Political Islam

In Turkey, the terms İslâmcılık or siyasal İslâmcılık are used to describe the agenda and activities of political Islamists, whose primary objective has been to defend the religious sphere from various forms of encroachment. In this chapter, we trace the evolution of political Islamist currents in Turkish politics from the late Ottoman and early Republican period up until the present. We also link the broader historical narrative to recent social science debates and approaches to the study of political Islam in Turkey, especially as they relate to issues of mobilisation, moderation, inclusion, development, and democracy.