Islamic Political Identity in Turkey

218 islamic political identity in turkeywords, society, for the party, was composed of Muslims who were uniWed bytheir shared Islamic faith (iman) and objective practices (e.g., namaz [praying]and oruç [fasting]). This image of society was, needless to say, in opposition tothe secular ethnic nationalism of the state.Leadership, Ideology, and Organization of the RPThe political idiom, the organizational structure, and the clientele of the RP werebased on those of its predecessor, the MSP (1973–1980). After the military leadersdecided to allow the return to civilian rule, Ali Türkmen and his cohortsestablished the RP on July 19, 1983. The generals, however, strictly regulatedthe role of Islam in public life and banned the 27 founding members, includingErbakan, from participating in politics. Consequently, the party was not able toenter the Wrst post-coup national elections in 1983. Nevertheless, the RP didmanage to enter the local elections held on March 25, 1984, and won mayoralseats in Van and Urfa. The party received 778,622 votes, or 4.4 percent of thetotal vote. Its Wrst General Party Congress on June 30, 1985, sharply criticizedÖzal’s economic policies and stressed social justice and political freedom forthe working classes. 37 Binnaz Toprak argues that this was a sign that the partywanted to expand its social base, but she assumes that the party was moldingand forging the larger segment of voiceless Muslims. 38 In contrast, my interviewswith the RP leaders indicate that they were responding to the trend towardIslamization that already was taking place in the squatter towns. They feltthat this trend needed to be channeled into the political process. 39After the 1987 referendum that allowed formerly banned politicians to reenterpolitics, Erbakan and some of the previous cadres took over the leadershipof the RP. In the next parliamentary election in the same year, the partywon 1,717,425 votes, increasing its share of the total vote to 7.16 percent. Nevertheless,it was still short of the 10 percent threshold required to gain a seat inParliament. When the party only won 9.8 percent of the vote in the 1989 localelections, its policy-makers grew doubtful about their chances of being able topass the legal threshold of 10 percent. Therefore, in September 1991, they agreedon the RP forming a purely pragmatic electoral alliance with the NationalistWork Party (MÇP: Milliyetçi Çalì7ma Partisi, later the MHP) and the ReformistDemocratic Party (Islahatçì Demokrasi Partisi; see table 10.1). 40 Many Islamistpoliticians unrealistically expected that this alliance would become aunion, but a month after it won 16.2 percent of the vote and gained 62 seatsin Parliament in the 1991 general elections, 22 deputies belonging to the MÇPresigned and returned to their own party. 41 Meanwhile, the Islamically orientedKurds and Turkish Alevi groups interpreted this alliance as an anti-Kurdish/Alevi formation. 42The RP made its biggest showing in the local elections of March 27, 1994,and became a major force in Turkish politics in its own right. The party won 19.7 percent of the national vote, and pro-Islamist mayors took control of 29 largecities, including Istanbul and Ankara. 43 Support for the RP continued to increase,