The discipline of Turkish-Islamic Literature came into existence with the Turkish embrace of Islam. It refers to the literature that the Turks produced under the influence of the Islamic religion. Starting from Kutadgu Bilig, the earliest extant work in Turkish written in the 11th century during the Karakhanid dynasty by Yusuf Khass Hajib of Balasagun, Turkish-Islamic Literature has  enerated its own forms of literary production. Scholars of the field name three main traditions in this regard: Divan Literature, Folk Literature, and Tekke Literature. The Divan Literature refers to a highly symbolic art form inspired by Islam and produced under the influence of Persian and Arabic literary forms. The Folk Literature is mainly an oral tradition reflecting deep religious sensitivity, though one
can also see secular examples in the tradition. The Tekke Literature came into existence under the influence of Sufism and is explicitly religious in tone. The department offers courses on topics including the relation between religion and literature, the relation between Sufism and literature, the history of Turkish-Islamic literature, and primary sources in the field.