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Introduction
In his book “Islamic Political Identity in Turkey” Hakan Yavuz discusses the relationships between the religion and state. In particular, he focuses on the interactions between Islam and political system in Turkey. The author argues that modern Islamic movements should not be viewed as reactionary. His work aims to break the stereotype, which has emerged in recent years that Muslim faith is inconsistent with democratic values, such as freedom of speech, tolerance, diversity, etc. The main message that the author wants to convey is that present day Islamic movements in Turkey support, tolerate, and even celebrate liberal values and principles. This scholars book is one of those works, which may bridge the gap between Muslim and Western countries.
Main Text
Hakan Yavuz believes that the political thought, which has dominated in Turkey in the twentieth century, ruptured “the ties between the politics and culture”(Yavuz, 267). In his opinion, Kemalism, the doctrine based on the ideas of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk transformed Islam in some backward and even regressive archaism, which only hinders economic and political development of the state. The author is firmly convinced that such belief is a common misconception or myth, which should be dispelled. The importance of this book cannot be underestimated, because at present, the international community looks at Islam with apprehension, most due to the activities of some Muslim extremists, who forget that this religious belief does not validate any form of violence. Hakan Yavuz demonstrates that there are virtually no obstacles, which may, in any way, prevent Turkey from becoming a full member of European community.
In order to substantiate his argument, the scholar discusses current views about Islam and its influence on the political system. First, Hakan Yavuz states that Islam has often been considered as “as a set of fixed doctrines but negate the interactive agency of Muslims themselves” (Yavuz, 16). The author is firmly convinced that such interpretation is not acceptable because it disregards several important aspects. For instance, according to such approach, Islamic political identity is static or probably it would be better to say homogeneous, which is a very rude mistake. Hakan Yavuz demonstrates that Islamic political identity as any social phenomenon, is dynamic, it has a tendency to evolve. His views are reflected in the works of many other scholars. His book shows that democracy and liberalism can be quite applicable in Muslim countries.
In addition to that, the author says that scholars and politicians often as regard Islam as obstacle to modernization. According to them, Muslim faith does not mandate any innovations or changes in the society, including democracy. Hakan Yavuz states that in the twentieth century, Turkey has witnessed the so-called “march toward Westernization” and in the course of this process, Kemalist government and its supporters have made Islam look as if it were backward, intolerant of any innovations (Yavuz, 17). The scholar intends to prove that Islam and modernity cannot be separated from each other; they do not only successfully coexist but even supplement each other.
However, the author also points out that Is that Islamic political identity is “Janus-faced”, which means that to a certain extent, it strives for modernity, cultural, political, technological, etc, but at the same time it is closely intertwined with tradition, that is most authoritative. Hakan Yukuz argues that Turkish political identity has managed to pass from authoritarianism to pluralism. Moreover, the scholar believes that the revival of Islam did not upset the equilibrium between religion and state. Hakan Yavuz furnishes evidence, suggesting that efficient functioning of political system in Muslim countries is hardly possible without strong and influential Islamic tradition.
In this regard, we should discuss his views on Kemalism (secularism) and its impact of Turkish society and political identity. It stands to reason that secularism or the division of the state and religion, has certain advantages, especially if we are speaking about Turkey, for instance, it promotes freedom of religion, secondly, it facilitates international relationships. The author acknowledges this fact; however, he reminds that Kemalism fails to incorporate Islam in the political system of the country. Furthermore, Hakan Yavuz believes that Muslim faith does not prohibit any of the democratic values; this argument is crucial in his book. The scholar says that the relationships between Islam and democracy have often been extremely complex, nevertheless, it is impossible to say that they are incompatible with each other.
As far as the drawbacks of Kemalist political philosophy are concerned, Hakan Yavuz says that it tried to reject Turkish cultural, religious, and political past. The main peculiarity of Ottoman Empire was strong ties between the state and religion. In fact, sultan was declared to be Allahs vicar on the Earth, and his words had to be viewed as divine revelation. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Turkey people rejected such political system and preferred secularism. The author believes that Kemalist ideology underestimate the role of Islam, because it includes not only religious devotion but certain behavioral patterns as well. These patterns or rules regulate cultural and socioeconomic relations in the country. The supporters of Kemalism attempted to build modern Turkish society without these rules and it eventfully leads to their failure. The major mistake of Kemalist government was its attempt to present Islamic movements as “the forces of darkness” (Yuvuz, 140) Hakan Yakuz believes that it is of the crucial importance to keep the balance between religion and politics, because otherwise any Islamic may turn into a totalitarian society. His book shows such equilibrium can be achieved within the context of Islamic world.
Another myth, which the author wants to explode, is the belief that present day Islamic movements are just a response to corrupt state elite, overpopulation, and massive unemployment (Yavuz, 18). He says that any religion is first and foremost cultural phenomenon and its role cannot be limited only to the regulation of social activities. The author argues that Islamic political identity should be discussed from the following perspectives, first, as religious devotion and secondly, as the “notions of justice”, influencing or even shaping the conduct of each citizen and community in general (Yuvuz, 21). Although, the scholar does not explicitly state it, his book suggests that the role of religion has often been underestimated in the Western European countries, especially its regulatory function. Perhaps, in the near future, this work may give rise to similar research, analyzing the role of Christianity in present day Western community.
Hakan Yavuz acknowledges that there are two types of Islamic social movements: vertical or state-oriented and horizontal (society-oriented). He believes that there are several criteria, according to which, we can draw a distinction between them. First of all, one should pay attention to the goals, set by these movements. As regards, vertical Islamic movements, it is worth mentioning that their purpose is to change the political system and subsequently the society “from above” (Yavuz, 28). In other words, their main purpose is to assume and shape internal and external policies of the country. Moreover, the scholar believes that under certain circumstances such movement may resort to illegitimate measures such as, for example revolution.
Overall, it is necessary to give the author credit for his honesty, because he does not idealize Islamic political movements and he does not reject the idea of secularism altogether. Apart from that, Hakan Yavuz places emphasis on the dangers that state-oriented movements may constitute, primarily, religious intolerance. The scholar says that their ultimate goal is replace state as an institution, which may have only detrimental effects on the countrys cultural, political and economic life, he also maintains that such scenario is not an inevitable outcome.
Overall, it should be taken into consideration that such movements are possible only if the state, itself is oppressive and this case they are just the consequence of the imprudent or policies, pursued by the government. Hakan Yavuz stresses that the international community should not generalize while assessing Islamic social movements because not all of them are state-oriented or longing for power. He also points out that even vertical Islamic movements do not always seek dominance, very often their policy depends upon the countrys cultural and religious tradition.
The author contrasts vertical and horizontal social movements. He says that society-oriented Islamic movements also want to influence the world-view of the citizens, but they do not want to seize power, they do not view it as the most expedient mean. As a rule, vertical Islamic movements give preference to mass media, which may also a very strong impact on the public opinion. The author attracts the readers attention to the fact that very often power or authority is not only a means for achieving some purpose, it may easily become the ultimate goal of certain political parties or organization. Juxtaposing them, Hakan Yavuz shows that very often such the role of religion often depends upon the government. It can be deduced from his argument that politics and Islam not only supplement but restrict each others influence as well. The scholar shows that such interdependence ensures that Turkey will not transform into a security or totalitarian society. His book describes the mechanisms, which prevent the country from becoming a supervision society.
In order to substantiate this statement, the scholar draws the examples of several Islamic movements, for instance, he mentions the representatives of Sufi faith who believe that “personal redemption is the key to societal change” (Yuvuz, 30). Additionally, they do not object to liberal values or market economy. The author intends to convince Western-European world that Islam must not be perceived as ant-liberal or antidemocratic. Hakan Yavuz wants the international community to realize that the rival of Islamic tradition in modern Turkey politics is not the rebellion of religion against the state but just another developmental stage or even step towards the establishment of liberal and democratic values, which should not be regarded as something alien to Turkish and Islamic cultural tradition.
The scholar subjects to criticism the philosophy of Kemalism or at least some of its aspects, he says, “Secularism ceased to denote just the separation of state and religion in Turkey but instead became a virtual creed and designation for the ruling elite.” (Yavuz,31). The author admits that some aspects of Kemalism once contributed to the development of Turkish society, but on the whole, this political philosophy has undergone virtually no change in the course of the twentieth century and it could transform Turkey into a totalitarian state but for the influence of Islamic political movements.
The author ascribes the victory of Refah Party to their “hybrid populism and representation of hitherto peripheral forces” (Yuvuz, 212), which means that people, belonging to different social classes, such as for instance, intellectuals, or new merchants, believed that Islam could consolidate Turkish nation. Hakan Yavuz believes that this phenomenon can be also called as “Ottomanisation of Islam” (Yuvuz, 115), which means that to a certain degree, modern Turkey returns to its historical past.
While analyzing the most characteristic features of Islamic tradition in modern Turkey, the author focuses on the impact of mass media, because new technologies have brought drastic changes into the life of Muslims and shaped the development of many Islamic political movements. Hakan Yavuz wants to disprove a widely held opinion that Islam cannot accept modernity. For instance, he argues, “Popular Islamic education takes place not inside the mosque, with the ulema serving as educators, but rather in printed pages and on television screens with modern intellectuals serving as the main conduits of interpretation and authority” (Yuvuz, 106).
He believes that this education has become much more tolerant to the values of other religions than it has been before. Moreover, it is more accessible to the public. In his view, Turkey witnesses certain transition from oral Islamic tradition that has been dominant for a very long time, to the written one. However, the most important aspect that the author wants to set stress on is the shift in public opinion. Western theologians often argue that Islam does not mandate any deviation from the text of Quran, which means that its principles and instructions should be followed verbatim. Hakan Yavuz maintains that the doctrinal principles of religion can be easily questioned and disputed, they are nor taken for granted.
According to the scholar, the main problem is many people, living in the Western world have received the distorted image of Islam, and in the overwhelming majority of cases, this is the root cause the controversies, arousing between Muslims and representatives of other religious beliefs. Hakan Yavuz is firmly convinced that the upsurge of Islam in Turkey is not retrogression, namely, he says, “the revival of religion is not a return to traditional practices and charismatic father figures but rather a construction of new practices and the objectification of previous Islamic ones” (Yuvuz, 107). As it has been mentioned before, this book shows that Islamic tradition shares many common values with Christianity. The orthodox conception of Islam has become dated, and it only aggravates the situation, which has recently emerged.
The author also wants to attract the readers attention to the fact that modern Islamic intellectuals are drastically different from the traditional ulema. First, these people do not regard traditional Islamic tenets as dogmas, which must never be doubted, on the contrary, they attempt to apply these principles to the modern conditions. These people try to change or improve Turkish society by affecting public opinion. It should be born in mind that previously Islamic intellectual believed that social changes could have been achieved only by means of reforms. According to Hakan Yavuz, the crux of the change is the shift from compulsion to persuasion. Partly, Modern Turkish Islam takes its origins in Sufism, which attaches primary importance to diversity and tolerance. In the authors opinion, such form of Islam proves, that these religion can efficiently interact with religious beliefs of other people. Furthermore, his work suggests that the differences between Muslim faith and other religions have often been exaggerated.
Another characteristic feature of Islamic political identity in Turkey is pluralism. The author says that it manifests itself on several levels: first, it concerns the interpretation of traditional Quran texts. Secondly, it is reflected in the attitude towards the principle of other religions. Turkish Muslims no longer believe that Islam is the only true religion; they are more open to other cultures. Islamic political identity incorporates new ideas and views but it is not dogmatic, as it is often argued. According Hakan Yavuz, Turkish Islam is ethnically diverse. To some extent, it is a unifying factor. The representatives of various ethnic and racial groups, living in the country believe that it helps them to interact with each other. According to the author the main reason why Islamic movements won the palm of supremacy in the county is because they defined Turkish people as Muslims “a collective, organic union regardless of class and ethnic divisions” (Yuvuz, 217) Hakan Yavuz says that Turkey has always been an inseparable part of European community. Islamic social movements advocate integration processes, which currently take place, such as for example, entry into NATO. It can be deduced from the scholars ideas that the democratization is possible in other Islamic countries, but this process is utterly inconceivable with firm religious ground.
Conclusion
This book eloquently proves that Islamic tradition and democratic values are quite consistent with each other. Hakan Yavuz shows that certain stereotypes, deep-rooted in Western community should definitely be broken. Particularly, the author demonstrates that Muslims attitude towards other religions has radically changed at least in Turkey. The political system in this country clearly indicates that Islam celebrates liberal values. This landmark work may eventually transform Western-European perception of Islam.
Bibliography
M. Hakan Yavuz. 2003. Islamic Political Identity in Turkey. Oxford University Press.
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