Religion and Society in Mavera Magazine

Abstract

Literature captures the essence of social life, reflecting the developments that emerge from within. Over its 16 years of existence, Mavera magazine has been embedded in society, serving as a mirror to the community. Describing itself as a "conservative thought and literature magazine," the publication has embraced religious elements while addressing societal change from this perspective. The study employed a qualitative research method and discourse analysis technique. The objective was to reveal how the magazine evaluates religion, how it addresses it, and its approaches to societal change during its 16 years of existence. Religious data, worship principles (prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and pilgrimage), and belief foundations (faith in God, prophets, books, angels, the afterlife, belief in destiny) were gathered by scanning all magazine issues. Data indicating perspectives were categorized under Sufism, ummah-centric views, religious literature, and mentality. Finally, their views on society were compiled under social change and modernization headings. Approaching worship principles from a functional perspective, Mavera magazine evaluated them not methodologically but rather in terms of human benefit. The critical factor behind this is the magazine's self -description as a "Conservative thought and literature magazine" rather than a "Religious magazine." The magazine addressed prayer and fasting more extensively than pilgrimage and almsgiving, likely due to the variability of economic and political conditions during the period. This is because almsgiving and pilgrimage are worship practices based on economic and political relations. Similarly, Mavera, like worship principles, approached belief foundations functionally, stating that faith in God liberates humans. Addressing faith in prophets through stories, the magazine aimed to teach. The magazine emphasized that faith in God alone is not sufficient and that orders from God cannot be understood without belief in prophets. In addressing faith in books, the magazine did not delve as deeply as in faith in God and prophets, mentioning the Quran only a few times. However, discussing the Quran closed the door to historicism, emphasizing that it speaks not only to the era in which it was revealed but is universal and addresses all humanity. In discussing belief in the afterlife and angels, Mavera, focusing on death, wrote poems centered on Azrael. Alongside the Islamic literary figures' desire to address the theme of death, they aimed to attract the reader's attention by juxtaposing the world's undeniable reality of death with abstract concepts such as the afterlife and angels. When the obtained data is interpreted, it is evident that Mavera magazine approaches religion from a functional perspective. Like Durkheim's approach, the magazine's religious positioning revolves around being a unifying factor for society. The magazine has created content supporting this practical approach and has selected works sent to them and those they have written accordingly. This selection can be categorized under four main headings: ummah-centric views, Sufism, religious literature, and mentality. Ummah-centric views are the cornerstone of the magazine, with all other concepts being related to ummah-centric views. The magazine does not accept any other ideas or thoughts alongside ummah-centric views. According to the magazine, ummah-centric views cannot be associated with any movement; they rejected nationalism and communism, which were popular movements of the time.

They argued that only ummahcentric views were possible and that it would build solidarity. The magazine approached society with an organizational perspective. Therefore, according to Mavera magazine, society is alive and constantly changing. While initially hesitant about evaluating social change and modernization, the magazine later supported these ideas, arguing that they should occur without Westernization. They claimed that social change within the Islamic framework would be beneficial, asserting that changes based on these values would benefit the country and society. The magazine stated that Westernization led to corruption in the country and that these steps had Christian characteristics. Here, the magazine's ummah-centric attitude reappeared. Similarly, supporting modernization from an Islamic perspective, Mavera magazine opposed Westernization. According to them, Westernization would not increase societal prosperity but would grow with Islamic civilization. The magazine considered the reform movements for Westernization as "top-down" and "disconnected from the people." They argued that these changes did not have a counterpart in the public and that the public could not digest them. When evaluating societal events, the magazine correctly understood political tensions and made the right publications at the right time. For example, a month before the political content articles were cut off just before the coup d'etat on September 12, 1980, and when the coup's impact decreased (5 months later), political content articles were written again. Similarly, the first issue related to the coup in 1990 praised the coup