Turkey’s Diyanet under AKP rule: from protector to imposer of state ideology?

This article focuses on the complex relations between Turkey’s Presidency of Religious Affairs (the Diyanet) and the AKP in the last decade. It claims that the Diyanet, under AKP rule, has been transformed into a pliable state apparatus geared towards implementing the political ideology of the ruling cadre. In exploring this recent transformation, it analyses the ways in which this institution’s role has become synchronized with the ruling party’s discourses and actions, by giving examples from recent discussions on gender, social media, political economy and relations with other social groups.