Islamic Political Identity in Turkey

134 islamic political identity in turkeythe social interactions between politics and religion in the country. Finally, theNak7ibendi orders played a formative role in the evolution of Islamic identity inTurkey by developing three patterns of interaction with the state: confrontation,withdrawal, and engagement.The Nak7ibendi orders operate as a repository of virtually all cultural andreligious traditions that have existed in Turkey; they bridge the gap between theOttoman period and the current Islamic sociopolitical revival. They constitute adense socioreligious network in which the exchange of ideas and the transmissionof social norms take place. Moreover, by cutting across ethnic, regional,and linguistic lines, Nak7ibendi orders have played an integrative role. Finally,the Turkish Muslim understanding of Islam is very much Wltered through SuWconcepts and institutions. For example, both the National Outlook Movementand the powerful Nurcu movement were nurtured by and emerged from theNak7ibendi orders. 1Nak7ibendi TraditionThe Nak7ibendi order belongs to the SuW tradition of Islam. This tradition focuseson disciplining the appetite (nefs) by educating the believer about the natureand function of the diVerent faculties of the soul, from the sensual to the spiritual.2 The struggle to control the nefs is carried out in the realm of the heart(kalp). SuWs are distinguished from other Muslims by, among other things, theirinterpretation of the Qur’an. In order to Wnd the “true” meaning of the book,SuWs “read the [Qur’an] with the ‘eyes of the heart,’ not with the eyes of one’shead.” 3 With the phrase “eyes of the heart” SuWs refer to the need to grasp theinner nature and meaning of the text. SuWs seek to create a balance between theinner and outer dimensions of the believer. The esoteric life usually is regulatedby SuW teachings, while the exoteric (external) life is represented by the ritualobligations of prayer and acting in accordance with Islamic norms. 4SuWsm is a discipline that aims to teach one how to live without conWningoneself to the materialistic dimension of life. It argues that there is one trueexperience in existence and it is the encounter with the sacred, the numinous,that is beyond human reasoning and is grounded in an instinctual understandingthat immediately calls a believer’s attention to his or her Wniteness in theface of God. This sacred presence penetrates the deepest psyche of the believerand in addition provides a conceptual map of meaning. This complex map ismarked by a cluster of concepts such as sabìr (patience), tevekkül (imagination),fedekarlìk (sacriWce), and edep ve haya (ethics and morals). 5 While morality tendsto organize relations between individuals, religion deWnes the relationship betweenthe individual and God. SuWsm organizes mental dispositions with respectto both human virtue and ritual activity. It seeks to instill higher moralvalues (ihsan) through the disciplining of the passions. 6 SuWsm can be viewedas a constant search for new inner discoveries and a struggle for human perfection.The sacred or numinous is not rational, it is more a “feeling tone” in whicha person facing the mystery and overwhelming nature of God is both awed and