Hiding in plain site: Ottoman objects and the crafting of alternative Muslim citizenship in Istanbul

Ottoman objects, art traditions, and social practices have long stood at the center of Turkish politics, given that the republic instituted itself through selectively destroying Ottoman institutions. By contrast, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) promotes a counterpolitics of service to Islam, positioning itself as the sole political force committed to upholding the legacy of Ottoman civilization. Yet not all Muslims are convinced by the party's neo-Ottomanism. Drawing on the work of Graham Harman, we examine how many practitioners of “traditional” arts bestow their own alternative meanings on Ottoman objects. Intuiting the objects’ concealed depths, they take an interest in Ottoman-Islamic arts and places, nourished by their pleasures and existential meanings. Such personal and unofficial orientations toward the post-Ottoman city and its objects should be interpreted as contemporary practices of alternative citizenship, enabling non-AKP ways of living a Muslim life.