Diyanet Imams between Turkish Majoritarianism and German ‘Majority Society’

Religious majoritarianism was established in Turkey with the fall of the Ottoman
Empire. The Diyanet became the new home for the Ottoman Sunni ulema and supported the implementation of Sunni majoritarianism by assimilating minorities, e.g.
Alevis. With the AKP government in power in the last decades in Turkey, Turkish
majoritarianism has come to the fore. Turkish majoritarianism consists of Sunni Islam
along with Turkish cultural and political dimensions. Diyanet imams function as
important transmitters of Turkish majoritarianism to the Muslim community. At the
same time, imams in Germany are seen as mediators for German integration policies.
German politicians set the framework for integration with the expression ‘majority
society’ (Mehrheitsgesellschaft) in policies regarding Islam, although a concrete definition of this seems to be problematic. Elements of Christian religion and German
culture are used as elements in the construction of a ‘majority society’.