VIEWS AND EXPECTATIONS OF MUSLIMS LIVING IN NORTHERN CYPRUS REGARDING FAITH TOURISM

Background and purposes: Alternative tourism activities are becoming more important for the future of Northern Cyprus. In this context, faith tourism, which has gained popularity in recent years, has special importance for Northern Cyprus, a country with essential structures of different religions. In this paper, the importance of faith tourism, which supposedly contributes to the tourism of Northern Cyprus, is revealed through the public's perspectives. Methodology: Data was collected through the questionnaire distributed to 60 respondents. The questionnaire consists of two sections; the first section includes two questions on the socio-demographic characteristics and the second section consists of 10 multiple choice questions to determine the opinions and expectations of people living in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on faith tourism. Findings: It is found that the Muslim people living in Northern Cyprus have a positive view towards faith tourism, and they have general information about the sites. In addition, they are tolerant of this form of tourism. Contribution: This study is significant in terms of showing the potential of faith tourism in the Northern Cyprus. In this article, a number of suggestions have been presented on how this type of tourism can be developed, especially by taking the opinions and expectations of the people. Keywords: Tourism, faith tourism, Northern Cyprus, island, religion, Islam. Cite as: Gökbulut, B., & Yeniasır, M. (2022). Views and expectations of Muslims living in northern Cyprus regarding faith tourism. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 7(1), 59-78. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol7iss1pp59-78

Downsizing as a Public Policy and Downsizing Practices in the Health Sector

Health services provided by foundations in the pre-Republic period became more systematic and organized after the foundation of the Turkish Republic. Healthcare services, offered by the state in the period between 1920 and 1980 and accepted as one of the main duties of the state, became one of the areas in which the state wanted to withdraw after 1980. As a result of the neoliberal wave in the globalized world, policies aimed at downsizing healthcare services in Turkey have been developed and implemented since the 1980s. Accelerated downsizing practices by the Health Transformation Project (2003) continues today. In this study, literature review and descriptive analysis method were used.The aim of this study is to discuss the downsizing practices in the health sector of Turkey. This debate will take place over two periods (before 2002 and after 2002). Especially, the post-2002 period and works on behalf of health sector downsizing in this period will be discussed as to whether there is downsizing or not.

Digital Crisis Communication Management

Public relations is a communication process managed strategically and in a planned way. It includes all internal and external communication activities of institutions, including communicating with the target audience, providing information, creating an institutional image. Institutions face uncertainties, unexpected situations, and dangers in times of crisis; they make an effort to seize every opportunity to cope with these. Under changing conditions outside of the normal order, institutions have to act strategically. Institutions that do not care about these strategic studies will have less chance of success. Gaining and maintaining the trust of the internal and external stakeholders of the institution is much more important in times of crisis. The aim of the study is to reveal how crisis communication is handled in the digital environment, also called new media, in the COVID-19 pandemic that affects the whole world. In the study, communication activities of the Ministry of Health of the Turkish Republic will be investigated.

Digital Citizenship and E-Government Integration

In the study, the archive database of the e-government portal web page of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which creates a very large archive database in the field of digital citizenship, was examined. Due to the limit of research conducted through the database of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus e-government portal web page in the field of digital citizenship, the study will contribute to the literature. The e-government portal, which can be considered the largest and most inclusive database within the scope of e-government in Northern Cyprus, was selected using the purposive sample technique for official web page purposes. In this study, which is thought to lead to new researches and discussions on digital citizenship and e-government applications, descriptive analyses were revealed as quantitative and qualitative data, and content analysis was applied using document analysis technique from qualitative research methods data collection tools.

A Statistical Analysis for the Accessibility of Electronic Data Delivery System of the Central Bank of the Turkish Republic

The study aims to reveal the most effective factors on the accessibility statistics of the Electronic Data Delivery System (EDDS) of The Central Bank of The Turkish Republic. Besides, another aim is to reveal the effect of the exchange rate on the access statistics of EDDS exchange rate data. For this purpose, a stepwise regression model was used to find the most effective factors on accessibility statistics. According to the results of stepwise regression analysis, it was revealed that 9 out of 26 variables significantly affected the EDDS access statistics. Engle-Granger cointegration test was chosen as the method to examine the relationship between exchange rate and EDDS access statistics. It has been revealed that there is a long-run equilibrium relationship between the EURO/TRY exchange rate and the access statistics of EDDS exchange rate data.

The Perception of Minorities toward the Turkish State: The Case of Ethno-religious Communities

The relationship between state and non-Muslim communities has been a delicate issue since the founding of the Turkish Republic despite the principle of secularism stated in its constitution. Against this background, the association of national identity with Sunni-Islam has been the main marker of inclusion/exclusion to the national identity. Especially since 2002 when the Justice and Development Party (JDP) came to power, the debates with regard to freedom of religion and the rights of religious minorities came to fore. Over the course of decades there have been numerous studies approaching the state’s perspective towards religious minorities. However, there are still scarce amount of academic studies that focuses on citizenship experiences of the members of these communities in their daily and social life practices. In this article, we first provide a historical perspective of the state towards religious minorities from the establishment of the Republic until today including the JDP period. In the second part of this study we aim to explore recasting perspectives of the non-Muslim minorities over the previous decade by taking the standpoint of the members of Greek Orthodox, Jews and Armenian communities. To this end, we conduct in-depth interviews with the members of these communities who are residing in Istanbul. Finally, new negotiation fields which have been flourishing among these communities will be addressed.

A Critical Assessment of Turkish Islamic Feminism: A Simone de Beauvoirian Perspective

From the early years of the Turkish Republic to the end of the 1990s, the individuals who constitute the Turkish Islamic feminist movement have been the ‘other’ to Kemalist secular women. In the mid-2000s, having found a solution to the ‘headscarf question’, Muslim women started to express their demands, ranging from equal opportunities in education to the transformation of patriarchal structures and the reconstruction of female identity. The article’s main objective is to develop arguments for how dilemmas can be transcended in the process of identity-building. The main hypothesis put forward is that the participants in the Turkish Islamic feminist movement, who could turn their dilemmas into advantages if they managed to establish their relationship with the ‘other’ in line with the universal secular values of equality and freedom, will achieve their existential freedom only to the extent that they are able to act from an existential perspective.