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David Abesadze 

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on the transformation of Islam. A new generation of Islamists who did not 

obtain a competent Islamic education was more vulnerable to structural changes 

imposed by the secular Turkish state. The post-1980, neo-liberal era created 

favourable conditions for the significant rise in Islamic capital or Islamic 

bourgeoisie in Turkey.

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 Considering the fact that the secular state still retained 

powerful means in economic relationships, confrontation with the state was 

disastrous for Islamic business. Thus, rationally, it made more sense for 

Islamists to choose a conciliatory relationship with the secular state, that was 

more focused on their economic activities and gaining profit, than taking care of 

the Islamic resurgence. These factors played a crucial role in the gradual 

transformation of Islam’s identity to market Islam, and required moderate 

fundamentalists to take up a more moderate, strategic modernism posture.

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Thirdly, another factor that played a decisive role in the moderation process 

of the Islamic orders, was the pressure imposed on Islamists by means of 

institutional constaints. They included the possibility of military intervention 

and triggered a fear of legal closure by order of the courts.

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As to the fourth factor, external context played an instrumental role. Today, 

as Öni  argues, domestic politics of the nation states are more dependent on 

external global norms than they were before. In this respect, norms of the 

European Union played an important role in the moderation of anti-state, anti-

democratic religious orders that look at the EU as a natural source of protection 

from the secular state establishment. Looking at the EU as an actor who has 

power to defend the rights of Islamic groups, forced the latter to quit the 

fundamentalist stance and instead act according to the rules of the EU, that is 

democracy.

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Considering the transformation of religious-political movement of Turkey 

the following conclusions can be drawn. As we saw in the Turkish case, the 

sponsor organisations (religious orders) played an instrumental role in the 

moderation process. It is worth mentioning that in Turkey moderation of religious-

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 Ziya Öni , “The political economy of Islamic resurgence in Turkey: the rise of the 

Welfare Party in perspective,” Third World Quarterly, Volume 18, Number 4, 1997.  

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 Ibid., See See Hakan Yavuz, “Search for a New Social Contract in Turkey: Fethullah 

Gulen, the Virtue Party and the Kurds,” SAIS Review, A Journal of International 

Affairs, Volume 19, Number 1, Winter-Spring 1999; B. Aras, “Turkish Islam’s 

Moderate Face,” Middle East Quarterly, Volume 5, Number 3, September 1998. 

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 Ziya Öni , “Political Islam at the Crossroads: From Hegemony to co-existence” (Sep-

tember 2001).  Website: http://home.ku.edu.tr/~zonis/polislam.PDF. p. 21. 

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 Ibid.

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The Transformation of Islamic Movement in Turkey: Case of Nak ibendî and Nurculuk 

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political movements was the result of a long, two-step learning process, that 

involved several external constraints from the secular state establishment, and 

systemic changes in the Turkish economic and social systems (here I mean 

liberalisation of the Turkish economy, and abolishment of the religious 

educational system). In turkey the main actors more or less were informed about 

the outcome and the democratic legitimacy was generated exogenously. 

Bibliography 

I am particularly grateful to Dr Zsolt Eneydi, my research supervisor, for 

his extremely valuable and constructive suggestions during the planning and 

development of this research work. I would like to offer my special thanks to Dr 

Revaz Gachechiladze, my teacher and supervisor, for his professional guidance 

and valuable advices and support. His willingness to give his time so generously 

has been very much appreciated. I would also like to extend my special thanks 

to Dr Marine Shonia, my long time teacher for her enthusiastic encouragement 

and useful contribution and critique of this research work. My grateful thanks 

are also extended to Dr Miklos Sukosd, Dr Ziya Oni , Dr Huricihan Islamo lu,

Dr Ersin Kalaycio lu, and Dr Ali Çarko lu for their useful recommendations 

and time sincerely devoted to my research.  

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