Islamic Popular Music in Turkey within the Context of Religion, Music and Identity

This article, by examining the culture of Islamic Popular Music in Turkey, examines the role of this culture in forming and expressing of Islamic identity. The aim of this article is to point out how Islamic identity is expressed and transferred by means of popular music and what kind of changes this identity formed by means of Islamic music has experienced from 1990s to 2000s. This study has made analysis in the light of the following hypothesis "Islamic Popular Music is one of the important cultural components in comprehending the Islamic understanding of the period."The samples of the style of Islamic Popular Music between 1990-2000 were named as "Islamic Protest Music". The most significant characteristic of Islamic Protest Music in 1990s is that the message contents rely on the distinction of "we and others". In 2000s, Islamic Popular Music has turned into Islamic popular music which is away from giving a message through its melody, rhytm and instruments but carries commercial worries in accordance with the concerns of music industry.