RELIGIOUS MUSIC

In the framework of music, the forms of music that accompanied or assisted such Islamic obligations as circumcision, fasting and the call to prayer, and known as Mosque Music or Dervish Lodge Music depending on where it was played, can all be considered under the single heading of Religious Music. Forms such as ‘tilavet’ (reading the Kuran), the ‘ezan’ (the call to prayer), and the ‘temcid’ (a call praising Allah chanted by the muezzin immediately after the morning call to prayer during the months of Rajab, Şaban and Ramadan) all fall under the category of mosque music. During the religious dancing or ceremonies practiced by a number of religious sects, especially the dervishes (Mevlevi) and Bektaşi, come under the general heading of Mystical Music.

Reference: Ministry of Culture and Tourism, The Republic of Turkey