A visual ethnographic approach to Islamic lifestyles : the case of Başakşehir

Abstract

This study, adopting the visual ethnography as a methodology by asking the participants to take photographs and comment on them, explores Islamic lifestyles that belong to different socio economic groups in Başakşehir 1. Etap (district) and 4.Etap. Başakşehir, as a gated community, is a place where the religious residents can freely lead their Islamic lifestyles with other religious people like themselves and enjoy many opportunities it has to offer. However, the class distinction between 1.Etap and 4.Etap creates a controversy in between. Especially their different lifestyles which manifest themselves most clearly in their consumption patterns lead a hostile relationship between two Etaps. While the most crucial factor of the differences in their lifestyles is the class distinction the others are the different interpretations of Islam and the modernity concern of Başakşehir 4.Etap residents with a higher economic level. This study provides an insight of these Islamic lifestyles differentiation depending on the socio-economic status by the help of the photographs that Başakşehir residents have taken