Islamic Political Identity in Turkey

174 islamic political identity in turkeydent force with the formation of the Nak7ibendi-dominated MSP. A group ofNurcus supported the pro-Islamic MSP, and this created the Wrst political divisionwithin the Nur movement. The Nur group’s decision to become politicallyengaged was very much a reaction to the pro–big business policies of the AP inthe late 1960s. Because of the political radicalization of the Turkish Left and itsincreasing dominance of art and culture, the followers of the Nur movementreluctantly decided to become involved in politics. A number of Nurcus tookpart in the establishment of the MSP and later entered Parliament. This groupincluded A. TevWk Paksu, Hüsamettin Akmumcu, Sudi Re7at Saruhan, andGündüz Sevilgen, all of whom would become the major shareholders of theTurkish branch of the Saudi-based Faisal Finance in Istanbul. 55 As a result ofpolitical and ideological diVerences with the MSP chairman Erbakan and thepolicies pursued during the coalition government, the Nurcu parliamentariansleft the MSP before the 1977 elections. 56 This break with the MSP, which wasdominated by Nak7ibendi members at the time, created a permanent strainbetween the MSP and the Nur groups. The Nur movement as a whole, moreover,distrusted Erbakan’s MSP and even at this early stage supported insteadthe AP of Süleyman Demirel. According to some Nurcus, even dershanes wereused for political purposes to support the AP.During the Cold War, Turkey’s Islamic movement was embedded withinthe communal-religious trend in Turkish nationalism; the Nurcu movement,centered around the Yeni Asya newspaper, became a “nationalistic-religious”(milliyetçi ve mukaddesatçì) front against the increasing dominance of leftistactivities in the 1970s. The followers of Nursi argued that Islamic faith is anantidote against the leftist movement. Many prominent Nurcus joined the “Associationsto Fight Against Communism” (Türkiye Komünizmle MücadeleDernekleri), and this in turn transformed the Nurcu movement into a conservative-nationalistbloc. Bekir Berk (1926–1992), the leading lawyer defendingNurcus in the courts, played a key role in the nationalization of the Nurcumovement. 57ConXicting views about the 1980 military coup led to a second major politicalsplit within the Nurcu group. These internal quarrels continued until1982.The Wrst group, known as the Yeni Asya (or Gazeteciler), consistentlysupported Demirel and maintained a critical stance toward the military coupleaders. They decided to campaign against the military’s proposed new constitution.However, two prominent leaders of the Nur movement, Mehmet Kìrkìncìof Erzurum and Fethullah Gülen of Izmir, gave their blessings to the militarycoup and the 1982 constitution.The 1982 constitution created a major debate within the Nur groups. Thosewho were against it argued that it was antidemocratic. The constitution, indeed,sought to create a more powerful state by shrinking the borders of society. Itlimited political rights and freedoms and put associational life under state supervision.These restrictions served to limit the activities of the Nur communityas well as force it to reexamine its attitude toward the constitution after 1982.Some Nurcus wanted, via Nur group–owned media, to challenge the constitutionand urged followers to vote no to its implementation. When the newspaper