Political Islam in Turkey
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Political Islam in Turkey Running West, Heading East? Gareth Jenkins
political islam in turkey Copyright Gareth Jenkins, 2008. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2008 978-1-4039-6883-8 All rights reserved. First published in 2008 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 and Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England RG21 6XS. Companies and representatives throughout the world. PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-53090-8 ISBN 978-0-230-61245-7 (ebook) DOI 10.1057/9780230612457 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Jenkins, Gareth. Political Islam in Turkey : running west, heading east? / by Gareth Jenkins. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Islam and state Turkey. 2. Islam and politics Turkey. 3. Islam Turkey History. 4. Turkey Politics and government. I. Title. BP173.6.J46 2008 320.5'5709561 dc22 2007048023 A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Scribe Inc. First edition: June 2008 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The Turkish elite are like a man running West on the deck of a ship heading East Sakallı Celal (1886 1962)
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Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction: Islam and Politics 1 1 From Shamanism to Caliphate 17 2 Reform and Religious Homogenization 47 3 The Creation of the Kemalist State 81 4 The Reemergence of Islam 111 5 From Periphery to Mainstream 141 6 Violent Islamist Organizations 183 Conclusion 213 Notes 219 Index 263
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Acknowledgments Many people gave generously of their time during the course of the research for this book. It is impossible to name them all and unfair to single out just a few. Nevertheless, I would like to express my gratitude to Terry Taylor for his encouragement and patience when the delay in the delivery of the manuscript must frequently have been the cause of considerable frustration. Begüm Saruhan s diligence during the early stages of the research was invaluable; and her conscientiousness during a sustained period of severe ill-health often humbling. Yağmur Acar provided an absorbing account of her experience of an İmam Hatip school education, and her ability to communicate with pious Muslim women offered insights unavailable to a non-muslim male. I shall always been indebted to Hale Sert and to Mücahit Sami Küçüktiğli for their efforts in arranging interviews with pious businessmen and members of Muslim organizations in Konya. In Tunceli, Ferit Demir was more helpful than he will ever realize. My only regret is that my visit was cut so short by the November 2003 bombings in Istanbul. I would like to express my appreciation to Dr. Meltem Türköz for lending me a copy of her unpublished doctoral thesis on the Surname Law of 1934. I am particularly indebted to Vangelis Arateos for his generosity with documentary resources and his contacts and for his and his wife Delphine s unfailing friendship and support when I began to despair of ever delivering a completed manuscript. I would also like to thank the many Turks from both sides of the secularist/ Islamist divide who spent many hours meeting with me, often on condition of anonymity. Although constraints of space have prevented me from examining in depth many of the issues we discussed, I remain grateful to them both for sharing their expertise and for their unstinting kindness and hospitality. I am aware that all will disagree with at least some of my conclusions. I only hope that they understand that they were sincerely made. I owe a special debt of gratitude to my daughter Pınar, not only for sharing her unique insights into being on the consumer end of a Turkish elementary school religious education but also for her forbearance when the time spent in front of the computer or foraging in obscure sections of bookshops made me less attentive than I would have liked to have been. It is to her that this book is dedicated.