Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Ankara Universitesi Ilahiyat Fakultesi Dergisi, cilt.65, sa.1, ss.1-32, 2024 (Scopus)
The Altındağ incidents refer to the violence and chaos that occurred following a public order issue between a few Turkish and Syrian youths in Ankara on August 10, 2021. Subsequently, a crowd took to the streets, leading to violence and turmoil, particularly targeting the general Syrian population residing in the neighborhoods of Önder, Ulubey, Battalgazi, Hüseyin Gazi, Karapürçek, Solfasol, Baraj and surrounding areas. The Altındağ incidents gained national and international media attention, portraying it as the beginning of a significant rupture between Syrian refugees and the Turkish community. However, contrary to the concerns raised during the events, this process was relatively short-lived and eventually resolved. Numerous factors played a crucial role in calming the Altındağ incidents. This article, which is a qualitative field study examining the case as a situation analysis, explores the role of religious and socio-cultural commonalities in strengthening social cohesion between the two communities. The research aims to analyze the impact of Syrians' beliefs and practices on their behavior during the conflict. To achieve this, face-to-face interviews were conducted with 11 individuals who reside in Ankara and had experienced the Altındağ incidents. The study observed that the social relationships established by Syrian refugees with the local community, particularly based on religious and socio-cultural commonalities, had a facilitative impact on their social integration process. Additionally, despite stringent security measures taken during this process, the findings suggest that one of the major obstacles preventing the escalation of the conflict was the positive outcomes of the social interaction process between Syrians and the local community in previous years.