ABSTRACT
This chapter summarizes the response of Islamic groups in Turkey to the Iranian Revolution of 1979 as reflected in various Islamic publications. The secular movement in Turkey is over a century old. It started in the second half of the nineteenth century with the initiation of westernizing reforms by Ottoman statesmen and intellectuals. However, the radical break with Islam came only after the establishment of the Turkish republic in 1923. A parallel development in the late 1970s was the increasing importance of Turkey’s business connections with Middle Eastern countries. A number of major construction companies undertook large-scale projects in Libya and Saudi Arabia. In addition, Middle Eastern countries became important markets for Turkish industrial and agricultural exports. The new Islamic groups differ significantly from their predecessors in important respects. Islamic movements were confined to marginal groups: people who were at the periphery of dominant social, political and economic centers of power.
