Impact of revival theories of Islamic civilization on contemporary political thoughts of the Turkey

Abstract

The idea of revival of Islamic civilization is a fundamental concern of Muslim theology. Ideas of Muslim scholars, especially their critique on western civilization and secularism have been playing a pivotal role in deriving the psyche of Islamists’ Politics throughout the Muslim World. These ideas were very vital in the formation of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood and from there, they were exported and flourished in Turkey. Although at that time, Turkey was under the rule of secular dictators but politicians like Adnan Menderes, Turgat O?zal and Necmettin Erbakan were fighting against the secular regime of their country. They saw the Turkish political uprising through the lens of Islamic identity. The current President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan is famously known to be a prote?ge? of Erbakan and some may even at lengths to call the warrior of revivalist tribe. From the time he became the mayor of Istanbul to the point be abolished the parliamentary system to replace it with "presidential monarchy”, we can find the footprints of Islamism throughout his political journey and the rise of his party. Events such as his unwavering support of Egypt’s Muslims Brotherhood to his unapologetic stance on Palestine and removal from the ban on hijab to the resurrection of Hagia Sophia as a Mosque, show enough evidence of the Islamist ideology that he tends to follow. This article will be discussing how the ideas of Muslim revival have inspired his political journey and how they continue to impact his political and foreign policy decisions.