Islamism in Republican Turkey

Abstract The chapter discusses Islamism in republican Turkey and assesses its future in Turkey’s current social and political context. It argues that, if Islamism is understood as a political ideology that seeks to restructure the political process and, through it, to reform society according to Islamic principles, Islamism has been and will remain a movement of important but limited political appeal in republican Turkey. On the basis of this narrow definition, the chapter analyzes two strands of Islamism, the nationalist variety associated with Milli Görüş (National Outlook) and the ‘renewalist’ variety seeking to reform Islam through a re-reading of its foundational texts. Strands from conservative parties merged with elements of nationalist Islamism to constitute the Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (Justice and Development Party), which has been in power in Turkey since 2002. Ultimately, Turkish Islamism may have opposed the republic, but it was also, inevitably, a product of its sociopolitical and legal context.