The Transformation of a Turkish Islamic Movement

Some scholars, such as Graham Fuller, tend to read the current experiment in Turkey as the successful political integration of an Islamic movement into a democracy.1 Several facts support such an interpretation. Although the JDP [Justice and Democracy Party] leadership denies its Islamic background...

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Autor principal:	M. Hakan Yavuz
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	International Institute of Islamic Thought 2005
Materias:	Islam BP1-253
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/127508ccc7e94d32ab7fd3dc6e1090f9
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:127508ccc7e94d32ab7fd3dc6e1090f92021-12-02T19:41:23ZThe Transformation of a Turkish Islamic Movement2690-37332690-3741https://doaj.org/article/127508ccc7e94d32ab7fd3dc6e1090f92005-07-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.ajis.org/index.php/ajiss/article/view/3017https://doaj.org/toc/2690-3733https://doaj.org/toc/2690-3741 Some scholars, such as Graham Fuller, tend to read the current experiment in Turkey as the successful political integration of an Islamic movement into a democracy.1 Several facts support such an interpretation. Although the JDP [Justice and Democracy Party] leadership denies its Islamic background and claims to be a conservative democratic party, nonetheless, the party did emerge out of the ashes of the Welfare [Refah] and the Virtue [Fazilet] parties that were closed down by the constitutional court on charges of being a forum for and proponent of anti-secular activities.2 Moreover, the majority of JDP’s deputies are observant Muslims in their daily lives. For instance, their spouses continue to wear headscarves, which are banned in public offices, state ceremonies, and universities because they are regarded as a threat to Turkey’s secular character. The religious observance of JDP’s members poses several questions. Is the JDP an Islamic party? Is it possible for an ex-Islamic movement to become a-Islamic or un- Islamic? Is the commitment of the JDP’s members to religious values in their personal life sufficient to label the party Islamic? When does a movement or a party become or cease to be Islamic? Even if the party’s administration denies any connection with political Islam, can we still consider the party to be Islamic? Alternatively, one may argue that JDP’s denial of being an Islamic party is simply a compromise between the state and the JDP. The party, as the argument goes, is free to govern the country as long as it stays within Turkey’s strictly proscribed constitutional framework and ignores many of its conservative constituency’s religious demands. This alternative interpretation further complicates the issue and raises following question: Is the JDP, rather than being the success story of an Islamic movement that has adapted to a democratic and secular environment, an example of the ... M. Hakan YavuzInternational Institute of Islamic ThoughtarticleIslamBP1-253ENAmerican Journal of Islam and Society, Vol 22, Iss 3 (2005)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Islam BP1-253
spellingShingle	Islam BP1-253 M. Hakan Yavuz The Transformation of a Turkish Islamic Movement
description	Some scholars, such as Graham Fuller, tend to read the current experiment in Turkey as the successful political integration of an Islamic movement into a democracy.1 Several facts support such an interpretation. Although the JDP [Justice and Democracy Party] leadership denies its Islamic background and claims to be a conservative democratic party, nonetheless, the party did emerge out of the ashes of the Welfare [Refah] and the Virtue [Fazilet] parties that were closed down by the constitutional court on charges of being a forum for and proponent of anti-secular activities.2 Moreover, the majority of JDP’s deputies are observant Muslims in their daily lives. For instance, their spouses continue to wear headscarves, which are banned in public offices, state ceremonies, and universities because they are regarded as a threat to Turkey’s secular character. The religious observance of JDP’s members poses several questions. Is the JDP an Islamic party? Is it possible for an ex-Islamic movement to become a-Islamic or un- Islamic? Is the commitment of the JDP’s members to religious values in their personal life sufficient to label the party Islamic? When does a movement or a party become or cease to be Islamic? Even if the party’s administration denies any connection with political Islam, can we still consider the party to be Islamic? Alternatively, one may argue that JDP’s denial of being an Islamic party is simply a compromise between the state and the JDP. The party, as the argument goes, is free to govern the country as long as it stays within Turkey’s strictly proscribed constitutional framework and ignores many of its conservative constituency’s religious demands. This alternative interpretation further complicates the issue and raises following question: Is the JDP, rather than being the success story of an Islamic movement that has adapted to a democratic and secular environment, an example of the ...
format	article
author	M. Hakan Yavuz
author_facet	M. Hakan Yavuz
author_sort	M. Hakan Yavuz
title	The Transformation of a Turkish Islamic Movement
title_short	The Transformation of a Turkish Islamic Movement
title_full	The Transformation of a Turkish Islamic Movement
title_fullStr	The Transformation of a Turkish Islamic Movement
title_full_unstemmed	The Transformation of a Turkish Islamic Movement
title_sort	transformation of a turkish islamic movement
publisher	International Institute of Islamic Thought
publishDate	2005
url	https://doaj.org/article/127508ccc7e94d32ab7fd3dc6e1090f9
work_keys_str_mv	AT mhakanyavuz thetransformationofaturkishislamicmovement AT mhakanyavuz transformationofaturkishislamicmovement
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The Transformation of a Turkish Islamic Movement

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