10.17192/mjr.2007.11.3616 Gözaydın, İştar B. İştar B. Gözaydın A Religious Administration to Secure Secularism: The Presidency of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Turkey Marburg Journal of Religion : Vol 11 No 1 (2007) Philipps-Universität Marburg 2007 Institute for Comparative Cultural Research - Study of Religions and Anthropology 2015-06-01 2015-06-01 en JournalArticle https://journals.uni-marburg.de/0004/2007/115/3616 urn:nbn:de:hebis:04-0004-2007-115-36167 https://doi.org/10.17192/mjr.2007.11.1 https://journals.uni-marburg.de/0004/2007/115/3616/3616.png 1612-2941 application/pdf This article is primarily concerned with an agency, the Presidency of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, which was instituted to regulate Islamic services, but in actuality was used as a means of 'securing' secularism in Turkey for over a period of 80 years. This apparent paradox in terms was the muse which led me reflect on the representation of the construction (and deconstruction) of 'modernity' and of 'state and religion' in Turkey. In order to develop my argument I focus on the legal and bureaucratic structure of the Presidency of Religious Affairs. 1612-2941 Marburg Journal of Religion Vol 11 No 1 (2007)