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DOI :10.26650/B/AH13.2025.002.015   IUP :10.26650/B/AH13.2025.002.015    Full Text (PDF)

Islam and Performance: Theatricality of Post-Tariqa Sufi Creativity

Esra Çizmeci

This book chapter is about the transformation of the performative Sufi culture and the theatrical elements of an Islamic cultural event. To examine the theatrical processes in contemporary Turkish Sufi culture, this chapter will focus on a specific case study: a group of Romani teenage semazens’ embodiment of theatricality in an Armenian church in Çanakkale. These are individuals who transform an Islamic tradition and embrace what this chapter examines as posttariqa Sufi creativity, one that revolves around the performative and theatrical expressions of mystical union. With this in mind, this chapter moves beyond the idea of Islamic performance as a tool for promoting the conservative Islamist vision. This chapter will argue that, in current-day Türkiye, there are independent artists, who, with their expressive and transformative theatrical acts, challenge general perceptions about performance and Islam in contemporary Türkiye.¹ These artists use their embodied acts to create alternative social imaginaries and inspire individuals to move beyond conventional artistic expressions and boundaries.



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