Islamic Political Identity in Turkey

222 islamic political identity in turkeyphilosophy that is not in conXict with its own past; a just order; an economicallyand militarily powerful country to lead the union of Muslim countries; anda new world order where Muslims have an important voice.When I asked RP supporters what Just Order stands for, their answers includedjustice, a secure social and economic environment, an end to nepotismand corruption, cooperation between the state and society, protection of the unityof the state, and an end to undue Western inXuence over Turkey. 49 These commonresponses indicated that the Just Order is seen not as a way of bringingabout an Islamic political system but as a way of addressing the immediate socialand economic problems of Turkey. The protection of the state and its propertyalso is an important objective of the Just Order, because many people believethat their economic and social welfare presupposes a powerful state. The JustOrder program, contrary to common secular claims in Turkey, does not meanan interest-free economic system or a welfare state; it calls for the prevention ofinjustice and religious discrimination against devout Muslims. In this respect,Islam matters not so much as a religion but as a communication system andmetaphysical basis for ideals of justice and harmony. 50 Indeed, the RP’s leadershipsimply expressed the collective longing of many people in the country forthese ideals in a language that they can understand.While on the one hand the RP’s policies are very conservative in form andare articulated in terms of Islamic concepts, on the other hand they are quiterevolutionary in content. For example, when 172 people were asked to identifythe RP’s three most common characteristics, over 70 percent cited honesty(dürüstlük), justice (adalet), and equality (e7itlik). 51 Other commonly cited characteristicswere resisting corruption and bribery, protecting traditional mores,helping the poor and needy, sincerity, unity, solidarity, and the elimination ofprostitution and social immorality. Because the party was rooted in a search fora conception of community to cope with the collective problems of justice andidentity, it sought to revise the shared understanding of “morality” at the sametime that it addressed social and economic problems. For instance, the RP leadershipseldom hesitated to invoke the popular understanding of the umma asan ideal model to restructure society in confronting problems of justice andidentity. Thus the aims motivating RP supporters to become involved in politicswere not solely religious but rather included the search for community,representation at the center, and relief from the skewed distribution of resources.Islam became a cultural depository for new models and ways of understandingTurkey’s ethnopolitical and socioeconomic problems.Identity and the RPThe modern nation-state controls every aspect of an individual‘s life. Throughits institutions, it forces individuals to play diVerent and conXicting roles thatsplit their personalities and fragment their identity. As the state expands its powerthrough new technologies, individuals searching for ways to protect their personalintegrity are Wnding it in shelters constructed out of religious idioms. Is-