Politico-religious discourse of political Islam in Turkey: The parties of national outlook

Muslim World

Volumn 93, Issue 2, 2003, Pages 187-209

  Yildiz, Ahmet ^a  

^a Turkish Grand National Assembly Library Research Service   (Turkey)

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[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 34250738176     PISSN: 00274909     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/1478-1913.00020     Document Type: Article

References (56)

1. For the National Outlook see Necmettin Erbakan, Milli Görüş (National Outlook) (Istanbul: Dergah Yaymlari, 1975)
2. Ruşen Çakir, "Islamcilar ve Sistem," (Islamists and the Political System) Yüzyil Biterken Cumhuriyet Dönemi Türkiye Ansiklopedisi, vol. 15 (İstanbul: İletişim Yayinlari, 1996), 1214
3. Ergun Özbudun, "Islam and Politics in Modern Turkey: The Case of the National Salvation Party," Barbara F. Stowasser, ed. The Islamic Impulse (London-Sydney: Croom Helm, 1988), 146
4. See Binnaz Toprak, Islam and Political Development in Turkey (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1981), 104
5. "The success our party has registered so far is a product of our cadres who have worked with a religious zeal and sincerity by aiming at only the attainment of the consent of Allah. We are grateful to Almighty Allah that has conferred those services to our cadres." Refah Partisi 4. Büyük Kongre 10 Ekim 1993 Faaliyet Raporu (The Activity Report of the Welfare Party Fourth General Convention October 10, 1993) (Ankara, n.d.), 11
6. Refah Partisi, Milli Görüşün İktidardaki Hizmetleri (1974-1978) (The Services of the National Outlook in Power) (Ankara, n.d.), 15-16
7. Yalçin Akdoǧan, an expert on Islamism, considers the political position of WP elucidated around the axis of religion and politics within the context of "the democratic version of the political Islam" and defines it as an intra-democracy movement: "Welfare Party is a party which aims at the articulation of religious claims with politics and doing politics with a religious legend, prescribing the revision of the political space in accordance with religious values, trying to increase the role played by the religion in domestic and inter-state relations, attesting particular importance to gain political legitimacy and supporting religiosity in general." See Yalçm Akdoǧan, Siyasal Islam: Refah Partisinin Anatomisi (Political Islam: The Anatomy of the Welfare Party) (Istanbul: Şehir Yayinlan, 2000), 323
8. For confirmation of this description see, for example, the speculations of a partisan of the National Outlook in Ahmet Akgül, Deǧişen Dünya ve Erbakan Devrimi (The Changing World and the Erbakan Revolution) (Tanitim Nüshasi, 1999), 9
9. Kemalist circles view the statements of the Welfare Party officials lending emphasis on their loyalty to legality and their refusal of political Islam only as an act of takiyye. This position reflects both deep-rooted prejudice and a partially factual political situation on the part of state elites. See, as an example, Ömer Ödemiş, Devlet Refaha Kavuştu (The State Attained the Welfare) (Ankara: Dilan Yayinlari, 1996), 21-22
10. For the political discourse of Mustafa Kemal Pasha during the Turkish War of National Struggle (1919-1923) see Ahmet Yildiz, "Ne Mutlu Türküm Diyebilene!" Kemalist Türk Ulusal Kimliǧinin Etno-Seküler Sinirlari (1919-1938) ("How Fortunate is He Who is able to Declare 'I am a Turk' " The Ethno-secular Boundaries of the Kemalist Turkish National Identity, 1919-1938) (Istanbul: İletişim Yayinlari, 2001)
11. Şevket Kazan, Refah Gerçeǧi (the Welfare Reality) (Ankara: Keşif Yayinlan, 2001), 34-35
12. For the content of the Just Order rhetoric, see Prof. Dr. Necmetin Erbakan, Adil Ekonomik Düzen (Ankara: Semih Ofset, 1991). The views conveyed in this political pamphlet were reiterated in all the other publications of the Party
13. For example, the five fundamentals entitled "Basic Human Rights" in the 1991 Welfare Party Election Platform are treated in the classical books of Islamic jurisprudence (fikh) under the title of the purposes of the Sharī'ah (makasid-uşşeria), namely the right to life, the protection of the family, the right to property, the protection of human intellect and the right to belief and thought. See 20 Ekim 1991 Genel Seçimi Refah Partisi Seçim Beyannamesi (Ankara, 1991), 6
14. The 1987 election slogans of the WP attest primacy to the theme of serving the religion: "First and foremost morality and spirituality/ Only non-believers may fear from the belief/ We will abolish the article 163 of the Penal Code/ Headscarf (Hijab) is our national dress/ The emulators could produce prostitution, gambling and alcoholic beverages only/ We are different! . . . Could those who are constructive ever be the same with those who are destructive?" Tek Çözüm Refah Partisi ( The Only Solution is the Welfare Party) (Ankara: RP Yayini, 1987), Back Cover
15. "The Basic Slogans" of the October 21, 1991, Election Platform consisted of some verses of the Qur'ān and traditions of the Prophet: "When the truth cornes, the falsehood becomes null and void (17:81). Every nation attains the type of government that it deserves. /No nation can reach the happiness unless it changes itself. / If there exist a group of people who recommend the Truth and justice within a community, the whole of the community could be saved thanks to the endeavor of that group. /Don't be lax. If you do believe, you are the winner (3:139). / The glory is for the believers (63:8). / Victory is for the believers and it is soon. Refah Partisi 20 Ekim 1991 Seçim Sloganlari (Welfare Party October 20, 1991, Election Slogans) (Ankara: Refah Partisi Yayini, n.d.)
16. Necmettin Erbakan, Türkiye'nin Temel Meseleleri (The Main Problems of Turkey) (Ankara: Rehber Yayinlari, 1991), 124
17. Thus, Ergun Göze, a famous columnist of the once most important newspaper of the religious and nationalist right, Tercüman, quotes Erbakan from Milli Gazete, the semi-official daily newspaper of the parties of the National Outlook as saying: "If a saint (veli) becomes a candidate for a colorless party, his sainthood will make no sense, he cannot serve Islam. If a mentally ill person (deli) joins the ranks of our party, he will then serve in the path of Allah." See Ergun Göze, "Siyasi İfrat Cinneti," (The Madness of Political Extremism) Tercüman, April 19, 1977, 4
18. Süleyman Arif Emre, the founding chairman of the NSP, mentions an incident that reveals the negative connotations of WP's popular image linked to the its conception of Islam. See Fehmi Çalmuk, RP'nin Gülen Yüzü (The Smiling Face of WP) (Ankara: Karakoç Yaymlan, 1996), 65-66
19. Noticing this negative grasp of its popular image, WP's Central Leadership in one of its brochures entitled "Welfare Party and the Realities" felt the need to point out that "WP is not the party of those with beard and beret." Cited by Kazim Güleçyüz, Din ve Siyaset, 41 60 million people."
20. See Akdoǧan, Siyasal Islam: Refab Partisinin Anatomisi, 224. In October 4, 1973, Milli Gazete's headline was "Not Parties but Beliefs are in Collision in the Election" and went on to say: "In this election, in which beliefs not parties are in conflict with each other, you shall try hard so that NSP could get one more vote. We as a national whole will try to secure the lightness and victory of the NSP in the collision of beliefs. One vote means one deputy and one deputy means political power."
21. Recep Tayyip Erdoǧan, the former mayor of the city of Istanbul and now the chairperson of the Justice and Development Party (JDP), made a critical reevaluation of this relation of identification forged between Islam and the parties of the National Outlook when he said, "WP is not the religion, it is the name of a political party." See Güleçyüz, Din ve Siyaset, 26
22. "Erbakan'in Açiliş Konuşmasi," (Erbakan's Opening Speech) RP 4. Büyük Kongresi, 12
23. Cited in Güleçyüz, Din ve Siyaset, 9
24. The symbolic embodiment of that trio may be found in Erbakan's administration of oath en masse at party meetings. Extending back to the NOP, this ritual of collective swearing of oath has perpetuated itself with minor differences. The oath of the National Order was: "Oh my Lord, render our Congress a means for the rule of NOP to assume political power. ... Oh my Lord, You make the National Order an opportunity for the temporal and other-worldly happiness of our nation . . ." Cited by Akgiil, Erbakan Devrimi, 36
25. The oath of NSP was shorter: "We promise to work hard for the happiness and salvation of our nation, for the National Salvation to bring happiness to our nation." Milli Gazete, October 6, 1973
26. The Holy Qur'ān, 17:81
27. Akgül, Erbakan Devrimi, 93
28. See October 20, 1991, Genel Seçimi Refah Partisi Seçim Beyannamesi (October 20, 1991, Welfare Party Election Platform) (Ankara, 1991), 24-7
29. Erbakan's view of the project of European Union, which was crystallized during his years of assistantship in the university, considered the then European Economic Community (Common Market) not only as an economic union but also a union of sociopolitical, cultural and political implications structured around Christian values and positioning the Muslim World in the economic and political periphery of that union by developing the idea of the union of Muslim communities as alternative formations. See Yahya Oǧuz, Erbakan'in Misyonu (The Mission of Erbakan) (Istanbul: Deǧişim Yayinlari, 1994), 59-105
30. See Milliyet, a national daily, "Gelenekçilerden Milli Görüş Tipi Tehdit: Günahkar Olursunuz," (A National Outlook Type Threat from the Traditionalists: You will be Sinners) June 27, 2001, 18
31. Akgül, the "countryside" strategist, explains the position of WP/VP in connection to the truth-wrong divide as follows: "... What is going on since the time of Adam is the war between the truth and the wrong. Nowadays the main struggle in the world is . . . between Islam and those belonging to the Western Club. We have to know to which rank we belong and judge our situation accordingly! . . . Your votes are worth a bullet, even an atom bomb. To deliver your votes to the parties of Western Club so that they use them to destroy Islam and humanity is a kind of self-suicide. The attainment of power by Fazilet (Virtue Party) is the beginning of a new World and a new era. Yes, the Erbakan Revolution would shake the corrupt equilibriums." Akgül, Erbakan Devrimi, 192
32. Refah Partisi Esas Hakkinda Savunma (Welfare Party's Defense In Relation to the Essence of the Lawsuit) (Ankara, 1997), 225
33. See Refah Partisi Programi (Welfare Party Programme) (Ankara, 1983), 1. The party program does nothing to help understand the party's political posture. It is just a fulfillment of official requirement describing the official WP
34. Esas Hakkinda Savunma, 239
35. Oral Çalişlar, RP Nereden Nereye (WP: From Where to Where?) (Istanbul: Pencere Yayinlari, 1995), 110
36. Yaşar Kaplan, Demokrasi Risalesi (A Treatise on Democracy) (Ankara: Aylik Dergi Yaymlari, 1985), 63
37. Başbakanlik Devlet İstatistik Enstitüsü (State Institute of Statistics), Mahalli İdareler Seçim Sonuçlari (Local Election Results) (Ankara, October, 1989)
38. While The National Order Party was set up, these three people had obtained the consent of their Shaykh, Mehmet Zahit Kotku Efendi. See Çalişlar, RP Nereden Nereye, 27
39. Ruşen Çakir, Ayet ve Slogan: Türkiye'de İslami Oluşumlar (The Verse and the Slogan: Islamic Formations in Turkey) (Istanbul: Metis Yayinlari, 1990), 223-24
40. Emin Çölaşan, "Asiltürk'le Mülakat" (Interview with Çölaşan), Hürriyet, an Istanbul-based National Daily, March 5, 1989
41. Cited by Ömer Vehbi Hatipoǧlu, "Erbakan ve RP'den Beklenen," Panel (October-November 1990), 37
42. A graphic case of these radical "explosions" was a speech uttered by the then mayor of Şanliurfa province, Halil İbrahim Çelik, who declared that "I am neither laic nor Ataturkist" contrary to Erbakan's claim that "had Ataturk lived, he would have chosen the WP." See "RP'li Başkanlar Büyüteç Altinda: 'Laik Deǧilim, Atatürkçü de . . . !" (WP Mayors are under Scrutiny: 'I am neither laic nor Ataturkist') Panel (May-June 1989), 10-13
43. For the criticisms leveled against WP by Muslim radicals, see, for example, Ercüment Özkan, "RP Islami Bir Parti Midir?" (Is WP an Islamic Party?) İktibas Dergisi, 183 (March 1994)
44. Gencay Şaylan, Interview with Erbakan, Cumhuriyet, June 9, 1991
45. Binnaz Toprak, "Politicization of Islam in a Secular State: The National Salvation Party in Turkey," Said Arjoman, ed. From Nationalism to Revolutionary Islam (London: Macmillan, 1984), 124
46. For Demirel's views as regards laicism and its practices in Turkey, see Süleyman Demirel, Islam, Demokrasi, Laiklik (Islam, Democracy and Laicism) Kazim Güleçyüz, (comp.) (Istanbul: Yeni Asya Neşriyat, 1991). Demirel radically departed from the views expressed in this book during the February 28, process and adopted a statist-radical view of laicism parallel with the one held by the Turkish military
47. For the views of VP as regards laicism, see M. Recai Kutan'in Basin Toplantisi, Türkiye Öncelikleri ve Temel Görüş lerimiz, Fazilet Partisi 1 Yaşinda ( The Press Conference of M. Kecai Kutan, the Priorities of Turkey and Our Basic Views, Virtue Party is 1 Year-Old) (Bilkent-Ankara, Aralik 17, 1998), 21. Likewise, the political program of VP roughly reiterates the article 24 of the 1982 Constitution
48. See Fazilet Partisi Kalkinma Programi (Virtue Party's Programme of Development) (n.p. 1998), 5
49. For a critical evaluation of the foreign policy conception of "the tradition of Welfare Party at the East-West crossroad," see İhsan D. Daǧi, Kimlik, Söylem ve Siyaset (Identity, Discourse and Politics) (Ankara: İmge Kitabevi Yayinlari, 1998)
50. For the soft reformulation of the National Outlook, see the program of the Happiness Party at http://www.sp.org.tr/gec/program.html
51. AK Parti was established on August 14, 2001. For its program visit http://www.akparti.org.tr/program.asp
52. In order to have a general understanding of VP, see the abovementioned source, i.e., Türkiye'nin Öncelikleri ve Temel Görüş lerimiz, Fazilet Partisi 1 Yaşinda, 1998
53. Türkiye'nin Öncelikleri ve Temel Görüşlerimiz, 17
54. Fazilet Partisi Kizilcahamam Toplantilan, Genel Başkan Recai Kutan'in Açiş Konuşmalari, 1-6 Eylül 1998 (Virtue Party Kizilcabamam Talks, The Opening Speech of 1-6 September 1998) (Kizilcahamam-Ankara, 1998), 10
55. Fazilet Partisi Genel Başkani M. Recai Kutan'in Seçim Beyannamesi Basin Toplantisi, 20 Mart 1999 (The Press Conference On the Election Platform of the General Chairman of Virtue Party M. Recai Kutan, March 20, 1999) (Istanbul, 1999), 20-21
56. Fazilet Partisi Danişma Meclisi İkinci Toplantisi Sonuç Bildirisi. FP Kizilcahamam Toplantilari 1-6 Eylül 1998 (The Concluding Report of the Second Meeting of the Virtue Party Advisory Body, Virtue Party Kizilcahamam Talks, September 1-6, 1998) (Kizilcahamam-Ankara, 1998), 36