Politics and Islam in Modern Turkey

Middle Eastern Studies

Volumn 27, Issue 1, 1991, Pages 3-21

  Ahmad, Feroz ^a  

^a NONE

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EID: 84946261520     PISSN: 00263206     EISSN: 17437881     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/00263209108700843     Document Type: Article

References (40)

1. See Sina Akşin, Jon Türkler ve Ittihat ve Terakki (Istanbul, 1980), pp. 91–3.
2. Tanin, 26 Sept. 1324/9 Oct. 1908 and the Istanbul for this period.
3. Sina Akşin, Istanbul Hükumetleri ve Milli Mücadele (Istanbul, 1976), pp. 37–8; Feroz Ahmad, The Young Turks (Oxford, 1969), pp. 40–3.
4. John Kingsley Birge, The Bektashi Order of Dervishes, reprint (London, 1965), pp. 78–81.
5. Tarik Z. Tunaya, Islâmcilik Cereyanu, Istanbul, 1962, pp. 120–1 and passim. This book is a mine of information on the role of Islam in twentieth-century Turkey. See also Sina Akşin, 31 Mart Olayı(Ankara, 1970), pp. 66–7.
6. Necmeddin Şahiner, Bilinmeyen Taraflariyle Said Nursi (Istanbul, 1979), pp. 236–49. Çetin Özek, Türkiye'de Laiklik (Istanbul, 1962), p. 19, n.4; Idem. Türkiye'de Gerici Akımlar (Istanbul, 1968), pp. 64–6.
7. Ozek, Akimlar, pp. 77–83; Tunaya, Islâmcihk, pp. 149–58. Niyazi Berkes, The Development of Secularism in Turkey (Montreal, 1964), pp. 443ff. esp. 453–4.
8. Berkes, Secularism, pp. 446ff; Bernard Lewis, The Emergence of Modern Turkey, 2nd ed. (London 1968). A detailed account in Turkish may be found in Mahmut Goloğlu, Halifelik (Ankara, 1973).
9. Martin van Bruinessen, ‘Vom Osmanismus zum Separatismus: religiose und ethnische Hintergrunde der Rebellion des Scheich Said’ in Jahrbuch zur Geschichte und Gesellschaft des Vorderen und Mittleren Orients 1984. Thema: Islam und Politik in der Turkei, Jochen Blaschke and Martin van Bruinessen (eds.) (Berlin, 1984), pp. 109–65.
10. Kemal Ustün, Menemen Olayıve Kubilay (Istanbul, 1981), pp. 20–25.
11. See Mete Tunçay, Türkiye Cumhuriyetie'nde Tek-Parti Yönetimi'nin Kurulmasi (1923–1931) (Ankara, 1981), p. 127.
12. Ibid p. 293.
13. Yakup Kadri's article was published in Hakimiyeti Milliye, 30 Dec. 1930 and is givin in Ustün, Kubilay, pp. 40–41.
14. TBMM Zabita Ceridesi, Oturum: 3 Aralik 1934, vol. 24, p. 77 quoted by Doğu Perinçek, ‘puttu, yuk oldu’ in lkibin'e Doğru, 22–28 Feb. 1987, p. 7. The cover story of this issue is entitled ‘Atatürk ve Allah’ and Atatürk's positivistic views on the subject of religion are published for the first time.
15. Ali Fuad Başgl, Din ve Laiklik (Istanbul, 1962), pp. 145–50.
16. The arguments from Selamet, Nov-Dec. 1947 are taken from Tunaya, Islâmcılık, pp. 202–3 and ff.
17. Sebilürreşat quoted in Tunaya, Islâmcılık, p. 204, n.1.
18. Tunaya, Islâmcılık, pp. 210–11.
19. Tunaya, ibid., p. 205, ns.1 and 2; see also the chapter on ‘Islam and Politics’ in Feroz Ahmad, The Turkish Experiment in Democracy 1950–1975 (London, 1975), pp. 363–88.
20. Islâmcılık, ns.4 and 5 where he articles from.
21. Ibid, p. 226.
22. Ibid, pp. 220–23 and p. 231; Özek, Akımlar, pp. 177–8.
23. On the Nurists see Özek, Akımlar, pp. 180–94; Şahiner, Said Nursi; Tunaya, Islâmcılık, pp. 232–9; and Serif Mardin's article ‘“Bediuzzaman” Said Nursi und die Mechanik der Natur’ in Blaschke and Bruinessen (eds.), pp. 197–232.
24. Quoted in Cumhuriyet, 29 Nov. 1964, quoted in Ahmad (n.19), p. 235. It is worth noting that despite his religious background Suleyman Demirel is a sufficiently liberal Muslim to celebrate the 39th wedding anniversary with champagne. See Cumhuriyet, 13 Dec. 1987, p. 12. The same is true for Prime Minister Turgut Ozal who has also performed the pilgrimage on a number of occasions and whose ‘Islamist’ credentials are therefore even stronger.
25. See the chapter on ‘Foreign Policy’ in Ahmad (n.19), pp. 405ff.; and on the Saudi role on Turkey Ugur Mumcu, Rabita, Istanbul, 1987, passim. This is an excellent piece of investigative journalism which sheds light on religion, politics, and the external factor. See also Necdet Onur, Erbakan Olayi Istanbul, n.d.[1974?], pp. 86–9 for Erbakan's views.
26. Quoted in Ali Yaşar Saribay, Türkiye'de Modernleşme Din ve Parti Politikasi: ‘MSP Ornek Olayi’ (Istanbul, 1985), pp. 98–9.
27. Prof. Jacob Landau in his excellent article on the NSP exaggerates the significance of the use of Arabic words by the party in its literature, as do hardline Kemalists. While discussing the party's programme, he points out that ahlak and fazilet are ‘both Arabic terms with an Islamic flavour’, as are ictimai adalet which are used instead of ‘the newly coined “sosyal adalet”’. These terms would not have an ‘Islamic flavour’ for a Christian Arab because Arabic is his secular language. The same was true for Turkish before script and language reforms began in 1928 but remains largely true even today for most Turks. In Prof. Landau's example ahlak and adalet (both of Arabic origin) have continued to thrive despite the reforms. Who uses their modern Turkish equivalents tore and tüze? Fazilet and ictimai are still alive though not as widely used. Only the educated are aware of the etymology of words and that is a small minority in Turkey today. See Jacob M. Landau, ‘The National Salvation Paarty in Turkey’ in Asian and African Studies, vol. 11, no. i, 1976, p. 9, ns.22 and 23.
28. Prof. Necmeddin Erbakan, ‘Mukaddesatçı Türk'e Beyanname’ in Salname 1390, Istanbul, 1970, p. 196.
29. Cited in Landau (n.27), pp. 8–9; for a more detailed discussion see Saribay (n.26), pp. 89ff.; and Binnaz Toprak, Islam and Political Development in Turkey, Leiden, 1981, pp. 96–104.
30. Türker Alkan, ‘The National Salvation Party in Turkey’ in Metin Heper and Raphael Israeli (eds.) Islam and Politics in the Modern Middle East, London, 1984, p. 83.
31. Interview in Onur (n.25), pp. 92–4.
32. On Erbakan's views on the Common Market see Ahmad (n.19), pp. 382–3; and Saribay (n.26), pp. 127–9.
33. See M. Aytuğ Göknur's article in Salname 1390, p. 303.
34. Prof. Necmeddin Erbakan, ‘Gayemiz’ in Salname 1390, pp. 186–7.
35. Aksam (n.d.) quoted in Salname 1390, p. 262.
36. Onur (n.25), p. 15 and pp. 102–5.
37. Alkan (n.30), p. 86.
38. See cover story ‘Turbaned Feminists’ in Nokta (Istanbul), 20 Dec. 1987.
39. See the cover story on ‘Islamists in Crisis’ in Yeni Gündem (Istanbul), 13 Dec. 1987.
40. Mumcu (n.23), pp. 9–68 and passim. Mumcu interviewed Cemaleddin Kaplan at length and concludes this brand of militant Islam need not be taken very seriously in Turkey. He also makes some fascinating observations on Islamic discourse among a variety of Islamists he encounters during his investigations.