IMAGES OF TURKEY AND THEIR RELIGIOUS AND GENDER-SPECIFIC CONNOTATIONS

ABSTRACT This article is based on the results of a research project on current configurations of European identity and religiously interpreted cleavages in the EU. The article questions how the European secularised majority expresses its own religious roots and gender relations by means of a gender-specific discourse on the 'other' religion. In a qualitative and comparative research design, Austrian and French print media were selected for discourse analysis. The French and Austrian print media discourses analysed here, though, reveal that gender relations and religion are particularly significant. In line with the key methodological principles of the research tradition, the research process can be characterised as non-linear, grounded and reflexive. The study is based on an in-depth analysis of a relatively small number of texts. The individual case studies were drawn together and compared across countries. The aim of this article was to analyse the relations between the gender-specific construction of the “other” religion and constructions of the “European own”. In both French and Austrian cases, references to Islam as the 'other religion' are often used for reinforcing specific national understandings of secularity and laicism. Keywords: Gender, European Union, Religion, Print Media. TURKIYE'NIN IMAJI VE BUNUN DINI VE TOPLUMSAL CINSIYET ODAKLI CAĞRIŞIMLARI OZET Bu makale Avrupa kimliginin guncel yapilari ve AB'deki dini olarak yorumlanan celiskiler hakkinda yapilmis bir arastirma projesinin sonuclarini temel almaktadir. Makale, laik Avrupa cogunlugunun kendi dini koklerini ve toplumsal cinsiyet iliskilerini “oteki” din uzerine toplumsal cinsiyet odakli bir soylem araciligiyla nasil konumlandirdigini sorgulamaktadir. Niteleyici ve karsilastirmali bir arastirma tasarimi icerisinde soylem analizi icin Avusturya ve Fransa yazili basini secilmistir. Burada incelenen Avusturya ve Fransa yazili basininin soylemleri ise toplumsal cinsiyet iliskileri ile dinin ozellikle onemli oldugunu gostermistir. Arastirma geleneginin temel yontemsel esaslarina gore arastirma sureci dogrusal olmayan, sabit ve refleksif olarak nitelenebilir. Calisma nispeten az sayida metnin derinlemesine analizine dayanmaktadir. Tekil olay incelemeleri bir araya getirilmis ve ulkeler arasinda karsilastirilmistir. Bu makalenin amaci “oteki” dinin toplumsal cinsiyet odakli insasi ile Avrupa'nin “kendi din” insasi arasindaki iliskileri analiz etmektir. Fransiz ve Avusturya durumlarinin ikisinde de Islam'a “oteki din” olarak yapilan atiflar genellikle laikligin belirli milli anlayislarinin guclendirilmesi icin kullanilmaktadir. Anahtar Kelimler: Toplumsal Cinsiyet, Avrupa Birligi, Din, Yazili Basin.