The rise of political Islam in Turkey: is democracy under threat?

Abstract

During the last twenty years Turkey has experienced unprecedented cultural, socio-political and economic changes. The resurgence of political Islam in the 1990s marked a new era for Turkish politics, shaking the keystones of the Kemalist legacy, -the Alpha and the Omega of the Turkish republic-, since its establishment in 1923. Secularism became one of the most important elements of the new-born democracy and the military was nominated guarantor of the regime by the Turkish constitution. Right before the dusk of the 20th century a wind of change started blowing in Turkey's politics. Islamist parties managed to survive and dominate political life. Especially at the dawn of the 21st century this dominance became absolute and consolidated, alarming the military. Moreover, many questions arose such as whether Islam and politics are compatible and whether Islam is a threat to democracy. In this paper we are going to try to answer these crucial questions. We are going to present Kemalism's main principles in order to realize religion's role in the secular regime, analyze the resurgence of political Islam and the contribution of religious movements, especially the Gülen movement, to this renaissance. We are going to stress the role of the main protagonist: the AKP. Erdogan's pro-Islamist 'Justice and Development Party' is the ultimate guide in political Islam's path to power. Finally we are going to examine AKP’s stance towards the secular regime’s guardian: the military.