Rediscovering the Ottoman Era: Portrayal of Muslims and Non-Muslim Characters in Turkish Dubbed Dramas in Pakistan

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32350/mcr.61.05

Keywords:

Foreign policy, Neo-Ottomanism, Ottoman Empire, Justice and Development Party, Turkish Historical Dramas

Abstract

This research studied the way Muslim and Non-Muslim characters were portrayed in the history-oriented TV plays ‘Dirilis Ertugrul’ and ‘Kurulus Osman’. Turkish entertainment media’s depiction of the historical characters in these plays to complement the ideological shift to ‘Neo-Ottomanism,' was the research motif. Following the qualitative approach, content analysis technique was employed to code and categorize the visuals and the dialogues of these TV serials. The results of the study discern that the policy shift to 'Neo-Ottomanism' is complemented prominently in of the TV series. The Muslim characters have been portrayed as the best human beings, whereas, non-Muslims are depicted as having evil designs, intentions and approaches. Those who convert to Islam or swear allegiance to Muslims have been illustrated as positive characters. The research findings contribute to the understanding of how political and cultural influences the depiction of characters in TV plays and how portrayal of these characters influence the political and cultural environment.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.
0

References

Albayrak, D. O., & Turan, K. (2016). Neo-Ottomanism in Turkish foreign policy through the lenses of the principal-agent theory. Journal of Security, Strategy and Political Studies, 1(1), 129–154.

Ali, S., Hassan, A. A. U., Safwan, A., & Saeed, M. U. (2024). Association of pornography consumption with health and risky sexual behaviors of youngsters in Pakistan: A quantitative approach. Media Literacy and Academic Research, 7(2), 157–175. https://doi.org/10.34135/mlar-24-02-11

Bali, R. N. (2021). Antisemitism in Turkey: A new phenomenon or more of the same? In A. Lange, K. Mayerhofer, D. Porat, & L. H. Schiffman (Eds.), Confronting antisemitism in modern media, the legal and political worlds (pp. 223–238). De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110671964-014

Bozoğlu, G., & Whitehead, C. (2018). Turkish Neo-Ottoman memory culture and the problems of copying the past. In B. Brenna, H. D. Christensen, & O. Hamran (Eds.), Museums as cultures of copies: The crafting of artefacts and authenticity (pp. 85–97). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351106498-9

Çetinkaya, C. (2020). Rising Ottoman nostalgia in Turkish popular culture. Politikon: The IAPSS Journal of Political Science, 46, 8–28. https://doi.org/10.22151/politikon.46.1

Demir, V. (2021). Freedom of the media in Turkey under the AKP government. In H. Aydin & W. Langley (Eds.), Human rights in Turkey: Assaults on human dignity (pp. 51–88). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57476-5_3

Elswah, M., & Howard, P. N. (2022). Where news could not inspire change: TRT World as a party broadcaster. Journalism, 23(10), 2079–2095. https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849211033444

Erçel, E. (2016). Psychoanalysis, fantasy, postcoloniality: Turkish nationalism and historiography in post-Ottoman Turkey. Postcolonial Studies, 19(1), 71–87. https://doi.org/10.1080/13688790.2016.1225554

Goffman, E. (1974). Frame analysis: An essay on the organization of experience. Harvard University Press.

Gopal, S. (2024). Two waves of the Neo-Ottoman invasion: The Turkish dizi and Pakistani TV drama. BioScope: South Asian Screen Studies, 15(2), 134–163. https://doi.org/10.1177/09749276241307319

Hassan, A. A. U., Amin, R. U., & Iqbal, M. Z. (2023). Media and self-objectification of women in Pakistan: Exploring the role of culture and religion. Research Journal for Societal Issues, 5(4), 45–57. https://doi.org/10.56976/rjsi.v5i4.162

Hassan, A. A. U., Iqbal, H., Fazal, H., & Kit, L. W. (2021). Mashal Khan case: A comparative analysis of newspaper editorials. SEARCH Journal of Media and Communication Research, 13(3), 71–81.

Hassan, A. A. U., & Mukhtar, A. R. (2020). TV crime re-enactment shows and crime: Perception of Lahore-based investigation officers. Pakistan Journal of Criminology, 12(3–4), 18–29.

Iqbal, M. (2018). Migration crisis: Extermination and ethnic cleansing of Rohingya minorities in Myanmar and a potential threat to political stability in South and Southeast Asia. Journal of Political Anthropology, 2, 67–83. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3066658

Iqbal, M. (2020). The emergence of Turkey as a regional power and Neo-Ottomanism. Social Science Research Network. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3680333

Khan, M., & Won, Y. J. (2020). Transnationalization of TV serials: A comparative study of the exportation of Korean and Turkish TV serials. European Journal of Social Sciences, 59(2), 193–208.

Laurence, L. D. (2019). “Brad Pitt Halal” and the hybrid woman: Gender representations and religion through Turkish soap operas. ESSACHESS—Journal for Communication Studies, 12(24[2]), 61–78. https://www.essachess.com/index.php/jcs/article/view/464

Lombardi, B. (2012). Turkey and Israel brinkmanship and the grand strategy of the Erdogan government. The Levantine Review, 1(1), 7–22. https://doi.org/10.6017/lev.v1i1.2149

Melouk, A., & Sarra, A. M. L. (2021). Turkish foreign policy under the Justice and Development Party (AKP): Between Kemalism and Neo-Ottomanism. Academic Journal of Legal and Political Research, 5(2), 67–75. https://doi.org/10.52126/2238-005-002-005

Mughal, S. A. B., Hassan, A., & Hassan, A. A. U. (2023). Religious preaching on social media: Perception of university students in Lahore. Research Journal for Societal Issues, 5(1), 179–193. https://doi.org/10.56976/rjsi.v5i1.63

Oran, N. F. (2009). Neo-Ottomanism, historical legacies and Turkish foreign policy. EDAM/German Marshall Fund Working Paper Series, 3. https://www.scribd.com/document/38477119/Neo-Ottomanism-Historical-Legacies-and-Turkish-Foreign-Policy

Ozelkan, E. (2025). Reproducing Turkishness in historical dramas: Politics, populism, and Islam. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 28(6), 1141–1156. https://doi.org/10.1177/13678779251340998

Pothou, E. (2020). Why so successful? An audience research on the Turkish TV series in Greece. VIEW Journal of European Television History and Culture, 9(17), 62–78. https://doi.org/10.18146/view.211

Semetko, H. A., & Valkenburg, P. M. (2000). Framing European politics: A content analysis of press and television news. Journal of Communication, 50(2), 93–109. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2000.tb02843.x

Sümer, B., & Adaklı, G. (2012). Public service broadcaster as a market player: Changing operational patterns of the TRT in Turkey under the AKP leadership, 2002–2010. In G. F. Lowe & J. Steemers (Eds.), Regaining the initiative for public service media (pp. 147–164). Nordicom.

Uzer, U. (2018). Glorification of the past as a political tool: Ottoman history in contemporary Turkish politics. The Journal of the Middle East and Africa, 9(4), 339–357. https://doi.org/10.1080/21520844.2018.1539063

Weldes, J., & Rowley, C. (2015). So, how does popular culture relate to world politics? In F. Caso & C. Hamilton (Eds.), Popular culture and world politics: Theories, methods, pedagogies (pp. 11–34). E-International Relations Publishing.

Yang, C., & Guo, C. (2015). "National Outlook Movement" in Turkey: A study on the rise and development of Islamic political parties. Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies in Asia, 9(3), 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1080/19370679.2015.12023269

Yukaruç, U. (2019). Popular culture and international politics: An alternative way to analyse Turkish foreign policy. Alternatif Politika, 11(3), 448–473.

Downloads

Published

2026-06-30

How to Cite

Fatima, T., Hassan, A. A. U., & Sajjad, S. H. (2026). Rediscovering the Ottoman Era: Portrayal of Muslims and Non-Muslim Characters in Turkish Dubbed Dramas in Pakistan. Media and Communication Review, 6(1), 96–117. https://doi.org/10.32350/mcr.61.05

Issue

Section

Articles

Similar Articles

1 2 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.