Why was I mistaken about political Islamism?

Abdulhamit Bilici
Abdulhamit Bilici


Date posted: August 21, 2015

For the radical wing of political Islamism, a democratic regime based on the decisions of the people is blasphemy. It should be ruled out because it was an invention of the Western world. Some subscribers to Islamist movements have always viewed democracy in this way.

Some political Islamists, on the other hand, have embraced democracy and base it on the principle of consultation that is in the Quran. They rely on the ideology of transforming society through the state apparatus, but as a method, they agree that democracy is a means to achieve this goal. The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and the National Outlook movement in Turkey are examples of this.

There is no need to say anything about the first group, given their extremist stance. But there have always been question marks around those who adopted democracy as a means. Did their reliance on elections and popular votes as a method make them democrats? Or was democracy just a tool for them to seize power? Would they recognize the rights of others when they came to power?

Most of our professors raised these questions in the early 1990s when I was a political science student, and domestic and international circles also discussed the matter. Back then, I was always suspicious of this criticism. I was not interested in political Islamist ideology, but as a religious Muslim, I believed that criticism of it was founded in stereotypes and prejudice against Islam.

Political Islamist parties have expressed their original ideologies under titles such as the National Outlook (Milli Görüş) and the Just Order (Adil Duzen) because of legal barriers. These parties agreed to leave power if they were to lose an election. Though they have been shut down many times, they came to power as coalition partners in the 1970s and 1990s. They did a good job at local administration, which attracted the attention of the people. But they had to adopt a balanced approach because of the influence of civilian and military elements in the country.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his friends who were part of this experience created the Justice and Development Party (AKP) with a reference to conservative democracy rather than Islamism. They strongly rejected the definition of Islamism. They were eager to follow in the footsteps of former Prime Minister Adnan Menderes and former President Turgut Özal. They took off their National Outlook shirts. They would work for EU membership. They would maintain good relations with both the West and the Muslim world.

Those who took the experience of political Islamism in Iran and other countries seriously have always been suspicious. They have always argued that Erdoğan and his friends were only using this discourse as a tactic, and that they never really abandoned the idea of Islamism.

Just as I did not take criticism of Islamism raised by my political science professors seriously two decades ago because I thought it was founded in the professors’ negative stance against Islam, I thought this time that Erdoğan and his friends were being targeted because of their religious identity. Their reforms for the EU process and their strong relations with both the West and the Muslim world were my references for this opinion. Besides, all the democrats in Turkey and in the world, were praising this transformation.

When it became apparent that they did not have to act timidly because the military guardianship was no longer influential in the aftermath of the 2010 referendum, Erdoğan and his team went back to their original stance, which saw an independent judiciary, free media and a free civil society as obstacles rather than crucial components of a democratic order.

Those who were not part of the AKP were potential enemies of the state. Parties that received 60 percent of popular support were called illegal structures and accused of being part of a Zionist-Christian alliance. Shutting down the mosque of dissidents, not recognizing electoral results, raiding preschools and polarizing the public were routine practices of this line.

This is the price I had to pay for being ignorant of what science and experience actually reveal. What is grave is that efforts made over the last 80 years have been lost to authoritarianism, populism and corruption.

A case showing that Islam and democracy could be reconciled was proven wrong. As noted by Professor Yüksel Taşkın, a college classmate, in the Aksiyon weekly, in the story of the Islamism of the AKP, the democracy deficit was filled by liberals and the Hizmet movement, inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, but the AKP failed to internalize democracy themselves.

Source: Today's Zaman , August 21, 2015


Related News

An interesting debate in the European Parliament

It is known that European parliamentarians already talk to people close to Hizmet, so this refusal was interesting. It can even give the impression that the Turkish government is putting pressure on the EP. Of course, Turkey hasn’t that kind of power; if we did, we would have become an EU member years ago. The other impression is that the Hizmet movement is trying to influence the EP’s work.

False reports on Bank Asya breach laws

Earlier reports in the Turkish media had claimed that the government had mulled over a comprehensive investigation into Bank Asya following an ongoing corruption and bribery case. The papers cited the Hizmet movement — with which Bank Asya is affiliated — as the hand behind the police operations into persons close to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party). The same reports implied a retaliatory attack on Bank Asya over alleged abuses within the bank.

Gülen’s lawyer condemns Erdoğan’s accusations, TÜSİAD calls for sanity in country

Prominent Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen’s lawyer, Nurullah Albayrak, condemned Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s latest comments about Gülen.

Erdogan’s ego eclipses Pakistan-Turkey ties

In Pakistan, where more than 27 million children remain out of school, every teacher and educational institution matters. The Turkish non-governmental schools in question are ranked among the best in terms of in infrastructure, as well as quality of education and character-building.

Asylum for Fethullah Gulen Movement Supporters?

Gulen movement supporters who have been persecuted or who fear persecution in their home country due to an association with the movement should qualify for a grant of asylum in the U.S. on the basis of both religion and political opinion. Even those who are not closely associated with the movement, but who fear persecution because the government falsely accuses them of involvement, should have strong cases for asylum.

Erdogan Uses Coup Like Hitler Used Reichstag Fire, Austrian Far-right Leader Says

Turkey’s failed coup and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s subsequent purges of state institutions are reminiscent of the Reichstag fire in Nazi Germany and its use by Hitler to amass greater power, the head of Austria’s far-right Freedom Party said.

Latest News

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

University refuses admission to woman jailed over Gülen links

In Case You Missed It

Turkish Extradition Request Could Strain Relations With US

Where does Gülen stand on: democracy, human rights, and minorities?

Pregnant woman jailed over Gülen links sent back to prison after losing baby

FM Davutoğlu says Turkish schools abroad play important representative role

87-year old prisoner gets 11-day solitary confinement for ‘hoping release one day’

Reflections on a Hizmet-inspired school in Tanzania

Bittersweet joy for teachers amid prep schools conflict in Turkey

Copyright 2023 Hizmet News