THE RISE OF POLITICAL ISLAM IN TURKEY

Angel Rabasa  F. Stephen Larrabe National Defence Research Institute, Santa Monica, 2008

It is important to note that the Diyanet manages only the Sunni branch of Islam. It does not serve or organize other branches or other religions- which shows that the Turkish state, although secular, is not equidistant from all religions.  12

Since the 1950s, the tarikatlar have enjoyed a resurgence, including the formation of new orders, some of which have taken an active, if indirect, role in politics.13

The Imam Hatip Schools were established in the 1950s as vocational schools to produce qualified religious personnel. The schools generated a great deal of controversy. 19

The establishment of a multiparty system in 1946 was an important turning point  in the rise of political Islam in Turkey.With the establishment of this system the CHP, the party representing Kemalism, lost its monopoly on power.Thereafter parties were forced to compete for power, and Islam became an important factor in attracting votes. 35

 Religious organizations that had resurfaced in the 1960s mushroomed in the 1970s. The Menderes era had several important results. First, it expanded the process of democratization and opened up the political arena to religious and ethnic groups that had previously been marginalized or excluded from politics. Second, it provided space for religious groups to resurface and begin to organize politically. 37