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Maria Concetta Tedesco Faith and Citizenship Among the Nur Community in Turkey A Study in Islamic Socio-Political Imagination Maria Concetta Tedesco Thesis submitted for assessment with a view to obtaining the degree of Doctor of Political and Social Sciences of the European University Institute Florence, June, 2015 European University Institute Department of Political and Social Sciences Faith and Citizenship Among the Nur Community in Turkey A Study in Islamic Socio-Political Imagination Maria Concetta Tedesco Thesis submitted for assessment with a view to obtaining the degree of Doctor of Political and Social Sciences of the European University Institute Examining Board Prof. Olivier Roy, EUI/RSCAS (Supervisor) Prof. Armando Salvatore, McGill University (Co-Supervisor) Prof. Donatella Della Porta, European University Institute Prof. Levent Yılmaz, Bilgi University © Tedesco Maria Concetta, 2015 No part of this thesis may be copied, reproduced or transmitted without prior permission of the author To James TABLE OF CONTENTS AKNOWLEDGMENTS ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1: TOWARDS AN UNDERSTANDING OF SOCIO-POLITICAL IMAGINARIES 1.1 Modernization theories and Post-Enlightenment rationalism….………….. 9 1.2 Political economy…………………………………………………………...12 1.3 Social movement theories…………………………………………………. 14 1.4 The debate on Islamic democracy and Islamic moderation……………….. 17 1.5 Sohbet as a cognitive practice…………………………………………….... 21 1.6 Islamic socio-political imagination and its ties to political theology…….. 25 1.7 A note on methodology……………………………………………………. 28 CHAPTER 2: A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE NUR COMMUNITY’S HISTORY: FROM PERSECUTION TO POLITICAL INFLUENCE 2.1 Introduction………………………………………………………………... 35 2.2 The First Said……………………………………………………………… 37 2.3 The New Said (1926-1948)………………………………………………... 43 2.4 The Third Said (1948-1960)……………………………………………….. 45 2.5 The Nur community after Said Nursi: 1960-19 71……………………....... 48 2.6 The Nur community after Said Nursi: 1971-1980………………………… 60 2.7 The Nur community after Said Nursi: 1980 to present……………..…….. 65 2.8 Conclusions……………………………………………………………….. 69 CHAPTER 3: A MAP OF THE NUR COMMUNITY: TEXT AND STRUCTURE 3.1 Mobilisation among the Nur community between salvation and recognition…………………………………………………………….. 71 3.2 The legacy of Said Nursi: the Risale-i Nur………………………………... 73 3.3 The Nur movement’s relationship with Sufism: substitution or evolution?...................................................................................... 76 3.4 The book of the universe and the new spirituality……..………………… 79 3.5 From tariqa to cemaat......................................................................... 83 3.6 The cemaat as a collective personality…………………………………..... 88 3.7 Nursi’s collective personality and Durkheim’s moral individualism…...... 93 3.8 The organisation of sohbet………………………….……………………... 96 3.9 The organisation of hizmet………………………………………………… 99 3.10 Consultation among Nur students………………………………………... 103 3.11 Conclusions…………………………………………………………..…... 106 I CHAPTER 4: LEARNING ABOUT GOD AND BECOMING GOOD CITIZENS: NUR STUDENTS’ SOCIO-POLITICAL IMAGINARY 4.1 Introduction……………………………………………………………….... 107 4.2 Being human: the Islamic anthropology of the Risale………………..……. 109 4.3 A critique to materialist philosophy…………..……………………………. 114 4.4 Reason and rationality…………………………………………………….... 118 4.5 Free will and Divine destiny………………………………………………... 124 4.6 Individuality, the cult of the self and the ethical training of the soul.…….... 127 4.7 The meaning of shari’a……………………………………………………... 129 4.8 Freedom……………………………………………………………………... 131 4.9 Justice………………………………….…………………………………..... 134 4.10 The balance between the individual and society and the functioning of the social classes………………………….……………………………. 139 4.11 The state………………………………………..………………………… 142 4.12 Democracy: a theological need…………………………………………... 145 4.13 Collective responsibility on the way to democracy………….…………... 150 4.14 Legitimation of and resistance to republican institutions……………....... 153 4.15 The path toward implementation of shari’a……………………………... 156 4.16 Jihad in the modern world…………………………………….…………. 157 4.17 Positive action…………………………………………………….……… 160 4.18 Conclusions………………………………………………………………. 162 CHAPTER 5: PLAYING POLITICS WITHOUT DOING POLITICS: COOPERATION WITH STATE INSTITUTIONS AND CONSULTATION WITH GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES 5.1 Introduction………………………………………………………………... 165 5.2 Arguing against political involvement…………………………………….. 167 5.3 Justifying de facto political involvement………………………………...... 174 5.4 Cooperation between community institutions and state institutions………. 178 5.5Consultation and mutual support between Nur students and government representatives……………………………………………. 188 5.6 Different voices within the community……………………………………. 192 5.7 Conclusions……………………………………………………………....... 194 CHAPTER 6: NEW RESEARCH PERSPECTIVES: A COMPARISON WITH THE ITALIAN CATHOLIC ‘MOVIMENTO DEI FOCOLARINI’ 6.1 Introduction………………………………………………………………... 199 6.2 The birth of a new community………………………………………..…… 201 6.3 Organisation of the movement…………………………………………...... 205 6.4 The spirituality of the unity………………………………………….…….. 208 6.5 The twelve points of collective spirituality……………………….……….. 213 6.6 The Movement for Unity in Politics………………………………………. 216 II 6.7 Divine diplomacy…………………………………………………….......... 221 6.8 Conclusions…………………………………….………………………….. 222 CONCLUSIONS…………………………………………………………………........ 225 BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………..……. 231 APPENDIXES………………………………………………………………………… 244 III Abstract Through an ethnographic study of sohbet meetings and patterns of civic and political engagement of the Nur community in Turkey, this thesis examines the processes through which Islamic socio-political imaginaries are constructed and subsequently turned into practice. The phrase ‘socio-political imaginary’ is used in the meaning given to it by Charles Taylor. According to the author, a social imaginary is the transformation of social theory into the profound normative notions and imagines that enable common people’s practice of society. Applying this analytical tool to the study of an Islamic community allows the researcher to fill in a gap of time and space existing in the literature about Islamic movements. In terms of time, it allows the researcher to focus the investigation on a little theorized step in the process of mobilization by religious actors that is, the cognitive elaboration of a socio-political project before mobilization around that project is organized. In terms of space, it grasps the intermediate level of cognition existing between the theological elaboration on politics and society promoted by religious scholars and the masses’ practical knowledge of the social realm constituted by a set of instinctive beliefs and judgments. Finally, the concept of social imaginary allows the researcher to analyse discourse and practice as mutually sustaining elements that together define a social actor’s function and position in society. Unravelling this dynamic interaction means going back and forth, both temporally and cognitively, between imagination and acts and recognizing that the discourse in itself can be influenced by the social space for which it provides a map. IV Acknowledgments I would like to sincerely thank all the Nur students that granted me interviews and graciously accepted me as an observer, allowing me access to their sohbet meetings as well as their informal gatherings and moments of socialization. Many of them told me their personal histories and shared with me their visions, ideas, hopes and concerns for their country. Some of them also hosted me with utmost courtesy and generosity in their homes when I travelled across Turkey in order to get a better understanding of the Nur movement at the national level. The conclusions presented in this work might not be what they were expecting or hoping for, but I gave my best to stay faithful to their statements and stories and to let their views emerge without distortions. I am truly grateful to my supervisor, Prof. Olivier Roy, for the support and guidance he gave me throughout the research and writing processes. He allowed me freedom to explore all that fieldwork had to offer and ultimately discover my own voice through trial and error. Despite his busy schedule, he always found time to address my questions and worries concerning both the practical problems of fieldwork and the theoretical issues of academic writing. He always put me on the right track whenever I got lost and helped me to find solutions to academic problems when I alone was not able. I am also deeply indebted to my co-supervisor, Prof. Armando Salvatore. He introduced me into the field of Sociology of Islam when I was a student at the University of Naples and guided my first steps in research when I wrote my Master’s thesis. He also encouraged me to pursue an academic career and continued to give me guidance and support throughout the Ph.D. program. Without his help and advice I would not have accomplished the task of completing a Ph.D. I would also like to acknowledge the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK), for granting me a research scholarship thanks to which I could undertake part of my fieldwork. I am grateful to Prof. Murat Akan for agreeing to be my supervisor when, thanks to the funds provided by TÜBİTAK, I was a visiting scholar at Boğaziçi University. I had with him lots of stimulating conversations about religion and politics in Turkey, during which he constantly warned me against
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