Islamic Political Identity in Turkey

the matrix of turkish islamic movements 137and persecution ceased, and some Nak7ibendi disciples were appointed to positionsof authority. During the reigns of Abdülmecid, Abdülaziz (r. 1861–1876),and Abdülhamid II (r. 1876–1909), the Nak7ibendi order expanded its inXuenceand became one of the most important forces of mediation between rulerand ruled. Albert Hourani argues thatthroughout the nineteenth century most educated Muslims who tooktheir religion seriously interpreted it within the framework createdby the great [Nak7ibendi] masters of spiritual life, and many stilladhered to one or other of the brotherhoods founded by them. 24The factors that facilitated the expansion of the Khalidi-Nak7ibendi orders includedworsening economic conditions that were due to “the expansion of Europeanimperialism and the political and intellectual responses this provoked” 25and improved conditions of transportation and communication. The Nak7ibendisincreasingly treated the state as a necessary instrument not only for therealization of Islamic ideals but also for the very survival of the Muslim community,which was under severe pressure at this time from European powers.According to the Khalidi tradition, implementation of Islamic law at the stateand societal level is the sine qua non for a just society. The state-centrism of theNak7ibendi was promoted by Sheik Khalid. He asked his followers to pray forthe survival of “the exalted Ottoman state, upon which depends the victoriousexistence of Islam,” and invited all Muslims to be active against the Christianand Shi’a expansionism. 26In the nineteenth century, important societal actors, including both bureaucrat-intellectualsand notables, were exploring ways to revitalize Muslim societyin order to meet internal and external challenges. They sought to carry outthe mission of societal transformation through traditional institutions such asthe Nak7ibendi orders. The orders focused on the life of the Prophet Muhammadfor guidance. Muhammad was a highly successful social engineer who transformedan ignorance (jahiliyya)–based society into a new rule-based civil (medeni)society. The Nak7ibendi orders examined the Prophet Muhammad’s conductand political leadership with a view to revitalizing their own contemporary society.The need for direct engagement with politics and social life was stressed bySheik Khalid and was passed on to his successor, Ahmet Gümü7hanevi. 27The transformation of the Ottoman state in the second half of the nineteenthcentury took place as a result of the penetration of Western capitalism alongwith the introduction of the railroad, education, and a heightened attention topublic opinion. This capitalist penetration made small business groups, artisans,and farmers vulnerable to external pressures. In order to protect their interests,these groups reacted to structural changes by resorting to Islamic symbols andrhetoric that, in turn, politicized Islamic identity. The European political andsocial “other” was brought into the cities and towns through the commercializationof agriculture and the penetration of capitalism; the position of the middleclass thereby was undermined severely by Western imperialist penetration. Themiddle class expressed its reaction to European penetration by seeking to rede-Wne society in terms of Islamic concepts. For those concerned with the economic