Diaspora governance in times of COVID-19: The case of Turkish Diyanet in Italy

Since the Covid-19 emergency broke out, Turkish state institutions became crucial to govern diaspora communities facing lockdown measures and forced separation from the homeland. Being the first European country strongly affected by COVID-19 and where massive lockdown measures have been put in plac...

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Main Authors: Chiara Maritato, Gül Ince-Beqo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Università degli Studi di Catania 2022-10-01
Series:Italian Political Science
Subjects:
Online Access:http://italianpoliticalscience.com/index.php/ips/article/view/181
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author Chiara Maritato
Gül Ince-Beqo
author_facet Chiara Maritato
Gül Ince-Beqo
author_sort Chiara Maritato
collection DOAJ
description Since the Covid-19 emergency broke out, Turkish state institutions became crucial to govern diaspora communities facing lockdown measures and forced separation from the homeland. Being the first European country strongly affected by COVID-19 and where massive lockdown measures have been put in place, Italy is a relevant case to analyze. Retracing the scope and scale of the online activities organized during the COVID-19 pandemic, this paper investigates how the Turkish state supported Turkey-originated population living in Italy. The analysis draws on interviews with Diyanet religious officers sent from Ankara to serve the Diyanet’s branches (DITIB) in different Italian cities and with the religious attaché employed in the Turkish Consulate in Milan who supervises them. The interviews have been corroborated with the collection of a vast visual material including brochures, videos and posters published on YouTube channel and the Facebook official pages of the DITIB cultural centers in Italy. Our data show that, during COVID-19 pandemic, online seminars enabled to strengthen Turkey's connection with the diaspora using the emergency situation as a starting point for enhancing family programs and fostering a Muslim-Turkish belonging in any aspect of life.
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spelling doaj.art-262592b629c041d29b1c5285db3a32302023-11-11T03:59:21ZengUniversità degli Studi di CataniaItalian Political Science2420-84342022-10-01172Diaspora governance in times of COVID-19: The case of Turkish Diyanet in ItalyChiara Maritato0Gül Ince-Beqo1Università di TorinoUniversity of Urbino Since the Covid-19 emergency broke out, Turkish state institutions became crucial to govern diaspora communities facing lockdown measures and forced separation from the homeland. Being the first European country strongly affected by COVID-19 and where massive lockdown measures have been put in place, Italy is a relevant case to analyze. Retracing the scope and scale of the online activities organized during the COVID-19 pandemic, this paper investigates how the Turkish state supported Turkey-originated population living in Italy. The analysis draws on interviews with Diyanet religious officers sent from Ankara to serve the Diyanet’s branches (DITIB) in different Italian cities and with the religious attaché employed in the Turkish Consulate in Milan who supervises them. The interviews have been corroborated with the collection of a vast visual material including brochures, videos and posters published on YouTube channel and the Facebook official pages of the DITIB cultural centers in Italy. Our data show that, during COVID-19 pandemic, online seminars enabled to strengthen Turkey's connection with the diaspora using the emergency situation as a starting point for enhancing family programs and fostering a Muslim-Turkish belonging in any aspect of life. http://italianpoliticalscience.com/index.php/ips/article/view/181COVID-19diaspora governanceTurkeyItalyMuslim communities
spellingShingle Chiara Maritato
Gül Ince-Beqo
Diaspora governance in times of COVID-19: The case of Turkish Diyanet in Italy
Italian Political Science
COVID-19
diaspora governance
Turkey
Italy
Muslim communities
title Diaspora governance in times of COVID-19: The case of Turkish Diyanet in Italy
title_full Diaspora governance in times of COVID-19: The case of Turkish Diyanet in Italy
title_fullStr Diaspora governance in times of COVID-19: The case of Turkish Diyanet in Italy
title_full_unstemmed Diaspora governance in times of COVID-19: The case of Turkish Diyanet in Italy
title_short Diaspora governance in times of COVID-19: The case of Turkish Diyanet in Italy
title_sort diaspora governance in times of covid 19 the case of turkish diyanet in italy
topic COVID-19
diaspora governance
Turkey
Italy
Muslim communities
url http://italianpoliticalscience.com/index.php/ips/article/view/181
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AT gulincebeqo diasporagovernanceintimesofcovid19thecaseofturkishdiyanetinitaly