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ABSTRACT
This article argues that the AKP has dismantled secularism in Turkey through stealth Islamization. Defined as incremental and top-down Islamization of social and political life, this process entails four processes: (1) institutionalization of Turkish Islamist political imaginary; (2) redesigning the Diyanet and public education system to spread Islamic beliefs and practices (da'wa); (3) the privileging of Muslim identity at the expense of secular choices, whose costs have increased substantially; and (4) return of Islam to the public space through changes in the built environment. This article unpacks these four processes, which entails AKP's colonization of the state to Islamize society.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 Anadolu Ajansi, “Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan Ayasofya-i Kebir Cami-i Şerifi'nde namaz kıldı, Kur'an okudu.” May 13, 2023. https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/politika/cumhurbaskani-erdogan-ayasofya-i-kebir-cami-i-serifinde-namaz-kildi-kuran-okudu/2896796.
2 This paper adapts Varol and Przeworksi’s concept of stealth authoritarianism, defined as incremental changes that subvert democracy through legal means, to Islamization in the Turkish context. For details see Varol, “Stealth Authoritarianism” and Przeworski, Crises of Democracy.
3 For a discussion on social substratum see Karpov, “Desecularization.”
4 Brownlee, “Why Turkey Shakes Up the Democratic Theory.”
5 Varol, “Stealth Authoritarianism.”
6 For example, see Mandaville, Islam and Politics.
7 Varol, “Stealth Authoritarianism.”
8 Criss, “Dismantling Turkey”; Yesilada and Rubin, “Introduction”; Duran, “The Justice and Development Party’s ‘New Politics’”; and Rasaba and Larabee “The Rise of Political Islam in Turkey.”
9 Cağaptay, “AKP’s Foreign Policy.”
10 Şen, “The AKP Rule.”
11 Toprak et al., Türkiye’de Farklı Olmak and Criss, “Dismantling Turkey.”
12 Çarkoglu and Kalaycioglu, Fragile but Resilient?.
13 Çarkoglu and Toprak, Religion, Society and Politics in a Changing Turkey.
14 Kalaycıoğlu, “Justice and Development Party.”
15 The causes of this shift are beyond the scope of this paper. For more on this shift see Yeşilada and Rubin, “Introduction”; Çınar, “Moderation to De-Moderation”; Gumuscu, Democracy or Authoritarianism; and Kirdiş, “Wolves in Sheep Clothing.”
16 Esen and Gumuscu “Why Did Turkish Democracy Fail?”; Somer “Understanding Turkey’s Democratic Breakdown”; Akkoyunlu and Öktem, “Exit from Democracy”; Kubicek, “Faulty Assumptions”; and Çalışkan, “Toward a New Political Regime.”
17 Adak, “Expansion of the Diyanet.”
18 Kirdiş, “Wolves in Sheep Clothing”; Bashirov and Lancaster, “End of Moderation”; Çınar “From Moderation to De-Moderation”; and Gumuscu, Democracy or Authoritarianism.
19 Başkan, “Islamism and Turkey’s Foreign Policy”; Criss, “Dismantling Turkey”; and Sözen “A Paradigm Shift.”
20 Kaya, “Islamisation of Turkey”; Lüküslü, “Creating a Pious Generation”; and Eroler, Dindar Nesil Yetistirmek.
21 Yavuz, “A Framework.”
22 Şen, “The AKP Rule” and Ozturk, “Turkey’s Diyanet.”
23 Adak, “Expansion of the Diyanet.”
24 Yılmaz and Bashirov, “The AKP after 15 Years” and Yavuz, “Understanding Turkish secularism.”
25 Hegghammer, “Should I Stay.”
26 Tezcür, “The Moderation Theory.”
27 Hegghammer, “Should I Stay” and Masoud, Counting Islam.
28 Ayoob and Lussier, The Many Faces.
29 Yavuz, Islamic Political Identity.
30 Baran, “Turkey Divided” and Sezal and Sezal, “Dark Taints.”
31 İnsel, “The AKP and Normalizing Democracy” and Özbudun and Hale, Islamism, Liberalism, and Democracy.
32 How and why the party had this sharp turn is beyond the scope of this paper. See Gumuscu, Democracy or Authoritarianism; Çınar, “From Moderation to De-Moderation”; Yabancı and Taleski, “Co-Opting Religion”; and Kubicek “Majoritarian Democracy” for this debate.
33 Erbakan, Türkiye’nin Meseleleri, 46.
34 Mudde and Kaltwasser, Populism.
35 MNP, Program, Art. 96–7.
36 AKP Program, 14–16.
37 While the AKP returned to a more traditional MG line, the last political party established by the movement, Saadet (Felicity, SP), took a more democratic turn and opposed the AKP’s authoritarian practices. Saadet’s critique against the government concerned the erosion of the rule of law, human rights abuses, violation of civil liberties, and centralization of power. This critical attitude led to a split among Erbakan’s followers when his son Fatih Erbakan formed the New Welfare Party.
38 For Erdoğan’s majoritarianism see Özbudun, “AKP at the Crossroads”; Öniş, “Monopolising the Centre”; and Kubicek, “Majoritarian Democracy.”
39 Erdoğan’s Speech at TÜGVA Headquarters Opening.
40 Tuğal, “Islamism in Turkey,” 97.
41 “Vakıflara milyarlar yağdı.” BirGün, February 9, 2022. https://www.birgun.net/haber/vakiflara-milyarlar-yagdi-412969.
42 Ibid., as well as Cammett and Luca, “Unfair Play.”
43 “Erdoğan’dan 6 yılda 43 vakfa vergi muafiyeti.”BirGün, July 25, 2020. https://www.birgun.net/haber/erdogan-dan-6-yilda-43-vakfa-vergi-muafiyeti-309572, and “Vakıflara milyarlar yağdı.” BirGün, December 9, 2022. https://www.birgun.net/haber/vakiflara-milyarlar-yagdi-412969.
44 For instance, during the Gezi park protests, pro-government media – and Erdoğan – circulated fabricated news of naked men harassing a veiled woman and her baby in day light and protesters drinking alcohol in a mosque.
45 “Aksakal, Cumhur İttifakı'na çabuk uyum sağladı: Muhalefete ‘kafir’ dedi!.” BirGün, April 14, 2023. https://www.birgun.net/haber/aksakal-cumhur-ittifaki-na-cabuk-uyum-sagladi-muhalefete-kafir-dedi-429153.
46 Roy, The Failure of Political Islam.
47 Kara, Türkiye'de İslamcılık Düşüncesi.
48 Aybak, “Sultan is Dead,” and Yavuz, “A Framework.”
49 “Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan torununa Kur'an öğretiyor.” Yeni Şafak, April 7, 2017.
50 “Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan, Orgeneral Hulusi Akar Camii'nde Kur'an okudu.” HaberTürk, October 13, 2018. http://tinyurl.com/y2cbvjtu.
51 “Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan, Erol Olçok'un mezarı başında Kur'an okudu.” Milliyet, July 11, 2017.
52 “Başkan Erdoğan şehitler için Kur’an-ı Kerim okudu.”IHA, July 15, 2018. http://www.iha.com.tr/video-baskan-erdogan-sehitler-icin-kuran-i-kerim-okudu-119195/.
53 “Erdoğan Mezun Olduğu Okulda 44 Yıl Sonra Öğrencilerle Kur'an Okudu.” Haberler, September 29, 2017. https://www.haberler.com/recep-tayyip-erdogan-anadolu-imam-hatip-lisesi-10080306-haberi/.
54 “Başkan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Köln’de Kur'an-ı Kerim okudu.” AHaber, October 2, 2018. https://www.ahaber.com.tr/webtv/gundem/baskan-recep-tayyip-erdogan-kolnde-kuran-i-kerim-okudu.
55 Karaman, “Itaat” and Hatipoğlu, “Ululemr’e itaat nedir.”
56 While this verse is open to different interpretations, the orthodox view requires total obedience to ulu-l-emr.
57 “Erdoğan'dan muhalefete ağır suçlama: Onlar Kandil'den biz Allah'tan emir alıyoruz.” Cumhuriyet, May 2, 2023.
58 Çaylak, “Islamci siyasette iktidar ve itikat.”
59 MNP, Program, Art. 12.
60 Somer, “Conquering Versus Democratizing.”
61 Pehlivan and Terkoğlu, Metastaz, and Omer Sahin, “Erdoğan-Gülen kavga ediyor peki ya diğer dini gruplar?” Al-Monitor, December 30, 2014. http://tinyurl.com/jbkr6vzk.
62 “İşte Gülenciler sonrası ülkeyi saran tarikat ağları.” BirGün, October 29, 2016. https://www.birgun.net/haber-detay/iste-gulenciler-sonrasi-ulkeyi-saran-tarikat-aglari-133401.html.
63 Karaman is a columnist for Yeni Şafak, a leading Islamist newspaper in Turkey.
64 MNP, Program.
65 Sarıbay, “Milli Nizam Partisinin Kuruluşu.”
66 Öztürk, “Turkey’s Diyanet” and Gözaydin, Diyanet.
67 Commanding right (good) and forbidding wrong (evil) has been a central principle informing Islamist political imaginary. Islamists define it as a duty given to all Muslims. For more on the place of these principles in the Islamic tradition see Cook, Commanding Right and Forbidding Wrong.
68 Ozzano and Maritato, “Patterns of Political Secularism,” 472, and Adak, “Expansion of the Diyanet.”
69 Öztürk, “Turkey’s Diyanet,” 628.
70 See “Kurumsal Tarihçe.” May 28, 2013. https://diyanet.gov.tr/tr-TR/Kurumsal/Detay/1.
71 See report from Doğrulukpayı, October 22, 2022. http://tinyurl.com/ymazw2uy.
72 Diyanet, “Istatistikler,” and “Diyanet personeli sayısı dudak uçuklattı: Uzman hekimleri ikiye katladı.” BirGün, February 3, 2023. http://tinyurl.com/5e5ehztf.
73 Adak, “Expansion of the Diyanet,” 200.
74 Şen, “The AKP Rule.”
75 “‘Adli yıl’ eleştirilerine yanıt Verdi.” Hürriyet, September 6, 2021.
76 “Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan, ‘6. Din Şûrası’nın kapanış programında konuştu.” November 28, 2019. https://diyanet.gov.tr/tr-TR/Kurumsal/Detay/26147/cumhurbaskani-erdogan-6-din-srasinin-kapanis-programinda-konustu.
77 See “Diyanet İşleri Başkanı Erbaş, ‘6. Din Şûrası’ kararlarını açıkladı.” November 28, 2019. https://www.diyanet.gov.tr/tr-TR/Kurumsal/Detay/26146/diyanet-isleri-baskani-erbas-6-din-srasi-kararlarini-acikladi.
78 See note 76.
79 “Artık bu yanlış tabuları yıkalım.” Yeni Şafak, October 4, 2018.
80 Adak, “Expansion of the Diyanet,” 202.
81 Öztürk “Turkey’s Diyanet,” 620.
82 Ongur, “Performing Through Friday khutbas.”
83 Yabancı and Taleski “Co-Opting Religion.”
84 Yılmaz and Ertürk, “Populism, Violence and Authoritarian Stability.”
85 “Diyanet'ten seçim uyarısı: ‘İktidara destek verin’.” Cumhuriyet, February 28, 2023.
86 Esen and Gumuscu, “Turkey: How the Coup Failed.”
87 Sala is traditionally recited before Friday prayers and funerals.
88 “Dindar gençlik yetiştireceğiz.” Hürriyet, February 2, 2012.
89 Lüküslü, “Creating a Pious Generation,” 640.
90 Ministry of National Education (Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı, MEB) Statistics.
91 “Her yer imam, her yer hatip! MEB imam hatipleri kılavuzda ‘nitelikli’ yaptı.” Cumhuriyet, April 11, 2018.
92 Eğitim-Sen, Egitimin Durumu Raporu.
93 “With more Islamic Schooling, Erdogan Aims to Reshape Turkey.” Reuters, January 25, 2018. http://tinyurl.com/y6pfrnuf.
94 Ministry of National Education Statistics.
95 “Turkey Rolls Out New School Curriculum – Without Darwin.” Reuters, July 18, 2017. http://tinyurl.com/ymh6ffzy.
96 TÜGVA, “Medeniyet ve Değerler Kulubu.”
97 “Turkey's Top Religious Body Given Authority to Conduct Workshops on ‘Morals, Values’ for Students.” Duvar (English), April 7, 2023. http://tinyurl.com/5378bkw9.
98 Mandaville, Islam and Politics, 74.
99 Çınar argues that the AKP uses this principle to justify its policies to regulate secular lifestyles. See Çınar, “From Moderation to De-Moderation.”
100 This is also what separates the AKP’s stealth Islamization (in a secular framework) from direct imposition of Islamic normativity observed in Iran after the Iranian Revolution, in Saudi Arabia under the Saudi-Wahhabi ruling pact, and in Afghanistan under the Taliban.
101 Furman, “Battling.”
102 “RTÜK'e 1 yılda 44 bin 176 şikayet.” Bianet, April 11, 2022. https://m.bianet.org/bianet/medya/260320-rtuk-e-1-yilda-44-bin-176-sikayet.
103 “RTÜK | 2021’in ilk yarısında cezalar sadece eleştirel kanallara.” Bianet, July 5, 2021. https://m.bianet.org/bianet/medya/246764-rtuk-2021-in-ilk-yarisinda-cezalar-sadece-elestirel-kanallara, and Anadolu Ajansi, RTÜK'ten kurallara uymayan televizyonlara en üst seviyeden ceza.” August 23, 2017. https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/turkiye/rtukten-kurallara-uymayan-televizyonlara-en-ust-seviyeden-ceza/892289. For an example, see 2021 report at https://www.rtuk.gov.tr/UstKurulKarar/Detay/15269.
104 Bacık, “Informal Application.”
105 “Concert Bans Continue in Turkey ‘to Protect Public Safety, Morality’.” Bianet, May 26, 2022. https://bianet.org/english/society/262428-concert-bans-continue-in-turkey-to-protect-public-safety-morality.
106 “Turkish Pop Star Placed Under House Arrest Over Joke About Religious Schools.” CNN, August 29, 2022. https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/29/europe/turkey-gulsen-colakoglu-house-arrest-intl/index.html.
107 Şansal, “LGBTQ Rights.”
108 “Turkish Police Crack Down on Gay Pride in Istanbul.” Hürriyet Daily News, June 19, 2015.
109 “Altun: Boğaziçili azgın azınlık.” Articerek, January 30, 2021. https://artigercek.com/haberler/altun-bogazicili-azgin-azinlik.
110 “Thousands March in Turkey to Demand Ban on LGBTQ Groups.” Associated Press, September 18, 2022. http://tinyurl.com/yc492yzr.
111 “‘We’re Against LGBT’: Erdoğan Targets Gay and Trans People Ahead of Critical Turkish Election.” The Guardian, May 12, 2023.
112 See Andrew Wilks, “Turkey’s Ruling Alliance Welcomes Islamist Parties with Misogynist Agendas.” Al-Monitor, March 27, 2023. http://tinyurl.com/muz5ywv.
113 Mayer, “How Stateless Nations.”
114 Elden, “There Is a Politics of Space.”
115 For an excellent study of Islamist urbanization under the AKP, see Batuman, New Islamist Architecture.
116 Ghulyan, “The Spatialization.”
117 Ibid.
118 Ibid.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Sebnem Gumuscu
Sebnem Gumuscu is an associate professor of political science at Middlebury College and the author of Democracy or Authoritarianism: Islamist Governments in Turkey, Egypt, and Tunisia (Cambridge University Press, 2023) and co-author of Democracy, Identity, and Foreign Policy in Turkey: Hegemony Through Transformation (with E. Fuat Keyman) (Palgrave, 2014). She has published several journal articles on democratic backsliding, Islamist parties, and political economy of regime change.