14 YEARS OF RESEARCH TRENDS ON TURKISH DIYANET: BIBLIOMETRIC AND THEMATIC ANALYSES

Diyanet is a Turkish government-affiliated religious authority. Although it was established to manage the religious-social life of Turkish Muslims in the early republican period, it has been argued that it was a tool for the Islamization of Turkish society during the twenty-year AK Party rule. It has also been claimed that Diyanet is used as a theo-diploma tool for cultural diplomacy and soft power institutions abroad. In line with the theses in favor and against, there has been an increase in academic studies recently on the functions of the Diyanet at home and abroad. This study aims to explore the essence and types of research on Diyanet in the last fourteen years. The study implemented a bibliometric analysis and thematic analysis to map the literature on Diyanet using the Web of Science database. According to the study, the majority of Diyanet's research has been published in Turkey. France, Australia, the Netherlands and Germany also conducted significant research on Diyanet. Along with the religious issues, the other central research theme were politics, democracy, Erdogan, Germany, etc. Research on Diyanet reveals six themes by thematic analysis. The major themes are that Diyanet is Turkey's soft power tool abroad, a promoter of the pious generation, empowers scarf-wearing women, and an alternative educational institute social change-maker. However, some research articles have been critical of the Diyanet and focus on the theme that the Diyanet is used to legitimize R. T. Erdogan's authoritarian political rule. The study concludes that academic interest in Diyanet has increased in recent years. Moreover, the paper found that after the 15 July failed coup, a number of several were conducted to defame Diyanet globally.