Religion was a major pillar in the government’s pandemic management and featured centrally in a string of public controversies in the course of the coronavirus crisis in Turkey. This article analyzes the role of Islam in the political and social responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey, with a focus on four dimensions: (1) religion as a tool of governance, (2) the regulation of collective religious practices, (3) religious interpretations of the pandemic, and (4) predictions about the future impact of the coronavirus crisis on religion. Based on this analysis, the study concludes that the salience and political function of religion in the course of pandemics are contingent upon the place of religious mobilization in the political repertoire of the ruling party and the balance of power between the government and the religious field, respectively. The government's extensive instrumentalization of religion in pandemic management, on the other hand, is likely to give rise to a political backlash against organized religion.

中文翻译：

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神圣的警告还是世俗化的前奏？土耳其的宗教、政治和 COVID-19 大流行

宗教是政府应对大流行病的主要支柱，并在土耳其冠状病毒危机期间的一系列公共争议中占据核心地位。本文分析了伊斯兰教在土耳其对 COVID-19 大流行的政治和社会反应中的作用，重点关注四个方面：(1) 宗教作为治理工具，(2) 集体宗教活动的监管，( 3) 对大流行的宗教解释，以及 (4) 关于冠状病毒危机对宗教未来影响的预测。基于此分析，研究得出结论，宗教在大流行过程中的显着性和政治功能取决于宗教动员在执政党的政治曲目中的位置以及政府与宗教领域之间的权力平衡，分别。另一方面，政府在流行病管理中广泛使用宗教工具，可能会引起对有组织宗教的政治反弹。