Is Islam the Solution? Comparing Turkish Islamic and Secular Thinking toward Ethnic and Religious Minorities

Abstract

Can Islamic political actors manage ethnic diversity better than secular political actors? From Muslim Brothers to ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria), Islamists with very different orientations have long claimed that they can “absorb and resolve ethnic conflicts on the basis of Muslim unity and brotherhood.”1 In short, they assert that “Islam is the solution.” At first sight validating these claims, Turkey's ruling pro-Islamic Justice and Development Party (AKP) has presided over major initiatives to resolve the country's long-festering Kurdish conflict. It launched major legal-political reforms and an ongoing peace process with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). These initiatives have been undermined by developments in neighboring Iraq and Syria; ambiguities of vision, trust and commitment on both sides; and cycles of government oppression and PKK militancy. Nevertheless, the government's bold steps and the limited yet unprecedented cultural and educational rights it has secured have led many observers to conclude that Turkish Islamists have more ideological potential to successfully manage ethnic diversity than their secular counterparts.2