The role of religion in shaping the socio-cultural structure of the new generation Turkish community in Europe and its transformation

Migrating in the early 1960s as temporary guest workers, Turks form the largest foreign population in Germany today. Their Muslim identity and national culture were and still is distinct from the German society. Over time the nature of the migration changed with every new generation. While the first-generation migrants planned to return to their native country, the next generations started to plan their life in Germany. Today many Turks are naturalized Germans. It turns out that religion is one major factor in the development of relationships between the Turkish society with their traditional family structure and the German society. This study aims to evaluate the cultural changings in the identity, family, religion, integration and women among the Turkish community in Germany through the data obtained from interviews and observation. Besides it is adressed to understand the differentiation between the generations among Turks in the country. Keywords: Germany, Guestworker, Identity, Family, Woman, Identity, Religion, Change, Diaspora, Culture