Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword: Pious Muslims as a Bridge between Turkey and the West: The Remarkable Case of the Imam Hatip Graduates Studying in Europe
- Introduction
- 1 Historical Background
- 2 İHL Graduates in Vienna
- 3 İHL Graduates in Sarajevo
- 4 İHL Graduates in Other Countries
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Bibliography
- List of Acronyms
- Basic background Information on the Key Respondents
- Index
2 - İHL Graduates in Vienna
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 16 February 2021
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword: Pious Muslims as a Bridge between Turkey and the West: The Remarkable Case of the Imam Hatip Graduates Studying in Europe
- Introduction
- 1 Historical Background
- 2 İHL Graduates in Vienna
- 3 İHL Graduates in Sarajevo
- 4 İHL Graduates in Other Countries
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Bibliography
- List of Acronyms
- Basic background Information on the Key Respondents
- Index
Summary
THE REASONS FOR CHOOSING VIENNA
In 2000, ÖNDER's ‘Let the Stars Shine’ campaign was announced by conservative tv channels and newspapers, and addressed both students and donors. Salih1 described his encounter with the campaign:
Which departments could I choose? Only the pedagogical department and those sorts of things were available. I did not want to do this sort of thing, and therefore I was out in the cold. ÖNDER started a campaign to fund successful students. By chance I applied to it. One of my friends told me about the campaign because I was in the village at the time. There were not many means of communication in the village. At the last minute, they [ÖNDER] sent me the application form. I filled in the form and sent it back just a few hours before the deadline; otherwise I would have missed it. Later, they wanted us to go to Istanbul for an interview. We were interviewed. Then we were called again, and they said we had been accepted.
According to my sources in Vienna, approximately 100 graduates benefited from the campaign in the first year. The executives of ÖNDER negotiated with the managers of private universities regarding the headscarf ban. After they received a guarantee from the managers that female students would be able to enter universities wearing the headscarf, they advised students to choose these universities. According to my sources, the plan worked until General Çevik Bir, one of the most influential figures in the February 28 process, visited one of the universities. After the visit, the rector of the university called the headquarters of ÖNDER and explained that it would no longer be possible for female students to enter the university wearing the headscarf. Berktay described the events as follows:
They [the ÖNDER executives] had negotiated with all private universities before advising them [the İhl graduates] to choose these universities. They said: we will advise these students to choose your university. Can they study here with their headscarves? Everyone said that would be okay. Then, during the registration time, Çevik Bir visited Yeditepe University – Dalan's university. He said, ‘You will not accept these students [female İHL graduates with headscarves] here’. So they did not register our students.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- From Symbolic Exile to Physical ExileTurkey's Imam Hatip Schools, the Emergence of a Conservative Counter-Elite, and Its Knowledge Migration to Europe, pp. 55 - 98Publisher: Amsterdam University PressPrint publication year: 2013