Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Ankara Universitesi Ilahiyat Fakultesi Dergisi, cilt.66, sa.1, ss.267-299, 2025 (Scopus)
Masculinity refers to an area that has been the subject of many academic disciplines and branches of the social sciences. In the field of gender, studies have generally analysed the social situation of women and how they are oppressed by men. It can be stated that discussions on the characteristics of male identity and its relationship with religion correspond to a virgin literature. In this study, within the framework of the theories of hegemonic masculinity, masculine domination and power, the perceptions of masculinity in imams and its relational link with religion are analysed. In the light of the field data collected with qualitative method and in-depth interview technique and on the basis of the experiences of imams, discussions are generated and the role of religious perceptions in shaping the phenomenon of masculinity is analysed. In this context, in-depth interviews were conducted with 30 people who continue to serve as imams in Diyarbakır. It is aimed to analyse the conceptions of masculinity of imams, who are mostly in a respected position and charismatic status in the production of religious discourse in the sociocultural conditions of Diyarbakır, in line with the theoretical literature and in accordance with the aims of the research. In other words, the processes that are effective in shaping the perceptions of masculinity of imams in Diyarbakır, where religious norms and patriarchal norms are intertwined, are discussed. At the end of the study, it was found that the fact that the religion of Islam commands attitudes and behaviours that will adopt some of the gender norms coming from patriarchy is effective in the learning of male identity and that patriarchal and religious discourse are intertwined in the learning of masculinity identity. It is seen that Imams do not have an egalitarian approach to issues such as the physical characteristics or mental faculties of men and women. In addition, in the definitions of ‘male men’, approaches such as men working in jobs requiring heavy conditions, women's emotionalism being mentioned as weakness by creation, etc. come to the fore. In the end, it will be useful for gender studies to reveal the factors that are effective in the formation of gender themes in imams in Islam. It is thought that this will create an opportunity to provide an opening to new categories of masculinity.