THE STATE OF POLITICAL ISLAM IN TURKEY COMPARISONS AND CONTRASTS WITH

Year 1999, Issue: 29, 83 - 97, 01.05.1999

Maye Kassem

https://doi.org/10.1501/Intrel_0000000260

Abstract

THE STATE OF POLITICAL ISLAM IN TURKEY COMPARISONS AND CONTRASTS WITH

Abstract

Turkey has its own unique complexities, and any attempt to
com e up with an overarching general explanation will inevitably
lead to oversimplification. Describing Turkish politics as a
battleground between secularism and fundamentalism and
focusing on the looming threat of political Islam make good
headlines, but a poor baç;is for analysis. Prior to the 1995 general
elections for example, Tansu Çiller, the the n Prime Minister and
leader of the True Path Party, daimed that should the Refah Party
win the forthcoming elections, Turkey was destined to became
another Iran. This prospect, as the Prime Minister put it, would
result in the fall of Turkeyand 'if Turkey falls', she wamed, Islamic
'fundamentalism will reach Europe'.4 

Keywords

THE STATE, POLITICAL ISLAM, TURKEY COMPARISONS