Promoting Muslim Nationalism in Turkish Museums: A study of visitors’ responses to the Panorama Museum 1453

In recent years, studies have shown that the institutional representation of Turkey’s national history and identity has undergone a shift closely linked to the rise of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), led by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Since the AKP came to power, the government supported the building of new state-sponsored museums reflecting the party’s national ideology, which recent literature dubbed “Turkish Muslim Nationalism.” These museums prioritize the Ottoman Empire’s past and its Islamic heritage as the grand narrative of Turkey’s national history, putting other equally important narratives in the background, e.g. the Roman, Byzantine, Greek, and the more recent Kemalist past of the country. One such museum is the Panorama Museum 1453, which has become a popular tourist attraction in Istanbul. This article examines how the visitors respond to the national identity promoted by the Panorama. It draws on fifty video-based interviews as well as visual elements of the museum. The data collected in this study has been analysed using a theoretical framework based on theories of nationalism. This research findings provide material supporting the thesis that the museum is successful in promoting a distinct version of Turkish Muslim Nationalism. It effectively conveys a national identity that emphasizes the characteristics of a Muslim Turk whose identity can be (and is) still influenced by the Ottoman Empire’s historical legacy. This legacy drives Turkish identity as an identity inextricably linked to Islam as the religion of the state, connected with other characteristics such as military power and technological progress. The museum’s presentation of this identity in the Panorama is compelling and immersive, which helps to solidify visitors’ understanding and acceptance.