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ABSTRACT
This article discusses the “immoderation” of incumbent Islamic parties – defined by the pursuit of a moral agenda and by an unwillingness to compromise with the opposition – through a comparative study of four incumbent Islamic parties in the socio-politically different regimes of Turkey, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia. Building on literature from religion and politics, social psychology, sociology of religion, and on the inclusion-moderation hypothesis, this study argues that (1) Islamic parties’ strong organizations resulted both in their success and in the absence of internal pluralism and that (2) their dominant status in the party system consolidated their majoritarian understanding of democracy. Through its discussion of “immoderation” this study aims to contribute to the interdisciplinary literature on religion and politics.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes
1. Schwedler, “Review Article,” 359.
2. Hamid, Temptations of Power, 167–189.
3. Mecham, “From the Ashes of Virtue,” 339–358; Yıldırım, “Muslim Democratic Parties,” 65–76; Öniş and Keyman, “A New Path Emerges,” 95–107.
4. Masbah, “Morocco’s Slow Motion Reform”; Kirdiş and Drhimeur, “The Rise of Populism,” 599–617.
5. Wolf, “An Islamist ‘Renaissance’,” 560–573; Netterstrøm, “The Islamists’ Compromise in Tunisia,” 110–124; Boubekeur, “Islamists, Secularists and Old Regime Elites,” 107–127; Cavatorta and Merone, “Post-Islamism,” 27–42.
6. Schwedler, “Islamists in Power,” 1793–1820.
7. Tibi, Political Islam, 67–92.
8. See: Schwedler, Faith in Moderation; Wickham, “The Path to Moderation”; Tepe, “Moderation of Religious Parties”; Tezcür, “The Moderation Theory Revisited”; Somer, “Moderation of Religious and Secular Politics.”
9. See: Almond, Appleby, and Sivan, Strong Religion; Appleby, The Ambivalence of the Sacred; Bruce, Politics and Religion; Casanova, Public Religions; Wilcox, God’s Warriors; Kalyvas, The Rise of Christian Democracy.
10. See: Stark and Finke, Acts of Faith; Iannaccone, “Why Strict Churches Are Strong.”
11. See: Mudde and Rovira Kaltwasser, Populism; Canovan, “Taking Politics to the People”; Weyland, “Clarifying a Contested Concept.”
12. See: McCauley and Moskalenko, “Mechanisms of Political Radicalization”; Hogg, Adelman, and Blagg, “Religion in the Face of Uncertainty”; Ysseldyk, Matheson, and Anisman, “Religiosity as Identity.”
13. Hamid, Temptations of Power, 1–37.
14. Kandil, Inside the Brotherhood, 48–80.
15. Iannaccone, “Why Strict Churches Are Strong,” 1180–1211.
16. Ibid., 1180–1211.
17. Kirdiş, “Immoderation,” 417–436.
18. McCauley and Moskalenko, “Mechanisms of Political Radicalization,” 415–433.
19. Ibid., 415–433.
20. Wickham, “The Path to Moderation,” 205–228; Schwedler, “Review Article,” 347–376.
21. Wickham, Mobilizing Islam, 93–118; Clark, Islam, Charity, and Activism, 42–81.
22. Somer, “Moderation of Religious and Secular Politics,” 244–267.
23. Berman, “Islamism, Revolution, and Civil Society,” 257–272.
24. Kirdiş and Drhimeur, “The Rise of Populism,” 599–617.
25. Przeworski and Teune, The Logic of Comparative Social Inquiry, 31–46.
26. Schwedler, “Review Article,” 347–376.
27. Geddes, “How the Cases You Choose,” 131–150.
28. Kirdiş, “Immoderation,” 417–436.
29. Ocakli, “Notable Networks,” 394.
30. Kumbaracıbaşı, Turkish Politics and the Rise of the AKP, 127.
31. For instance: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/07/erdogan-slams-chp-opposition-march-nears-istanbul-170701112203655.html.
32. Kirdiş and Drhimeur, “The Rise of Populism,” 599–617.
33. Kirdiş, “Immoderation,” 430.
34. Ibid., 430.
35. Çarkoǧlu, “Turkey’s 2011 General Elections,” 44.
36. Cook, Ruling But Not Governing, 93–132.
37. For instance: http://t24.com.tr/haber/hurriyet-yazari-basbakan-hayir-diyen-teroristtir-anlamindaki-sozunun-ulkeyi-boleceginin-farkinda-mi,387406.
38. For instance: http://www.bbc.com/turkce/haberler-turkiye-39718562.
39. Wickham, “The Path to Moderation,” 205–228; Ghobashy, “The Metamorphosis of the Egyptian Muslim Brothers,” 373–395.
40. Masoud, “The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt,” 4.
41. Kandil, Inside the Brotherhood, 48–80.
42. Ibid., 48–80.
43. Wickham, Mobilizing Islam, 93–118.
44. Aly and Elkady, “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly,” 4.
45. Masoud, “The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt,” 19.
46. Hanieh, “Shifting Priorities or Business as Usual,” 119–134.
47. “Founding Statement of the Freedom and Justice Party,” 2.
48. El-Sherif, “The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood’s Failures,” 8.
49. Ibid., 20.
50. al-Anani, “Upended Path,” 527–543.
51. Cole, The New Arabs, 1–27.
52. Aly and Elkady, “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly,” 4.
53. Masoud, “The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt,” 16.
54. Cook, Ruling But Not Governing, 14–31.
55. Brown, “Egypt’s Failed Transition,” 45–58.
56. Ibid., 45–58.
57. Pioppi, “Playing with Fire,” 51–68.
58. Wegner, Islamist Opposition in Authoritarian Regimes, 32–71; Cavatorta, “Divided They Stand,” 137–156; El Sherif, “Institutional and Ideological Re-Construction,” 660–682.
59. Kirdiş, “Between Movement and Party,” 65–86.
60. Wegner, Islamist Opposition in Authoritarian Regimes, 39.
61. Wegner, “The Contribution of Inclusivist Approaches,” 11.
62. Wegner, Islamist Opposition in Authoritarian Regimes, 32–71.
63. Kirdiş and Drhimeur, “The Rise of Populism,” 610.
64. Ibid., 610.
65. Ibid., 610.
66. Monjib, “Record Gains for Morocco’s Islamist Party,” 1.
67. Kirdiş, “Between Movement and Party,” 65–86.
68. El-Katiri, “The Institutionalisation of Religious Affairs,” 53–69.
69. Eibl, “The Party of Authenticity and Modernity (PAM),” 55.
70. Jalid, “The Rise of Populists in Moroccan Politics,” 1.
71. Waltz and Kéchichian, “Hizb Al-Nahdah,” 2.
72. Wolf, Political Islam in Tunisia, 79–106.
73. Ibid., 79–106.
74. Marks, “Tunisia’s Islamists and the Turkish Model,” 109.
75. Wolf, “An Islamist ‘Renaissance’,” 560–573.
76. Marks, “Tunisia’s Islamists and the Turkish Model,” 102–115.
77. Ghannouchi, “Participation in Non-Islamic Government,” 2.
78. Marks, “Tunisia’s Islamists and the Turkish Model,” 102–115.
79. Marks, “Did Egypt’s Coup Teach Ennahda to Cede Power?,” 4.
80. Wolf, Political Islam in Tunisia, 129–162.
81. Wolf, “An Islamist ‘Renaissance’,” 567.
82. “Rached Ghannouchi : ‘Il N’y a plus de Justification À L’islam Politique En Tunisie’.”
83. Netterstrøm, “The Islamists’ Compromise in Tunisia,” 119.
84. Cavatorta and Merone, “Post-Islamism,” 33.
85. Marks, “Did Egypt’s Coup Teach Ennahda to Cede Power?,” 15.
86. Hamid, Islamic Exceptionalism, 177–199.
87. Esposito, Sonn, and Voll, Islam and Democracy after the Arab Spring, 174–201.
88. Ibid., 174–201.
89. Boukhars, “In the Crossfire,” 7.
90. Hamid, Islamic Exceptionalism, 177–199.
91. Wolf, Political Islam in Tunisia, 129–162.
Additional information
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Esen Kirdiş
Esen Kirdiş is an Associate Professor of International Studies at Rhodes College, TN, USA. She has received her PhD from the University of Minnesota Political Science Department. Her research explores Islamic political parties, Islamic movements, and democratization in the Middle East and North Africa.