Islamic Political Identity in Turkey

180 islamic political identity in turkeyGülen, a bachelor and retired functionary of the state’s Directorate of ReligiousAVairs, has emerged as the leader of the most dynamic, transnational,wealthy, and faith-based Islamic movement in Turkey. An examination of thismovement reveals how new political and economic opportunities aVected theinternal secularization of Turkish Islam in terms of modernity, nationalism, andthe global discourses of human rights. Under new sociopolitical opportunities,Nursi’s ideas about and methodology of religious consciousness, society, andpolitics are reconstructed and popularized by a dynamic set of businessmen,journalists, and teachers, whom I refer as the “the neo-Nurcus,” the engagedmembers of Gülen’s movement.In due time, the Gülen movement ceased to be another branch of the Nurmovement and evolved into an autonomous faith-based societal movement. Oneof the main doctrines of this group is the idea that religious consciousness isformed and perpetuated through engaging in social practices and institutions.The neo-Nur movement seeks to realize religious consciousness in the world.Hegel’s notion of religion is analytically helpful for understanding the overallobjective of the Nur movement: making objective religion subjective. By “objectivereligion” Hegel means “universal truths, especially moral truths, thatevery religion worthy of the name should teach.” “Subjective religion,” for Hegel,“expresses itself in feeling and actions” of believers. 2 This motivates moral actionsand shapes communal interactions. Therefore, the translation of objectivereligion to the subjective realm requires a set of institutions and education.Religion for the neo-Nurcus not only aims to educate people and ensure theirsalvation but also to externalize their Islamic consciousness for the moral andintellectual uplifting of human society. Education, therefore, is an investmentin building moral character and identity.The Life of Fethullah GülenBefore examining the activities and impact of the Gülen movement, it is necessaryto consider the distinctive resources that informed Gülen’s political and socialvision. There are several primary inXuences on Gülen’s Islamic worldviewthat must be considered: the life story of the Prophet Muhammad and his companions;the Nak7ibendi sheik Muhammet LütW Efendi, known as Alvarlì Efe, whoinculcated broad and sophisticated cognitive and emotional skills into Gülen; 3 SaidNursi’s understanding of Islam, and the Islamic intellectuals of the Republic. Inaddition to these ideational inXuences, Gülen is also the “activist thinker” of hisperiod and a product of the unfolding evolution of the Kemalist project, in general,and Erzurum and its regional identity, in particular.Gülen was born in the village of Korucuk, near Erzurum, an easternAnatolian provice, on April 27, 1941. His father was a religious functionary inseveral villages. In his memories, Gülen identiWes his family as the most inXuentialfoundation in the formation of his personality and thinking. The majormoral narrative that shaped social interactions in the Gülen family was the narrativestories of the Prophet Muhammad. 4 The institution of family, as well as