Islamic Political Identity in Turkey

8The Neo-Nur Movementof Fethullah GülenAlthough there are more than 10 major Nurcu textual-communitiesdivided along class, regional, and ethnic lines, the most inXuentialone has been that headed by Fethullah Gülen, commonly referred toas the “community of Fethullah Gülen.“ The Gülen-led neo-Nurmovement seeks to improve Turkish society by using the market,education, and information opportunity spaces to raise a newgeneration with heightened patriotic and moral consciousness. 1 As aresult of the opening and closing up of political and economicopportunity spaces, the Gülen movement has evolved from a stresson religious-conservative community-building to a stress on creatinga global, faith-inspired educational system. One can identify threediVerent cycles in the movement: the formative period (1966–1983);the emergence into the public sphere (1983–1997); and the paradoxof persecution and forced liberalization (1997–present). Each cycle isshaped by structural changes that reproduce a more contextualframing process. The movement functions like a beehive with asense of loyalty and discipline. A vivid picture emerges of thedershane’s highly organized social life, revolving around the disciplinedsharing of construction tasks, the collection of resources, andthe warding oV of enemies. The movement is based on threecoordinated tiers: businessmen, journalists, and teachers andstudents. Gülen’s mission is to reactivate the inner driving forces ofTurko-Muslim culture through the use of collective memory.Gülen’s neo-Nur movement has distinguished itself from other faithmovements through its soft and conciliatory voice on most hotlydebated subjects, such as secularism, the Kurdish question, and theheadscarf issue.