“Is Hizmet Liberal?” Mediations and Disciplines of Islam and Liberalism among Gülen Organizations in Istanbul

Abstract

Is Hizmet liberal? The question is intractable both for Hizmet actors and for the Turkish public sphere more broadly. In this essay, I marshal ethnographic research carried out over several years among Hizmet institutions in Istanbul to shed light on the politics of this question. I examine several characteristic Hizmet institutions in order to argue that Hizmet forges a synthesis between Islamic and liberal discourses and practices. This synthesis unravels dichotomous images of Islam and liberalism as necessarily opposed. In particular, I analyze ethical values such as “positive action” (müspet hareket), “service” (hizmet), and piety (taqwa), as well as initiatives, such as interreligious dialogue (dinler arası diyalog), carried out by Hizmet-affiliated charitable foundations/pious endowments (vakıflar). By way of conclusion, I reevaluate the title question of the article to unpack the dialectical tension embedded between liberal political projects and liberalism as a disciplining power.