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Findings · Religions 14(8), 2023

Turkish civil religion in Dutch Friday sermons

What do the Friday sermons of the Islamic Foundation Netherlands (ISN) say about nation, homeland and the community of believers? A critical discourse analysis of six years of sermons written for Turkish-Dutch mosques.

Background: a preacher on the minbar addressing a congregation, from a manuscript of al-Hariri’s Maqamat, Syria, c. 1300. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

310
Friday sermons published by the ISN, 2017–2022
148
ISN mosques in the Netherlands to which the sermons are distributed
87×
milla (nation) in the main texts of 43 sermons
17 of 72
mentions of “Holland” that refer to Muslims living in the Netherlands
Method
Data
310 Friday sermons published on the official ISN website between January 2017 and December 2022. The ISN (Hollanda Diyanet Vakfı) began writing its own sermons in Turkish and Dutch in early 2017, after criticism of sermons prepared by Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet)
Analysis
Fairclough’s three-dimensional critical discourse analysis and Wodak’s discourse-historical approach, combined with content analysis
Key concepts
Milla (nation), waṭan (homeland) and umma (community of believers), and the ways sermons construct “us” and “others”
Framework
Civil religion, distinguishing a liberal, pluralistic form from a state-sponsored form
Figure 1

Nation and community of believers

How often the three key concepts appear in the main texts of the sermons, 2017–2022.

ummacommunity of believersumma: 94 mentions94millanationmilla: 87 mentions · in 43 of 310 sermons87waṭanhomelandwaṭan: 39 mentions39

Counting the standard closing prayer, milla appears about 345 times and waṭan about 300 times. The closing prayer repeats these concepts across the sermons, whatever their topic.

Show data table
ConceptMeaningMentions in main textsIncl. closing prayer (approx.)
ummacommunity of believers94–
millanation87 (in 43 sermons)≈ 345
waṭanhomeland39≈ 300
Figure 2

Where is Holland in the sermons?

The 72 mentions of “Holland” (Hollanda) in the sermons, by what they refer to.

Institutional nameMuslims in the NetherlandsSocial issuesOther
Name of the foundationHollanda Diyanet VakfıName of the foundation: 39 mentions (54%)39 · 54%Muslims living in the NetherlandsMuslims living in the Netherlands: 17 mentions (24%)17 · 24%Social issuesillness, waste, smoking, drugsSocial issues: 7 mentions (10%)7 · 10%Other referencesOther references: 9 mentions (12%)9 · 12%

More than half of the mentions are the foundation’s own name. Only 17 address the lives of Muslims in the Netherlands.

Show data table
Use of “Holland”Mentions%
Name of the foundation (Hollanda Diyanet Vakfı)3954
Muslims living in the Netherlands1724
Social issues (illness, waste, smoking, drugs)710
Other references912
Total72100
Figure 3

Homeland: a civic and national term

Expressions in which waṭan appears in the main sermon texts (39 mentions).

vatandaşfellow citizensvatandaş: 7 mentions (18%)7 · 18%vatan ve millethomeland and nationvatan ve millet: 6 mentions (15%)6 · 15%vatan sevgisilove of homelandvatan sevgisi: 3 mentions (8%)3 · 8%vatan toprağıthe country’s landvatan toprağı: 3 mentions (8%)3 · 8%Other usesOther uses: 20 mentions (51%)20 · 51%

Only two uses of waṭan carry a spiritual meaning. A 2022 sermon on “Love of Homeland” gave the term an inclusive meaning, accepting the Netherlands as a homeland.

Show data table
ExpressionMeaningMentions
vatandaşfellow citizens7
vatan ve millethomeland and nation6
vatan sevgisilove of homeland3
vatan toprağıthe country’s land3
Other uses–20
Total39
Figure 4

Us and others

How the sermons draw the boundaries of the community.

Framed as “us”
  1. MillaThe Turkish nation
  2. UmmaThe worldwide community of believers
  3. WaṭanThe homeland, with the Netherlands included only rarely
Framed as “others”
  1. The Netherlands as a countryThe state and society in which the congregations live
  2. The Gülen movementLabelled “FETÖ” in sermons in the week of 15 July, mirroring the discourse in Turkey
  3. The Kurdish population in IraqAlso named among the “others” in the sermons

The discourse on the Gülen movement returns every year in the week of 15 July, following the commemorations in Turkey.

Key findings
  1. Civil religious discourse in the ISN sermons has both a unifying and a divisive potential.
  2. A state-sponsored civil religion that emphasises Turkish nationalism and Islamism dominates over a liberal, pluralistic form.
  3. Nation (milla) and community of believers (umma) are recurring frames, reinforced by the standard closing prayer.
  4. The Netherlands appears mostly as the foundation’s name; 17 of 72 mentions concern the lives of Muslims in the Netherlands.
  5. The Netherlands as a country, the Gülen movement and the Kurdish population in Iraq are constructed as “others”.

Source Gürlesin, Ö. F. (2023). Understanding the Political and Religious Implications of Turkish Civil Religion in The Netherlands: A Critical Discourse Analysis of ISN Friday Sermons. Religions, 14(8), 990. Open access: doi.org/10.3390/rel14080990