Islamic Political Identity in Turkey

the neo-nur movement of fethullah gülen 187In Gülen’s conception of faith as an internal power to mobilize believers,the lasting piece of work that they create is called an eser. In a way, eser is thereXection of one’s faith and a reservoir of one’s pleasure and hard work. Thiseser, for Gülen, should reXect one’s ability to realize one’s potential, and itscreation becomes a religious duty. In short, redemption becomes possible as aresult of collective deeds to create a lasting work, eser. Gülen does not call peopleto build more mosques but rather schools, hospitals, and media corporations.His concepts of hizmet and eser lead to internal secularization of religion interms of rationalization of social relations and dissemination of scientiWc epistemologythrough his educational system. Furthermore, congregational brotherhoodcircles help to free individuals and the community from the directinXuence of the state and lead them to construct social networks that enhancecivil society. In other words, Gülen’s vision and networks help to “domesticate”and inculcate civic virtues among the youth by stressing cooperation, participation,and tolerance. The way of creating an ethical society, for Gülen, is not tooVer courses in religion or ethics in schools but rather to set good examples,known as temsil, in one’s daily life, as a teacher, policemen, businessmen, andjournalist.This formation of “activist pietism” is at the core of the neo-Nur movement,with the aim of molding this world in terms of Islamic ethics. Redemptionthrough collective action becomes a way of inner salvation. Gülen oVers a muchneededmoral motivation for the evolving Anatolian bourgeoisie and educatedclasses. In the Gülen-led movement, the inner deriving forces of Turkish culturesuch as hizmet, himmet, and ihlas are utilized to shape the society accordingto the ideals of Islamic ethics. Through hizmet, one legitimizes one’s social,educational, and economic activities as a way of realizing the power of God. Inother words, the realization of God is an outcome of ongoing activity that isembedded in the Islamic ethos, and this unleashes social energy. Gülen’s followerssee themselves not as an interest group but rather as a communitybrought together by their religious commitment to create a more humane society.This community’s mission is to realize, discuss, and bring the message ofIslam to one’s everyday life, to set the matrix of social and cultural action in agiven society. The religious-economic practices are similar to those in MaxWeber’s thesis of the Protestant ethic: work inspired by religious belief producedthe spirit of capitalism that aVects rational capitalist action in Europe. 17With the rise of a well-developed, urban bourgeoisie, the social base of theproducers and consumers of literacy has expanded. Before the emergence ofprinting and universal education, reading “circles,” rather than the reading “public,”were centered around the mosques and neighborhood. In other words,Gülen and those who follow him measure their spiritual success, to a certainextent, in terms of the worldly consequences of their actions. Believing that Gülenwas trying to revive the Islamic faith and civilization under the leadership ofAnatolian Turks, this newly urbanized group of intellectuals and merchants wentinto action to translate their worldly success into a heavenly mission. 18 For example,economic and social goals are manifested as a search for identity andjustice. These goals are projected onto a spiritual quest to fulWll the will of God.