Islamic Political Identity in Turkey

the national outlook movement and the rise of the refah party 235women in individual households. 92 This was a revolutionary change in terms oftheir traditional role in society. 93 Traditionally, women did not participate in thepublic arena to promote their own interests, but now they aimed to become“conscious of the problems of Turkey and the world, to deWne womanhood andits role in society, and to Wght for the rights of women.” 94 The 1994 electionreXected the success of these women more than that of the RP. 95The RP became an institutional tool for the mobilization and politicizationof traditionally inclined women, bringing them out of their houses and neighborhoodsand into the public arena. As women from diVerent backgrounds andvarious parts of Istanbul met regularly with new people to pursue common goals,their political activities raised the consciousness of women and encouraged themto become active agents for change. The resulting new self-conWdence of Turkey’swomen in their ability to shape society led the women’s groups to demand oYcialpositions within the party. 96 In time, Sibel Eraslan believes, “there are andwill be women nominees.” 97 She explained that Muslim women, having exercisedtheir right to vote, now would like to exercise their right to be elected.Consequently, when Süheyla Kebapçìo:lu, the chairwoman of the party’s Commissionon Women, resigned on September 14, 1994, she made her resignationpublic and argued that women wanted a larger role and more power in theparty. 98 The inXuence of women’s groups enabled the RP to carry its messageinto the households of Turkish cities and, through personal visits, made womenin homes aware of the importance of everyone’s vote. 99 “Conversation” is theterm used for these face-to-face meetings, and it has been a key to the trainingof the RP’s followers and the conversion of new members among the Wrst generationof literate town dwellers who just a decade ago came from villages.Oral communication is still at the center of their culture, and the human voiceand accompanying gestures can be as important as the words themselves usedin conversation. 100 Indeed, the message of the party was embedded in thesegestures.External Others—Neo-OttomanismThe external dimension of Islamic political identity relates to the RP’s perceptionof and relations with the rest of the world. One of the main characteristicsof the Turkish Islamic movement is its neo-Ottomanism. 101 Olivier Roy hasargued thatthe Islamic movement in Turkey is Wrst and foremost a nationalisticone. Islam is interlinked with the idea of homeland in Turkey, butthis also includes the Turkish workers in Europe. The Turkishworkers remain Turks and maintain their connection with Turkey.In addition to the territorial dimension, Roy also mentions the role of historyand the Ottoman legacy in the evolution of the Turkish Islamic movement. 102Indeed, the problem of identity tends to dominate any discussion of foreign