The effects of Islamist magazines on the understanding of religion of the period in Turkey: The case of Hilal magazine (1958-1993)

In the 1900s, Islamist publishing began in Turkey with the journal Sırât-ı Müstakîm. However, with the Republic, Islamist journalism activities were limited and a one-stop publishing process dominated by the state for a while. With the transition to multi-party life in Turkey since 1945, Islamist journals had active publication life again. Magazines have become an important tool for easy and fast access to all segments of society. At this point, Hilâl Magazine, with its 367 issues between 1958- 1993, draws attention with its position to create the Islamist public opinion and to spread the idea of raising the Muslim society to the level of contemporary civilizations with the principles of the Islamic religion, which is also the purpose of the emergence of the Islamism movement. In particular, a serious translation activity was carried out in order to convey the core values of religion to the society through pioneering personalities such as Mevdudi, Seyyid Kutub, Hasan al-Banna, Muhammed İkbal and these works were published in the journal. In addition, translations of the works of some Western intellectuals were included in the magazine. Hilâl magazine, which followed a peaceful publication process with the state administration, touched on social problems and the provisions related to worship in terms of the religion of Islam. Criticisms of the religion of Islam were answered within the scope of the magazine, and it was expressed on all occasions that Islam provided opportunities for innovation and modernization. The struggle against communism was also emphasized continuously in the magazine. In addition to these functions of Hilâl magazine, another important issue was Salih Özcan, the owner of the magazine. Özcan has a personality with a good level of knowledge, which Bediuzzaman Said Nursi describes as "My External Deputy", and also contributes significantly to translation activities with his trips abroad. In addition, his political identity comes into prominence. As a result, Hilâl magazine has maintained a publishing life that keeps the pulse of the society and interprets the agenda with a conciliatory method with the political authority. It has been argued that the development of Islamic societies will be possible by reflecting the basic principles of Islam to life. In this context, many authors have written articles in Hilâl magazine. By quoting from these articles, the content of an Islamist journal and its effect on the understanding of religion of the society in the period of the journal were analyzed by analyzing according to the frequency of the topics included in the journal. Keywords: Islamism, Salih Özcan, Hilâl Magazine, Translation.