The global impact of fethullah gulens nur movement by m hakan yavuz editor, john l esposito editor online at alibris. Quaideazam was a muslim by heart, and his understanding of islam was progressive. Islam and the secular state berkley center for religion. Esposito explore recent reformations of islam and culture in turkey and the successful islamic modernist fethullah gulen movement. By a secular state i mean one that is neutral regarding religious doctrine, one that does not claim or pretend to enforce shariaathe religious law of islam simply be. There is political tension in turkey between islam as a religion and islam as an identity. Read political islam and the secular state in turkey democracy, reform and the justice and development party by evangelia axiarlis available from rakuten kobo. This is a product of the overlapping processes of secularism and nationalization of the recent past. Democracy, reform and the justice and development party foreword by james p. The project of kemalist nationbuilding is seen as antithetical to islam, and the fortunes of both are tied up in a zerosum game, whereby the success of kemalist nationalism entails the diminution of islam, and vice versa. Few books in islamic studies have been as eagerly awaited or intensely debated prior to publication as abdullahi ahmed anna. Thus, western culture and lifestyle were to become the way of life in turkey.
Apr 14, 2009 o n the first page of his book, islam and the secular state, abdullahi annaim writes. The state in a society committed to islam, they stress, is by definition an islamic state since political authorities are bound to islamic law, which has a direct bearing on constitutional law. Secularism in turkey defines the relationship between religion and state in the country of turkey. Islam possesses within itself the source of its claim to truth, and does not need scientific or philosophical theories to justify such a claim. The author abdullahi ahmed annaim, a sudanese legal scholar who has spent the better part of the past quartercentury teaching and writing in the united states. In the 1980s, islam started taking on an increased social role in muslim countries and this is particularly true for turkey, which witnessed an increase in religiosity in the 2000s. By abdullah al andalusi on october 23, 2014 9 in an islamic state, the leader is obliged by the quran to run the affairs of the people using shura consultation. The blurry line between religion and secularism in turkey. Furthermore, the resurgence of islam, beginning with the iranian revolution of 19789, defied the illusions of advocates of secularization theory. Secularism and muslim democracy in turkey in 2002 the islamist justice and development party akp swept to power in turkey. Moderate islam and secularist opposition in turkey.
Islam, and those who lived during the last years of the islamic state uthmani khilafah against which the west had directed its onslaught, had in fact wit nessed the vestiges of a state implementing remnants of islamic rule. This bold book, islam and the secular state, represents the mature reflections on how muslim societies should approach the dilemmas of state, law, and religion of one of the worlds bestknown muslim public intellectuals. Hakan yavuz, a premier scholar of turkey, negotiates this ambiva. Muslim voices of reform the issue of islam and secularism represents one of the most contested debates in contemporary scholarship and policy circles. Many muslim intellectuals insist today that islam is an integral part of the state. Democracy, reform and the justice and development party library of modern turkey axiarlis, evangelia, piscatori, james on. He established the former ottoman turkish state as a republic under the western ideology. Turkey is considered secular because, the religion of islam allows a man to have up to four wives, but by turkish law, a man is allowed only one wife. India, turkey and the future of secularism, there is no doubt that the question of whether religious parties with. Although the new system of westernstyle secular, particularly on the basis of culture, negatively affected the islamic life in turkey.
Negotiating the future of sharia 2008, and what is an american muslim. The analytical reason for suggesting that what is known as secularism in turkey be understood and consistently redescribed as laicism, indeed as a limited, inconsistent, and ambivalent form of laicism, 1 is that secularism and laicism are not two different words for the same institutional arrangement, but rather two distinct, complex, varied, contested, and dynamic possibilities in the range. The book cogently traces the origins of gulens ideology and his early efforts to propagate his views through educational activities. I never believed in god, not even between the ages of six and ten, when i was an agnostic. Islamic states and muslim secularism geopolitical futures. It emerged in response to the rise of the current international architecture based on the secular nation state.
Oct 23, 2014 whats the difference between an islamic state and secular democracy. The book traces the origin of this perception through the examination of the menemen incident 1930, the state imposition of the turkish ezan call to prayer 193233 and the lifting of the ban on the arabic ezan 1950, the malatya incident. Secularism or laicite was first introduced with the 1928 amendment of the constitution of 1924, which removed the provision declaring that the religion of the state is islam, and with the later reforms of turkeys first president mustafa kemal ataturk, which set the administrative and. An increasing number of muslim scholars in recent years have utilized rigorous. Mustafa kemal ataturk, turkey became the only predominantly muslim and yet secular state in the world, with the establishment of the republic in. Consequently, turkey is not an islamic state, but a secular state with an islamic society. Pdf the history of turkish modernization has been inextricably linked with the. The literature produced in turkey about this islamic liberal synthesis is. On one level, akps rise was enabled by its desire to see islam expressed in the public sphere. Islam, democracy, and turkeys secular state oxford. It is apolitical islam, not political islam, that requires explanation and that is an historical fluke of the shortlived heyday of secular arab nationalism between 1945 and 1970. Republican turkey is often described as the only muslim secular state. He felt islam is not in conflict with any modern way of governance which seeks freedom and justice for its citizens.
The common denominator is the idea that there should be an islamic state, but everyone disagrees on what this state should look like. Pdf p classapasecularism as central to society and human life may bring. While turkey s president has enacted religious policy, the countrys constitution declares that it is secular. It should be noted that the notion of an islamic state is a modern one. If you destroy the secular, you demolish the accomplishments turkey has made thus far. Jul 19, 2016 it is too simple to only state that erdogan and the akp are islamists seeking to replace kemalism with a form of political islam and that the military is the bastion of turkish secularism and will defend it no matter what the constitution says. In order to be a muslim by conviction and free choice, which is the only way one can be a muslim, i need a. The answer is not as easy as it seems, because each of the twothe secular state and the islamic state has many different possible models.
While the political regime of the new era was not considered secular by the westernists or national by the turkists, so also it was not felt to be islamic. The contents of school textbooks, which are determined by the secular state in turkey, are heavily influenced by positivism. Apr 18, 2017 despite the horrors committed by the islamic state regime based in syria and iraq, the idea of an islamic state continues to captivate the minds of many muslims. The global impact of fethullah gulens nur movement contemporary issues in the middle east yavuz, m. In longsecular turkey, sharia is gradually taking over. Turkish states model of laicism is aimed at coopting sunni islam, the religion of more than three quarters.
Nov 01, 2003 the book cogently traces the origins of gulens ideology and his early efforts to propagate his views through educational activities. By a secular state i mean one that is neutral regarding religious doctrine, one that does not claim or pretend to enforce shariaathe religious law of islamsimply be. Freedom of religion in turkey between secular and islamic values. The only difference is that, while india and turkey are doing well, pakistan is bellyup economically. Turkeys liberal islam and how it came to be mustafa akyol mustafa akyol is the deputy editor of turkish daily news. Democracy, reform and the justice and development party library of modern turkey.
It provides for freedom of conscience, religious belief, conviction, expression, and worship and prohibits discrimination based on religious grounds. Its greatest strength is its innovative characterization of three indonesian muslim models of polity, as opposed to the normal two, islamic state and secular state. Political islam and the secular state in turkey ebook por. Contributors describe its intellectual and religious formation, its spread across turkey and central asia, and. Islam and the secular state, 56 june 2002, in the memorial complex of alimam al. Phrase searching you can use double quotes to search for a series of words in a particular order. Turkey has become a republic of mutual contempt and distrust. In fact, he suggests, the very idea of an islamic state is based on european ideas of state and law, and not sharia or the islamic tradition. In order to be a muslim by conviction and free choice, which is the only way one can be a muslim, i need a secular state. A secular state, of course, is one which is neutral in terms of religion, and. Whats the difference between an islamic state and secular. Secularism is one of the three unchangeable laws of the turkish constitution since the beginning.
Bold, pragmatic, and deeply rooted in islamic history and theology, islam and the secular state offers a workable future for the place of sharia in muslim societies. The gulen movement, a nonpolitical turkish islamic group, has attracted only limited scholarly attention until recent years. If you attack the muslims, you inflame a religion that, having been aroused, cannot capitulate. India, pakistan, turkey are going back to religion. Political islam and the secular state in turkey rakuten kobo. Islam and secularism in turkey is an insightful historical analysis of the turkish secularists fear and perception of irtica islamic reactionism. It details the various strategies employed by gulens followers to put his ideas into practice, both in turkey and around the world. This is especially evident in considering the status of nonmuslim. Pdf islam and the secular state abdullahi annaim and. Bold, pragmatic, and deeply rooted in islamic history and theology, islam and the secular state offers a workable future for the place of shari. For years, turkey provided the only modern secular though not completely democratic state in the muslim world, believed to be immune from any serious impact of political islam. Islam, secularism, and nationalism in modern turkey.
The dewesternization of knowledge introduction 3 the nature of man 9 the nature of knowledge 143 definition and aims of education 149 islamic system of order and discipline 152. Project muse turkey, a secular state the challenge of. Turkey is a muslim country that was modernized by secularism. The ottoman empre emerged out of the medieval ages as a religion state unlike those countriesempires who had the advantage of renaissance and associated reformations on church state balance. By a secular state i mean one that is neutral regarding religious doctrine, one that does not claim or pretend to enforce shari. The turkish republic is the heir to the ottoman empire.
This is an excellent book which will have a major impact on the current debate about the relationship between islam and politics in indonesia. The turkish state appeared to all three schools of thought devoid of a sound basis and in need of a real fulcrum. Throughout the middle east, the clash between islamic forces and authoritarian states has undermined many democratization efforts. Do g an, a prominent turkish alevi, argued that turkey may look like a secular state on paper, but in terms of international law it is actually a sunni islamic state. It is the only secular democracy among muslim majority countries. Turkish political and social life by secularizing and westernizing the country and. Implications for the world, muslims and secular democracy murat somer 1 third world quarterly 28 7, pp. Negotiating the future of sharia article pdf available february 2011 with 330 reads how we measure reads. Moreover, it is not the concern of islam to fear scientific discoveries that could contradict the validity of its truth. He is the author of african constitutionalism and the role of islam 2006, islam and the secular state.
Aug 09, 2016 is turkey an islamic or secular country. The author, a muslim scholar and human rights activist. What is the difference between a secular state and islamic. The secular elites, who tended to distrust traditional religious leaders, believed that islam could be reformed if future leaders were trained in state controlled seminaries. Turkey 2018 international religious freedom report executive summary the constitution defines the country as a secular state. Since then it has shied away from a hardline ideological stance in favor of a more conservative and democratic approach. The teaching style in the schools of the gulen movement counterbalances the positivist indoctrination by integrating religious and moral factors with science and by teaching pupils that science and religion are compatible. Lee political islam and the secular state in turkey democracy, reform and the justice and development party por evangelia axiarlis disponible en rakuten kobo. A key reason for this is that the popular viewfinder sees the alternative, a secular state, as a contradiction of islam. This chapter discusses the development of turkey s secular state and the reemergence of islam in turkish politics. Introduction urkey has a unique position in the muslim world.
Religion, politics and literature in a secular state, london. When sumantra bose was researching and writing secular states, religious politics. For example, world war ii with quotes will give more precise results than world war ii without quotes. Oct 17, 2014 a secular history of islam by tariq ali. Leicester, january 2015, bitstream238234112015alkanysaphd. What should be the place of sharia islamic religious law in predominantly. This piece is an updated version of his article turkey s veiled democracy, published in the american interest, novemberdecember 2007 issue. To further this goal, the government in 1949 established a faculty of divinity at ankara university to train teachers of islam and imams. Wildcard searching if you want to search for multiple variations of a word, you can substitute a special symbol called a wildcard for one or more letters. At present, while nominal islam is a marker of turkishness, islam as a faith is outside of the secular public sphere.
The turkish conservatives longtime preference for an americantype liberal secularism provides a promising lesson, showing how islam can be compatible with a secular order. Is turkey a secular state, is religion separated from the state in turkey as it is said in its constitution. A long time ago it was a sultanate, then it became a secular state and perhaps in the future it will become an islamic state as a lot of turkish people are finding their roots again. Pdf abdullahi ahmed annaim, islam and secular state. Alongside his immensely informative account of modern developments, he makes a sustained argument against state enforcement of islam along two major lines.
Many saw turkey as the model for muslimmajority nation states, adopting in 1928 the secular. The gulen movement, edited by hakan yavuz and john esposito, appeared on time when there is an increasing interest in. The concept of religion and the foundation of ethics and morality 51 iv. In a nutshell, turkey is the remnant of ottoman empire. Islam and the secular state based on materials from the international symposium islam and the secular state, 56 june 2002, in the memorial complex of alimam albukhari, republic of uzbekistan translators and editors. Nov 06, 2010 but this setting in contrast the secular state with the theocratic state is imot really an islamic way of understanding the niattei for since islam does not involve itself in the dichotomy between the sacred and the profane, how theim can it set in contrast the theocratic state with the secular state. The building of modern turkey, macalester international. Islam and the secular state in indonesia luthfi assyaukanie. Turkey, secularism and religion geopolitical futures. Islam and the secular state abdullahi ahmed annaim. Kemalism, religion, and the nation state, by umut azak.