About Author Education Workshops and Proceedings Publications Areas of Specialization

About Author

Ömer F. Gürlesin is a scientific researcher with a strong background in both quantitative and qualitative sociology. He has a special interest in religious, cultural, and political change in the West and has dedicated his work to understanding everyday religion in western Europe, with a particular focus on Islam and its intersections with politics, religious education, and extremism.

Gürlesin began his career as a quantitative sociologist and worked for a few years in a non-profit organization. He then developed the profile of a  qualified qualitative sociologist through further education and experience.   Throughout his career, Gürlesin has gained extensive experience in conducting research studies and has published numerous papers in peer-reviewed journals. He has also presented his findings at various international conferences and seminars.  

Education

İmam Hatip, High School, Manisa 1996 - 2002

Bachelor in Philosophy and Theology 2002 - 2006


Socio-psychological analysis of Oruç Baba tomb visit [BA thesis]

Marmara University, Istanbul


MA in Sociology and Psychology of Religion 2008 - 2010


Islamic Understanding of the Environment: Theory and Practice

Leiden University, Leiden

PhD in Sociology and Psychology of Religion 2011 - 2018


Elite and Popular Religiosity among Dutch-Turkish Muslims in the Netherlands 
Promoter: Ab de Jong, Co-promoter: Ina ter Avest

Leiden University, Leiden 

Workshops and Proceedings

  • Gürlesin, Ö. F., (2008) Training Imams in Europe, The Contribution of the Islamic Education to the Integration of Muslim into European Community, University of Vienna, 7th – 19th of February 2008.
  • Avest, I. ter & Ö. F. Gurlesin (2017). Levensbeschouwing in de ‘society of mind’ – radicale fanatiekeling of fanatiek radicaal? Workshop op studiedag Haagse Hogeschool. 17 november.
  • Gürlesin, Ö. F. (2018). Multi-voiced-ness of Religious Identity. Beyond White Normativity: Creating Brave Spaces. Contribution to the Collaborative Session of REA. Washington, DC.
  • Gürlesin, Ö. F., (2018). Diversity in an Era of Polarization, contribution to the conference ‘Diversity in Higher Education’. Februari 2-3 Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
  • Gürlesin, Ö. F., I. ter Avest, A. Alasag, M. Akdag (2018). An exploration of religious identity development of Dutch-Turkish Muslims, contribution to the conference ‘British Sociological Association Sociology of Religion Study Group Annual Conference (SOCREL). July 10-12 10th.
  • Gürlesin, Ö. F., Ina ter Avest, M. Akdag, Alper Alasag, (2018). Acculturation and the Dialogical formation of young muslim identity: development of an intervention based on Dialogical Self Theory (DST), and its implementation. Presentation 10th DST conference, Braga, June.
  • Gürlesin, Ö. F., Ina ter Avest, M. Akdag, Alper Alasag, ISREV, (2018). ‘Wise men’s chess’, a serious play to stimulate religious development of muslim youngsters, contribution to the ‘International Seminar on Religious Education and Values Session XXI’, Nurnberg, July 29th - August 3rd.
  • Gürlesin, Ö. F. (2019). Multi-voiced-ness of religious identity: inner conflicts between extremist and moderate voices in one’s society of mind. The sample of Dutch Turkish Muslims in the Netherlands. Seeking the Middle Path (Al-Wasaṭiyya): Articulations of Moderate Islam. Nijmegen: Radboud Universiteit, 19th of June.
  • Gürlesin, Ö. F. (2019). Transformation of friday sermons in an era of nationalism: functionalization of religion, now and in a challenged future. Contribution to the ENRECA conference, Facing the Unknown Future: Religion and Education on the Move. Utrecht University, 8th – 10th April.
  • Ter Avest, I., Gürlesin, Ö. F., & Alasag, A. (2019). Prevention of Radicalization of Muslim youngsters; an inventory of emotional commitments to the Dutch plural society. Seeking the Middle Path (Al-Wasaṭiyya): Articulations of Moderate Islam. Nijmegen: Radboud Universiteit, 19th of June.
  • Gürlesin, Ö. F., Ter Avest, I., Alasag, A., & Kurt, I. (2019). Dialogical formation of young muslim identity; Piloting an intervention based on dialogical self theory (DST). The ESITIS Conference, The Hope and Despair of Religions: Exploring the Nexus of Theory and Praxis. Sarajevo.
  • Avest, I. ter, Ö. F. Gürlesin, I. Kurt, A. Alasag (2019). Normative Citizenship Education in Plural Societies; a dialogical approach to possible tensions between religious identity and citizenship. Conferentie Wurzburg, ‘Religion, Democracy and Citizenship’, oktober 10-12.
  • Gürlesin, Ö. F., Ter Avest, I., Alasag, A., & Kurt, I. (2021). Zoektocht naar een Eigen Levensoriëntatie temidden van een Veelheid aan Interpretaties, Provocatieve pedagogiek en religieuze identiteitsontwikkeling, Een module + spel ‘MirrorMind’ voor jongeren van 13-16 jaar, Nederlands Godsdienstpedagogisch Genootschap/Netwerk Levo 21 e eeuw, 22 April.
  • Gürlesin, Ö. F. (2020) Religious Voices in Diaspora; ‘muddleheadedness’ or contextualized religiosity, 11th International Conference on the Dialogical Self 7-10 June 2021.
  • Ter Avest, I. Gürlesin, Ö. F., Kurt, I., Alasağ A., Prevention of Radicalisation: Development of a Flexible Society of Mind, A board game as a safe space for world view development in formal and informal education, 11th International Conference on the Dialogical Self 7-10 June 2021.
  • Ter Avest, I. Gürlesin, Ö. F., Kurt, I., Alasağ A., (2021). Self (e)valuation: normative Islamic citiezenship education, IAIE conference in June 28-30, Israel.
  • Gürlesin, Ö. F., Self-radicalization in an Era of populism, Inner conflicts between extremist and moderate voices in ones society of mind, CommUnity project Final Conference, Building bridges to prevent radicalization', September 9, 2021, Leuven
  • Gürlesin, Ö. F., Radicalization and Deradicalization from the Perspective of Dialogical Self Theory; The Case of Dutch Turkish Muslims, The Netherlands-Indonesia Consortium for Muslim-Christian Relations (NICMCR), Prevention of Radicalisation through (Religious) Education, February 23-24, 2022, the Netherlands.

Publications

  • Akdağ, M., Gürlesin, Ö. F. , Alasağ A. & Ter Avest, I. (2018). Playful Religious Education – Towards Inclusive Religious Education: A Light-Hearted Way for Young People to Develop a Religious Life Orientation. Studies in Interreligious Dialogue, 29(1), 103–123.
  • Gürlesin, Ö. F. (2019). Major Socio–Political Factors that Impact on the Changing Role, Perception and Image of Imams among Dutch–Turkish Muslims. Education Sciences, Vol. 9. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci9030162 
  • Gürlesin, Ö. F. (2020). Transformation of friday sermons in an era of nationalism: functionalisation of religion in Turkey and the Netherlands, now and in a challenged future. In Religious Education on the Move - Challenging the Unknown Future of RE (pp. 223–243). Waxmann.
  • Gürlesin, Ö. F. , Akdag, M., Alasag, A. and Ter Avest, I. (2020). ‘Playful Religion: An Innovative Approach to Prevent Radicalisation of Muslim Youth in Europe’, in A. Sahin (ed) Special Issue Religions 11 (2). Islamic Education in Contemporary World: Traditions, Rearticulations & Transformation. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11020067 
  • Avest, I. ter, Kurt, I., Gürlesin, Ö. F., & Alasag, A. (2021). Normative Citizenship Education in Plural Societies: A Dialogical Approach to Possible Tensions Between Religious Identity and Citizenship. In A. Unser (Ed.), Religion, Citizenship and Democracy. Springer.
  • Gürlesin, Ö. F., (2022). The Teaching Turkish Civil Religion; the Discursive Construction of National Identity in the Netherlands, in Ina ter Avest, Bahaddin Budak (ed) Special Issue Religions, Islamic Education in the Netherlands. (in process)

Areas of Specialization

In the field of sociology and psychology of religion, Gürlesin's areas of specialization include the intersection of Islamic and European culture and its impact on the everyday lives of Muslims in Europe. Gürlesin is interested in exploring how religion shapes the experiences of Muslim communities in a diverse and rapidly changing society, including how they negotiate their religious identity.

Gürlesin has a specialization in the sociology of religious education and is interested in examining how Muslims in Europe learn about their faith and navigate the challenges of religious pluralism. Additionally, Gürlesin has a strong interest in Islamic environmentalism and the ways in which Muslims in Europe engage with issues of sustainability and climate change.

Gürlesin's research also focuses on religious radicalism, including Islamic extremism, and the root causes that lead to the rise of such ideologies. Through the use of statistical analysis with software such as SPSS, qualitative methods such as Dialogical Self Theory (DST) and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), as well as data analysis abilities using Power BI, SQL, and Python, Gürlesin is able to conduct rigorous and comprehensive analyses of complex social phenomena.