ISLAM AND TURKISH NATIONAL IDENTITY : A REAPPRAISAL

Abstract

The rise of Islamism in Turkey has been widely viewed as the primary threat to the prevailing official conception of Turkish national identity. According to many observers it lies at the heart of Turkey's identity crisis. This view, however, greatly oversimplifies the relationship between Kemalist nationalism and Islam. We need to radically revise the prevalent understanding of Turkish nationalism as a form of secular nationalism, and the relationship between Turkish national identity and Islam. This article argues that Islam plays a pivotal role in constituting Turkish national identity and that it has gradually been accommodated within the official boundaries of Turkish nationalism. By analyzing the relationship between Islam and Turkish national identity and nationalism, we are able to better assess the so-called Islamist challenge in Turkey. The debate between Islamists and secularists in Turkey is about the importance, not the existence, of Islam in shaping Turkish national identity, and the policy implications of this. The rise of political Islam in Turkey, therefore, does not necessarily signal the demise of Turkish nationalism or the crisis of Turkish national identity.