Neslihan Cevik

Associate Fellow

Political Science and International Relations at Medipol University in Turkey.

I am a  Turkish sociologist (PhD, Arizona State University). I was a fellow at IASC between 2010-2013, where I produced my  book  Muslimism in Turkey and Beyond: Religion in the Modern World (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015).  The book was translated into Turkish  and reprinted by Hece yay?nlar? (2018). Post-book, I have focused my study of religion to the third wave radicalism and construction of radical theology, in particular DAESH. My work on radicalism  was translated into Arabic, French and Spanish and was acknowledged by international and intergovernmental organizations including NATO and KAS (Konrad Adenuer Stifftung).

In addition to my academic career, I worked in the private sector (2014-2018) and international development (2016-2019). In the private sector, based on my book work, I consulted international and national market giants for branding, customers insight, marketing and product development in halal consumerism and modest retail textile. In 2015, I raised seed investment and founded my own e-commerce start-up company catering to lifestyle and clothing needs of young modest wearers across the world. This was an opportunity for me to put the book’s finding to test through products, marketing strategies, and growth rates. In the private sector, I also had the opportunity to combine sociological and market research and contribute to closing the gap between academia and the business world. I am one of the few practitioners of JTBD-jobs to be done methodology (Harvard business School) in Turkey.

Between 2016-2019, I worked at OIC and Islamic Development Bank, both IGOs membered by Muslim majority states only. I managed projects and reports on radicalism, youth, gender equality, social sustainability and entrepreneurship  and developed Action Plans and Strategies while  also directly  helping a number of member-state governmental agencies on issues regarding tradition, religion and gender equality. I also thought graduate level classes on social sustainability (Peace and Security Studies, Ankara Social Sciences University,  Turkey)  both as a practitioner and academic. Between 2019 and 2021, I served as the Vice President of an opposition party founded by one of Turkey’s former Prime-Ministers. I used this experience as an opportunity to identify new political mechanisms and processes to help reconcile historically conflicting factions (secular versus religious, Kurdish versus Turkish) in the country.

Currently, I am part of the GERIS (Global Exchange on Religion in Society’ (GERIS) network, a project by the European Union aiming to  set up a global, community-based initiative to facilitate a global conversation on diversity, coexistence, and social inclusion.

Muslimism in Turkey and Beyond: Religion in the Modern World. Palgrave Macmillan, Dec. 2015.