Framing of a Conspiracy Theory: The Efendi Series
In: Handbook of Conspiracy Theory and Contemporary ReligionThis chapter analyses the popular anti-Semitic conspiratorial rhetoric in Turkey and argues that the conspiratorial accounts are proposed in accordance with political perspectives and interests. In particular, the research focuses on the best-selling conspiracy theory book series, Efendi. These series is about a secret Judaic society called Dönmes (Converts), a real religious group that has been the subject of various conspiratorial accounts since the early twentieth century. Analysing the content of the Efendi series and the discussion it created in the Turkish media, the study shows the transformation of a right-wing conspiracy account into a left-wing one. It illustrates that the conspiratorial account is in line with the left-wing political perspective of the book series’ author, the journalist Soner Yalçın.
