği deizm tartışması vesilesiyle 3 temel sonucun ortaya çıktığını göstermektedir. Bu sonuçlar şöyleözetlenebilir: a) Twitter “dinden (Sünnî İslâm) dönme hikâyeleri”nin dile getirildiği geçici bir diyalojik alana dönüşmüştür; b) Twitter A. Erbaş’ın ve Diyanet'in politikalarına yönelik eleştirileri yapabilmek bir fırsat penceresi açmıştır; ve c) Twitter kullanıcıları A. Erbaş'ın açıklamalarından sadece A. Erbaş’ı değil hükümet aktörlerini doğrudan sorumlu tutmuştur.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Cartographier les publics opposés à Diyanet lors de la controverse au sujet du déisme en 2018 sur Twitter turc

Öz

Au milieu des rumeurs selon lesquelles le déisme - une forme d'agnosticisme qui rejette la religion organisée - devenait populaire parmi les étudiants fréquentant les écoles religieuses en Turquie, Ali Erbaş, le chef de la Direction des affaires religieuses, a fait une déclaration publique dans laquelle les déistes étaient décrits comme adhérant à "une philosophie perverse et hérétique". Peu après, les médias sociaux ont été envahis par les réactions à la déclaration controversée d'Erbaş. En utilisant des stratégies de collecte de données computationnelles pour rassembler un ensemble de 21 674 tweets envoyés par 15 226 utilisateurs distincts de Twitter dans les 48 heures suivant l'événement, cette étude examine les positions et thèmes à travers lesquels la controverse a été discutée sur Twitter. Elle s'appuie à la fois sur une analyse qualitative et sur une analyse de réseaux sociaux pour montrer comment la controverse a transformé la twittersphère turque en un espace de dialogue temporaire pour a) l'énonciation de "récits de déconversion" de l'islam, b) l'expression d'un activisme civil de base tentant de rendre les acteurs gouvernementaux responsables des commentaires d'Erbaş, c) l'expression d'une critique collective rationalisée à l'égard des politiques d'Ali Erbaş et de la Diyanet.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Mapping Anti-Diyanet Oppositional Publics During the 2018 Deism Controversy on Turkish Twitter

Abstract

Amidst rumors that deism - a form of agnosticism that rejects organized religion - was becoming popular amongst students attending religious schools in Turkey, Ali Erbaş, the head of the Religious Affairs Directorate, made a public statement wherein deists were described as adhering to “a perverse and heretic philosophy”. Soon afterwards, social media was abuzz with responses to Erbaş’s controversial statement. Using computational data collection strategies to amass a dataset of 21,674 tweets sent out by 15,226 distinct Twitter users within 48 hours of the event, this study examines the positions and themes through which the controversy was discussed on Twitter. It relies on both qualitative analysis as well as social network analysis to present evidence on how the controversy turned the Turkish Twittersphere into a temporary dialogical space for the a) enunciation of “deconversion narratives” from Islam, b) expression of grassroots civil activism attempting to hold government actors accountable for Erbaş’s comments, c) voicing of rationalized collective critique towards the policies of Ali Erbaş and the Diyanet.

Keywords

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Mass Media

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Ivo Ozan Furman ^*
0000-0002-7538-2694
Türkiye

Kaya Akyıldız
0000-0002-9586-5386
Türkiye

Early Pub Date

June 22, 2023

Publication Date

June 30, 2023

Submission Date

September 23, 2022

Acceptance Date

April 27, 2023

Published in Issue

Year 2023 Number: 38

DOI

https://doi.org/10.16878/gsuilet.1314765

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA79EB33JB

Cite

RIS / Bibtex

APA

Furman, I. O., & Akyıldız, K. (2023). Mapping Anti-Diyanet Oppositional Publics During the 2018 Deism Controversy on Turkish Twitter. Galatasaray Üniversitesi İletişim Dergisi, 38, 30-58. https://doi.org/10.16878/gsuilet.1314765