Islamist humor in Turkish literature: Novels of Ömer Faruk Dönmez

The existence of a tradition of Islamist humor seems imperceptible after an investigation of magazines published during the republican era in Turkey. The emergence of such a genre coincides with the political milieu of 2000s. Literary works that contain characteristics of Islamist humor of the contributors of Cafcaf magazine appear as proper instances to inspect such a genre. Unimaginable coexistence of the concepts of religion and humor within a long lived humor magazine during the reign of a party with Islamist tendencies cannot be regarded as coincidence. The concept of humor, characteristically determined as an instrument of political criticism against the governing parties, became a tool of supporting the ruling party as regards Islamist humor in Turkey in 2000s. The aim of this study is to investigate such an alternative genre of humor in Turkey, its characteristics and rationale, regarding its relationship with the political rule and its praxis of discourse. In this context, Cafcaf magazine, which has been published since 2007, and novels of one of its contributors Ömer Faruk Dönmez, Hamza (2012) and Bir Yobazın Günlüğü (2013) are chosen to expose this relationship. The examples, determined as instruments of Islamist ideology, reflect the ruling political tendencies and their hegemony on daily life practices instead of literary concerns.