Islamic Political Identity in Turkey

the neo-nur movement of fethullah gülen 189He sought to prevent the assimilation of Muslims into the external world andwanted them to return “home.” One sees the perpetuation of this theme of “home”in the writings of other modern Turkish intellectuals. The notion of “home” waslinked intricately with notions of memory, roots, and displacement within thesecularizing and nationalizing Republic, where the new language of politics wasintroduced. This notion of “home” was an imagined and mostly invented mythicalspace for which Islamists yearned in response to their marginalization withinthe Republic. In the case of Gülen, however, “home” is a national-religious onewhere collective action is practiced.Opportunity Spaces of Market, Media, and EducationThe Gülen community consists of three circles. At the center of the movementis a core group of believers who lead the activities (hizmet) in a spirit of full andunconditional loyalty to the Gülen movement. This core group includes considerablenumbers of university graduates who specialized in technical subjectsand come from rural areas or small towns in Turkey. The main core of themovement consists of around 30 elder brothers (büyük abiler), some of themGülen’s closest friends and students, who are highly respected and regularlyconsulted on major day-to-day policies. Most of these elder brothers are fulltimeactivists who work as professionals with salaries at the Gülen movement’sinstitutions. A large number in this core group have a Turkish nationalist background.There are some Kurds, but their number is limited, especially consideringthat Nursi himself was of Kurdish background.The second circle of people support Gülen’s religious-national goals and(in)directly participate in the creation of eser (good work) activities through charities,himmet. This circle includes esnaf (small and medium-sized merchants) andi7adamì (businessmen) who constitute a board of trustees of the movement’snumerous foundations of the movement. They support the movement’s activitiesin their area through fundraisings organized by local volunteers.Finally, there are those sympathizers who share Gülen’s goals but do notparticipate in their realization. This group is very much involved in the protectionof eser, whether the schools, newspapers, or dormitories. This last and biggestgroup includes many nominal Muslims, including agnostics and nonbelievers.Thus Gülen’s community is less cohesive in its periphery but has a militarylikediscipline at the core.The Gülen movement uses new opportunity spaces in the media, market,and education to transform ideas into action. A main question about it, and theNur movement generally, is why it has appealed more to urban dwellers than tothe traditional followers of SuW orders. One explanation is their utilization oforal and print media in the dissemination of their ideas, media that are suitedto facilitate the integration of recent migrants into large urban centers. Thesenewcomers to the cities listen to Gülen’s tapes or read his books rather thanthose of Nursi directly. Much of Gülen’s appeal lies in his integrative and charismaticpersonality and his powerful presence as a television orator. He uses