Imam in Exile_{Turkish religious leaders in a post-secular public sphere}

As a contribution to the literature of “law of minority’’ (fiqh al-aqalliyyat) for Muslims in diaspora, this study examines the contemporary issues Turkish-Dutch imams encounter in their mosques.

The study based on qualitative empirical research in the Netherlands between 2005-2010 in addition to Islamic jurisprudence literature.

The writer met more than hundred imams and religious leaders in person. Following a survey with more than seventy imams, he interviewed two dozen of those imams with a semi-structured frame. He visited at least two hundred mosques in the country. During his fieldwork, he also replaced the position of an imam for two months in Laleli Mosque of Rotterdam, when the imam was away for the pilgrimage. This opportunity gave him a unique insider understanding.