The myth of political Islam in Turkey

This dissertation investigates Turkey's political history with its main focus on the formation and evolution of the phenomenon commonly called political Islam. Through a careful analysis of the processes underpinning this phenomenon, this study challenges dominant representations of political Islam in the country in an attempt to redefine the concept. While the literature commonly presents political Islam within a centre vs. the periphery dichotomy, as a movement of the indigenous faithful against the Westernized oppressors, and suggests a genuine cultural dilemma, this dissertation aims to provide an alternative reading of this very complex phenomenon in modern Turkey. This study contends that political Islam is not a faith-driven phenomenon or a new political movement than an unintended outcome of the secular elite decisions and choices. It is a symptom of a failure that originally occurred in the rural segments of the population which have been deprived of their socio-economic and cultural opportunities for short-term political gains. Hence, departing from the debates focusing on moral arguments and reaction to modernization, this dissertation proposes an account of the socio-economic and developmental setting that can help to comprehend the formation and evolution of political Islam in the country. It stresses the importance of the actual historical context, and the true motives of the political Islamists, for a comprehensive understanding of this phenomenon. The Turkish case suggests that political Islam is decisively linked to various decision-makings and policy choices by the secular state actors. Following the introduction of the multi-party system, political responses to various emerging challenges provided a fertile ground where political Islam with its anti-secular discourse could find a foothold and advance. At different times, political party rivalry, the perception of a communist threat, and the impact of globalization on the spheres of finance and culture constituted the core elements in the politicization and instrumentalization of religion. In investigating this process, this dissertation also brings the perception of the political Islam as a means of democratization, and the concept of democratization into question.