EXECUTION STRATEGIES OF ISLAMIC GOVERNANCE: THE CASE OF TÜRKIYE (2010-2020)

Academics conducted in-depth analyses and critical research on the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, (AK PARTI) government's Islamisation projects. However, little research has been conducted to understand the execution processes of Islamic governance in Türkiye from a genuine administrative perspective. This research tries to fill this gap. For this purpose, it discusses the conceptual framework of Islamic governance for theoretical guidelines. Then, it discusses the execution strategies adopted by the AK PARTI government. The study identified that the AK PARTI government followed mainly six strategies in Islamising Turkish governance: (1) developing public institutions; (2) developing Islamic educational institutions; (3) curriculum reforms; (4) major financing; (5) empowering Islamic bureaucracy, and (6) managing Islamic Da‘wa. These six strategies are largely implemented through two channels: the Directorate of Religious Affairs and the Imam Hatip Schools. The Imam Hatip High School, a vocational high school with a modern and Islamic curriculum established to prepare preachers and Imams, is operated by the Ministry of National Education. The AK PARTI administration gave importance to these schools to produce a religion-oriented generation. This has gained international attention as an alternative model for Madrasas in Muslim nations. However, this study concludes that Türkiye has a long way to go before achieving genuine Islamisation in society. The AK PARTI government should decentralize da‘wa by focusing local enterprises on disseminating authentic Islamic messages and expanding the participation of numerous state institutions in the Islamisation process. This is a qualitative study depending on primary and secondary sources. Primary sources include government reports and documents, websites of the pertinent government institutions and ministries, and national and international dailies. The secondary sources include referred books, journal articles, and scholarly research. The analysis focuses on the period 2010-2020 because it was from 2010 that the AK PARTI government mainly initiated Islamisation projects to generate an Islamic society based on Islamic values.