History of Diyanet Encyclopedia of Islam Project

This project, initiated in 2019 with the aim of documenting the 33 years of experience of the Diyanet Encyclopedia of Islam, consists of three interconnected stages. In the first stage, which took place between 2019 and 2021, the focus was primarily on the research phase. Official documents, correspondences, newspaper articles, and other documents found in the İSAM Archive under different headings were scanned, and the chronology of the Diyanet Encyclopedia of Islam was extracted. Lists of interviewee names were created from individuals who contributed to the Encyclopedia in various positions and stages. Special files were prepared containing questions directed to each interviewee based on the scanning of the İSAM Archive. In 2021, the narratives of those who witnessed the process since the establishment of the Encyclopedia were recorded through oral history interviews in both audio and visual formats. The classification and digitization of documents and papers in the İSAM Archive were carried out. In 2022, the shooting of the fictional-documentary film titled "Always Thirty-Three Years Old," narrating the story of the Encyclopedia's experience, was completed. Thus, İSAM has accumulated significant knowledge about institutional history through oral history and archival studies.