Two Different Religious Approaches In Positioning Women In Modern City: Ismailağa Community and Jarrahi Group

Authors : Zehra Işık

Pages : 1-25

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Publication Date : 2024-10-30

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :In this study, the ways of two religious groups’ centred in Istanbul’s Fatih district of positioning women in the modern city was investigated. The first of the research groups is the Ismailağa Community, which carries out group activities based in the “Çarşamba” district, and is distinguished by defining women only with traditional gender roles. The second is the Jarrahi Group, which is a religious group with a modern identitiy and urban appearance, which continues its group activities in the Karagümrük district, known as Cerrahî Tekkesi among the people. The purpose of the study is to reveal how both groups position women in the modern city in the home, education and working life, in the places of daily practice in the city and living spaces. A qualitative research method was used in the study, consulting multiple data collection tools including participant observation, semi-structured interview, examination of written sources and materials in media belonging to both groups. Face to face interviews were conducted with a total of twenty eight people, twenty of whom were from the Ismailaga and eight of from Cerrahî Group.It has been found that the Ismailaga Community’s discourse of defining women as “home-centered” does not fit daily life in the modern city and intermediate solutions have been produced especially by young people. Cerrahî Tekkesi, which offers modern people a mystical view and an opportuniy of escaping from the chaos of the city, functions as a shelter and spiritual environment for modern urban women where they can find a religious understanding compatible with their lifestyles. It can be predicted that the inclination of modern urban women to this space will increase in the coming period.
Keywords : Din Psikolojisi, Kadın Dindarlığı, Modern Kentte Kadın, Dinî Gruplarda Kadın, İsmailağa Cemaati, Cerrahî Grubu