It’s women only at this discotheque
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Enis Tayman & Ayten Güvenkaya - Referans
OluÅŸturulma Tarihi: Haziran 29, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - It’s not so long since wearing jeans was an issue of contention among the country’s religious circles. Today, resorts are catering to the faithful with single-sex discos, complete with DJs and drinks - albeit with a non-alcoholic twist. People identified as religious appear to be leaving the periphery and merging with society as a whole, but not necessarily at the cost of their values.
What separates the five-star Åžah Inn Paradise holiday camp in Antalya from 30 others in the region is the inclusion of a ladies-only disco on the premises. It is features like this that makes the hotel the preference of a more religious clientele. Â
The disco exclusively for women is a first among "Islamic holiday resorts." Superficially the disco looks like any other in the region. It opens at 10 p.m. and closes at 04 a.m. Inside there is a typical dance floor in the middle of the room with a bar and stools along the front Ğ though mocktails and soft drinks are the only order here. Women dance to the latest from Turkish pop stars Hadise and Serdar Ortaç being played by a female DJ.
Yusuf Yücel, the manager of the holiday resort, said when they came up with the idea for the camp there was much opposition as it many considered such a thing against their beliefs. But by now the men have begun to ask "where’s one for us?"
The situation might appear strange, even kitsch at first glance but in the 80’s, it was not young Muslims but other youths labeled the "the modern face of Turkey" who hung out around daytime discos in the middle of Istanbul that did not serve alcohol. In those days, Islamic youth wearing jeans was a matter of contention, let alone going to a disco. However, in 2009 such discos are opening in can be opened in such a resort, although it keeps men and women separated, as it would be in a Turkish bath.
So, are religious people building their own holiday resorts, restaurants and discos to live in isolated "communities" of their own, or all are these the first steps toward a society that meets in the public sphere? Some experts say this is the result of a "shifting to the center," meaning all of society is on the move to occupy the same public stage
Data from the Target Group Index research, run by AGB Nielsen Media Research since 2001, confirm this view. The research focuses on city dwellers aged 15 and up and collects data on many products and services, such as mobile phone ownership, going to the movies, using perfume and owning pets.
According to the survey the consumption habits of religious people are becoming parallel to those of the secular mainstream. One example cited is the use of lipstick by Muslim women has increased by nearly 10 percent since 2001. However, the overall increase in the use of lipstick use is has been just 8 percent.
This trend can also be witnessed in male consumption habits. Young, educated religious people might be the defining factor in this and similar consumption is increasing. Interviews with religious leaders also point to the diminishing separation of "those who are with us" and "those who are not," which is another milestone on the way to a more unified political center.
Funda Kadıoğlu, TGI’s Turkey project manager, evaluated the research data for daily Referans and said: "Other indicators we follow also verify the tendency to join the center. The attendance of religious people at cultural and political events is also increasing. The real driving force is more educated women among the religious scene." Kadıoğlu indicated that religious wanted to be seen on the public stage and not merely exist isolated from general society.
Consumption patterns
are changing
"However, it is not right to describe it as religion being ’on the rise.’ They were not part of the center before but on the periphery. That is why the change should be read as not as the increase of religiousness but as the sides shifting to the center." Kadıoğlu said the European Union ascension and the Justice and Development Party Administration had established religious people’s self-confidence; increased their belief that they can be a part of the center and the system.
So, while the consumption habits of religious people have shifted to the center there is some doubt about whether they are there themselves. Kadıoğlu said it was too early to describe this change as a disengagement from a traditional lifestyle.
Metin Kandaz, a partner at Burnaz tourism who describes himself as a religious person, confirmed the change by saying: "They would not swim in the sea, let alone enter the pool". Kandaz said, in time, with the exception of 5 or 10 percent, religious people will shift towards a more liberal understanding of holidays. "But men and women would never sunbathe near the same pool or swim in it" he added.
Ramazan Bingöl, the owner of a restaurant of the same name, does not serve alcohol to his customers but he hosts even the most ardent secularists at his three-story luxury restaurant in Istanbul. A woman wearing a sleeveless t-shirt and short skirt walks by and there is another veiled woman eating a few tables away.
However, this coexistence does not work for Bingöl when on holiday. "Of course I would go to the place that does not serve alcohol and my wife would swim in her hashema," he said. A hashema is a swimsuit for Islamic women that covers the whole body without letting the figure show. "People had economic means in the past too but there was not so much socialization among conservative people. Now there are places to spend the money."
Even today there is a supply deficit in the market aimed at religious people, according to Bingöl, who talked about his own consumption habits: "I sometimes use perfume. I also use the one I bought at Hajj.
Waste is a haram (sin) but I am Ramazan Bingöl, I cannot wear an old shirt. I admit that my daughter spends better and more easily than me. She is more flexible than me about the products she buys".
Associate professor Mustafa Aydın from the Central Anatolian town of Konya’s Selçuk University said capitalism was helping religion secularize and argued it was also isolating conservative sensibilities. Aydın said the religious people who used to help the poor people are now saying: "they should be working, too."
The disco exclusively for women is a first among "Islamic holiday resorts." Superficially the disco looks like any other in the region. It opens at 10 p.m. and closes at 04 a.m. Inside there is a typical dance floor in the middle of the room with a bar and stools along the front Ğ though mocktails and soft drinks are the only order here. Women dance to the latest from Turkish pop stars Hadise and Serdar Ortaç being played by a female DJ.
Yusuf Yücel, the manager of the holiday resort, said when they came up with the idea for the camp there was much opposition as it many considered such a thing against their beliefs. But by now the men have begun to ask "where’s one for us?"
The situation might appear strange, even kitsch at first glance but in the 80’s, it was not young Muslims but other youths labeled the "the modern face of Turkey" who hung out around daytime discos in the middle of Istanbul that did not serve alcohol. In those days, Islamic youth wearing jeans was a matter of contention, let alone going to a disco. However, in 2009 such discos are opening in can be opened in such a resort, although it keeps men and women separated, as it would be in a Turkish bath.
So, are religious people building their own holiday resorts, restaurants and discos to live in isolated "communities" of their own, or all are these the first steps toward a society that meets in the public sphere? Some experts say this is the result of a "shifting to the center," meaning all of society is on the move to occupy the same public stage
Data from the Target Group Index research, run by AGB Nielsen Media Research since 2001, confirm this view. The research focuses on city dwellers aged 15 and up and collects data on many products and services, such as mobile phone ownership, going to the movies, using perfume and owning pets.
According to the survey the consumption habits of religious people are becoming parallel to those of the secular mainstream. One example cited is the use of lipstick by Muslim women has increased by nearly 10 percent since 2001. However, the overall increase in the use of lipstick use is has been just 8 percent.
This trend can also be witnessed in male consumption habits. Young, educated religious people might be the defining factor in this and similar consumption is increasing. Interviews with religious leaders also point to the diminishing separation of "those who are with us" and "those who are not," which is another milestone on the way to a more unified political center.
Funda Kadıoğlu, TGI’s Turkey project manager, evaluated the research data for daily Referans and said: "Other indicators we follow also verify the tendency to join the center. The attendance of religious people at cultural and political events is also increasing. The real driving force is more educated women among the religious scene." Kadıoğlu indicated that religious wanted to be seen on the public stage and not merely exist isolated from general society.
Consumption patterns
are changing
"However, it is not right to describe it as religion being ’on the rise.’ They were not part of the center before but on the periphery. That is why the change should be read as not as the increase of religiousness but as the sides shifting to the center." Kadıoğlu said the European Union ascension and the Justice and Development Party Administration had established religious people’s self-confidence; increased their belief that they can be a part of the center and the system.
So, while the consumption habits of religious people have shifted to the center there is some doubt about whether they are there themselves. Kadıoğlu said it was too early to describe this change as a disengagement from a traditional lifestyle.
Metin Kandaz, a partner at Burnaz tourism who describes himself as a religious person, confirmed the change by saying: "They would not swim in the sea, let alone enter the pool". Kandaz said, in time, with the exception of 5 or 10 percent, religious people will shift towards a more liberal understanding of holidays. "But men and women would never sunbathe near the same pool or swim in it" he added.
Ramazan Bingöl, the owner of a restaurant of the same name, does not serve alcohol to his customers but he hosts even the most ardent secularists at his three-story luxury restaurant in Istanbul. A woman wearing a sleeveless t-shirt and short skirt walks by and there is another veiled woman eating a few tables away.
However, this coexistence does not work for Bingöl when on holiday. "Of course I would go to the place that does not serve alcohol and my wife would swim in her hashema," he said. A hashema is a swimsuit for Islamic women that covers the whole body without letting the figure show. "People had economic means in the past too but there was not so much socialization among conservative people. Now there are places to spend the money."
Even today there is a supply deficit in the market aimed at religious people, according to Bingöl, who talked about his own consumption habits: "I sometimes use perfume. I also use the one I bought at Hajj.
Waste is a haram (sin) but I am Ramazan Bingöl, I cannot wear an old shirt. I admit that my daughter spends better and more easily than me. She is more flexible than me about the products she buys".
Associate professor Mustafa Aydın from the Central Anatolian town of Konya’s Selçuk University said capitalism was helping religion secularize and argued it was also isolating conservative sensibilities. Aydın said the religious people who used to help the poor people are now saying: "they should be working, too."