The LGBTI Community and religious context in Turkey

Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197624883.013.28

This chapter examines the relationship between sexual politics and religion, arguing that there has been a form of “mutual exclusion,” an unspoken agreement between religious segments of society and LGBTI groups in Turkey. Recently, however, this mutually constructed apathetic and disinterested stance has been disrupted. While queer groups have become more politically active and critical of increasingly oppressive and Islamizing state policies, the government has started to underline its negative attitude toward sexual minorities and developed state homophobia with a strong Islamic underlying tone. Thus, for the first time in Turkey, religion has become a significant factor in sexual politics. The chapter concludes by raising new questions about the impact of political Islam on the construction of homonormativity in Turkey and by drawing attention to possible areas of research at the intersection of sexuality, politics, and religion.