Turkish Political Thought with regard to State Authority and Community Culture: Why can a Community not Seize the State?

Year 2016, Volume: 7 Issue: 1, 7 - 26, 01.10.2016

Fatih Mehmet Şeker

https://doi.org/10.12730/13091719.2016.71.138

Abstract

Actual issues that can be treated in relation to orders (ṭarīqahs) and communities (jamāʿahs) resemble a labyrinth in which one can easily become lost. This process is similar to running on a minefield to grasp the true essence and objectively notate the principles of such issues that add some metaphysical spice to life. Indeed, true words are not always sweet and are sometimes bitter. Such difficulty becomes even more apparent when one treats an issue such as the Gülen Community, which significantly falls within the scope of intelligence. The manifestation of everything can equally be interpreted as total concealing. It is easier said than done to disclose why political power and the Gülen Community became foes. Therefore, direct words may not accurately represent the implications between the lines.

Keywords

State authority, community, religious order, politics, Gülen movement, AK Parti (Justice and Development Party), Fethullah Gülen, Saʿīd Nūrsī.

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