Albanians in Ceyhan: Religion, identity and integration

The focal point of our study is the interaction process of the Albanians of Çevretepe, who migrated from Kosovo, with the Turkish society and how religion has an impact on this interaction process. In addition, our participants perceptions of identity developed for Turkey and Kosovo are also located in an important place in terms of our thesis. In our study, where qualitative research methods were used, a total of 30 people were interviewed, 7 of whom were women and 23 were men. The data were collected through a semi-structured interview form and in-depth interview technique shaped within the framework of this form, while descriptive analysis and content analysis were used to analyze the data. In the theoretical part of our thesis, we focused on migration, identity and integration issues that we care about as a basis for our findings. In the analysis of the findings, it was stated that the Albanians of Çevretepe were integrated with the Turkish society. The importance of religion on this process has been demonstrated based on the statements of our participants. In addition to this, Albanians of Çevretepe towards Turkey adopted, and for Kosovo were found to have the emotional and intellectual sense of identity. In addition, in this section, various findings contributing to a better understanding of the subject are also emphasized. As a result, this study, which we have done for the Albanians of Çevretepe, emphasizes that religion is not sufficient alone in ensuring social integration, but it shows that religion is at a very important point among all the elements that provide integration. Keywords: Migration, identity, integration, religion, Kosovo, Albanians