Majority Islamization and Minority Secularization: The Case of Jews in Contemporary Turkey

This article investigates whether the rise of political Islam under the Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (AKP; Justice and Development Party) has given rise to a corresponding process of religious strengthening among Jewish minorities in Turkey. The article argues that it has not done so. On the basis of a historical analysis and qualitative interviews, the study reveals that the Islamization of public life has reinforced longstanding patterns of civic secularism and limited religious observance rather than leading to a revival of religiosity. While certain forms of religious visibility have increased, these forms function primarily as cultural and symbolic markers within a predominantly civic-secular framework. The Turkish case thus challenges the assumption that minority groups respond to majority religious intensification through parallel processes of revival, instead highlighting the persistence of what may be termed adaptive secularization.