Islamic Political Identity in Turkey

the political economy of islamic discourse 101with the state bureaucracy and the large industrialists who beneWt from theKemalist state’s patronage. The championing by this Muslim entrepreneurialclass of free market enterprise also puts it at odds with the Islamic underclassmade up of recent migrants to the city. The role of Islam as a source of identityand political and social mobilization embodies a number of contradictions thatencourage both individualism and a lively reinterpretation of the faith with increasedcollective group solidarity. Thus market forces and economic developmenthave played a major role in recasting state and society relations and thepolitical role of Islam in contemporary Turkey.