This paper analyzes the role of the Diyanet, the official institution representing Islam in Turkey, in the Muslim representative bodies in Europe through the case of Austria. Austria is a special case in the institutionalization of Islam in Europe. First, the Islamic Religious Community of Austria-IRCA was established in 1979, much earlier than other examples of Muslim representative bodies in Belgium and France. Secondly, as different from other examples, it was initiated by the Muslim community itself rather than the Austrian government. Based on field research in both Turkey and Austria, this paper argues that the Diyanet faces both opportunities and challenges in its claim to represent Turkish Muslims in Austria. Immigrants of Turkish origin constitute the overwhelming majority in the Austrian Muslim community and the Diyanet has been active in Austria since the foundation of ATIB (The Turkish-Islamic Union for Cultural and Social Co-operation in Austria) in 1990. It controls the largest cluster of mosques within the Turkish Muslim community. With the backing of the Turkish state through diplomatic channels, the Diyanet signed special treaties with Austria and established itself as the representative of the Turkish Muslims for the recruitment of teachers of Islam and imams from Turkey. Such a privileged status has been promoted through several arguments: First, the Diyanet presents itself as an authentic Turkish model of a state-sponsored and controlled Islam under a secular state, which can be replicated in Europe. Second, ‘Turkish Islam’ is promoted as a ‘benign’ form of Islam, which is in peace with modernity and multiculturalism. Third, it claims to have a high level competence and rich historical experience in the provision of religious services. On the other hand, however, the Diyanet seems to be marginalized within the IRCA, which is based on individual membership rather than on associational representation. IRCA also tries to monopolize the recruitment of teachers of religion and imams, which allows the Milli Görü? movement to strengthen its place among Turkish Muslims. This paper responds to several questions: How does the Diyanet perceive the process of institutionalization of Islam in Europe? Is the Diyanet’s promotion of ‘Turkish Islam’ compatible with the European states’ efforts to generate a ‘European Islam’? How does the Diyanet serve Turkey’s quest for membership in the EU? To what extent does the Turkish state use the Diyanet as a foreign policy instrument?