Abstract
The history of the Islamist opposition in Islamic countries dates back to the times when imperialist and colonial activities began to emerge. In the new order which is established as a result of the emergence of independent states, the secular character of the administrations that came to power under the control of the West and artificial borders which are drawn as a result of the imperialist and colonialist policies of the West towards the Islamic geography constitute the main objection point of Islamist opposition groups in many countries of the Islamic world. For this reason, many Islamist opposition groups believed that these Western-led secular governments should be overthrown and replaced by an administration based on sharia. The Iranian Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979 has been a separate source of motivation for the opposition to secular and laicistic governments in many Muslim countries, especially in Egypt, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. The successful conclusion of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, on the one hand, provided motivation for organizations operating with similar goals; on the other hand, it was influential in the emergence of new theo-political movements that would operate within the framework of the same goals. Undoubtedly, Turkey was one of the countries where the motivation created by the Iranian Islamic Revolution was effective. The dose of Islamist opposition has increased in Turkey and some theo-political movements have emerged. One of these groups was the Turkish Hezbollah. Hezbollah adopted the idea that the secular system in Turkey should be changed and replaced by an administration based on sharia. In this context, they stated that people must not contribute this system by voting because the administration order in Turkey does not comply with the sharia. However, there have been some changes in Hezbollah's method of action and discourse in the process. Between 1990 and 2000, Hezbollah became a group identified with violence in public opinion. After Turkey's Hezbollah announced that it stopped armed actions in 2002, it established an association, which later changed to the Mustazaflar Movement, as part of its demilitarization efforts. This association was shut down in 2010 because it was associated with Hezbollah. Hezbollah became involved in the political arena by founding a party called Hür Dava Partisi (Free Cause Party) in 2012. It is seen that Hezbollah, which rejected the current administrative system in Turkey in the early periods and advised people not to be in this system, changed its attitude in the process. It is seen that Hezbollah, which was against voting in its early days, experienced a transformation in the process by founding a party. Hezbollah, which previously stated that voting was haram, started to take place in the current system with the political structure called the Hür Dava Partisi. This study deals with the political transformation of Turkish Hezbollah in the process. In the study, in which the documentation method was used, the establishment process of Hezbollah and its understanding of politics is explained, and the legalization efforts that started in 2002 and the process leading to the establishment of a political party in 2012 are discussed. As a result of the study, it has been determined that Hezbollah's attitude towards the current political structure has changed in the process. It has been concluded that this transformation experienced by Hezbollah can be evaluated as a moderation.