Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book analyzes the relationship between Islam and the built environment as an attempt to shed light on a particular facet of the link between politics and Islam. It examines the topic of housing to scrutinize the Islamization of everyday life in Turkish cities and the key role of urban renewal in the production of urban space. The book also analyzes the urban character of new Islamist nation-building and investigates its political limits through the conflict over public space. It focuses on public architecture under the Justice and Development Party, which culminated in the controversial Presidential Compound, built in the capital city of Ankara. The book investigates the sources of inspiration for this evolving style ranging from Ottoman Revivalism of the early twentieth century to the contemporary experiments in nation-building in the Turkic republics of post-Soviet Central Asia.