Performing Irşad: Female Preachers’ (Vaizeler’s) Religious Assistance Within the Framework of the Turkish State

This article examines religious assistance provided by female preachers (vaizeler) enrolled in a Turkish state institution, the Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet). Employed all over the country and abroad, these preachers perform many activities that transcend the sacred places of mosques. This study investigates how concretely the Turkish state has promoted increased religious assistance for women and families. Resulting from one year of ethnographic observations of vaizelers’ daily activities in Istanbul, this work enriches the debate concerning religion and the state in Turkey with an unconventional perspective: female moral support.