The Case of the MÜSİAD (The Independent Industrialists and Businessmen's Association)

RELIGIOUS AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION OF TURKEY: THE CASE OF THE MÜSİAD

(The Independent Industrialists and Businessmen's Association)

A THESIS SUBMITTED TO

THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

ŞENNUR ÖZDEMİR

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE

DEGREE OF

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY

DECEMBER; 2001

Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences

------Prof. Dr. Bahattin Akşit Director

I certify that this thesisi satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

------Prof. Dr. Sencer Ayata Chairman of the Department

We certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

------Prof. Dr. Sencer Ayata Supervisor

Examining Committee in Charge

Prof. Dr. Murat Şeker ------

Prof. Dr. Bahattin Akşit ------

Prof. Dr. Kayhan Mutlu ------

Prof. Dr. Sencer Ayata ------

Dr. Recep Boztemur ------

ABSTRACT

Religious and Socio-Economic Transformation of Turkey: the Case of the MÜSİAD (The Independent Industrialists and Businessmen's Association)

Şennur Özdemir

Ph.D., Department of Sociology

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Sencer Ayata

December 2001, 311 pages

This study examines socio-economic and religious transformation of Turkey in the context of the MÜSİAD. These two realms - economic and cultural-religious- have been analysed as compatible in this context on the contrary to the conventional –or rather generally accepted idea that has taken this relationship as contradictory if not irrelevant. MÜSİAD has been placed in the modern Turkish socio- economic and political life, as a newly founded businessmen association and as a different –religious activities are not their only aims- civil organisation with an Islamic identity. These peculiarities made this study as one of the few studies on religion in Turkey with not a politically studied one.

The main technique of this study is in-depth interviews that are used to base interpretative methodology – hermeneutic. These were 55 in-depth interviews made by MÜSİAD members in Ankara, Konya and Istanbul, and other notes that have been taken during the three-mouth lasted fieldwork.

This study has two main chapters analysing the total modernization process of religious and socio- economic processes on the base of contemporary developments. The first one is basically included the religious transformation as cultural and mental processes, while the other is socio-economic transformation as a form of modern class formation, and in the form of expansion of the modern/new entrepreneural activities. Since MÜSİAD is an economic foundation both chapters focus on the economic dimensions of the (religious) transformation. This is also why, first chapter mainly organized as a form of a ‘transformation of the Muslim work ethic’ by taking MÜSİAD as a moral avanguard. Therefore, this study argues that MÜSİAD as a middle class entrepreneurial group has directed Muslim community from ‘Islamic’ to an ‘Economic Jihad’. This chapter also includes a discussion around the new position for the Islamic religion in terms of the political concepts such as state, democracy, and people including a rich alternative literature proposing a ‘historically constructed’ alternative view on these concepts against the generally accepted literature with a negative view towards Islamic religion in general and Islamic countries in particular. A third discussion has been made in the context of Muslim women by taking this group as a dynamic group both in terms of in the general transformation of Turkish society and within the Islamic movement itself.

The second chapter analysing the role of MÜSİAD in the total transformation of the Turkish society underlines the two subjects: 1) the concept of globalisation: a dynamic creating markets and cultural pluralities together with an expansion of modern processes; helping Islam to have more ties in the international realm 2) Concepts of entrepreneurship and middle class formation: According to the main argument of this study Islamic groups in the process of the religious transformation these two categories can be understood wit these two categories; these groups are especially analysed in this respect since MÜSİAD as a businessmen organisation has a small and middle scale businessmen profile. Lastly, relationship between the phenomena of middle class and modern work ethic in the western context made this connection much more relevant to our analysis.

Keywords: Islam, Islamic Economy, Protestant Ethic, Muslim Businessmen, Work Ethic, Transformation of Muslim Work Ethic, MÜSİAD as a Middle Strata, MÜSİAD as a Moral Avanguard, Islam and Class, Entrepreneurship and Islamic Economy.

ÖZ

Türkiye’de Ekonomik ve Dinsel Dönüşüm: MÜSİAD (Müstakil Sanayici ve İşadamları Derneği) Örneği.

Şennur Özdemir Doktora, Sosyoloji Bölümü Tez Yöneticisi: Prof. Dr. Sencer Ayata Ekim 2001, 311 pages

Bu çalışmada, Türkiye’nin sosyo-ekonomik ve dinsel dönüşümü MÜSİAD örneği bağlamında irdelenmiştir. Ekonomik ve dinsel-kültürel alanlar, bu örnek bağlamında genellikle düşünüldüğünün aksine birbiriyle alakasız veya birbirine zıt değil, birbirini tamamlayan alanlar olarak ele alınmıştır. MÜSİAD yeni bir işadamı örgütlenmesi ve İslami kimliğe sahip bir sivil oluşum olarak, diğer dinsel oluşumlardan farklı özellikleriyle –salt dinsel amaçlı olmayışıyla- Türk iktisadi ve siyasi yaşamındaki yerini almış durumdadır. MÜSİAD’ın yukarıda belirtilen özellikleri, bu çalışmayı, dini bir oluşumu politik olmayan bir perspektiften çalışıldığı Türkiye’de yapılan az sayıda,çalışma arasına sokmuştur.

Çalışmada kulllanılan ana teknik, anlamacı metodolojiye –hermenetic- temel sağlayan derinlemesine görüşme tekniğidir. Bunlar, Ankara, Konya ve İstanbul’daki toplam 55 MÜSİAD’lı işadamlarıyla yapılan derinlemesine görüşme kayıtları ve diğer alan çalışması notlarından ibarettir. Bunlara ilave olarak, MÜSİAD yayınlarından da olabildiğince geniş biçimde yararlanılmaya çalışılmıştır.

Bu çalışma, Türkiye’deki mevcut gelişmeler temelindeki dinsel ve sosyo-ekonomik süreçlerin analiz edildiği iki ana bölümden oluşmaktadır; ilkinde asıl olarak kültürel-mental süreçler olarak dinsel dönüşüm, ikinci bölümde ise modern sınıf formasyonu biçiminde ve modern/yeni iktisadi etkinlik biçimlerinin yaygınlaşması olarak deneyimlenenen bir sosyo ekonomik dönüşüm sözkonusudur.

Bir oluşum olarak MÜSİAD’ın sahip olduğu ‘iktisadi’lik özelliği nedeniyle her iki bölümde yapılan analizler (dinsel) dönüşümün ekonomik boyutlarıyla sınırlandırılmıştır. Bu aynı zamanda MÜSİAD’ın bir moral öncü olarak alınmak suretiyle, ilk bölümün ‘Müslüman Çalışma Etiğinin Dönüşümü’ olarak örgütlenmesinin de nedenidir. Böylece, bu çalışmada bir orta sınıf girişimci grup temsilcisi olarak MÜSİAD’ın geniş Müslüman grupları, ‘İslami Cihat’ın’ biçimlendirdiği sosyo-ekonomik yapılanmadan ‘İktisadi Cihat’ zihniyetine bağlı bir yeni sosyo-ekonomik sisteme yönlendirdiği savunulmaktadır.

Bu bölümde analiz edilen temel tartışma konularından bir diğeri de devlet, demokrasi ve halk gibi temel politik kavramlar etrafında oluşturulmuştur. Bu tartışma için, MÜSİAD gibi İslami gruplar bağlamında sadece MÜSİAD’dan sağlanan bilgiler değil ama bu konuda oluşturulmuş yeni literatür de kullanılmıştır. Genelde İslam dinini özelde de İslam ülkelerini modern devlet ve demokrasi gibi kavramların dışında düşünen yaygın literatüre karşı bu çalışmada tarihsel ve sosyo-ekonomik süreçlerin vurgulandığı alternatif bakış açısı benimsenmektedir. Bu bölümde yapılan üçüncü bir tartışma da, varsayıldığının aksine gerek İslamcı hareket içindeki konumları gerekse de Türkiye’nin modernleşme süreci içindeki yerleri bakımından dinamik bir grup olarak karşımıza çıkan Müslüman kadınlar bağlamındadır.

Türk toplumunun genel dönüşümü içinde MÜSİAD’ın ve dinsel modernizasyonun rolünü analiz etmeyi amaçlayan ikinci bölüm belli başlı iki tema etrafında örülmüştür: 1) globalizasyon kavramı: Kısa ve uzun vadeler açısından MÜSİAD’ın iktisat ve toplum sahnesine çıkmasında artan iç ve dış pazarların önemi ve globalizasyon sürecinin kışkırttığı modernizasyona koşut çok kültürlülük. Böylece İslam dini ulusal ve uluslararası ortamlarda engelleyici değil olanak sağlayıcı ve daraltıcı değil genişletici bir özellik olarak karşımıza çıkmaktadır. 2) girişimcilik ve orta sınıflaşma: Bu çalışmanın temel tezine göre modernleşme sürecinde İslami grupların bu kategoriler çerçevesinde anlamlı bir analizi mümkündür. Bu gruplar MÜSİAD’ın küçük ve orta ölçekli işletmelere dayalı grupları içeren bir örgütlenme olması nedeniyle özellikle bu açılardan analiz edilmiştir. Son olarak, orta sınıf olgusuyla modern work etik arasındaki batı bağlamındaki ilişki bu çalışma açısından bu bağlantıyı daha da önemli kılmaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler: İslam, İslami Ekonomi, Protestan Etik, Müslüman İşadamları, İş Ahlakı, İslami İş Ahlakının Dönüşümü, Orta Sınıflaşan Müslüman İşadamlarına Örnek olarak MÜSİAD, Moral Bir Öncü Grup Olarak MÜSİAD, İslam ve Sınıf, Girişimcilik ve İslami Ekonomi.

Dedicated to my parents, Nuriye Özdemir and Ali Özdemir, whose limitless devotion and love (to life) shaped my ambitious attitude towards everything I have done so far.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

A one-year grant by the Turkish Academia of Sciences (Türkiye Bilimler Akademisi) made this study possible. I thank to the following people who awarded this study a grant as the committee of Turkish Academia of Sciences: Prof. Dr. Bahattin Akşit, Prof. Dr. Süleyman Çetin Özoğlu, Prof. Dr. Ergun Türkcan and Prof. Dr. Fikret Şenses. This grant made a long period of study at the library of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor possible, which was, I believe, a process enriching a lot especially the theoretical framework of the study. Following this one-year award, Prof. Fatma Müge Göçek provided me with an opportunity to stay for a second year at the University of Michigan. For this second year of my stay at the University of Michigan, there are no words to express how grateful I am for Prof. Fatma Müge Göçek’s financial, intellectual and even emotional support. Last but not least my special thanks go to Lama Jamjoum and Kerimcan Özcan for their continuous resuscitative support especially at times when I felt weak and homesick during the years I spent abroad.

I thank the following people for their guiding conversations with me in choosing this topic, which I think even at present was very prosperous one to understand Turkey’s overall socio-economic development and to deepen a social scientist’s theoretical knowledge in general: They are Prof. Dr. Sencer Ayata, Doç. Dr. Yıldız Ecevit and Prof. Dr. Can Hamamcı, Prof. Dr. Sencer Ayata, as the advisor of this study, has provided an invaluable guidance in general. More specifically, his criticism and suggestions on the written material were very helpful to further develop the main thesis of the study and to deepen empirical parts. I also thank to my dissertation committee, Doç. Dr. Ayşe Saktanber, Prof. Dr. Murat Şeker, Doç. Dr. Recep Boztemur and for their invaluable contributions to this study. I owe a special thank to Recep Boztemur and Ayşe Saktanber for their invaluable suggestions on the written material as well as his effort to correct some chapters of the thesis.

I thank Ertuğrul Günay and Teyfur Erdoğdu for their help in reaching some of MÜSİAD’s members at the very beginning of the fieldwork. This study also owes a great debt to MÜSİAD’s members who made generously possible my entry to the stories of their working and even personal lives. It could hardly be possible to get such deep and rich information if these people had not given their support to this research. I am especially thankful to some members who were especially helpful during the fieldwork and some executive members of MÜSİAD and some professional officials in Ankara and Istanbul branches, but the support I have received from the branch of the Association in Konya was terrific.

I think that a good doctoral study could hardly be possible without the support of relatives and friends. The process of conducting the research and writing and re-writing of this study was, I feel, the most productive and difficult years of my life. I learned a lot not only about the topic I was working on, but also about life in general; most importantly, I learned how to take from others with love, and without feeling humiliated. My family members, close friends, and even some friends’ friends are so many that I feel they made this study possible in the first place. I thank my sister Öznur Özdemir, my brother and his wife Nebahat- Coşkun Özdemir for always being ready to help me, especially while I was abroad.

I am also grateful to my friends to Füsun and İhsan Demirci, Arif Geniş, Burçak Özoğlu, Fatih Güngör, Fethi Açıkel, Belkız ve Nüvit Tarhan, Nursel ve Cenk Tabel, Onur Kovancı, Çağrı Erhan, Mehmet Beşeli, Metin Özuğurlu and Şükrü Adıgüzel for the support they gave either directly to this study, or indirectly by supporting me in difficulties I was having in my private life. My dear friend Yasemin Erdemci made the proofreading of the parts that I personally translated into English in a very limited period of time, which is beyond words to thank, but could only be explained with her limitless love. I also thank to my friend Belkız Tarhan for her proofreading of the methodology part. I was supported by Zeynep Güleç during the translation of the original study that was in Turkish. I also thank to Sündüs Aydın-Doğan and İlhan Doğan for their generoisity helping me in the last stages of the study.

I have faced with a terrible accident in the process of writing. My database including 510 sources was deleted accidentally, and because I worked on the computer after this operation I was told it was almost impossible to find my database. This problem has been solved for free by the help of someone who was just a friend’s friend. My last thank goes to this person, Saygı Gürkan, who turned this “impossible” into the possible.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………….. iii ÖZ………………………………………………………………………. v DEDICATION PAGE………………………………………………….. viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………………………………………….. ix TABLE OF CONTETS.…………………………………………………. xii INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………. 1 CHAPTER I THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: WEBER’S PROTESTANT ETHIC THESIS AS AN EXPLANATORY KEY AND THE IDEA OF ISLAMIC ECONOMY………………………………………. 9

I. Cultural Factor and the Economic Realm…………………………….. 9

1. An Alternative Perspective on Economy……………………………. 9 2. A General Discussion around Modern Rational Work Ethic in the Western Context…………………………………………………………………. 15 3. Protestant Ethic and Rational Capitalism…………………………… 32

3.1. Rationalization as Meaningfulness and Formalization : Substantial/Dynamic and Habitual/Institutionalized Thinking...... 32

3.2. Weber’s Protestant Ethic Thesis…………………………………… 35

3.3. Protestantism as Transformatory Force……………………………. 37 3.3.1. A Contribution to Weber’s Protestant Ethic Thesis…………….. 40 3.3.2.Islamic Context: The Difference as “Shared Religious-Cultural ‘Ideal’s”………………………………………………………… 47 II. The Idea of Islamic Economy and Rational Capitalism.……………………. 50

1. How to Articulate Islam with the Modern Rational Capitalism?……………. 51 1.1. Intellectual and Socio-economic Background for the “Incompatibility Thesis” 53 1.2. How to Replace Islamic Religion in the Real Economic World: The Classical Literature on Islam and Economy and the Importance of The Historical Dimension……………………………………………… 56 1.2.1. A Discussion on the Idea of Islamic Economy: Islam as simply a “Tool” or an Important Constitutive Factor?………………………… 60 1.2.2. Islamic Thought on the Idea of Islamic Economy………………………. 62 1.2.3. Between Compatibility and Incompatibility Thesis: Civil Society, Democracy and Islam..………………………………………………… 65

CHAPTER II METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK

I. Theoretical Explanations……………………………………………………. 71

1. Studying a Cultural Matter in Sociology…………………………….……… 71 2.About Hermeneutics…………………………………………………………. 72

II. Fieldwork in Cultural Studies: In-depth Interviews and Observations……… 74 1.Why hermeneutic and In-depth interviews?………………………………….. 74 2. Why MÜSİAD?……………………………………………………………… 78

III. Narrating the Process of the Fieldwork……………………………………. 80

1.Contacting the Businessmen………………………………………………….. 80 2.Sampling……………………………………………………………………… 85 3.Research Process……………………………………………………………… 88 4.Semi-structured Questionnaire Directing the Interviews…………………….. 90 5.The MÜSİAD’s Publications………………………………………………… 92 6. About Data Analysis: the Interpretation and Writing Processes……………. 96

III. Ethical Dimension…………………………………………………………. 96

CHAPTER III CULTURAL ANALYSIS: TRANSFORMATION OF MUSLIM WORK ETHIC …… 99

I. The MÜSİAD between Internal and External Tension……………….……….. 99 1. The MÜSİAD as a Businessmen Organisation and Muslim Work Ethic in Transition……………………………………………………………………. 99 2. Linking Transitional Periods with Moral Renewal…………………………… 101 2.1. Ideology: Turning back to the Original Meaning…………………... 103 2.2. Ideology: The MÜSİAD between Practices and Idea(l)s……………. 107 2.3.The MÜSİAD in the Triangle of State, the Muslim People, and the Civil Society……………………………………………………………… 112

II. Islam, Work Ethic and MÜSİAD...... 117 1. Islam and Work Ethic in Historical Perspective...... 117 2. The MÜSİAD in Historical Perspective...... 130 3. Organisational Framework and the Member Profile…………………………. 135

III. Analysing MÜSİAD as a Moral Avanguard in Islamic-Moral Renewal…… 145

1. From ‘Islamic’ to “Economic ‘Jihad’”………………………………………… 145 2. From Static-Egalitarian to Dynamic-Hierarchically Oriented Minds…………. 147

2.1.Changing Attitudes towards Charity…………………………………. 159 2.2. Changing Attitudes towards Work and Wealth……………………… 163

3.Transformation of the Mentality: The “Subjective” Dimension of New Islamic Ethic……………………………………………………………………………… 166 4. Ethical Transformation and Muslim Women…………………………………. 171

CHAPTER IV SOCIO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATION...... 178

I. The MÜSİAD within the General Socio-Economic Context…………………. 178

1.Globalization and MÜSİAD: Different Paths for Modernization…………….. 181 1.1.What is the Role of Islam in International Relations?……………… 181 2.The MÜSİAD as a Middle Class Organization ……………………………… 186 2.1.Entrepreneuship: A Middle Class Characteristic…………………… 199

II. Analysing MÜSİAD as a Specific Businessmen Organization ...... 213 1. The MÜSİAD as a Network based on Weak Ties…………………………… 213 2. Partnership (Multiple Share Holdings) and Solidarity Based Organizational Model...... 221 3. Change and Continuity in the Working Relations.……………………….…. 234

CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………… 247

BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………………………… 255

APPENDICES…………………………………………………………………. 289

Appendix-1. An example of the Semi-structured Questionnaire……………… 289 Appendix-2. A Profile for MÜSİAD members in Administrative Positions...... 298 Appendix-3. The MÜSİAD Administrative Commission’s suggestions to deal with the Economic Crises...... 302 Appendix-4. Selected Institutions Concerned with the Economic Cooperation in the Islamic World……………………………. 303 Appendix-5. The List of Countries the MÜSİAD has Branches Abroad that is Published to inform MÜSİAD members………………….. 306 Appendix-6. Goals of the Association for the Second Five-Year Period…… 307

CIRRICULUM VITAE……………………………………………………… 309

TABLES

Table-1: Scale of the Firms…………………………………………………. 136 Table-2: Sectors…………………………………………………………….. 136 Table-3: Businessmen’s Places of Origin…………………………………… 137 Table-4: Businessmen’s Levels of Education………………………………. 138 Table-5: Wife’s Occupations……………………………………………….. 139 Table-6: Number of Workers……………………………………………….. 140 Table-7: Number of Women Workers……………………………………… 140 Table-8: Number of Children………………………………………………. 141 Table-9: Age……………………………………………………………….. 141 Table-10: Partnership……………………………………………………… 141

Dedicated to my parents, Nuriye Özdemir and Ali Özdemir, whose limitless devotion and love (to life) shaped my ambitious attitude towards everything I have done so far.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I thank the following people for their guiding conversations with me in choosing this topic, which I think even at present was very prosperous one to understand Turkey’s overall socio-economic development and to deepen a social scientist’s theoretical knowledge in general: They are Prof. Dr. Sencer Ayata, Doç. Dr. Yıldız Ecevit and Prof. Dr. Can Hamamcı, Prof. Dr. Sencer Ayata, as the advisor of this study, has provided an invaluable guidance in general. More specifically, his criticism and suggestions on the written material were very helpful to further develop the main thesis of the study and to deepen empirical parts. I also thank to my dissertation committee for the contribution they made during the discussions of my defence. I owe a special thank to Recep Boztemur for his invaluable suggestions on the written material as well as his effort to correct some chapters of the thesis.

I thank Ertuğrul Günay and Teyfur Erdoğdu for their help in reaching some of MÜSİAD’s members at the very beginning of the fieldwork. This study also owes a great debt to MÜSİAD’s members who made generously possible my entry to the stories of their working and even personal lives. It could hardly be possible to get such a deep and rich information if these people had not given their support to this research. I am especially thankful to some members who were especially helpful during the fieldwork and some executive members of MÜSİAD and some professional officials in Ankara and Istanbul branches, but the support I have received from the branch of the Association in Konya was terrific.

I think that a good doctoral study could hardly be possible without the support of relatives and friends. The process of conducting the research and writing and re-writing of this study was, I feel, the most productive and difficult years of my life. I learned a lot not only about the topic I was working on, but also about life in general; most importantly, I learned how to take from others with love, and without feeling humiliated. My family members, close friends, and even some friends’ friends are so many that I feel they made this study possible in the first place. I thank my sister Öznur Özdemir, my brother and his wife Nebahat-Coşkun Özdemir for always being ready to help me, especially while I was abroad.

I am also grateful to my friends to Füsun and İhsan Demirci, Arif Geniş, Burçak Özoğlu, Fatih Güngör, Fethi Açıkel, Belkız ve Nüvit Tarhan, Nursel ve Cenk Tabel, Onur Kovancı, Çağrı Erhan, Mehmet Beşeli, Metin Özuğurlu and Şükrü Adıgüzel for the support they gave either directly to this study, or indirectly by supporting me in difficulties I was having in my private life. My dear friend Yasemin Erdemci made the proofreading of the parts that I personally translated into English in a very limited period of time, which is beyond words to thank, but could only be explained with her limitless love. I also thank to my friend Belkız Tarhan for her proofreading of the methodology part. I was supported by Zeynep Güleç and Zelal Akar during the translation of the original study that was in Turkish. I am grateful to them for taking responsibility for translating a big deal of the study in such a limited time.

INTRODUCTION

Because of all these old-fashined rules and traditions, those who deal with trade are not Muslims like you and me, but Armenians, Jews, Greeks all the time. Look, even I cannot be considered fully Muslim. Pamuk, 1990:42

What it meant to be a Muslim in Turkey was being a second class citizen; Islam had become a religion of the poor and uneducated. The rich and educated had nothing to do with religion for a very long time. Thank to MÜSİAD’s foundation this has been started to change. A MÜSİAD member

The main assumption this study based on is the idea that there is an economic and cultural dimension alongside the political aspect of Islamic organizations that causes an

Islamic restructuring. The idea of an “ethic transformation,” deriving mainly from the in- group struggles of the Islamic movement, gave direction to the theoretical orientation of this study. It should be stated in this context that one of the declared aims of the

MÜSİAD is to reshape the religious norms and practices in the direction of the needs of modern socio-economic conditions at the societal level including the periphery as well as the center of the country. The middle scale and secondarily important cities have a crucial role in this respect because a gradual restructuring in the cultural realm is much more possible in these settings without entering into a rapid and chaotic renewal. The general ideological and cultural crisis of Turkey, as a specific type of anomic situation, has been deepened lately; and because of their newly urbanized, half-traditional half-modern qualities, the lower sections of the society have been experiencing this crisis much more intensely. This study discusses that the above-described category can be characterized by

Islamic sections of Turkish society including all of the varieties, traditional and modern- radical. Still, what is crucial in terms of MÜSİAD’s relevance to the overall transformation of Turkish society is their reshaping of popular religious beliefs determining the minds of the general population. This can be summarized with their aim to change the traditional philosophy of finding virtue in the lack of material wealth or satisfied with the lowest standards of live (the mentality of “bir lokma bir hırka”). This means that the conventional modernist formula proposing Islamic religion as the basic factor responsible from poverty, and an obstacle in economic development. The recent developments in İslamic countries proved that this formula could be changed. In the leadership of newly rising İslamic middle classes as small entrepreneurs in Muslim countries there began a capital accumulation and a changing Islamic attitude towards the wealth and the work. Why and how this development has occurred is the main question of this study.

Turkey has been experiencing a process of restructuration since the 1980s: liberalisation in socio-economic and political realms, increasing international relations and growing relations among the regions of the country through industrialization, modernization and migration. These structural developments have changed the overall atmosphere of the country with an opening up in terms of developing interactions at the international and national levels. This has also caused a change in the classical balance between socio- economic and political powers by the weakening bureaucratic and other central forces which are in favor of larger societal groups. Therefore, one of the most important consequences of this process is the increase in the numbers and intensity of “civil” activities. The dynamism of civil society organizations became prominent especially after

1990.

These new living conditions have brought about new attitudes and a need for reinterpretation of old/traditional ideas and values. This is related to the tradition of the

“strong state” which represents a central power to control and determine the underlying socio-economic order on the base of a general public composed of a relatively equal people as opposed to the governing elite of the center. The Ottoman patrimonial heritage, which is argued in this study that continued in the cultural realm of Turkish society in a new form of solidarist and corporatist policies of the state entered into a dissolution process. This process is a struggle to construct a new one by reinterpreting the original cultural and religious codes. As a result, Turkey is experiencing a deep and radical change in the cultural realm in the habitus of the general public although Turkey is a special case among other Muslim countries with her successfuly secularized socio- political order. In terms of the economic transformation of the country, it has been discussed that there is no bourgeoisie in Turkish society in the western sense, and that state apparatuses, or rather, the bureaucrats were the main autonomous dynamics in modernizing the country. This study argues that especially since the 1980s there has emerged a shift from the dominance of political-bureuacratic forces to a economic and larger (civil) social networks in Turkey. MÜSİAD has been analyzed in this study as a product and a part of this socially/economically and culturally –rather than politically and bureaucratically- dynamic process. In this framework, many MÜSİAD members can be included in what we call new or

“secondary” elites of Turkey. The diversification of elite composition of Turkey is mostly resulted from these above-mentioned conditions, especially increase in the number of the population with a higher education. Their “secondary” and/or in-between position also explains the success of the organizational form of the MÜSİAD over the country.

Because of the socio-cultural characteristics (i.e. social capital in the sense that this study consumes) this new elite group carries, MÜSİAD could have made modern practices possible related to the organizational and working life at the level of the periphery. The historical development and structural positioning of MÜSİAD in the overall picture of civil society organizations in Turkey is also meaningful. The conflict between small and big businesses of the country went hand in hand with the increasing number and importance of civil organizations1, many of which have somehow an Islamic identity, which basically started to increase in the 1960s and were exploited during the 1980s.

This study argues that the makers and carriers of this reinterpretation process are “the secondary elites” of newly urbanized middle classes, especially the ones who were organized around civil society organizations many of which are Islamic in a direct or indirect way. The MÜSİAD is the subject of this study as one of the examples of these civil activities in the Islamic sections of Turkish society, providing this study with the dynamics of restructuring –in the sense of a transition from traditional-habitual to modern-rational cultural practices and patterns- in the cultural realm. Thus, MÜSİAD is elaborated in this study as a case belonging to the “traditional” and the “modern” at the

1This overlapping between economic and cultural spheres is also prominent in the following historical instance: the leader of Islamic party under different names for a long time, Necmettin Erbakan won the 1969 election of the Chambers Union. This can be considered as a result of economic differentiation along the lines specified by specific socio-cultural differences in society. The relationship between the general same time, or rather as a new/modern phenomenon interacting with the “old” and “new” simultaneously.

Indeed, this process in which the old and the new interacting is not something new: in the

Westernization process aiming to modernise the periphery as well as the center has mainly been started in the tanzimat period of Ottoman years. The difference lies in the expansion of modernizing process to the larger sections of Turkish society –this process is, therefore, the main factor creating the potential for a modern civil society. This process can be summarized in this sense as an increasing participation of large masses to the socio-economic as well as political processes (Güneş-Ayata, 1994) beyond the crucial role the “strong state” traditionally played before and after the foundation of the new republic. This has basically realized as a result of the increasing and diversification of what Mardin (1991c: 204, 226) has called as “new opportunites” (fırsat alanları) as modernizing mechanisms.

The conditions that made these structural and cultural transformations possible are rapid migration, expansion of industrialisation in the Turkish society at large, increased economic dynamism and diversification and an increase and expansion of formal education with a rationalizing and homogenising effect on the cognitive faculty of the overall population. Surely, the new possibilities deriving from socio-economic factors such as transferring new technologies from the West and the new market opportunities are determinant for larger sections of the society in gaining relative autonomy from the state. However, a simultaneously effective change in the cultural sphere and mental attitutes in general should also be underlined in accordance with the aims of this study.

differentiation in society and the relatively rising strength of various societal groups coincide with what is called “Islamic movement”. Attributing such an active role to religious processes could only be possible by taking what is cultural and everyday seriously. Calhoun (1995: 63) underlines the importance of versthen methodology to cover cultural dimension in the socio-economic studies by pointing out the fact that classical thinkers (Marx, Weber and Durkheim) have always somehow included the cultural factor in their socio-economic analysis. Furthermore,

Calhoun (1995: 61-3) explains the reasons of why cultural dimension should be included in the discipline of sociology by following factors: 1) The increasing and crucial role that books, films and other cultural materials (and “less objective social products” in his saying) play in the lives of general public. 2) The rising importance of the application of the idea that all socio-economic processes are inherently and simultaneously cultural in the methodologies of social sciences.2 3) Sociological studies are recently very carefully taking culture as one of the variables as hardly as possible. 4) The premise that “social life is inherently cultural” has forced social scientists to take cultural aspect seriously.

Following the Weberian formula, according to the theoretical orientation of this study one more factor can be added to them, which is the fundamental assumption of this study: during transitional periods the human activity and the cultural factor have become crucial in reshaping socio-economic order. As accepted by most of the social scientists, a worldwide restructuring process has been witnessed since the late seventies. As for the specific case of Turkey this transitory effect is twofold: first one is a continuation of modernization process and a deepening of capitalism. And the other one is the inevitable effect of the contemporary developments and worldwide crisis on Turkish society, which reflects somehow different characteristics and requirements than those of “classical”

2 Note here, Calhoun criticises this methodological emphasis because it goes to such a degree that neglects what is substantially important and cultural. conditions of modernity. The main reason why Weber turned to Protestant entrepreneurs and business ethic is that they were historically the best ideal typical cases tracing the transitory potential of cultural field in general and religion in particular. In the virtually global nature of the current restructuring process of our times, it can be argued that the

“transitory” potential has become relevant to all cultural and religious contexts in its ideal typical sense, which was considered culturally specific to Christianity in its Protestant version in Weber’s historically constructed analysis. This transitory potential has been described and explained in the following words of Worsley (1969: 229):

"Because religion is intrinsically unbounded in its field of operation, because it is ideal as well as social, it is always potentially innovatory, and like all innovations, potentially hurtful to established interests. But religion, it ought to be said, is neither intrinsically conservative nor revolutionary."

The MÜSİAD as a recently founded institution is considered as one of the most appropriate case in this respect. Moreover, the case of MÜSİAD has also provided us with the possibility of comparing MÜSİAD’s members with their Protestant counterparts even if they are historically and culturally different. In this context, it should be stated that this study is oriented by the idea that there are unique transitions to modern capitalism in accordance with cultural differences. Weberian outlook with its comparative advantages is the excellent theoretical base and starting point studying different cultural and/or religious contexts (Robertson, 1969: 17).

This study rejects the conventional idea that religious matters have been determined passively by other socio-economic factors. The alternative analytical framework applied to the case of MÜSİAD requires an active conceptualization of religion as a field playing an active3 role in shaping general socio-economic developments in a specific context.

This active role could either be just continuing the norms of traditional religious order and values or a much more dynamic one if a specific society is experiencing an overall process of radical transformation (Wuthnow, 1994; 1987, Lenski, 1963). Thus, one of the most important theoretical presuppositions of this study is this dynamic conceptualization of religion as a subfield in the cultural realm. Religion, therefore, has been taken as an issue of dynamic and productive processes rather than a matter of social closure and constraints deriving from stable norms and rules. It is because religion has also a function of reconstuction and reinterpretation as a mechanism of the renewal of old structures like all other cultural dynamics.

BURADAN SONRASI EN SONRA YENİDEN ELDEN GEÇECEK..

To summarize the specific analysis of this study, the theoretical part of the study is composed of two main parts: The first is focusing on Weber’s Protestant Ethic thesis in its connection to other cultural context with its homogenizing and rationalizing effects. In the second part of this chapter, there is a short discussion on the literature on Islamic economy and the relationship between economy and Islamic religion.

The second chapter also includes historical origins and developmental evolution of

MÜSİAD. The aim of the second chapter is to form a general outline including the main components of MÜSİAD mainly to introduce the Association in general to the reader for the latter analytical parts of the study. That is why, the socio-economic and demographic indicators of the businessmen I interviewed are also included in this chapter.

3 For the same reason Zubaida (1989 b: 79-80), rejects the idea that political actors of the Iranian Islamic revolution are merely 'passive recipient's determined by socio-economic factors. The third chapter involves the theoretical and methodological orientation of the study by including the limits as well as advantages of the chosen methodological framework.

Interpretative methodological orientation of the study is the reason as well as the result of the choice of in-depth interviews. The advantage of this choice is the opportunity focusing on the subjective dimension of the transitory process.

The forth and fifth chapters of this study are the main analytical parts. A well-known and frequently stated problem with cultural studies in the social sciences is the problem of cultural reductionism. Because ideas, texts and doctrines have been selected by social scientists as main tools to study cultural fields, where emerged a danger to reduce everything to the cultural and/or subjective factors by neglecting structural and socio- economic components of the development as a whole. One of the solutions recently applied against the tendency of reductionism is taking concrete cases (especially institutions) to get the whole picture instead of studying cultural factors merely. The reason that the analytical part of this study is composed of two parts, structural and cultural, did not result from the actual situation: they are distinct from one another for merely analytical reasons because there is nothing purely material or cultural in the real world.

In the cultural analysis of the study the focus is the transformational dynamics of

MÜSİAD as mainly an issue of moral and ethical concern. In this framework the changing attitude towards material wealth has been underlined by emphasizing the role of

Islamic folk tradition as an active part of this transformation. The homogenesing effect of rationalizing process has especially been emphasized to explain the subjective dimension of this transformation. The overall thesis of this chapter is the idea of an internal religious transformation in Turkey as a result of the introduction of a new Islamic ethical framework formed by Islamic secondary elites. The structural part focuses on the conditions of MÜSİAD members, taking them as one of the representatives of the newly emerging middle classes in Turkey, which is argued as structurally and economically innovative and entrepreneural. MÜSİAD has been analyzed as an “open” and a “link producing” network organization rather than a culturally closed one with its Islamic identity.

In the conclusion part, the main thesis and contribution of this study has been summarized: Some future research projects have also been included in this context.

CHAPTER II THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK:

WEBER’S PROTESTANT ETHIC THESIS AS AN EXPLANATORY KEY

Capitalism, rational at the end but irrational in its origin, is a result of unexpected union of contemporary practical life and puritan ethic (…) It will be futile trying to prove that Weber’s thesis is wrong. Braudel (in Sayar, 1998: 299)

…we have no intention whatever of maintaining such a foolish and doctrinaire thesis as that the spirit of capitalism (in the provisional sense of the term explained above) could only have arisen as the result of certain effects of the Reformation, or even that capitalism as an economic system is a creation of the Reformation.(…) In spite of this and the following remarks, which in my opinion are clear enough, and have never been changed, I have again and again been accused of this. Weber, 1992: 91, 217

A general Discussion around Modern Work Ethic in the Western Context

The idea of a man's duty for his possesions, to which he subordinates himself as an obedient steward, or even as an acquisitive machine, bears with chilling weight on his life. The greater the possessions the heavier, if the ascetic attitude toward life stands the test, the feeling of responsibility for them, for holding them undiminished for the glory of God and increasing them by restless effort. Weber, 1992: 170

The Weberian thesis underlined that there was a strict connection between ascetic sects and the fulfillment of this task for the masses –of course through mass education- in the origin of capitalism. The quality of this education was parallel to what Gökalp was trying to synthesize between practice and theory in Turkish context. For instance, the chief function of such educational services was to teach workers about their attitude towards their lives in general and jobs4 in particular. The direct contribution of these sects was to orient their members to teach their households including their servants: this teaching was basically a teaching about what we call today the bourgeoisie lifestyle or ethics –values and principles, such as modesty and the ways to become a gentleman who has a strong self-control and self-esteem (Weber, 1987: 262) beyond the education about doctrinal and sectarian information.

Weber (1987: 259) underlined the functioning of society-economy and religious sects were complementary: by the beginning of the 20th century, the basic question about

4 In this respect, the attitute towards time (“time is money” in Franklin’s saying), for example, was one of the critical lessons that workers and entrepreneurs had to learn (Weber, 1992: 48). Contrary to the peasants who planned their days in terms of the shifts in “the sun and seasons,” urbanized masses (workers and entrepreneurs) “had to fix not only hour but the minute as well” (Hill, 1967: 130). And Hill also points out that “this dimension of time also helped to concentrate effort and to focus attention on detail” (1967: 130) businessmen was the sect they were the members of.5 It was important because, the acceptance by a sect itself guaranteed the businessmen’s “work ethic” in particular and their “morality” as a human being6 within the society. The benefits which this guarantee gives them were helping businessmen in need even financially7 because of circumstantial reasons, i.e., not because of unethical personal behaviours. Indeed, an unethical behavior was the basic reason for the sect membership to be ended, and this also resulted in the end of business life and social prestige of a businessman (Weber, 1987: 261-2, 275-6).

These facts were there because of the fact that the conditions for acceptance in a sect were based on a detailed examination on individual histories including childhood. For this reason, behaviours of the sect members were proper beyond suspicion. What is also important in the context of our study is the quality of these sects based on a set of ethical behaviours contrary to the automatic policy of membership of traditional churches

(Weber, 1987: 261). In summary, sects as voluntary religious organizations –in contradiction with the necessary membership of classical church organizations (Weber,

1987: 269)- were the rising institutions of their time playing a critical role in shaping8 and expanding the bourgeois ethic as well as a mechanism helping individual businessmen to promote in business life (Weber, 1987: 264).

5 These sects were functioning as basic institutions for upward mobility, although their fee could be considered as very high especially for rising middle strata (Weber, 1987: 258, 264). 6 Weber underlined what is critical to understand the differences of various ethical/moral stances is its practical dimension that determined the mentality, rewards and sanctions of those ethical norms/principles (1987: 275). As it is known the main worldly reward in Protestantism is to get a membership providing the moral guarantee of a person within communal relationships –through its disciplined lifestyle they also get religious as well as worldly salvation- within a community. 7 When we consider the importance of the rejection of charity in Protestantism, it should be noted that this was not considered apparently within the limits of charity. 8 For example, a set of such ethical principles of Methodists is as follows: 1) chattering and haggling in business life was forbidden; 2) to be loyal to the legal limits in terms of interest rates was necessary 3) to incur a debt without making sure that one can return was forbidden; 4) to be away from all kinds of luxuries was the principle directing their lives in terms of consumption (Weber, 1987: 269). Weber declared Protestant principle of “calling”9 as the basic relevance of religious sphere with modern economic action: calling as a vocation. The purpose or the role of

Protestants is rather an ethical one than “the encouragement for money making” itself

(Weber, 1978, Vol.2: 1200). Calling or vocation is, therefore, a translation of religion into this worldly attachment. This quality represents the union of this and other worldly activities by reforming a secular professional activity within a religious consciousness working for this world itself means nothing than serving God (Bell, 1996: 156; Weber,

1992:54). The relationship between this calling principle and modern capitalist work ethics lies in the fundamental function of this principle as a religious obligation.

Durkheim, as well, has defined modern vocations by almost equating it with a religious function in his The Division of Labor in Society (1933, emphasis is mine).

We no longer think that the exclusive duty of man is to realize in himself the qualities of man in general…Education is growing more and more specialized…Briefly,….the categorical imperative of the moral conscience is assuming the following form: make yourself usefully fulfilling determinate function.

This equation between the religious and economic spheres –in a very similar manner that Ottoman culture equated the spheres of religion and state as Mardin (1991c: 83) notes- was indeed exactly what Weber (1987: 238; 1992: 172) called “the spirit of capitalism” in this sense:

9 “Calling”, as Weber emphasized, derives originally from Bible, and includes the legal profit from capitalist enterprises; and therefore, “good work” in the secular order became an indication of grace (1978: Vol.2: 1199). In this sense what is new in Protestantism is the revitalization of an original principle in a sense. It should be added that the origin of the concept of “profession” in Islam is also religious (Ülgener, 1981: 42. footnote. 27). …the religious valuation of restless, continuous, systematic work in a worldly calling, as the highest means to asceticism, and at the same time the surest and most evident proof of rebirth and genuine faith, must have been the most powerful conceivable lever for the expansion of that attitude toward life which we have here called the spirit of capitalism.

And this new attitude caused famous positive capitalist attitude towards economic life and made people concerned about the quality of their work as a mass phenomenon, while in traditional economic organizations10 it is almost impossible to find a positive considerate attitude towards work.11

The connection between the generalized (or mass) quality of this ethic and emergence and expansion of middle classes (which was resulted in a bourgeois ethic) is well known.

As Hill (1956: 352) points out puritanism would be unthinkable, in a sense, without bourgeoisie12 and therefore, any rigid antithesis between bourgeois and Puritan revolutions is superficial.

The role bourgeoisie played as a legitimizing power,13 in the socio-economic and cultural restructuring of western societies is what especially concerns us in this study: providing society with a new legitimizing rational-moral framework. This is related with what

10 To summarize Weber’s analysis of what was the traditional economic functioning look like we can quote the following: "Until about the middle of the past century the life of a putter-out was…what we should today consider very comfortable…The number of business hours was very moderate, perhaps five to six a day, sometimes considerably less…Earnings were moderate; enough to lead a respectable life and in good times to put away a little. On the whole, relations among competitors were relatively good, with a large degree on the fundamentals of business." (1992: .66-7). 11 Although Islam was always reconciled with worldly activities, what was absent in this was the tension between doctrinal and practical/secular matters, just because of this early reconciliation as Ülgener maintained (1981: 59), especially in the long run. 12 In the contemporary political sciences a similar connection is being determined between democracy and this bourgeoisie for the very same reasons (Moore, 1966: 28). 13 Weber, as we know, emphasizes the importance of the difference between the traditional and modern forms of legitimations: the three bases of legitimacy are, according to this, tradition, faith and enactment. With the expansion of new middle classes and reformation, enactment has gained dominance (1978, Vol.1: Weber summarized in the principle of “honesty is the best policy” in the connection of capitalism and protestant ethic (1987: 268). It is in the sense that, as Benjamin Franklin formulates it in his book The Way to Wealth, “the way to wealth is no different from ‘the way to moral perfection’ (Hisao, 1976: 40). Another point in this respect is that the workers –including women and children- were made to work under miserable conditions14 could not find a ground for its existence without a cultural framework to legitimate this. As a result, the cultural (ethical and ideological) basis of capitalism has ascended through middle classes both in the emergence and in the proceeding development of capitalism.15

This connection between the middle strata and the emergence of new rational modern ethics is not only a doctrinal, but also a structural one in its connection with the economic life in general and the qualities of entrepreneurs in particular. The reason we call them entrepreneurs, according to Weber (Weber, 1992: 69) is,

(they) had grown up in the hard school of life, calculating and daring at the same time, (…) and completely devoted to their business (…) along with clarity of vision and ability to act, it is only by virtue of very definite and highly developed ethical qualities that it has been possible for him to command the absolutely indispensable confidence of his customers and workmen

Weber, in his Protestant Ethic, has given the answer to the question of how an undoubtedly pious employer could make his laborers work under such severe conditions:

36), because enactment depends on voluntary agreement, law replaced with convention as the new type of legitimate order (Weber, 1978, Vol.1: 33). 14 For instance Hill notes that in 1619 children dying of cold in the streets of London (1967: 275) See also The Town Labourer by J.L and Barbara Hammond (1968), a classical study demonstrates the conditions of workers during the British industrial revolution in the eighteenth and nineteeth centuries. 15 Hill also notes that the relationship between these two derives from the specifics of puritanism that suited to “a competitive society in which God helps the one who helps himself, in which thrift, accumulation and industry are the cardinal virtues, and poverty very nearly a crime”. Therefore, we cannot separate the nature “this ethic, the earning of more and more money, combined with the strict avoidance of all spontaneous enjoyment of life” (1992: 53): When the criterion for being religious is defined as hard work and discipline instead of indifference towards this worldly matter, the meaning of hard work for workers as equated with religiosity as well. The negative attitude towards consumption, especially for the use of luxury goods, as a whole and the importance of saving16 in terms of earnings should be added as a further point to legitimize the wealth of these classes while giving their workers very little. Thus, because they use their earnings for the good of God –the Puritan got nothing out of his wealth for himself but the proof of his own salvation- instead of their own needs (Weber,

1992: 71).

Urbanization and changing nature of cities is the spatial dimension of bourgeois ethic through migration from rural to urban areas and an expansion of middle strata since in contrast to peasants who have been inclined towards magic and their economic existence has been bound to nature.

The high rate of immigration in Turkey can be accepted as responsible for both the emergence of a working class17 in its modern sense and a new rising category of middle classes. Because of the fact that the peculiarities of small traditional settings are quite in contradiction with capitalist system, and metropolitan cities are chaotic as the typical settings of institutionalized capitalism, it can be argued, following Weber (1992), these in-between towns and small cities are especially critical in the capitalist development to constitute a new cultural “spirit.” Weber underlined this connection between small scale

of puritanism from “the needs, hopes, fears and aspirations of the godly artisans, merchants, yeomen, gentlemen and their wives, who gave their support to this doctrine (1967: 132-511). 16 See Weber (1992: 171). Bell (1996: 69) states that “savings or abstinence” are the heart issues of the Protestant Ethic. for a Protestant sect and moral purity on the basis of the possibility of a strict community control and the affinity between newly urbanized middle classses and modern individualized ethics, deriving from self-control and rational reasoning itself (1987: 271-

2). Bell also talks about the small town origin of modern bourgeoisie ethic based on the piety of small producers18 (1996: 55-6). This cultural-moral dimension is indeed what especially interests us in the context of small-middle scale cities in the present study.

Since there has not yet developed a formal-impersonal base in human relationships in small town level, which function as agents to produce a cultural and structural framework to emerge and strengthen impersonal and formal kinds of modern relationships, these settlements are perfect cases to trace transformation of a local culture. Wringley (1978: 301) declared towns as settings that represent both rural and urban pecularities, because on the one hand they have relatively an organized productive base in comparison with the “rural” and, less diversified and chaotic to compare with metropolitan areas on the other hand.19 Redfield and Singer (1969) put a special emphasis on the cultural-moral ground of such settlements as candidates to synthesize or re-create the great tradition at the local level, and by doing so emancipates themselves from being a little tradition.20 Turhan (1987: 210) made a similar distinction for

Turkish context: Under the effect of westernization during the rapid modernization of Turkey, he notes, small cities and towns followed a much more selective cultural change, while metropolitan cities were

17 See Ritterberger-Tılıç (2001) for a discussion about the general dynamics of migration and its potential to produce new poor people in Turkish context. 18 An example from Italy, famous with its powerful mafia organizations, proves the relevance of this connection in the contemporary world: the only settlement that could resist the power of mafia organizations was a small town. The reason for this is the organization of town’s small producers, who declared that their only aim was to resist mafia organizations (Alkan, 1993: 235). 19 See Redfield and Singer (1969: 211) for types of cities in their historical development. The basic differentiation is made, following Weber’s analysis (1978: Vol.I: 626), between traditional cities as political-religious or political-intellectual centers (primary and modern ones with its economic orientation. 20 Riedfield and Singer (1969) define the process of urbanization basically as a transition from “intellectual or religious-politically” dominant form to an economic one. They are described urbanization basically as primary urbanization (characterized by “carrying forward systematic and reflective dimensions of an old culture”) or secondary urbanization (characterized by “creating of original modes of thought that have authority beyond or in conflict with old cultures and impersonal civilizations”) (Riedfield and Singer, 1969: 208-9). However, what is more meaningful for the aims of present study is to emphasize the interaction between these two and rejecting such a dualistic frame. experiencing a total change without depending on “a mutual cultural ground”21 (1987: 213, 216-233). In other words, what he underlined is that although Turkey was experiencing modernization in the sense of westernization in small settings as well, it could be slow and under the dominance of national culture that

“it had the opportunity to choose first only what they really needed to change.”

Following Weber (1958b) and Simmel’s perspectives (in Frisby, 1992: 71-2), Park (1996: 141-3) also dealt with this issue in the context of individualization urbanization caused. According to this, the process of urbanization as a result of the migration from rural areas to the towns and small cities causes instability and tension in spiritual life of individuals, and “an increase in the nervousness of people”. This process has also resulted in a growing creativity on the individual base, as a result. Hoselitz also emphasizes this dimension as a specific quality of small-middle scale city life and towns: "[they] exhibit a spirit different from that of the countryside. They are the main force and the focus on the introduction of new ideas and new ways of doing things." (in Daunton, 1978: 251). One distinction Park (1969: 143) clarified is the permanent nature of this “spiritual crises” for the migrants, while the ordinary people in cities experienced such crises temporarily. Yet Sennett (1996) underlined what dominant characteristic of city life is, which can be identified with a permanently risk and uncertainty producing nature. And in this sense what is the order of metropolitan lives is disorder (this is different from that of Durkheim’s anomie with its permanent nature).

Therefore, under developed capitalism, Sennett notes, the new Protestanism exhibits itself as a search for a fixed identity (through self-control of course) by trying to be untouched as a state of mind (1996a: 12-24).

The human relationship deriving from a growing self awareness and true self-knowledge is determined as the positive side of this story: "…men will become more in control of themselves and more aware of each other. That is the promise, and the justification of disorder.” (Sennett, 1996a: 198).

Since this dimension of massive urbanization is an important component for the development of a new and/or modern individualistic ethic, migration as a basic social mobility constituting mechanism is very important. In this process, the role the towns and small and medium scale cities play is very critical. The function of these relatively small

21 Redfield and Singer (1969: 213) too, determined modern economic (or market) cities as non- cultural/moral in the sense that they emancipated from the old socio-cultural order:“universal standards of utility which is neutral to particular moral orders and in some sense hostile to all of them”. urban environments is twofold: First, it helps to expand modern economic and cultural structures on the national level; and secondly, it can be argued that the intensification and diversification of the relationship between the periphery and center22 may serve to fill the cleavage.

As a result it should be emphasized that such middle strata is detached from economic bounds to nature: “there has always existed the possibility –even though in greatly varying measure- of letting an ethical and rational regulation23 of life arise.” with

Weber’s words (1958: 284). It was a process that Protestants returned to “original church” against the corruption of social institutions at that time: that means on an individual24 level drawing “its will directly from God” through a strict control and discipline rather than an automatic approval by these man-made institutions (Bell, 1996:

57; Weber, 1987: 276).25 On the doctrinal level, it was because of the replacement of the

22 For the conceptualizations of center and periphery see Mardin, (1991a; 1991c: 58). 23 The following common ground was determined by Weber (1987: 243) as conditions that characterize the specifics of these groups: 1) As a result of a life which is not tied to the conditions that have a certain direction deriving from natural conditions, they have the opportunity to dominate nature and the social environment of human beings by using rational reasoning; 2) They live in a “in-between” position between what practical life necessitates and their doctrinal-ethical concerns searching absolute principles as a base for the normative side of their lives. The last determination is probably the basic one that is responsible for their uncertain and divesified attitutes towards practical events, as will be discussed in the following pages. 24 The basic criterion lies in the distinction between the person who was really blessed and the one blessed by a church as a man-made institution (Weber, 1987: 269). We see here the use of the individual reason as a faculty to distinguish some people from others in Bourdian sense. This truly blessed individual whose attitute is basically consciously taken on the bases of the individual ego, according to Weber, was “the basic factor which innerly promoted the modern rational industrial organization” (Hisao, 1976: 75). This is also paralel to Islamist’s emphasis on being truly or consciously Muslim. 25 The proffessional preachers and theologians also lost their prestige as well as churhes as traditional religious organizations. Weber notes that, the disciplines of Protestant sects and the discipline in old idea that a permanent salvation is possible through realizing ethical principles in their social working lives by an ascetic lifestyle against spontaneous enjoyment of life26

(Weber, 1992: 166) on the base of strict discipline, self-control27 and hardwork with the temporary salvation deriving from magic28 and/or religious rituals -that of traditional church through a cyclic move from sin to the forgiveness of the religious authority. The importance of ending an “impulsive enjoyment of life” lies in the fact that such a lifestyle is the one which prevents people from a religious29 and/or hardworking life (1992: 167).

Middle classes gained self-strength (a sense of superiority) through the mechanisms of self-control and discipline basically, not only in front of lower classes, but in front of aristocratic upper class of the west (Moore, 1998: 28; Hobsbawm, 1998b: 204). The moral superiority these classes felt against upper classes indicates that the legitimacy of old governing elites was losing: along with self-control and discipline, labor based on human activity –directed by absolute impersonal principles as a new honor code30- was

systematic-methodic monastery life –as a precondition of modern rational ascetism similarly contrary to the loose discipline of traditional church (1987: 207-8, 220, 272-3). 26 The importance of ending an “impulsive enjoyment of life” lies in the fact that such a lifestyle is the one who prevents people from a religious and/or hardworking life (1992: 167). 27 The relevance of self control with the modern condition has been constructed on various levels in the development of capitalism including relating this with an internalized ethic. For example, Fichte pointed out that “through enjoyment we become dependent on objects” instead of being free from them (in Höffding, 1955: 157). 28 See Weber (1978, Vol.1: 529-38) for these categories Following Weber, Hill (1967: 486) emphasizes the differences between peasantry and middle classes, and the difference between magic and modern rational ethics. And, he also underlines that the effects of industrialization process beyond the doctrinal qualities of Protestantism by seeing magic is essentially agrarian while puritanism is an urban phenomenon. 29 Virtue deriving from ethical conduct and religioisity, in Weber’s sociology of religion, has basically revolutionary character in its rational and anti-habitual/traditional quality. This divergence presents itself through a heroic and charismatic personality whose destiny is creating miracles or through traditional magical forms as well as ascetic rationalism of Protestantism in our modern time. This is why Weber maintained that not the lowest (religiously unmusical peasants and masses) and upper classes (religiously weak, if not irreligious) are proper for such religiosity (1987: 236;1958: 287). 30 It should be emphasized, however, that according to Weber, “a unifying honor code as an ethical guide” is one basic characteristic of Eastern societies, while Western feudalism typically characterized by a lack of such common code, and relied on heroic or personal sense of dignity whose root was personal honor (1978: Vol.2: 1105, 1068). In this sense, the impersonal base as an ethical guide, seems to be as a cultural continuity for the west, while non-western societies would probably find it difficult to develop such an impersonal base as an ethical guide. situated as the main source of human virtue. This is why the main characteristic of modern “civilized” man was declared as self-control (Elias, 1978: 197, 201-3). It is also no accident that what “good morals” reminds us even in the modern era is a strong control over impulses and instincts (sex31, aggression, food and drink, sleep, enjoyment of beauty) (Moore, 1998: 28).

The diversified and uncertain quality of middle classes because of the social mobility and differentiation were underlined by Weber (1987: 242-3) in this context. This is basically because the diversified conditions these groups face within the conditions of an intense social mobility, which is responsible for a rational-radical and/or revolutionary attitude towards life on the base of a internalized ethics through the new and voluntary religious institutionalization of religious life. Such an ethical base, Weber (1993: 209) emphasized, what basically makes an elastic and suspectible “sacred inner religious state” possible that has resulted in fairly different responses by these people to the socio-economic events in a way Weber (1993: 207, 209) described:

The more a religion of salvation has been systematized and internalized in the direction of an ethic based on an inner religious state, the greater becomes its tension with an opposition to the world.(…) The inherent conflict between the religious postulate and the reality of the world does not diminish, but rather increases. Weber, 1993: 207, 209

Thus, the basic postulate that characterizes what we call modern-rational ethic is related to its internalized quality, an “inner faith” deriving from a set of principles serving the

31 Weber placed Islamic ethic as an “average ethic,” especially on the base of its approval of sexual practices. Therefore, what makes Christian ethic an “heroic” one comes basically from this necessity to control the sexual instinct (Weber, 1987: 245; Turner, 1974: 183). According to this ”Islam developed out of a charismatic community of warriors led by the militant Prophet (…) it accepted the commandment of good of the individual and society (regardless of its being religious or not). On the contrary, traditional ethic is identified with the control of an outside power –on the base of fixed and/or external rules, obligations and the authority of other people (Weber,

1993: 256).32 The shift from substantial and moralist personal law to a formal-impersonal one is critical step in the development of bureaucratic and rational organizations of capitalist order (Weber, 1987: 253). As Fichte (in Höffding, 1955: 144) emphasized, the reformation process as a whole can be summarized as “a struggle on behalf of free inner conviction against ecclesiastical authority.”

In advanced capitalist societies, this rational internalized ethic has deepened and gained much more self-determined reflexive form (Bowring, 1997: 101). Tillich33 (1962: 465) points out the difference between catholic and protestant traditions in this respect. A dynamic process of morality that has an unconditional nature in terms of risk, grace and love34 represents Protestantism, while catholic tradition is identified with a conditioned- stable, authoritarian perception of morality –i.e., moralism, deriving from law and/or societal rules and norms35, its main character “is the distortion of the moral imperative

the forcible subjection of the infidels, glorified heroism, and promised sensual pleasures in her and hereafter to the fighter for the true faith.” (Weber, 1978: Vol.2; 1185). 32 In traditional societies, the typical form of relationships between social agents was the rule of absolute loyalty to the authorities. Traditionalism in the sense of the formalization of charisma –in the process of institutionalization- in Weberian analysis deserves attention on this point: initially, the legitimacy of charismatic authority comes from immediate responses and transforms to immediate situations, in time, however, stabilized positions and norms along with habitual behaviours have become dominant. 33 He is a 20th Century American moralist and politician who revolutionized American Protestanism. 34 Grace and love shares an equal importance in modern ethics. It represents the internal and voluntary nature of modern ethics; the love we are talking about, here, is not a matter of emotions, but should be considered as “a principle of life” and “grace.” Therefore, such love itself is creative with its renewing and revolutionizing quality (Tillich, 1962: 466, 468-9). As early as 1931, in his Aşk Ahlakı, (The Morality of Love) Ülken (1999) tried to constuct a new ethical framework that was applicable under the modern conditions, by synthesizing traditional Islamic other-worldly mysticism with this western worldly Protestant asceticism. 35 As it is seen the oppressive nature of Catholicism is related with the rules and norms of religious and socio-political institutions. On the contrary, in Protestant morality, similarly to existentialist philosophy, an ethical conduct is “self-affirmation of our essential being” that necessitates courage and taking risk because of an unconditional principle, love or grace (Tillich, 1962). into an oppressive law”. In Islam, according to Tillich, there is no distinction between law ve morality in the very similar manner to catholic version of Christianity (1962:

469). Protestantism as a religious sect is the main and only source of dynamic power for morality which is based on the principle of “natural law,” even if it can also issue stable/oppressive principles and authorities in time (Tillich, 1962: 467) -bureaucracy is the main one for modern rational organization of the society as Weber notes.

Dewey (in Gouinlock, 1994: 21-2), who has done a lot in the emergence of a specific kind of American protestant ethic, also had a similar stand in terms of the difference between customary ethic and modern ethic. He underlined the importance of individual experiences and inferences in terms of modern ethics.

The ethical conduct, therefore, will be constructed through each event far from following a simple norm in general. Because “…every moral situation is a unique situation”, (Dewey, 1962: 391) the guidance of books and other sources cannot be determinative. That is why, “the attempt to set up ready-made conclusions contradicts the very nature of reflective morality.” (Dewey in Gouinlock, 1994: 22).

Although Weber did not see any possibility to include the ethical dimension –on the base of freedom to educate people for the needs of the capitalist system (in Brubaker, 1984:

103), the question of how this moral dimension will be included in schedules in the formal education is indeed quite relavant in our contemporary worlds, both in western and non-western contexts (See for example Bowring, 1997; Etzioni, 1988; Etzioni and

Lawrence 1984,). As mentioned in the previous subsection, we have widespread formal institutions of such an education in modern capitalist societies, because ethical training itself became an issue of public education private and/or informal institutions –such as family- as well, became a matter of ethical concern (Bowring, 1997: 98-108). According to Dewey, it is very critical for the institutions of modern democracy to be equipped with principles and tools that will serve to develop the capacities of the individuals freely; and this is what shows us the very moral meaning of the contemporary democratic system (Dewey, 1962: 405). Hansen (1998: 647-52), in his study, which also includes a summary of various approaches36 to this issue, argued that moral dimension has already been embedded in all kinds of educational processes; and therefore, there is no need for a seperate search to develop a specific solution for formal institutions of education. Yet, for the very same reason the question of who and how to teach will gain additional importance37.

There are comparative empirical studies verifying the universal principle that “there are certain ethical stages on the individual basis.”38 Lawrence Kohlberg’s theory of

“Developmental Sequences of Individual Moral Judgement” can be determined as the most popular theory related in this context. According to these judgemental stages,

Kohlberg argued, all cultural environments are issued with the same universal cognitive criterion (Kağıtçıbaşı, 1988: 258). There are three basic stages of this individual development: 1) Traditional stage (before the age of 9) that is represented by a simple principle of crime and punishment in the guidance of a pure individualistic; 2)

Traditional stage that an adult tries to apply what s/he has learned on the doctrinal level, a level that most of the adults stop their moral development according to Kohlberg; 3)

36 He determined three types of approaches: First, teachers have a critical approach to be decided how they can determine and justify the moral nature of various matters they talk about. Second one is “relational” approach with its priority on an “empathetic” treatment instead of teaching students about the theoretical and/or rational principles. According to the third approach, teachers have a responsibility to deconstruct hegomonic ideologies. 37 According to this, one (maybe the only critical) question a teacher should ask, for Hansen, is “what is education in itself?” because this questioning will provide us with the meaning (and therefore the moral dimension) of education, which characterizes the embeddedness of morality in the education: "Teaching means attending to students, speaking with them in intellectually serious ways, identifying their strengths and weaknesses with an eye on supporting the former and overcoming the latter, and more. For most teachers, those are not easy things to do. They must be learned, renewed, remembered."(Hansen, 1998: 647-52). 38 Out of results of such a study –a comparative study including countries like USA, England, Malesia and Turkey- Kohlberg, for example, verified the universal principle in terms of the ethical cognitive processes (in Kağıtçıbaşı, 1988: 258-61; Onur, 1986: 55). According to this universal principle, the basic difference between different cultures is about the stage individuals could reach, and their speeds while passing stages. The only rational stage beyond passive-traditional applications of ethical norms and rules, which an individual tries actively realize his/her own individual ethical consciousness that serves what a doctrinal principle necessitates on the level of the practice (in Kağıtçıbaşı, 1988: 256-58; and in Onur, 1986: 55).39

The idea that institutionalized/developed capitalist countries are (also) experiencing a deep legitimation crisis (basically a moral one) supporting the Weberian thesis is widespread among social contemporary scientists (see for example Bell, 1996; Berger,

1990; Etzioni, 1988). Sennett (1996b: 412-17), in his The Fall of Public Man calls our attention to the decrease in public roles and participation by claiming that Protestant ethic turned into a narsistic individualism. Since cultural, if not moral, justification of capitalism has become hedonism -the pleasure principle as a way of life, in his The

Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism, Bell maintains that the loss of a common moral ground is the most important problem of the “new capitalism40 of the twentieth century.”

(1996: 21-2). Then the question is “what can hold the society together? Because the problem is the problem of belief, a spiritual one41, “the only solution is a revitalization42 of religion” according to Bell (1996: 28-30):

What this abondonment of Puritanism and the Protestant Ethic does, of course, is to leave capitalism with no moral or transcendental ethic. It

39 Ülken (1999: 26) uses the very same classification; 1) before social; 2) social; and 3) beyond-social –or the stage overcome simple individualistic tendencies in the guidance of a very personal consciousness (şahsi şuur) about what is good and what is not. 40 Bell defines the lack of balance between the ethic of production and consumer ethic as the essential conflict which modern capitalism lives through today: Although hard work and discipline are still seen as an ethical virtue today, there is a tendency towards consumption of luxury goods and a disappearnce of savings –which is the essence of Protestant ethic according to Bell (1996: 65-70). 41 There are many studies underlined the dimension of spiritual crises in terms of the cultural-moral crisis of the contemporary western societies (Wuthnow, 1998; 1987; Sennett, 1996b; Etzioni, 1988; Fukuyama, 1995; Hirsh, 1976). 42 In the literature on Islamist movement also the term “revitalization” and/or “revival” has been largely consumed. Yet Wuthnow defined a movement as “revitalization movement” only if there is an attempt to restore or reconstruct patterns of moral order that have been radically disrupted or threatened (1987: 233). also emphasizes not only the disjunction between the norms of the culture and the norms of the structure itself. On the one hand, the business corporation wants an individual to work hard, pursue a carreer, accept delayed gratification --to be, in the crude sense an organizational man. And yet, in its products… the corporation promotes pleasure, instant joy, relaxing and letting go. One is to be "straight" by day and a "swinger" by night. Bell, 1996: 71-2

As it has been argued by classical thinkers (Marx, Durkheim and Weber) that social and economic deprivation produces an increase in religious commitment (Dekmejian, 1995:

7), crises of identity and culture, and crises of legitimacy are two important components of such deprivations. The periods of radical changes are chaotic and anomic -in the

Durkheimian sense (Tiryakian, 1990: 221)- because the old institutions, values, and legitimizing patterns are no longer functional.43 Wuthnow (1987: 95, 234) underlines that changes in social circumstances must also cause a sense of uncertainty - an uncertainty that arises mostly from “social changes that create cleavages between local elites and the broader mass of the population.": and, "(...) any ambiguity in moral obligations creates possibilities for innovative religious interpretations to be presented." (Wuthnow, 1988:

479). This is because as Walzer (1968: 312-3) points out when describing “Protestant revolution,” these periods of change should be described as one that old and new institutions function side by side. As a result, religion could have become the most

43 At the end of his Division of Labor, Durkheim describes anomie (and the problem of his society) as follows; “Profound changes have been produced in the structure of our societies in a very short time;.Accordingly, the morality which corresponds to this social type has regressed, but without another one developing quickly enough to fill the ground that the first left vacant in our consciences. Our faith has been troubled; tradition has lost its sway; individual judgement has been freed from collective judgment.” He did not think that this problem was out of a solution, even if it would be slow: “In short, our first duty is to make a moral code for ourselves. Such a work cannot be improvised in the silence of the study; it can arise only through itself, little by little, under the pressure of internal causes which make it necessary. ” (1933: 408-9). revolutionary of all forces because of its quality to reinterpret the original doctrinal sources under different practical conditions -at crucial junctures of history, as Weber underlined and some other comtemporary scientists emphasized (For instance, Bell,

1996: 169; Wuthnow, 1987; and Lenski, 1963). As known, Weber determined the arrival of new prophets or a “great rebirth of old ideas and ideals” as the only solution for the problem of the strict formalization in the cultural realm (1992: 182) –it is what he called as “iron cage” for the capitalist order:

No one knows who will live in this cage in the future, or whether at the end of this tremendous development entirely new prophets will arise, or there will be a great rebirth of old ideas and ideals, or, if neither, mechanized petrification, embellished with a sort of convulsive self importance. For of the last stage of this cultural development, it might well be truly said: 'specialists without spirit, sensualists without heart; this nullity imagines that it has attained a level of civilization never before achieved

Therefore, it can paradoxically be observed that we witness more conformism in the western world contrary to non-western contexts with an increasing potential for entrepreneurial capacity. 44 The reason for this should lie in their social conditions, which are marked by their unique transformations to capitalism. The key concept for this study is transformation. Therefore, this can be interpreted as a sign that buraucratic formalized institutionalized west with its highly individualized cultural atmosphere lost its regenative power for communal solutions (Safi, 1994: 80). We can foresee that until new conflictual situations emerge and lead to strong conflictual situations, this routine will

44 The tension emerging from transitional stresses is an important emancipating factor which serves to rise the innovative and creative capacities of individuals as cultural beings. Safi (1994: 199-200) relates authenticity with modern innovation, and concludes that this capacity will help to modernize Islam, because “they are two integral parts of modernization qua rationalization.” continue for the West. Here lies the issue of rationality in the modern sense: are there any other characteristics of capitalism other than giving not only thoughtful but original responses to the changing environment?

In this context what can also be argued following Giddens’ (1990: 138) approach on late modernity which is the idea that actual processes in these formal institutions themselves include the potential of autonomy and spontaneity. Goldstone, in his study on inventions

(1987), supported Giddens’ view by emphasizing the technical dimensions of what we call invention as the product of entrepreneural activity as a structural component of capitalism itself. According to this idea, capitalism is a system that necessarily includes the dimension of inventions that can be considered as the guarantee of capitalism as

Schumpeter (1950) and Weber (1992; 1978, Vol.2) pointed out.

Fukuyama (1995: 11) and Hirsch (1976: 141) emphasized the rising role of habitual behaviors in the cultural sphere rather than a truly rational calculation; and, that is why we should recall (and/or revitalize) some of the critical premodern values to protect the genuine/real core of advanced capitalist democracies. Berger (1990: 248) described this problem as the transformation of the moral question “from the crises of religion to the crises of secularity”. Berger underlined that individualistic ideologies (both secular and religious45) cannot be a moral base providing either an individualistic nor social existential pattern for the needs of modern individual.

45 Protestantism as the main religious individualistic source lost this quality in advanced forms of capitalism because it has become a matter of strictly small-group (if not merely individualistic) activity in the relation of this doctrine with the worldly activity (Berger, 1990; 248). The contradictory nature(s) of modern individulalistic morality and the rebirth of community ties (Bowring, 1997: 96)46 -that communal ties cannot be compatible with the very needs of modern individual, such as individual freedom and choice- is a widespread one among scholars and politicians. However, Etzioni (1984: 64) for example, who is a leading figure directing the post welfare-state period policy of England, points out

“mutually dependent relationship” between communal and individualistic dynamics. He further examined that the reductionist view that considered merely the oppositional side of the relationship –between community and individual- is responsible partially for the contemporary crises. Such a view considers the social field in its relation to individual ethic on the base of individual rationality, although a common ground as a point of departure is inevitable for all types of ethical concerns (Etzioni in Bowring, 1997: 100):

This is because of the fact that values such as “self-control, truth telling” and the conviction that “hard work pays” is not only a matter of individual level ethical principles, but also a matter of “functional cohesion of the society,” and “economic efficiency” in general. The ignorance of communal ties, according to Etzioni, is the reason for “excessive autonomy,” and thanks to the internalization process of communal values that is mainly realized on the individual level, communal ties and values itself can be an “integral part” of the “self”47. And, therefore, it is not something that is necessarily in opposition to individual freedom (Etzioni, 1984: 68-9, 71).

46 As noted before, this rebirth is one of the results of ending the protective policies of welfare states (Bowring, 1997: 95).

47 By using a parallel reasoning, Bowring (1997: 97, 113) emphasizes that what is important in this context is the constitutive, (“the history making ”) active and conscious role that individuals play. Bauman’s (1973: 163-5, 177-8) emphasis is also the one that is parallel to these approaches: he rejects the dichotomic perception of what is public and private in cultural sphere by underlining the practical and everyday nature It can be concluded that each moral crises is a long painful process from an old to the emergence of a new moral order as well as an anomic situation, because as Durkheim argued long ago, a common moral ground is necessary. Such a source, for Durkheim, exists, in the form of society itself, and “they are an integral necessary element in any stable social system” (Lenski, 1963: 4) unlike the ideas based on the idea that modern capitalist structures need no “cultural integrity.”

Substantial/Dynamic and Habitual/Institutionalized Thinking: Rationalization as Meaningfulness and Formalization The Puritan wanted work in a calling; we are forced to do so…This order is our bound to the technical and economic conditions of machine production which to-day determine the lives of all the individuals who are born into this mechanism…fate decreed that the cloak should become an iron cage….material goods have gained an increasing and finally an inexorable power over the lives of men as in no previous periods in history. Weber, 1992: 181

Modernization, in Weber’s analysis, is a process of rationalization. The concept of rationalization should be discussed here, because his use of it is diversed and very complicated as a result of its different uses in its analytical and historical dimensions. Brubaker (1984: 9) calls our attention to “rationalization” in his analysis, it “is not a single process but a multiplicity of distinct though interrelated processes arising from different historical sources, proceeding at different rates, and furthering different interests and values." In his Social Psychology of the World Religion48,, Weber (1958a: 293) explained two main meanings of the term: 1) Rationalism “means one thing if we think of the kind of rationalization the systematic thinker performs on the image of the world: an increasing theoretical mastery of reality by means of increasingly precise and abstract concepts.” 2) “Rationalism means another thing if we think of the methodical attainment of a definitely given and practical end by means of an increasingly precise calculation of

of cultural activity. According to this, a search for “deeper meaning, justice, freedom and good” is something common among individuals beyond being an intellectual and elitist small-group activitiy. Therefore, what is critical is “the search” itself as an “human experience and action” rather than culture as a field of particular “intellectual invention (s)”. 48 Weber (1958: 293-4) also compares great religions in terms of this criteria in this study. adequate means.” This can also mean “systematic organization/planning of something.” There are no religious and metaphysical dimensions in the second category, which is why it represents the dimension of value-free thinking of the process of rationalization: reflecting what he meant by saying pure economy and rational processes in western capitalism is value-free. These categories can be named as formal and substantial rationality.49

This distinction can be related with the evolutionary nature of human systems (the evolution of capitalism from value-bounded substantial rationalization to a formalization of this rationality in our case) as well as a fundamental difference in terms of human activity (as meaningful-conscious and habitual). The first one reflects the historical nature of the concept while the latter can be related with its very essence. The bureaucratic institutionalization of capitalist systems –namely, the formalization of this system-, according to this schema, will become traditionalized too, representing the “iron cage” of modern rational capitalism. What is also significant in this sense that meaningful and conscious human action represents the exception50 far from being what is the rule for common people (Roth, 1978: XXXV). Yet this “exception” is what represents the “truly human action” of Weber which is “rational, free and meaningful”, mainly because he considered ordinary people purely uncultured: what is uncultured in his analysis meant natural that is “non-rational, unfree and devoid of meaning” (Brubaker, 1984: 93). The expansion of such people freeing from habitual thinking and behaviour in the west represents what mainly happened in its transition from feudalism to capitalism. In this sense, capitalism in general and the premises of classical economics

(or pure economy) in particular necessitate Weber (1992) and Schumpeter’s (1950) entrepreneurs51 in the

49 See Brubaker (1984: 3-5, 91-110) and Wuthnow (1988: 489; 1980: 927-8) for a detailed argumentations on this distinction. 50 Why Schumpeter thought that intense entrepreneural activity of the capitalist middle class is a transitory phenomenon must be related to this point. Wuthnow (1998: 117) stated that this state of the human being is somewhat sick in a sense, -that is not just being “heroic” as Weber thought. Dewey’s (1962) explanation is: “Customary morality is of considerable importance because it often provides a reliable guide in matters of right and wrong…Dewey suggests there is something "sick" about a person who goes through life questioning the morality of everything. But customary morality becomes a negative force when people let institutionalized norms make their basic decisions for them. 51 Weber’s Protestant entrepreneurs were structurally autonomous because they were free from their traditional roots, responsibilities and rural origins; and they were autonomous intellectually because the rejection of the traditional authorities turning their face to the original church and religious messages depending on only their own reason in front of God. Zaret emphasises these points as fundamental to differentiate traditional gentry and yeomanry from small entrepreneurs and independent producers: in addition to their independence and autonomy, “a practical rationalism demanded by their entrepreneural role and their consequent affinity for relatively critical and independent mental habits (Zaret, 1985: 165). ideal typical sense. That is why, not only western capitalist organization but also the classical economic theory, a result of a “Protestant climate,” have faced a strong resistance in other socio-cultural contexts.

In Weber’s words (1992: 118), “Only a life guided by constant thought could achieve conquest over the state of nature. Descarte's cogito ergo sum was taken over by the contemporary Puritans with this ethical reinterpretation. It was this rationalisation which gave the Reformed faiths52 its peculiar ascetic tendency, and is the basis both of its relationship to and its conflict with Catholicism.” In this context, “acquiring wealth” as much as possible as one of the fundamental components of capitalism was not taken as the natural state of human being in Weber’s analysis, but as a result of ascetic attitude towards life. However, the fate of this strictly meaningful and conscious human activity which is peculiar to the transitory periods is formalisation in the long run as described by Weber:

…something more than mere garnishing for purely egocentric motives is involved. In fact…the earning of more and more money, combined with the strict avoidance of all spontaneous enjoyment of life…the strict avoidance of all spontaneous enjoyment of life…it appears entirely transcendental and absolutely irrational.(…)Man does not 'by nature' wish to earn more and more money but simply to live as he is accustomed and to earn as much necessary for that purpose.53 Weber, 1992: 53, 60

Therefore, understanding the transition from feudal to capitalist society is the key to understand the special meaning of rationalisation and modernisation in the western context. In this first stage, the cognitive faculty of human being has reinforced with the replacement of active reasoning with habitual-reactive human emotions. Thus, human conduct had become meaningful instead of being a “habitual stimuli” as a semi- automatic human reaction to the nature and other people (Brubaker, 1984: 93)

52 Hill defined who is a puritan simply as the one who “sought a more evangelical (ortodox, spiritual) and Protestant style of worship than that offered by the Church of England (in Zaret, 1985: 19). See Seaver (1985) for an interesting study narrating the life of a typical puritan of his time. 53 Weber (1992:66-7) also described the fundamental features of traditional economic mentality in Protestant Ethic: "Until the middle of the past century, the life of a putter-out was, ….what we should consider to-day very comfortable….The number of business hours was very moderate, perhaps five to six a day, sometimes considerably less…it was traditional manner of life, the traditional rate of profit, the traditional amount of work, the traditional manner of regulating the relationship with labour, and essentially traditional circle of customers and the manner of attracting new ones.".

Protestant Ethic and Modern Capitalism

What God demands is not labour in itself, but rational labour in a calling. Weber, 1992:161

It cannot just be a coincidence that Weber wrote his The Spirit of Capitalism and Protestant Ethic and

Objectivity in Social Science and Social Policy one after another: the first one was written in 1904 and the latter in the years 1904-5. This reflects the relation between these two themes in the mind of the writer (see

Swedberg, 1998: 192). The first part of Objectivity, Swedberg underlines, is on the general significance of the capitalist development. Moreover this is the first study Weber divided economic phenomona into 3 categories as: 1) economic phenomena; 2) economically relevant phenomena; and 3) economically conditioned phenomena. The economic phenomena in the second category “do not primarily interest us with respect to their economic significance" but that "have consequences which are of interest from the economic point of view” while economic events are in their pure state in the first category (Swedberg,

1998: 192). The third category is the problematic one, according to Swedberg (1998: 193), because of the way “Weber defines it in the essay on objectivity….he says…[it is] not economic and has no significant economic effects, but involves 'behaviour in non-economic affairs (that is) partly influenced by economic motives’. This category seems to reflect what Weber called as “exceptional” true human activity that can also be represented charismatic features of a human being, and what, he considered “extremely rare”, especially under the institutionalised bureaucratic organisations of developed capitalism.54

In Weber’s analysis, the basic distinction between rational and traditional orders relies on the distinction between customary55 against rationally “strategic” action of modern capitalism,56 even if in the interpretations in conventional thinking, the conceptualization of rationality is still opposing to any cultural factor. It should be emphasised here, therefore, that the development of pure-objective science, including

54 As known, according to Weber (1987), artistic and scientific activities can partially be escaped from this trap of capitalist organization of society. 55 This reminds us Bourdieu’s concept of habitus. According to Weber, actor’s action is governed, in most cases, “by impulse or habit”; and Weber defined “custom” to call “usage” that is long standing (1978: Vol.1: 21-2, 29). 56 The internal distinction in terms of rational action is “instrumental” and “value-oriented” action, as it is well-known. According to this, this first one is institutionalized (it can be called as traditionalized) modern condition with its external motivational base for action. economics and the expansion of impersonal-formal rational forms shaping capitalist institutions of modern society was simultaneously realized. This framework will allow us to include what is formal/rational and informal/irrational and/or cultural at the same time, which has vital importance in analysing transitional periods that is very dynamic due to the fact that the formal institutions of “the new society” have not yet emerged. There was little use of formal bureaucratic structure before 1840, Zucker (1986: 68) notes, when modern industrial forms were just emerging. In this context, he emphasised that trust will be turning into in a “institutional-based” one from an active and informal one. This is only one example showing that capitalism is not intrinsically in opposition to what is informal/irrational as DiMaggio put it forward :

…insofar as culture affects economic behaviour, its effects do not necessarily conflict with economic rationality (…) What is essential is to move beyond sterile generalizations to accounts of the conditions under which culture promotes or discourages (different constructions of) rational action. DiMaggio, 1994: 35

Weber also pointed out that the precapitalist roots of the “free contract” of modern capitalism could not be rejected. The main difference between what is modern/capitalist and what is not, was the expansion of what is rational and formal in the ideal typical sense, not the very existence of such qualities according to Weber

(in Roth, 1978: LXXIII-LXXIV, LXXX). Thus, we can conclude, by following Weber, that saying that economics is value-free does not mean it is totally functioning out of the effects of a socio-cultural environment. On the contrary, economy can be related what is socio-cultural in various levels as summarised above, and the pure form of economic phenomena is only one of these various forms when the whole picture is considered. Weber has consumed the concept of culture mostly in the contexts of

“household, neighbourhood, kin group, ethnic group, religious group and political community,” while contextualizing market economy organised by the principle of abstract-impersonal principles as something under the category of “the general kind.” The working of a market economy, therefore, is not culture- specific mainly because it does not work with these above-mentioned categories such as kinship which is based on culturally constrained personal relations. Still, this cannot be interpreted in the sense that there will be no personally developed ties and an ethical-moral framework in the modern capitalism. It should rather be formulated in a way that it cannot work under the dominance of warm human relationships instead of the guidance of the cold reasoning as framing the base for the relationships, even if it does not mean that it totally excludes this kind of relational base. It is in this sense that Weber described capitalism as “the rationalization of irrationality.” Weber talks about “natural law as the normative standard of positive law,” in this context, which also reflects the essence of Protestantism. Weber’s thesis of Protestant

Ethic can be interpreted as an attempt to explore this connection in a sense. This is where it is relavant to mention Veblen’s (1898) distinction between evolutionary and non-evolutionary economics that was represented by British political economy as something ahistorical to the extent that it was spiritualistic according to him.

As a result, this rationalized and formal character of capitalism, “the general kind” of relationships in

Weber’s saying, reflects the normative framework of Protestant heritage that is basically a (cultural) tradition as well with its tendency to the universal and formal-abstract principles on the base of individual autonomy in terms of intellectual and structural requirements of modern society.

An Alternative Perspective on Economy There has been the work of one man whom I have greatly admired. If I were to start out again, I would build upon his ideas. I am referring, of course, to Max Weber.57 Knight in Swedberg, 1998: 205

Relating moral issues with the economic field can not be considered as something new. Also, it would not be correct to think that ethical considerations are something that are limited to Islamic economics. Studying economy around moral issues, recognizing that economy’s very origin is moral itself, goes back to the very early western philosophers and thinkers of economics. Adam Smith, originally a moralist and the first economist, later did not distinguish between the two analyzing economic and cultural factors together58.

Young (1997) argues that what took Smith to the idea of “invisible hand59” and “free market” was his original search for a “common good” of his society. According to this, the highest common good could be

57 These were said in the speech Knight made just after his retirement from the University of Chicago. 58 The following sentences from Smith are very contradictory with the image economist attributed to him later: “...if people were ruled by economic motives alone, there would be little stimulus to increase production above the necessities or needs. It is because men are driven by an impulse for status that economic “development” began” (in Bell, 1996: 22-3, footnote 23). 59 Swedberg (1987: 13-4) also underlines that his “invisible hand” is completed with an “individual soul”: "…the popular image of Smith as a one-dimensional advocate of the virtues of the market. Smith does created through the mechanism of free market. Therefore, it should be stated that classical economic thought could not inherently be responsible for “the thesis of disembeddedness ” in classical as well as in neoclassical economics. With the exceptions of Weber and Durkheim, Zaret (1989: 166) argued that, even

Comte and Marx have written from a moralistic point of view as a continuation of the old religious- centered production of socio-economic knowledge -guiding “Comte's negative appraisal of the revolutionary implications in 'the dogma of unbounded liberty of conscience'….[and] Marx saw

Protestantism as capitalist ideology” (Zaret, 1989: 166).

As known, criticisms directed to the “classical” interpretation of economy in general have been intensified since the 1950s. Today, the idea that market is not free even in the most liberalised developed

“capistalisms” –beyond the countries like Turkey, where the state has a very special and strong position60- has largely been accepted. Polanyi, the leading name criticising free market thesis of classical economy from an interdisciplinary point of view, contributed this literature in many ways: yet it is in his major study

The Economy as an Instituted Process (1957a), which includes his conceptual innovations. Here is his famous notion of "embeddedness":

The human economy... is embedded and enmeshed in institutions, economic and noneconomic. The inclusion of the noneconomic is vital. For religion and government may be as important to the structure and functioning of the economy as monetary institutions or the availability of tools and machines themselves that lighten the toil of labor. Polanyi, 1957a: 14-5

Contemporary literature in social sciences is full of such emphasis that economic commodities and processes cannot be theorised without embedding it into the larger socio-cultural context. Appadurai (1986:

indeed speak of how the individual, by pursuing his or her own interests, may also further those of society in general." 60 Polanyi’s (1957b) emphasis in the context of embeddedness of economy into the society lies in the specific conditions of England. Polanyi emphasized the role of state in terms of his embeddedness thesis, because English people’s faith in “spontaneous development” made them “blind” to the central state apparatus, if not an enemy of it. Buğra, in his analysis on Turkish entrepreneurship (1995) following Polanyi’s state-centered conception of what is noneconomic neglected socio-cultural meaning and dimensions of this state-centeredness, even if she rooted this emphasis in the idea that “state has a central role to determine what is socio-economic” (1995: 9). Culture has a constitutive power through religious linguistic patterns –dominates the habitus (Bourdieu) that represents the way we do and think, even where it seemed powerless (see Hobsbawm, 1993, for detailed explanation about inventing tradition). Yenal (1999) too, criticised this for the same reason. 14) for instance, argues that objects have ‘social lives’: over time, they are constructed as commodities, appropriated and personalised through use. Zelizer (1989) points out that money itself, as purely economic material, cannot be reduced to “neutral market money”; money may become “domestic” or “charitable” for instance according to the socio-cultural atmosphere it uses and the meaning attributed to it. The works of

Bourdieu (1984), Boltanski (1987), and Zelizer (1983; 1989) all make an explicit attempt to build the cultural dimension into the analysis of economic institutions and behaviour as Smelser (1994: 19) underlines. Others underlined the moral dimension in its relevance to the functioning of developed capitalist countries by presuming embeddedness of market and institutions into moral, legal and trust relations (Etzioni, 1988: 115-121; Bell, 1996; Wuthnow, 1987: 81-5; Şen, 1985).

It can be stated, indeed, that the tension between classical economy and social sciences should be rooted in the very emergence of what we call today social sciences61, especially sociology as a discipline inherently against economic reductionism in its very beginning. It can even be argued that the emergence of sociology lies in its rejection of formulas of classical economics with its increasingly hegemonic power in the scientific world of the time. What is more significant in this context is that catholic France was the home of criticisms against pure economy by maintaining the idea of social and/or political economy while puritan

England was the leading universalistic premises of classical economy. Weber’s economic sociology is unique in his analysis of economy and society perceiving this issue as mixed, two-dimensional phenomena.

According to this perception, economy as a discipline as well as capitalism itself is a homogenous process of rationalization, but still uniqe in its own socio-cultural dynamics. Weber, in his Capitalism in Germany and Rural Society (1987: 296-317), studied the cultural and historically specific nature of the process of capitalization of his own country as well.

One of the most representative examples of how Weber embedded economy -in its purest form- in the socio-cultural and historical is his definition of “self-interest” that is a basic principle of classical economy in terms of its ideal typical personality, namely homo- economicus. The “rational” nature of self-interested behavior –in the sense of deliberate

61 Veblen, known as the founder of institutionalist school within the economic discipline, started an open war against the premises of ‘pure economics’ because it reduced economic analysis to a purely materialistic adaptation to situations- in contrast with habitual behavior, deriving from a cold reasoning, is crucial in the realization of capitalist functioning in his analysis (1978:

Vol.1: 30, 43). He further pointed out that, especially under bureaucratic form of capitalism, the formalized (or institutionalized) nature of self-interest rests on the total neglect of others’ interests: one “thus runs the risk of damaging his own interest” as well

(1978: Vol.1: 30-1). This point is also important in showing us there is (or should be) a limit for “individualism” in his analysis even for modern capitalism to perform truly.

Sozialokonomik, in Weber’s words is a “science of reality” which is similar to Polanyi’s “substantive economy”62: “social economics deals with those phenomena which are scarce, but necessary to satisfy ideal and material interests, and can only be provided through planning, struggle, and cooperation with other people" (in Swedberg, 1998: 192). Socio-economic event, however, Weber continued “is not something which it possesses "objectively". It is rather conditioned by the orientation of our cognitive interests, as it arises from the specific cultural significance which we attribute to the particular event in a given case.”

(Swedberg, 1998: 192). That explains why Weber was very careful when teaching “socioeconomics” and why he explained economic ideal types by emphasising their non-existence in the purest sense in the real life (Swedberg, 1998: 286-7).

Weber pointed out, as a result, it is not specific to economics to work with pure/ideal types and abstract formulations, as a common practice for all disciplines of modern science. Furthermore, he also argued capitalist societies will be fitting more to these ideal typical categories in their becoming more and more rational and institutionalized: “it is no coincidence…that Bohm-Bawerk's theory of price formation fits the behaviour at the Berlin stock exchange so nicely. In general, one 'historical peculiarity of the capitalist epoch it is precisely that there exists an increasing 'approximation of reality to the theoretical propositions

motive. In his Theory of Leisure Class (1994), he reframes economy as instituted and embedded phenomena that is effected by noneconomic factors as well as economic ones in its materialistic sense. 62 Polanyi, in his introduction of Economy as Instituted Process (1957a), explained that there are two divisions in economics: pure/abstract-formal economics and substantive/concrete, historical studies of economy. According to this division, the first one is related to reason and logic in the first place while the latter reflects the actual conditions of the real world. Formal rationality referring to the pure economy and the rational choice theory are being functional in contradiction with the substantial rationality (Swedberg, Himmelstrand and Brulin, 1990: 66). of economics ….The heuristic significance of the theory of marginal utility rests on this cultural-historical fact, not on its supposed foundation in [psychology]'" (in Swedberg, 1998:195). In his latest studies, this tendency of taking economy mostly as an autonomous field has sharpened: In The Economic Ethics of the

World Religions, written in the 1910s, he first used the concept of “economic sphere.” What follows is

Swedberg’s (1998: 133) interpretation on this point:

The concept of 'economic sphere' essentially denotes that economic activities, as history evolves, tend to become separate from other human activities and also to a certain extent governed by their own rules or laws ('limited autonomy' or 'Eigengesetzlichkeit,' in Weber's terminology)…The economic sphere clashes, for example, with the religious sphere in capitalist society because it is very difficult to regulate rational economic actions through religious rules.

Protestantism as Transformatory Force

Like all the other spheres of the modern society it was foreseen that religion would also become an autonomous force peculiar to the private lives of individual agents.63 Yet, as explored above, there is always something “cultural and moral” beyond the modern rational and formal constructions. That is the idea of embeddedness which is not limited in the field of economy, but includes all spheres: Beyond the dualities of secular/religious and traditional/modern this study aims to develop a historical perspective which focuses on the complexity of socio-economic structuring and (re)structuring, as Lenski (1963: 5) points out:

“Economic institutions are not the uncaused reason for all social changes. Rather, they are the part of a complex social system,” including religious dimension. Wuthow (1994: 630) also underlined that economy and religion should not be analysed in a perspective where they are presented as opposing each other.

Furthermore, the dynamic quality of religion should not be limited to transitional periods only because

"Modern religion is resilient and yet subject to cultural influences; it does not merely survive or decline, but adapts to its environments in complex ways." (Wuthnow, 1988: 475).

What is certain for contemporary studies in terms of religious dimension is that religion and its relation to the society in general should necessarily be re-examined. This necessity can be determined as the main factor that brought Weber’s thesis on the current agenda again, which underlines that religion is not inherently a restrictive force in the cultural realm but could be “transformatory” as well. Following this thesis, Worsley also emphasizes this transformatory capacity:

Religion is intrinsically unbounded in its field of operation, because it is ideal as well as social, it is always potentially innovatory, and like all innovations, potentially harmful to established interests. But religion, it ought to be said, is neither intrinsically conservative nor revolutionary. Worsley, 1996: 229

This emphasis on the transitory dimension of religion also explains why Appleby sees the real significance of Weber’s Protestant ethic thesis in its analysis of a specific systemic transformation: "(Weber’s) genius lies in his insistence that these areas are the key to understanding the most striking of social transformations: the passage of Western nations into modernity." (Appleby, 1996: 164, emphasis is mine).

An overview of the studies on Protestant Ethic thesis will make it clear that the ones who reject his thesis made it on the base of focusing the causal dimension –causality between capitalism and Protestant ethics- by ignoring the historical dimension of this connection (Samuelson, 1961; Tawney, 1937). Some even rejected it from the point that a “capitalistic spirit” is not new, which was not the point in Weber’s study at all (Tawney, 1937: 227). As explained above, Weber himself did not reject that there were capitalist qualities as well before capitalism –but it was in the form of exceptional cases, not as a rule and/or characteristic of the very nature of the socio-economic system.

On the contrary, studies prove that his thesis mostly recognised the two dimensional nature of his analysis, - that represents a historically and culturally specific context that has been analytically explored at the same time. This is where the universal nature of rational capitalism coincides with Protestantism –as a culture specific factor- which played a crucial role in the formation of capitalism as a system. That is, it is powerful not only because it grasps the actual historical reality but also because it develops the necessary analytical tools to evaluate it. Thus, it can be derived from Weber’s methodological framework that under different historical conditions Protestantism could have not played the exactly same critical role that it played during the capitalist transformation of the west.

63 See Lenski (1963) for detailed explanations and a general framework for further readings. In any of his studies on the religions of China, India or Judaism he did not conceptualise religion without the whole realm of socio-cultural economic environment. His understanding of religious ethic and religion itself is composed of several factors in the direction of dominant ones in a specific cultural environment.

Moreover, Weber’s explanation to why capitalism did not develop spontaneously in these cultures did not consist of religious factors only (Swedberg, 1998: 133, 143). It seems reasonable to interpret his studies on other cultures and religions basically as a methodological attempt64 to strengthen his thesis on the development (or rather religious/irrational origin) of western capitalism.

Walzer (1968) and Eisenstadt (1969) agree with Weber in classifying Protestantism as a transformatory and revolutionary force. It is a response to radically changing conditions in Walzer’s case, while Eisenstadt perceived it basicaly in the context of “the religious restructuring of the world”65 (See also Eisendtadt,

1969: 305; 1968: 7-8):

It is necessary to ask about the transformative capacity of different religions (or, for that matter, of secular ideologies), i.e., their capacity for internal transformation which may then facilitate the development of new social institutions and individual motivations in directions different from their original impulses and aims.…..a shift of attention from the allegedly direct, causal relationships between Protestantism and capitalism (or other aspects of the modern world) to the internal transformative capacities of Protestantism and to their impact on the transformation of the modern world. Eisenstdat, 1969: 304

Even the ones who are critical to his thesis admit that Weber’s thesis still partly keeps its validity even if they feel they do not exactly know what it is as Eisenstadt (1968: 5) notes. What is more interesting, is

“this thing” could be the “transformatory” dimension of Protestantism as emphasized by late Weberian literature. It can be proved for Tawney’s case for example (1973: 89; and also see his 1937: 102) as one of the most powerful critics of Protestant Ethic thesis. As seen in the following passage, Tawney also

64 Swedberg (1998: 133; see also footnote 65 in p. 266) also agrees that comparative methodology is the most important one in the area of cultural studies. 65 Wuthnow (1987: 235-7) agrees with him by maintaining the idea that there is a distinction between revitalization movements and ideological-religious movements aiming such a total ideological/religious restructuring of the world, Protestant Reformation was one of them. This distinction is based on 1) their underlined that "Calvinism was an active and radical force….not merely to purify the individual, but to reconstruct Church and State, and to renew society by penetrating into every departmant of life, public as well as private, with the influence of religion."

A Contribution to Weber’s Protestant Ethic Thesis

Weber’s analysis of ethics and culture is oriented by a very specific meaning, with a doctrine-centered origin66 (Zaret, 1985: 27), although he conceptualized these terms as something composed of a socio- economic structural whole. In other words, such a doctrine-centreness is a result of the specific culture of the West and Christianity in a sense. This connection is clear in Wuthnow’s analysis for instance:

Wuthnow (1987: 136) points out the “doctrin-centered” and subjective nature of Protestantism itself67 and its effect on structural process.

This dimension can also be determined as the main reason why the followers of Weber tried to develop this tradition in this respect: Hill (1967, 1956) further developed Weberian thesis by enlarging the issue to structural and material dimensions of the economic problems of the church and clerics in the emergence of

Reformation. What Zaret (1985: 90) specifically emphasized was the role of the tradition of popular dissent during the Protestant reformation:

The rise of Puritanism in pre-revolutionary England....was not merely the result of efforts by puritan clerics to indoctrinate the laity with their religious goals...But equally important was the existence of a tradition of popular dissent, which had long-standing commitments to a literate religion and to an edifying and preaching style of worship, and which was opposed to all rituals associated with a sacerdotal priesthood....The

aim to create a total change in cultural order; 2)their international character in scope; and 3)a radical opposition to the sacred assumptions underlying the established world order. 66 As an evidence supporting this idea that the historical connection between classical Christianity and its reformed Prostentant version was being stated by Weber (1992: 261) as the sytematically organized lives of monks, especially in their strict lives around religious activities planned under the pressure of time. This origion of a strict organization of lives around time is what the modern working life has to be necessarily faithful. 67 Wuthnow (1987: 136) argued that this quality of Protestantism made not only possible but also easier to study subjective meaning. This is peculiar, Wuthnow argued, only this specific ideology because the Protestant was someone who had written his thoughts and emotions down in his planned and sytematic attitude in general toward the world. Thus, Weber could get “messages about subjective meanings that were filtered through a formalized, socially constructed set of cultural categories.” organizational and ideological features of Puritanism thus had both clerical and lay sources.

Brubaker (1984) also does not consider his analysis as a one-sided one. According to him, it is rather focusing on the rising sections of the society representing a tension between doctrinal and practical sources.68 Still, Brubaker (1984: 97) too underlined that Weber’s understanding of ethic almost excludes what he called as “average ethic.” The concept of charisma69 is basic representing religious purity and ethical maturity: charismatic personality is heroic70 in terms of applications of ethical principles in their purity to the practice. Main sources for a pure ethical conduct was a prophetic charisma71 that is something almost given by God out of any reasonable human explanation. “Average person,” although Weber noted it is related to one’s religious musicality, not his/her socio-economic position, were the ones who represented by large masses. That is why large masses72 did not take part in his analysis of moral transformation, if it did not take a purely receptive passive or maybe negative part: by being responsible for the development of capitalism for its iron cage in the long run:73

The sacred values that have been most cherished, the ecstatic and visionary capacities of shamans, sorcerers, ascetics, and pneumatics of all sorts, could not be attained by everyone. The possesion of such faculties is a 'charisma,' which, to be sure, might be awakened in some but not in all….'Heroic' or 'virtuoso' religiosity is opposed to mass

68 Also, Brubaker, interpreting Weber’s analysis from a very different angle, notes that Weber’s analysis is hardly be categorized as a one-sided doctrinal one, rather it is something "…between ultimate values and recalcitrant reality, between warm passion and a cool sense of proportion, between ends and means, between reason in the anthropological sense and scientific rationality, between idealistic striving and rationalistic adaptation to the possible --between, in sum, the ethically rationalized personality, committed to certain standards of substantive rationality, and the ethically neutral social world, governed by mechanisms of purely formal rationality." (Brubaker, 1984: 111). 69 This concept is a religious one in its origin; Weber (1987: 52) borrowed it from Rudolf Sohm who is a jurician and historian working on church history. 70 His pessimism about the ethical “nature” of the avarage human being is explained by Brubaker (1984: 97): "…Weber's ethic of personality is a heroic ethic, an aristocratic ethic, an ethic of virtuosi ….Weber distinguishes explicitly between 'heroic' and 'average' ethics…" 71 The concept of charisma can be related to Islamic vahiy (revelation), can be related prophetic features of someone as a spiritual dimension out of reason for a believer. 72 “By themselves, the masses….have everywhere remained engulfed in the massive and archaic growth of magic --unless a prophecy that holds out specific promises has swept them into a religious movement of an ethical character. (Weber, 1958a: 277). 73 Ülgener (1981), following Weber, made a distinction between “tavan and taban” (upper and lower groups of Islamic culture) and declared that doctrinal messages will be loosing their real/original meanings because the ethical message is necessarly be simplified to make it understand to public (lower groups) religiosity. By 'mass' we understand those who are religiously 'unmusical'…" Weber, 1958a: 287 An average human being in his/her “state of nature” is alien to what is cultural-ethical according to this analysis; and “large masses” are blind in these fields. The problem is such a view excluding not only ordinary people, but everyday life althogether in terms of cultural-ethical concerns.

Yet it is highly critical to include this everyday dimension to understand it in our modern-secular mass societies. Contemporary studies on culture focuses on everyday culture and their having an active role in the construction and formation of fundamental socio-economic processes. Swidler (1986: 278), a leading name in the current cultural studies, critisized leading names in Weberian literature74 by pointing out that their analytical frameworks are insufficient to analyze contemporary conditions of cultural sphere. What is needed to make a distinction between settled and unsettled cultures to be away from any essentialist tendency (Swidler, 1986: 284). Morawska and Spohn (1994) use a similar scheme by differentiating culture basically as “fixed and ordered” and as “indeterminate, flexible and contestable.”

Zaret’s Heavenly Contract (1985) has a special value among contemporary studies. This study should be considered as an important contribution to the Weberian thesis on Protestant Ethics . This study argues that the connection between capitalism and Protestant ethics was even stronger that Weber intruduced; it was not an indirect but a direct relationship according to Zaret (1985: 208). What proves that Weber saw an indirect relation rather than a direct one between these two is his doctrine-centered ethical conceptualization in Zaret’s (1985: 27) analysis because this caused him to neglect or underestimate everyday practical dimensions of life yet the practical dimension is not less influential in shaping larger socio-economic processes:

The empirical problem established by Weber's theoretical presuppositions was to show how abstract ethical doctrines could influence everyday life. But it appears that practical ethics in profane

74 She thinks that Weber’s famous “switchmen metaphor” is responsible for that. According to her, a perspective constructing “tool kit”s on the base of “strategies of action” in general should lead contemporary studies (Swidler, 1986: 277). It is not true for her emphasizing “continuties” in the conceptualization of cultural itentities by neglecting their interaction with social structure and time-space bounded specificity beyond unchangable essences (Swidler, 1986: 278).

activities can be no less influential for the formation of abstract doctrine, which supposedly expresses the ultimate values of a society.

Wuthnow (1987: 132), critisizing Weber’s subjective orientation like Swidler and Zaret, proposes an approach which is based on the existence of various ideological solutions in competiton rather than focusing one dominant ideology.75 Following Adam Smith’s observations on Protestant sects of England in his time, Iannaccone (1998:1478) argued that market capitalism have a double role on society effecting both cultural-ideological and material fields. According to this, market capitalism caused competition between ideological and religious ideas as well as material goods.

As a result, regardless the explanation for this doctrine-centred tradition of the western thought it is certain that it is a fact for the western context and has important implications for Christianity in specific and western culture in general. And, the most important one is related with the emergence of western capitalism as a class-based society. As known, a class society in its ideal typical sense needs to have strictly separated social groups on the base of different social ideals and frame of reference. Such a social organisation needs systematic processes of exclusion for some in terms of the prestigious socio-economic and cultural practices. And what the Reformation added to this is to make inclusion possible in case of the material wealth. Therefore, the effect of the Protestant ethic on this cultural specific was the identification of the material prestige with the spiritual/cultural one. That means just in case of upward class mobility, rational capitalism made equal treatment possible for the poor who are excluded from the cultural-spiritual ideals of the society for the most part. This explains not only how classes in the western context emerge but also why both traditions –Marxist and Weberian- analysed the working classes as a group that did not share the legitimate cultural-aesthetic framework of the society.

75 Wuthnow (1987: 136-7), aggreing with Zaret further emphasized that to stop referring this hierarchical perception of culture is necessary. Instead, sources such as institutions, texts, discources, expressive behaviors and other sources larger population uses should be based. Geertz and Bellah too, as two leading neoWeberian writers, also emphasized the importance of focusing on institutions when stuying culture instead of essentializing subjective positions (see Bellah, 1991: 51,57). Thus, it is not only to Weberian analysis but also Marxian76 ones that did not attribute a culturally constructive role to the masses by stressing the role middle classes (or bourgeoisie) played as a transformatory social group (Brenner, 1989: 280). Marx neglected that there were different models of capitalist development even within the west itself, which was considered responsible by Brenner (1989:

293) for the general neglect in social sciences in this respect: For instance, France and England followed radically different patterns for the capitalist system. This can be considered as a lack of Marxist tradition that could be filled by Weberian literature with an emphasis on these cultural differences, even if Brenner has no reference to Weberian literature. However, it was almost quasi automatic that these middle classes realized the capitalist transformation both Weberian and Marxist literatures because an important yet a passive role have attributed to the labor in the sense of rational organization of labor by Weber (1992: 200, footnote 23). As a summary, the vital importance has been attributed to the quality of everyday lives including the working habits by Weber, yet its active participation in the process of formation of the new working cultural patterns has been neglected. It was only the entrepreneurial and religious power of

Protestant climate that actively shaped and directed these people’s orientations towards work as reflected with clarity in the following passage:

…it was by no means the capitalistic enterpreneurs of the commercial aristocracy, who were either the sole or the predominant bearers of the attitute we have called the spirit of capitalism… What happened was, …some young men from one of the putting-out families went out into the country, carefully chose weavers for his employ, greatly increased the rigour of his supervision of their work, and thus transformed them from peasants into laborers. Weber, 1992: 65, 67-8

This limited perception of culture under the effect of western hierarchical cultural heritage, led both traditions to a view of cultural activity that is limited to upper classes with an emphasis on its legitimizing power (Marx, 1982; Bottomore, 1956: 26-8). Alternatively, Brenner (1989: 297-98), as a Marxist,

76 Brenner pointed out that early Marxian intellectual hegomony is responsible for this emphasis that has limited its analysis to the role of bourgeoisie in the transition to capitalism. He maintains that Marx’s ideas in his Capital are fairly different in this sense (1989: 271-2, 295; see also Hobsbawm, 1964: 47-8). underlined the role of aristocracy –although he underlined that other social groups such as the peasantry77 should have also played active roles, he did not write about it in detail (Brenner, 1989: 298) - by depending on Lawrence Stone’s The Crises of the Aristocracy (1966).78 The idea is that the aristocracy was not an opposition group in terms of the transformation of the system, but one that tried to solve problems they were experiencing during the transitional period. Then, this was not only identified with the crisis of aristocratic culture, but also a period of transformation of that culture itself. Especially the poor people – what they called as public79 is being excluded even in the 17th century (Hill, 1967: 474), could later be effective by only organizing a power that derives his strength from their organizational power, if not the power comes merely from their superiority in number itself.

Sennett and Cobb (1972) have criticised Marxist tradition including its late versions (Sartre as well as Marx himself). According to them, this tradition considered culture and public as “enemies” in relation to one another: "…none of these men, on either side of the argument, really believes that the aphorism, Man lives not by bread alone, applies to workers." (Emphasis is in the original text. 1972: 6-7). And according to them this was the reason why Marxist movement was not succeded in the end even though the revolutionary potential of the workers was increasing (Sennett and Cobb, 1972). This is related to the above-described neglect of cultural dimension which was critical, they determined, for the workers.80

77 The role peasant culture played has totally been neglected in the western literature except the ones focusing on culture as an everyday practical matter. For instance Raymond Williams (in Zukin, 1977: 348) argued that one of the fundamental principles of modern working life, “early to bed, early to rise,” is not a discovery of rising classes. It is rather one of the necessities of rural working conditions that had to adopt themselves the rising and falling shifts of the sun. Furthermore, as an important cultural formation, Williams states "An epic of husbandry, in the widest sense: the practice of agriculture and trading within a way of life in which prudence and effort are seen as primary virtues." (in Zukin, 1977: 348). A more meaningful quotation from Balzac is being made by Scott (1985): "You shall see this tireless sapper, this nibbler, gnawing the land into little bits, carving an acre into a hundred pieces, and invited always to this feast by a petite bourgeoisie which finds in him, at the same time, its ally and prey...Out of the reach of the law by virtue of his insignificance, this Robespierre, with a single head and twenty million hands, works ceaselessly, crouching in every commune..." 78 The connection between aristocratic culture and rising middle classes are one topic of study that many social scientists focused on lately (See for instance, Brenner, 1993; 1989; Zukin, 1977; Stone, 1966). 79 Lewis (1993b: 9, 77) underlined it is one of the differences between Islamic and Christian civilizations that there is no distinction between Islam such as laity that means the larger population without a religious socialization in opposition to the religious class with a life focused merely on spiritual and religious needs. 80 According to resuts of a study they conduct cultural concerns was determinant in workers and lower classes relationships to other classes (Sennett and Cobb, 1972). They noted that these workers felt cultural humuliation more than the material ones. That is why for the families with an upper mobility education has such an importance. Cultural realm is also important as a common ground sharing by all classes and therefore as a voluntary ground to legitimate sytem as an hegemonic power. An example reflecting how the legitimazing power of culture works for these groups from the interviews they realized is the following: Bourdieuan literature put also its emphasis on the culture as a field and as merely a tool of domination of upper classes by defining workers culturally as simple “natural” creatures (Gartman, 1991: 424-5, 440).

Culture in the western tradition, therefore, was a capital itself for upper classes, not a shared base for social relationships including all of the people within a territory.81 This is related to the lack of a common honor code, but a heroic ethics, as Weber (1978: Vol.2: 1105, 1068) underlined. This cultural heritage, as a stratified and hierarchical perception of society and culture, must be occupied an importance place in the habitus of modern minds as well. The most important effect seems to be an intellectual perspective that positioned at the center82 (i.e., from a point of view of –cultured- upper classes).

Still, to note in passing that there is a group of peasants –free peasontry83- which were considered as an autonomous power by Marx himself, even if it might not be considered because of its cultural dimension.

Considering the free space these groups have, this is relevant in terms of possibility for autonomous cultural activities:

This was a culture that strengthened solidaristic ties within families as well as its oppositional and resistant dimension towards foreigners. Concrete unities and corporations have been developed in time, called as consortria, vicinia or condoma. Their function was to educate young members of the community and developed the solidaristic ties within the community by developing communication among their members. Encyclopedia for Social Struggles and Socialism, 1988: 2615

“"Well, they're educated people, they must know what they are doing…maybe there are things about this I don't know." (1972: 158). 81 Weber’s emphasis on the material wealth as a criterion in religious superiority, and Hobsbawm’s (1998a; 1998b) emphasis on having money again, to be considered as a gentlemen and citizen to vote after even in the modern period that based at least theoretically on a discourse of equality. 82 That is why Sartre (1981: 93) called Marxists for a sensitivity understanding people’s real actual lives instead of trying to put them into some propositions. He noted that “Cultural possibilities for poor workers have almost been dismissed althogetherin our contemporary worlds, because everything one needs can only be bought in such a society.” Here, in Sarter’s words again, we can traced the signs of a similar view originated from an idea of culture as an intellectual-sophisticated activity. Thus, workers and other poor are considered as passive recipients of that already produced culture. Sennett and Cobb (1972) have also seen Sartre as well as Marx as someone who declared culture and public as “enemies” in relation to one another: "…none of these men, on either side of the argument, really believes that the aphorism, Man lives not by bread alone, applies to workers." (Emphasis is in the original text. 1972: 6-7). Bourdieuan literature put also its emphasis on the culture as an itenty of upper classes (Gartman, 1991: 424-5, 440). 83 These free peasants were identified with a resistance culture as a social power that the King, lords and princes had to taken into consideration in Marx’s writings. The base for their freedom was their lack of land, it should be noted, they were always in a move from one to another place to protect their freedom (Encychlopedia for Social Struggles and Socialism: Sosyalizm ve Toplumsal Mücadeleler Ansiklopedisi, 1988: 261-4).

Islamic Context: The Difference as the Shared Religious-Cultural “Ideal”s

"The question is what they [Middle Eastern societies] will produce, and the answer is neither presupposed in some pre-given cultural essence, nor produced simply in terms of global processes." (Zubaida, 1989:123)

This study argues that the historical and culture-specific peculiarity of Islamic religion lies in especially its egalitarian84 and anti-material interpretation of religious superiority.

The egalitarian quality of eastern civilizations is underlined in the literature (Lewis,

1993a; 1964: 57; Mardin, 1991c: 37-8; Gellner, 1981: 7). It implies that being poor or reach are not the defining factors measuring one’s religious identity: Being a prestigious member of the religious community is not materially defined. The opposite can even be possible to argue in the form as the idea that being and keeping one’s materially poor socio-economic position can be a guarantee for one’s religious superiority and purity.

What can be the components of such an egalitarian context except the religious principles that underlines the equality among Muslims and encourages the Muslim population to help the other members to practice

Islam? As discussed later in detail, it is the emergence of a powerful strong state providing everyone with the minimum needs, that made possible for everyone to start practicing Islam and to be a part of religious community. It is certain that it was the factor strengthening the communal ties among the population who shared Islamic religion. And, this is basically what the Islamic religion and culture makes inclusive as opposed to the exclusive nature of western cultural-religious context. This can also explain one of the reasons why it was difficult to emerge classes as strictly separated sociological wholes was difficult to emerge because feeling to be a member of a separate group could be easier in a socio-culturally exclusive context. The explanation for this in summary is that no one will be willing to be a member of a culturally distinct and lower position while there is a possibility to be identified with the supreme ideals of the present society.

These can also be accepted as the main reason why a rich oral culture could be possible in the Anatolian culture and how it was also accepted as one of the defining parts of the general socio-cultural context by the written culture, as well. This dimension is especially important one in comparison with the long-term ignorance of the oral folk tradition in shaping to the cultural realm. That is why there began a discussion around the issue by attributing an active role to the masses in the cultural sphere. Spufford (1981) and Scott

(1985; 1977) for instance directed their studies to the autonomous role masses played in shaping cultures, oral culture and the forms of passive resistance is crucial as demonstrated. In contrast to the generally accepted idea that masses were the passive agents in the historical reshaping of the eastern society Spufford

(1981) tried to show the role large masses played in the process of Protestantization of the society. In this process this process has realised through small-cheap books that can easily be read with a little education, and second, through oral communication (Spufford, 1981). Geertz (in Scott, 1977: 12-5) also emphasized that folk culture of the west cannot be considered as simply a passive extension of the great tradition. It should not be considered as simply an imposition of great culture on small traditions but rather an original constitution of these people themselves both in terms of its essence and form as identifiying with a process of negotiation between these two forces. Another name is Georges Duby whose Diffusion of Cultural

Patterns in Feudal Society (1968: 4-5), in the 14th century, rejects the idea that the diffusion of religious ideas among lower classes was a one-sided process85.

…we will always be ignorant of almost the whole popular culture, and may not even be able to prove its existence. Only three facts, as far as I can see stand out clearly….1)since they [avant-garde] were consciously working towards a populer audience, they readily accepted some of the diffused tendencies, general ideas and mental images which were widely spread in lower cultural levels….In other words there was an

84 This idea is clear in Lewis’s saying that "...Socially, Islam has always been democratic, or rather equlitarian, rejecting both the caste system of India, and the aristocratic priviliges of Europe. " (1964: 57). 85 He argued in this direction that aristocratic classes as well adopted some values and behaviors of lower classes. There was an interactive process including aristocratic adaptation representing “theatretical representations of holly scenes” and “sermons in the popular tongue,” as well as the imitation of aristocratic cultures by lower classes. acceptance of what we would call "folk-lore"….2) Aristocratic culture also accepted elements of folk-lore in a natural and long lasting fashion as a result of its own leaning towards "populism"….3) In penetrating downwards….the elements of aristocratic culture underwent changes which, generally speaking, as far as form and modes of expression are concerned, are marked by a simplification and progressive schematization.

Yet in Islamic context, at least in the Anatolian tradition of it, folk culture was important even for the revolutionary cadres of the new republic as the original/pure form of Turkish culture and Turkish Islam. And so, this has frequently referred to develop new modern synthesis for the contemporary conditions and problems of the country especially in the earlier years of the Republican period. For instance Gökalp (1973: 297-98), as the ideologist of Turkish Republic, gave the priority to these folk figures, in his search to build a synthesis between modern civilization and national culture. His ideas did not base only on the western civilization in the construction of the new Republic: the idea of a revitalization of national culture was an integral part of his studies of Turkish culture. He referred to Yunus Emre, a folk religious hero, as the leading figure to construct a collective conscioussness for the people. Mevlana was the second important figure in his writings as a bridge between upper and lower strata of the Ottoman Empire. It is interesting to note that in Gökalp’s (1973: 298-9) writings, the specific term of halkçılık

(populism) as the ideological principle of the revolutionary movement almost overlapped with the term of culture itself. According to this formulation, if one cannot feel and sense like someone representing pure/typical folk culture, this person cannot be considered as halkçı (populist) and/or kültürlü (cultured) (1973: 298-9). To conclude this emphasis it can be argued that the religious heroes of folk Islam, such as Yunus Emre and Mevlana, mostly with an oral background, are still powerful figures in contemporary cultural lives of Turkish society including secular center as well as the periphery.

As a result, the significance of this difference lies in the spontaneous inclusion of the large masses in the Islamic tradition as a result of the above-mentioned historical and cultural background. And one of the opportunities this gives us is to be easily to study the ordinary people as a natural agent in the cultural constitution of societies.86 Of course, we should accept the emergence and deepening a classless society in Turkish context in the Western sense of the term for the long term. However, it can be argued that the described intellectual tradition can be more easily served framing a cultured profile for the ordinary people –and more importantly for the working classes- as well as analysing the socio- economic, structural and material aspects simultaneously with the religio-cultural ones. And this will be expected to serve deeply understand the role of the middle classes in the reshaping of the cultural realm as a result of a “in-between” position in the sense that feeling belong to the lower and upper sections at the same time, and the tension caused by this “in-betweenness”.

THE IDEA OF ISLAMIC ECONOMY AND RATIONAL CAPITALISM

By various obvious criteria –universalism, scripturalism, spiritual egalitarianism, the extension of full participation in the sacred community not to one, or some, but to all, and the rational systematization of social life- Islam is, of the three great Western monotheisms, the one closest to modernity. Gellner, 1981: 7

Introduction

The process of modernisation has been experienced as a two dimensional phenomena in Islamic countries, one is structural, technical-economic and the other is cultural. There were no problem related with the technical-economic dimension because economic and technical backwardness was the one that everyone agreed on. However, in terms of cultural realms there was a resistance against the idea that capitalism as a

86 This dimension will be discussed in the “Cultural Analysis” part of the present study in detail in the context of the cultural problematic in the context of working classes. rational system with its cultural specificities has necessitated a simultaneous change in both fields.87 Yet as explained in the following quotations, a change in cultural field was not less important than the material one. Two of the propositions Berger (1986: 43, 60) developed to exemplify the superiority –and inevitability- of capitalist system over others is “Advanced industrial capitalism has generated, and continues to generate, the highest material standard of living for large masses of people in human history “ and making a bridge between structural and cultural changes he underlined an “Ongoing industrialisation, regardless of its sociopolitical organisation, is the basic determinant of social mobility.” Related with why it is necessary to change culturally, Berger (1986:109) determined that “Certain components of Western bourgeois culture, notably those of activism, rational innovativeness, and self-discipline, are prerequisites of successful capitalist development anywhere.”

This means that there could be any real economic-material development in terms of the true sense of these terms unless Islamic societies will stop to resist to the cultural institutions and means of the Western civilisation. As known, until recently the famous thesis that is Islam and modern democratic forms of

Western civilisation including rational capitalism are incompatible was given direction to the studies on

Islam. Can we accept such causality as a fact? This study argues that the answer will be a firm “yes”, if one take this determination as a historically and socio-economically defined formula, yet at the same time taking this formula as a timeless absolute determination the answer of this question will certainly be negative.

The dichotomic East and West distinction is not depended only on Islam as a culture and civilisation, but the Eastern world as a whole. And the unique development East Asian countries have experienced is also relevant here. The question if a capitalism on the base of the strong communal rules and weak individuality in the sense of seeking rationally one’s own self-interest mainly is possible has gained importance due to the success of these alternative socio-cultural settings in the economic realm in competition with Western markets. By creating alternative and successful socio-economic organisations played a positive role in legitimising some peculiarities of the eastern culture that was attributed as an obstacle for a culturally and economically developed society. For instance, the idea that “a high degree of state intervention” is

87 That is why the spheres modernized first were economic and technical, as can be traced in the first introduction of western schools to the Ottoman Empire first done in these fields –i.e.military and medical sciences. necessarily “incompatible with successful capitalist development” has been falsified88 (Berger, 1986: 158).

Although a deep investigation on this specific issue cannot be included in this study, it can be said that the idea of multiple modernizations89 also works for East Asian cases as well.

According to this idea, different cultural settings will be experiencing modernization differently in terms of their own cultural specifics although the homogenizing effects of modernization –such as individualization, rationalization and therefore, internalization and (re)institutionalization of ethical codes- will also be at work, as will be demonstrated in this study for the case of MÜSİAD. Changing conditions and mechanisms of the world economic system with its flexible and network-centred forms are the factors making an alternative Islamic agenda possible as a part of the world economic community. Surely, it was also due to the growing diversification and liberalization in the markets of Muslim countries themselves. This chapter aims to summarise the adventure of Islam from the incompatibility thesis to the compatibility thesis.

Intellectual and Socio-economic Background for Incompatibility Thesis

The incompatibility thesis depends on the idea that there are some peculiarities of rational capitalism such as free market and rationally motivated individuals, namely homo-economicus as an ideal type, and these are related to the specific Western culture/civilisation. Western democracies with a rich civil society has been linked to the presence of the above mentioned conditions as well. Because the main factor determining the cultures of pre-modern societies was the religion it has declared as the main factor that is responsible for the emergence of modern rational capitalism or the lack of it, as Max Weber did. And the important criterion had become the question that whether there is something opposes to the emergence of a rationally operated free society or not.

Weber considered Islam as almost the polar opposite of Protestantism especially in terms of ethical concerns. As discussed before, the ethical contribution of Protestantism to the modern capitalism was basically a heroic self-control and discipline applied voluntarily by the believer. Islam was “a purely hedonist spirit, especially towards women, luxuries and property,” and it was rarely a salvational religion, according to Weber (1978: Vol.2: 1107); and these were declared as reasons why “there were no conflict s

88 Still, what was observed for these cases was “The values of individual autonomy are undermining East Asian communalism and are likely to continue doing so” (Berger, 1986: 170). between moral injuctions and the world” in Islamic religion in Weber’s understanding (in Turner, 1974:

12). What is important, however, his analysis on the world religions was historically oriented90, and therefore has accepted that religions and cultures are different even in terms of the same religion91, and have the potential to change. Moreover, he foresaw that modern rational capitalism, once it has emerged, has the potential to integrate into other cultures in one or another way.

Furthermore, the neo-Weberian literature rejects the idea that Islamic culture is inherently in opposition to the capitalist culture. For example, Gellner (1981: 58) tried to show Islam could be compatible in its offical version and can perfectly be reformed. Swedberg (1998: 93) emphasized some points, such as Islamic commercial law that was considered by Weber as “secular and innovative and played a progressive role in the legal development of capitalism…several of which were taken over by the west. What stopped this innovative spirit from further developing and spreading…is that it lacked official protection.” Another point

Swedberg (1998: 143) emphasized is that there was a dimension of asceticisim in Islam92 in terms of some regular religious practices such as praying 5 times a day, according to Weber.

Lewis too, argued that the problem of the backwardness of Islamic societies should be investigated as a part of larger socio-economic phenomenon rather than as merely a religious one93:

The charge that the Islamic religion is innately hostile to economic development is difficult to sustain; the social and cultural causes of economic backwardness in Muslim countries must be sought in a

89 See Featherstone (1990) and Göle (2000) for the idea of plural modernizations. 90 Weber (1987: 247, 249; 1978, Vol. 1: 626) noted that originally Islam too was a religion also carried by small producers like Christianity; yet with religious motives that were not ascetic but orgiastic and mystical. But in its historical development Islam has become a worrier religion on the base of communal concerns, rather than individualistic ones. Ülgener (1981; 1951: 71-3) also agreed with Weber on this point, by further deepening this point with an explanation that folk version of Islam was responsible for this development of Islam’s inner-worldly orientation. Gellner (1981: 4-5, 58) also made a similar explanation for this by recognizing folk Islam as the one that is not compatible with modern capitalism contrary to the offical Islam with its highly developed rational and universalistic principles. That is why, official Islam is the one that can be reformed in accordance with the needs of modern world. 91 The following sentence of Weber is a clear evidence supporting this point: "Industrializatin was not impeded by Islam as the religion of individuals --the Tartars in the Russian Caucasus are often very 'modern' entrepreneurs -- but by the religiously determined structure of the Islamic states, their officialdom and their jurisprudence" (in Turner, 1974: 13). 92 However, the problem with that was the “inner-worldly and orgiastic” nature of this type of ascetism in Islam as mentioned before. Ülgener also underlined this ascetic dimension in Islam especially in the very beginning of the disciplined lives of religious tekkes (1981: 39, footnote 23), yet in time this disciplined life had been loosened with the influence of mass spirit by replacing a worldview that is originated by careless attitude towards the future (1981: 111-2). complex of factors, of which historic Islam is a part and, to some extent, an expression. There is nothing in Islamic doctrine to oppose economic progress. Lewis, 1993a: 347

Therefore, it was largely accepted and the fundamental problem with Eastern Islamic cultures was patrimonialism as the dominant cultural characteristic of the East which was considered as an obstacle both by Weber and Marx for a stratified hierarchical organizaiton of modern capitalism. Indeed, it was patrimonialism94 in the last analysis, rather than Islam as a religion, that was declared as the main obstacle for the capitalist development of these countries by both Weberian and Marxist analysis as Turner (1974:

15) underlines. The most typical form of traditional authority in Weber’s (1987: 253) analysis is patrimonialism, and that is also the reason why he related what he called “traditional” in its ideal typical sense to eastern societies. The typical characteristics of patrimonial order, Weber noted, was an absolute submission to the authority –of the King, father, elderly people, religious leader95, master, husband and so on, on the contrary the autonomous individuals of the hierarchical organisation of the western societies.

This cultural and historical background that summarised above is rich enough to exhibit the reason why later in the social science literatures Islam and some other dominant eastern cultural elements were considered as basically responsible for the backwardness of eastern and/or Islamic societies. Therefore, the fundamental question for the studies focusing on Islamic culture and modern economy was whether or not

Islam was inherently incompatible with capitalism. For instance Meyer (1959: 42-6) in his comparative study including different nationalities in terms of Islamic religion demonstrated that religious factor only – including Islam- cannot be either a cause or an obstacle in terms of the economic development.

Islamic history, with its origin accompanied with a strong state tradition –especially for the Turkish case- or with its small communities, has been considered as a case far away from being a prerequisite for the

93 The part religion took in that according to Lewis (in Kuran, 1997a: 59) could be started in 9th and 11th centuries when the gate of ijtihat (religious interpretation) was closed. See also Göçek, 1996: 13. 94 Indeed Islamic thinkers were also agreed with this idea by pointing out the central place political processes and state itself took. Ülgener may be considered as the only example, who searched sincerely what was lacked in Islam accoding to the emergence of modern capitalism within the Weberian formula. Classical and contemporary social scientists all put an emphasis on the determinant role the patrimonial, centralized state played historically and currently as well (See for instance Buğra, 1995; Mardin, 1991c; Keyder, 1987; İnalcık, 1985; Heper, 1974; Zubaida, 1972: 326). emergence of an individual-base free market society. As discussed later Weber provided us a long repertoire of reasons explaining this connection. However, what Weber and others said was historically bounded explanations, and, as at least all of the classical thinkers underlined, we have the duty to refer the actual historical facts by updating what they mean and imply under the current circumstances. What follows is a short description exhibiting the intellectual-cultural ground for the validity of the thesis.

1)The first one is the dominance of the positivist-modernist methodological orientation in social sciences.

The negative effect of this methodological orientation is its excessive universalism and its tendency to produce law-like regularities. Because it has a one-dimensional interpretation of history it reduced the historical-cultural factor to an unwanted tradition that will be ended soon or later.

2) The Liberal and Neo-liberal Theoretical Orientation: There are mainly two assumptions that capitalist system based on a free market mechanism and a human typology called “homo-economicus”. Yet Islamic historical background has an emphasis on communal ties reducing the importance of people as parts serving for the goods of the general community. Moreover, egalitarian heritage made this specificity alive for a long time because it had a much more satisfactory economic functioning for the large masses, to compare with the Western heritage, providing everyone at least with the basic necessary equipment to live. As discussed in this study in detail96, this caused from an important difference between these two religions. In

Islamic tradition, everyone should have the minimum needs in order to start to practice the religious duties, and more importantly every Muslim should feel responsible to provide others with the necessary equipment to make them practicing religious duties, while its Christian counterpart is very individualistic and exclusive. Practicing religious salvation cannot be seen as equally true and possible for everyone. It can be said that this feature is the main factor to serve the inclusion of the ordinary people into the idealistic framework of the religious community.

95 Ülgener (1981) have examined how this submission has become a mass phenomenon in Islamic history through tarikat and tassavvuf organizations of Anatolian Islam. 96 See Chapter…..and Chapter ….

How to Replace Islamic Religion in the Real Economic World:

The Classical Literature on Islam and Economy and the Importance of the Historical Dimension

As a result it should also be determined that the incompatibility thesis is a result of a climate of liberal thoughts and developments in the world economic markets. Indeed, as Polanyi (1957) stated the historical validity of such a thesis was short lived as much as the thesis of free market in the context of western capitalism that was actually and truly had a free market condition for only a very short period. According to this, he underlined that the theoretical assumptions of liberal thought and the idea of free market was effective much longer than its actual realisation. Therefore, this study argues that although there are times when incompatibility thesis was not pointless for both Eastern and Western context, it can be accepted as a unnecessarily long-lived one in contrast to the short period of its actual historical existence. In this sense, it is not essentially true formula for all times and conditions from the Western point of view, as well.

To refer to the Weberian thesis discussed before, the cultural dimension of capitalism was basically an emancipation process from traditional communal ties, but putting its origin in the irrational origin of a religious belief, Protestantism as a reformed version of “traditional” Christianity.97 Therefore, it can be inferred that other traditional cultures too, should have been reformed in their process of developing a rationally organised and urbanised capitalist society by ending the dominance of state and “the rural” in the socio-economic processes in general. To translate this idea into the Turkish case in the context of

MÜSİAD, the significance of this Association is its middle-class avanguard nature as a role model for the newly urbanised larger population of the society. And, following Weberian formula, this thesis argues that a socio-economic system cannot truly be named as “capitalist” before the simultaneous reshaping of the cultural-moral conduct of the ordinary people in the direction of the systematization and rationalization98.

The importance of MÜSİAD in this sense is threefold as will be discussed in the next section. First is the

97 See Weber (1987: 228). 98 It should be added that it is not only MÜSİAD that is responsible for such a model that is still in progress but the newly rising educated middle strata in general as secondary elites of the country as will be discussed later in this study. role it plays in the process of “inventing” a renewed/rationalised Islamic ethic; second is the specific role it plays to transform traditional economic mentality that is compatible with rational capitalism and supports the needs of the capitalist organisation of Turkish society; and thirdly, it plays a crucial role as simply a role model by being a relatively elite section of the Islamic community trying the new forms and principles of the renewed ethical and aesthetic Islamic conduct.

What made such an ethical-aesthetic transformation possible is that even if there are important socio- cultural differences derives from religious doctrines, both of these two religions’ principles are issues of historical change, though it is very slow. In the way towards the articulation and/or compatibility of Islam and democratic-rational capitalism there are intellectual and socio-economic change in both cultural settings. Although a resistance of a cultural context in an extent is natural in front of a sudden influence of another culture and/or civilisation, long-term interaction will always be resulted in a change even in the most determinant areas of this culture. Yet, to add here that an interaction will never be resulted in one- sided influence from one to another cultural context in a way the dominant one determines the other wholly without being affected by the other. Indeed, this is a story of transform other cultures and be transformed as a result of this interaction. This idea will originate from our framework to understand the relationship between modern capitalism and Islam. The relationship between capitalism and Protestant ethic have been overviewed again for the specific purpose of the Turkish case: MÜSİAD as a case exemplifying what the dynamics of the articulation of cultural and material aspects of modern capitalism in historically and culturally different contexts are.

The time-depended nature of the issue can be determined as the crucial one that can be neglected the essentionalist and absolutist perception of the incompatibility thesis. This is evident in that the historically oriented studies are the ones that are rejected first the orientalist/essentialist view of Islam by recognizing it within the larger socio-economic organization (Mardin, 1991b, 1991c, 1991f; Toprak, 1995, 1982; Genç,

1989; İnalcık, 1985; Ülgener, 1981, 1951; Berkes, 1978). There are not so many studies focused specifically on the relationship between Islam and Economy in Turkey, mainly because of the fact that

Islam, as a part of traditional culture, is not considered as crucial in its effects on socio-economic development of the country. These scientists have all clearly rejected the idea that Islam was the main obstacle for the capitalist development of the Turkish economy by depending on detailed historical data. For example, it was long before the foundation of the new republic that there was a flexible religious attitude about the practices of interest that was forbidden by Quran, the sacred book of Islamic religion: as early as 1850, a law was accepted without any religious resistance, providing freedom for the practice of interest (Toprak, 1995; Genç, 1989: 17). There are other historians pointing out the support religious men, the ulema, was given to the reform movement of the time. Instead, the traditional Ottoman socio-economic organization and the economic mind in general was responsible for the resistance (İnalcık in Kuran 1997a:

54; see also Mardin, 1991c: 68; Berkes, 1978, 1964).

Ülgener (1981; 1951) is the only one who studied this issue within the interaction of Islamic religion and other spheres in the Ottoman Empire, by focusing on the Islamic economic ethics99 (1981: 25, 38-9, 107), including questions, such as why and how Islamic religion effected the traditional Ottoman socio-economic organization and mind. Ülgener searched for an answer to the question of in what sense Islam could be considered as an obstacle in terms of the development of modern rational capitalism. That is why his study can also be considered a piece of economic philosophy, like Weber’s study of The Spirit of Capitalism and the Protestantism Ethic. His theoretical guidance was apparently the Weberian framework. The Weberian idea that capitalism will undermine religious values in the long run also determined the theoretical orientation of Ülgener’s study. However even today, the question of whether or not “an Islamic economy is possible,” having direct political implications, has no clear answer. That is where one’s political ideas mostly determine what can be the answer to this question. As a follower of Ülgener, Sayar’s interpretation of the contemporary developments of Islamic economy and/or “green capital”100 in the specific case of

Turkey seems to be still loyal to Ülgener’s “conventional” view. Sayar (1998: 335-6) has not seriously taken what is happening in the area of Islamic organizations and economy, because what will arrive in the end, in his understanding, is the secularization of religious institutions of the society, such as tarikats and other active Islamic institutions, even if what they are trying to do is to build an Islamic economy.

99 Agreeing the Weberian analysis of average ethic, large masses were considered “naturally” unmusical in terms of ethical and religious concerns, Ülgener (1981: 112-4) declared folk versions of Islam as morally nihilistic. Following Weber, religious principles will be turned into a mystical tradition losing the real- original meanings of these doctrinal principles. Therefore, the folk interpretation of Islam –sufi, alevi, bektaşi and rafizi versions of Islam- was responsible for its historical development in the direction of “seeing virtue in what is lacking” according to Ülgener (1981: 25, 38-9, 80, 107). 100 Bulut’s study of Rising of Tarikat’s Capital (1997) as “green” (means Islamic in its specific Turkish usage) capital can be considered the most detailed one, however jornalistic in its very orientation, and

A Discussion on The Idea of Islamic Economy: Islam As simply a “Tool” or an Important

Constitutive Factor?

To start with the current discussions about the issue in Turkey, two dominant –and opposite- view on the issue can be determined. One block is defending the crucial role an Islamic renewal could play in the

Turkish economy -accordingly to our compatibility thesis, while the other block keeps fidelity to the classical incompatibility thesis101: so, the second view is certain that there could not and should not be such a connection between the religious and economic fields. The second one is the one that also reflects the dominant one especially among political scientist though it increasingly loses its prestigious position.

Although, due to the fact that its strong state tradition and the central role the state play in general, the crucial role “the political” play is a well known fact especially for the Turkish case, this study argues that changing conditions needs to change our attitude by less emphasising what is political in the narrowest sense of the term.

The theoretical problem with the most recent studies that focus on specifically the issue of Islamic economy in the Turkish context is either their reduction of “the rational” as a multi-dimensional concept to the strategic aspects of the term as framing the assumptions of rational economy in their absolute and ideal meanings (Kuran 1997a; 1997b; 1995) or to a mere strategic effects as a form within the political economy approach (Buğra, 1999; Buğra, 1998). It is mainly because of the fact that they considered Islamic religion in the economic sphere as a part of a mere rational reasoning by making religion as simply a “tool” for the economic success. Therefore, what is meaningful in terms of its Islamic quality is its being a powerful

Islamic subeconomy, and the Islamic dimension of its identity is nothing, but a myth102 in Kuran’s (1997a,

1997b) analysis. The significance of what is called as Islamic economy, according to Kuran, caused by its functional importance in the contemporary economic conditions as an “economic instrument” only, one is psychological - “guilt relief”- and the other one is structural -“creating networks”- (1997a: 80; 1995: 167-9)

politically committed to the idea that the activities of Islamic groups is nothing else but a part of political Islam. 101 Reflecting this schematic explanation two representative of the second thought are İzzettin Önder (1994) and Fehmi Köfteoğlu (1994) who both of them are outside the academic field. They argued that the idea of Islamic economy is an empty one since talking about an Islamic economy as the same thing to talk about a Budist or Christian economy. rather than its Islamic quality.103 As for Buğra’s (1998) analysis, there emerged a group of successful

Muslim businessmen in Islamic countries because of their “strategical fit” to the global economy in the very same manner with those East Asian economies. This does not mean that these approaches are not analytically useful, the problem lies in their perception of religion as merely an “instrument” for its socio- economic functions.

The following can be used to exemplify how these contemporary social scientists reduce the larger socio-cultural processes to a relatively strategically originated political one. In one of Kuran’s (1997a: 60-4) studies, the problem of backwardness of the economies is identified with the transition from communalism to individualism by depending on Avner

Greif’s analysis of collectivist cultures. The fundamental questions104 of his article are reflected the orientation of his perspective by a politically directed, rational action choice theory: "Why did ambitious Muslims, seeing the obstacles to their economic advancement, not recognise the ideological source of their disadvantages? Why were rulers threatened by the rise of Western Europe not to recognise the economic disadvantages of their communalist cultures?" (Kuran, 1997a: 64). An answer to this question can be found in his earlier study of Private Truths, Public Lies (1995b): “If public discourse treats a social structure as optimal, even the people harmed by it may fail to see how its destruction would improve their lives.” (in Kuran, 1997a: 65). The fundamental problem with this kind of reasoning is that it reduces historically determined

102 The connection between Islamic religion and Islamic banking is, therefore, “imaginary” in his understanding (Kuran, 1997a: 73) 103 Note here that the meaning of Islamic economy as an attempt has also been reducing to its political implications by pointing out that the idea of an Islamic economy as an alternative economic framework to the western capitalism is illusory (Kuran, 1997a: 56-9): What is more interesting in this context that Kuran considered the diffrences and conflicts between Islamic thinkers about the fundamental issues of modern economy as an evidence proving why the idea of İslamic economy is not realistic. 104 As an economist within the tradition of the school of “new institutionalism,” Kuran has also depended on some other questions such as “the roots of the idea of Islamic Economy (Kuran, 1997b), ” “how can the underdevelopment of Islamic countries be related to the Islamic religion” (Kuran, 1997a), and so on. cultural specifics to simply political tools as strategies and tactics of a group of political elites, ignoring overall dynamics of larger socio-cultural environments.

Islamic Thought on the Idea of Islamic Economy

Zubaida (1972: 325), as an important follower of Weber from the Muslim world, underlined that "Economic rationality is not merely an attitute of mind, but a complex of actions which only become possible under certain social conditions." Also, he determined that Islamic religion was in peace with its relationship with the economic realm, as considering this activity as desirable and virtuous, in terms of both in doctrinal level and of the historical developments of Islamic practices (1972: 322-3): There was nothing in Islam opposing to Protestantism, on the contrary they were compatible in his analysis. He also pointed out that at least the earlier forms of sufi tradition tended to be ascetic, and there were artisans and craftsmen among the sufi members.

It is as if a positive or at least a moderate attitude towards Islam is one the necessary parts to view the idea of Islamic economy as a meaningful alternative agenda. Then, it is also true that the ones who underlines the compatibility of Islam with modern economies are mostly what we call “Islamist thinkers” themselves. But as elaborated in the previous subsection historians are the ones who more probably can accept such a positive correlation between the two. Çizakça (1994: 55) for instance as a popular historian openly declared his rejection to the idea described above: His idea is based on the assumption that there is no universal economics based on an idea of homo-economicus. His reasoning is in accordance with the theoretical assumptions of the present study since he goes on the issue by defending the idea that Western liberal economy is connected with western values, and Muslim societies could/should also have an economic functioning in accordance with their own values. That is his explanatory ground that shows why a search for an Islamic economy is a meaningful activity for Muslim countries.

Nomani and Rahnema (1994: 46) talk about the need to construct a framework for a well-functioning

Islamic economy. In doing this, preparing an homo-Islamicus in its ideal typical sense on the base of a new reformed Islamic ethic has crucial importance, as explored in this study in detail. Nasr (1998: 519) emphasized this person “as a conscious representative of Allah” as a necessary component of an Islamic society functioning in the principles of equality and justice. This is one of the reasons why there is no homogeneous theoretical and practical model that could easily be followed by the Islamists of the world as a whole. They seem completely aware that there is no ready formula or model of Islamic economy, and this is also what makes their search difficult in its socio-economic and cultural dimensions, as well as political:

Faced with the dilemma of solving modern economic problems by relying solely on the Shari’a, a prominent group of Iranian Shi’ite clerics has also tried to shift the focus away from a rigidly Shari’a- based economic system to one in which human discretion can be afforded greater scope. (…) It is finally concluded that ‘there is no such thing as a well co-ordinated policy (theory) called Islamic economics that could be applied to all times and places. Nomani and Rahnema, 1994: 46

Some theoretical and methodological tendencies can be determined in the writings of

Islamic scholars on this topic: First of all, they are conscious that Islamic economy is an ongoing process. And second, what is important in their search for an Islamic economy is not a unique, alternative economic framework, but rather the development of a suitable economic framework functioning harmonously in an Islamic society. In this sense they originated their positions from the idea that there would be no economy that was completely value-free (Naqvi, 1994: 19; Ahmad, 1983: XV). The exclusion of religious and ethical concerns from the economic realm has therefore been considered as a result of a reductionist view. This is the self-interested construction of homo-economicus of neoclassical economics. And, This formula led to a commonly shared idea that ethical and religious dimensions, taken as traditional in their very nature, are in opposition to rationality and modernity. This is the reason why they cannot talk about an Islamic economy on the same base of the neoclassical economics. However, Naqvi emphasized

(1994: 19-21, 130) that considering Weberian interpretation that a normative dimension along with formal, value-free pure economics is legitimate, it can be considered that a normative-ethical dimension has already included in all socio-cultural systems including

Islam.

To support these ideas with the actual realisation of the Islamic movement, the activities of the International Centre for Research in Islamic Economics105 will also be a appropriate ground tracing what Islamic economists’ fundamental concerns are in their search for an Islamic economy: a)The establishment of a specialised library that would collect scholarly works in the field of Islamic economics; b)Conduct and support theoretical and applied research; c)Provide research facilities and scholarships; d)Promote co-operation; e)Publish research papers and periodicals; f) Help establish chairs for the teaching of Islamic economics (in Ahmad, 1983: XIX). These goals are all academic in the modern usage of the term and rational at least in terms of its structural components, such as putting importance to having a library, depending on applied as well as theoretical research. This reflects a shared-common rationalised cognitive base that has begun increasingly relevant among different cultures due to the rationalisation and stratification of these cultures as also proved by the data of this study.

As known, the liberal policies in both political and economic spheres experienced in these Islamic countries brought about new conceptions such as Islamic economy and

Islamic banking since the 1980s. This development what is called Islamic economy has soon become a central issue for academic, political circles and in the media. Even if

Islam was already a part of these circles as a political movement now, it has become an issue as an integral part of the contemporary developments in their own countries rather than as a political opposition. That is how a new agenda for Islam has emerged since then, and the present study is a production deriving from this new agenda. And therefore seeing economic activities necessarily embedded not only in socio-political but also cultural realm, including religious institutions and values. This study argues that this view is an obstacle to analyse the active role Islam plays in the deepening and (re)shaping of capitalist development of these countries.

This is why this study aims to describe the mentality and dynamics of such an historical transformation in the Turkish context by depending on a field study in an institution called MÜSİAD, a civil businessmen association with an “Islamic” identity. The thesis of transformation is evident in the “civil” identity of this association itself because in the contemporary discussion there was a dichotomy between what are the West and the East around the issue of civil society and democratic governance. In this context, liberal-democratic values and rational and civil nature of capitalism identified with the Western societies while communalist and/or anti-individualistic and authoritarian values that is considered as a result of a weak civil society identified with the East. And what follows is a discussion around the literature on Islam and civil society.

Civil Society, Democracy and Islam: Between Compatibility and Incompatibility Thesis

As known, in the literature on civil society, ‘civility’ is usually based on the criterion that the formation is in existence without relation to the state (Diamond, Linz, Lipset 1995; Diamond 1994). Here the “capacity to of a society to organise itself without being organised by the state” speciality of the civil society is emphasised (Calhoun, 1994: 309)106. In that case, the society is becoming a source of political legitimacy rather than an element of government. The second criterion which is also related to the first one is that the civil formations should not aim at seize the state administration (Diamond, 1994: 5; Pinkney, 1994). In that respect, a commonly shared view is that Islam –and especially with its political character, the Islamic movement- does not match with the concepts of civil society and democracy. As known, MUSIAD’s situation in that respect is shady because of the claims that it indirectly sustains the wishes of establishing an Islamic state. For instance, Gellner counts Islam among the competitors of civil society (Gellner, 1994:

105 Other similar Islamic international organizations that have been spreading rapidly especially since 1970’s are listed in apendix-2 of this study. 106 This emphasis makes one think that the wish of the Islamic movement that “the state should approach the society not as a potential threat but with trust” needs to be based on some conditions: For example, we had shown the lack of social assistance to the civil activity needed by the new conditions at the final times of the Ottoman Empire (Toprak, 1982). 9)107. Diamond states that civil society cannot be related to religious, ethnic, and revolutionary structures (1994: 6-7). Saadeddin attracts attention to another point of the subject and argues that democracy which is worldly due to its nature and its formation cannot become compatible with the religious movements which rely on the claim of sanctity.

However, the first approach is found unsatisfactory in our day for it compresses civility with the relationship of negation established with the state –even if we accept that Islamic movement have moved to the area of civil society108. Beckman and Calhoun argue so for social strains are not primarily between state and society but between social groups themselves (Beckman, 1998: 4-5; Calhoun, 1994: 310-11); Linz and Stepan on the other hand (1996: 9-10) say state and civil society organisations should combine each other. Diamond, Linz and Lipset (1995) emphasise that strong civil society is an annex of a strong state. Moreover, the emergence of horizontal social processes as a result of middle class development and the rise of the autonomous bourgeoisie is emphasised in terms of ‘civility’ especially at works of sociology (Göle, 2000: 43; Fukuyama, 1995; Calhoun, 1994: 309; Putnam, 1993). Fukuyama (1995) and Putnam (1993) accentuate the ability of civil networks to create social capital which is a source of trust, solidarity, and effective co-operation; politically this point is supported by the hypothesis that such networks will serve as the most important elements in the society’s democratisation (Göle, 2000; Calhoun, 1994). Göle, describing the Islamic movement within the new social movements following Calhoun (1994: 215), makes his point in relation with the importance religious movements have in the creation of social and cultural processes rather than whether these are a political project or not (2000: 33-5)109.

107 However, Gellner, as others (e.g., Norton, 1995; Lewis, 1994; Ahmad, 1993; Bromley, 1993), describes Turkey and Turkish Islam as an exception (Gellner, 1997). Gellner explains it with the Ottoman Empire’s not conforming with Ibn-Khaldoun’s circular analysis on Islamic societies with the empire’s strong state organisation and tradition (1997); Lewis explains it with the fact that the division of “house of Islam” and “house of War” (the West) in Islamic tradition is made null and void by the Ottoman sultans’ policy of “to fight with the infidels with their own weapons.” (Gocek, 1996:13). In fact, that Turkey is the only exception is not the truth: For instance, Kazancigil (1991: 43) and Nagata (1994: 83) state that post-1957 Malaysia is another exception like Turkey. Nagata claims that in the Malay case too, that the Islamic religion can be considered as ‘civic religion’ as it emphasised the establishment’s legitimacy (1994: 86). Hefner thinks the Indonesian example alike to Turkey for its nationalist policies (1998: 303-4). In fact, what is to be emphasised here is that there are different Islams depending on time and space, and hence it is not correct to make generalisations for the whole Islam on the data gathered from a given country. 108 The categorisation made by Bulac, a leading Islamist intellectual, is supporting these numbers. Bulac claims the Islamic movement of the period 1860-1923 was a movement led by upper-level ulema, cut off from the masses; but the one resurrected after 1950 was en masse and political in nature. After 1990, according to Bulac, the movement has gained a ‘civil’ character. This period accompanied by many Islamic CSOs is named as ‘civil Islam period’ by Bulac (Yeni Safak, interview dated 19 December 1999). Indeed there are expressions in supporting civility in Islamic religion in Qutb’s messages: “Any attempt to use violent tactics to overthrow the ruling elite and install an Islamic elite in its stead would be a grave strategic mistace: because Islam cannot be imposed on the people by the state…and second, such an approach would inevitably violate the tenets of the Islamic ideology. …The correct procedure is to mix with discreation, give and take with dignity, speak the truth with love, and show the superiority of the Faith with humility.” (in Safi, 1994: 159, 160). 109 From that angle, one may claim that Islamic civil formations such as MUSIAD which have a wide membership base, and which employ tradition (as well) to deal with modern conditions (Hobsbamw, 1993),

The second criterion cited above is already criticised by many scholars as well. The primary -and perhaps the most radical- criticism is that this point of view limits the area of civil society and of the modern capitalist democratic society (Beckman, 1998: 3)110. According to Beckman, it will be impossible to understand the social roots of regimes which are not liberal otherwise, an approach which allows the possibility of alternative civil societies –paternalistic, Islamic, communist, and so on. Alexander on the other hand, point out to the unavoidability of the need to have the socio-political struggles/movements111 which marked the recent past to have a sociological insight that goes beyond the classical Marxist and liberal meanings (1997: 115). Keyder too points out that a real democracy must rely on people112. For that reason, “we must investigate Islamic groups’ potential for struggle and opposition” (Keyder, 1995: 207). While Gramsci describes civil society on the basis of the ideological struggle between alternative groups with different agendas (Beckman, 1998: 8), Calhoun (1994) emphasises the representation of different identities for civil society and democracy. Roniger too (1994: 8) maintains that it is analytically better to not relate directly sivil society and democracy113 examplifying this view with two examples: while in Iran a civil society reshaping state in the opposite direction to the democracy, there is a weak civil socity in Japan with a strong democratic development.

contribute to the development and multiplicity of the civil life in Turkey. Toprak who claims civil society organisations have strengthened since 1980 (1996: 92-3), counts MUSIAD amongst these formations (1996: 102, 105). 110 Nevertheless, the tie between capitalism and democracy is undeniably strong as in Moore’s quote, “no bourgeois, no democracy” (see also Calhoun, 1994: 309-10 on that subject). Marxist view also adopts the general premises of the classical view –that is, on the basis of the development of capitalism with the emergence of autonomous bourgeois middle class-. However, from a more general perspective, as the Marxist view takes class struggle between different interest groups, it also condemns a civil society concept which would be imprisoned within the liberal-democratic content both in terms of analytical tool and as practice. 111 Since mid-seventies in the Arab world, Safi (1994: XV) stated, a change is experiencing as ahistorical reality that the leaders’ awakining about the fact that they realize “under the pressure of Ilamic extremism, the fiasco they have produced” and Safi also talks about a union of politicians with intellectuals in the project of cultural emancipation. 112 Calhoun explains the clash between democratic theory and new social movements as follows: “The rise of new forms of identity politics seems a challenge to democracy instead of an enrichment of democracy precisely because it places the very constitution of the political community at issue.” (1995: 273). 113 Weber also noted that there would be found no connection between capitalism and democracy. As Swedberg (1998:77-8) noted Weber was rather pessimistic about this connection: "As to the relationship between capitalism and democracy, Weber is firm: They have nothing in common;…As to the future,

As known, the work Orientalism (1975) by Edward Said dominates the studies on the West’s look towards the one which is generally different from itself (the other), and in particular to the “East”. This is actually a reaction to the comparison of East and West as different categories, or in other words, to the comparison of the East with the West and the documentation of its “lacks”114. The practice in social sciences that subjects of study on traditional and modern being analysed from a methodologically dichotomic perspective was hence ended. By this, the Western stand on East and on Islam and the scope of the works on these subjects have dramatically changed since the 1980s. Therefore the studies on Islam stopped to take it as something opposed to the process of modernisation or without the process of modernisation.

One way of doing this is taking these concepts as historical processes rather than absolute categories. Because historical dimension or process in itself was the key concepts to overcome ahistorical and essentialist conceptualization of the orient and Islam. As a result, the new works on the development of Islamic democracies in Muslim countries at the moment and analysing their dynamics, (e.g., Gole, 2000; Heper, 1997; Therborn, 1997; Watts, 1996; Voll and Esposito, 1994; Esposito and Piscatori, 1991 ; Voll, 1982; Yalman, 1973) have joined those works which are satisfied with merely stating Islam and democracy do not contradict (Lewis, 1995 and Turner, 1974)115. An example of this is Therborn’s (1998: 67) claim that the idea of democracy may be traced back to Aristotle. This way of thinking has taken him to involve very new events into the calculations while studying Middle Eastern democracies (1998: 67-71). Therborn analyses the recent rise of Islamic civilian movements and organisations, of professions, businesses, and of charity and social services appear as important contributions as signs of democratisation in addition to the civil society(1998: 72). There are also attempts in accordance with this theoretical orientation to link democracy and Islam (e.g., Tibi, 1998; Voll and Esposito, 1994; Voll, 1982). For instance, Tibi makes a clear distinction between Islam as a religious belief and Islam as a political movement and claims that unlike political Islam, there cannot be a negative relationship between religious Islam and democracy (Tibi, 1998: 37)116. By this, Tibi distinguishes his approach from those trying to legitimise Islamic

Weber was pessimistic: if economic and technical progress would begin to fail, or if rents would start to replace profits throughout the economy, the freedom that exist today quickly vanish." 114 See Keyman, Mutman, and Yegenoglu, 1996, for a work in which these concepts and the post-Said literature on the subject is thoroughly analysed. 115 Weber, one of the three major masters of historical methodology had written on democracy and reformation and had linked the virtues unearthed by the reformed religion and the modern democratic order. According to this, there are two bases of reformation’s contribution to the process of democratisation: 1) freedom of conscience in the sense of “being free to obey the pope” (1978, vol. 2: 1209), and/or “obey God rather than man” (1978, v. 2: 1207). Civil rights such as “to pursue one’s own economic interests which includes individual property, freedom of contract and vocational choice” joined to this basic right (Weber, 1978: 1209). In a more recent work, Lewis not only points to the historicity of democracy with the words “Democracy cannot be born like Aphrodite out of the sea foam,” but also predicts that the slow democratisation process in Egypt and Jordan are healthier than the sudden regime changes as a rule, and that other Middle Eastern countries will follow their lead. 116 In fact, Weber establishes a contact not only between Puritan ethic and capitalism, but also between Puritan ethic and the new society’s individualist-rationalist morals and its democratic institutions. Weber, fundamentalism (e.g., Voll and Esposito, 1994). Lewis points out to the social core of Islam which is in its core democratic –or rather equalitarian- and claims this cannot be compared either to the European aristocratic tradition or the cast system of India (1964: 57). Wright also emphasises that Islam117, with its traditions as ijtihad (interpretation), ijma (consensus), and shura (consultation) can be compatible with democracy. Still, Safi (1994: 168-171) noted that one of the features of western culture that Islamic countries should follow is democratic participation and otonomous individual as a ground for democracy, and there should be free individuals in front of servitude and tyranny: and, “democracy can only flourish in a culture which condone neither authoritarian nor subservient personality” (Safi, 168-171).

In sum, this study, while describing why and how traditional Islamic economic mentality can be compatible and articulated with modern rational capitalism analyses MÜSİAD as an “Islamic” –but heterogeneous- whole that sustains democracy as something to do with the will of the people as a result. In the next chapter questions such as why and how MÜSİAD is relevant the above mentioned theoretical concerns and other central methodological dimensions related to the present study will be discussed.

METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK

Real empirical sociological investigation begins with the question: What motives determine and lead the individual members (…) to behave such a way (…)? Weber, 1978: Vol.1: 13

Introduction

As Swedberg (1987) and Calhoun (1995: 7-8, 63) point out, the classical tradition –not only Weberian but also Marxian and Durkheimian- is the leading figure in including the cultural factor into sociological analysis. Because they remain albeit limited, as the main theoretical source for further research and for contemporary theories on this matter (Wuthnow, 1987: 57-60). Although Braudel (1992: 73-6) mentions the "return effect of the model", since models are restricted by time, the theoretical frames that are in question can be said to eliminate this effect being tied up to this principle. This is especially important for cultural studies, because there is a danger of “claiming or generalizing too much or broad” if one does not define the concepts in its socio-historical context and is reflexive when using them (DiMaggio, 1994: 27). Calhoun (1995: 70-1) states this as one advantage of relying on the classical tradition: “…their conceptual frameworks, although very broad in reach, were always developed in close emphasising on the middle-classification in terms of civil society-religion context, mentions that in colonial America, to become a state citizen status depended on participation to a congregation beyond ethnic isolation (Weber, 1987: 267). 117 However, Kazancigil states the closure of ijtihad since the ninth century as an historical and political obstacle if not a theological one. relationship to specific empirical historical accounts; their abstractions were not free-floating but historically specific and determinate.” Therefore, Weber’s Protestant Ethic thesis should not be directly related to our specific and concrete case: What is done in this study is rather focusing on its conceptual/theoretical usefulness to achieve a new and historically-specific understanding. Such conceptual/theoretical usefulness is related with Weber's emphasis on the "cultural" (in his studies, Weber stresses the transformative capacity of the charismatic-heroic individuals and of the cultural) especially in the transitional periods; the importance of the "cultural," in that sense, is universal.

DiMaggio’s perspective, the leading name in the contemporary studies of culture, also helps me frame this study. According to him, because there are various dimensions of culture, one should make a choice among them by considering the specificities of the subject: Concerning the studies reflecting on the cultural dimension, a study could focus on; 1) an analysis of various aspects of culture like cognitive, expressive and normative; 2) an analysis of subject positions as the sum total of strategies and means leading to the goals and values; 3) an analysis of culture as hierarchical representations, like preferences, attitudes and opinions. And due to the static nature of these approaches, he proposes an analytical base on the distinction of constitutive and regulatory aspects of culture. In addition, he claims that such a distinction is helpful especially for studies of economic sociology (DiMaggio, 1994: 26-7). It is obvious for MÜSİAD’s case that the constitutive aspect is to be given priority with a strong emphasis on the practical activities of subjects. Culture, for this reason, can be defined as a constitutive base for common practices, symbols and meanings in this context, rather than regulatory norms and values.

About Hermeneutics118

When we want to understand something, we cannot just stand outside and observe it. We have to enter deeply into it and be one with it. … Thich Nhat Hanh

As social science studies generally cover cultural and historical specificity119 and include subject positions, hermeneutics in the last years has gone far beyond the conventional methodological approaches, which aims either at approval of the already existing generalizations or at reaching

 As Calhoun stresses, although culture is a dynamic dimension of social practice, it is defined as the static collection of norms, values, and beliefs in introductory sociology books (1995: 93, footnote 22). 118 Gadamer (1990: 84) defines the concept in a broader sense as following: “What we understand from interpretation today is not only applied to writings or oral traditions but also to everything that history left to us." What is critical here is that "the thing to be interpreted cannot be explained without indirect reference, and in order to understand the "real" hidden meaning we have to look beyond what is seen as the meaning…all proposals based on logic are open to interpretation because their true meanings reach us with masks or in the wrong ways by ideologies. ". 119 It can be claimed that when studying cultural aspects that are relatively similar statically and culturally and where there is no significant transformation, conventional methods provide more reliable results. new ones on the basis of the findings of the empirical research.120 The idea that “interpretative121”approach plays a central role in the whole procedure ranging from the choice of subject to the analysis of data has become widespread among social sciences. (Calhoun, 1995: see especially p. 65).122 Hermeneutics, when especially specific cultures and complex social textures and procedures are in question, is seen as the most appropriate method (Rabinow and Sullivan, 1990: 3-4). What makes it superior to other methodological approaches, especially in analyzing a dynamic historical process , is that it can still serve to reach some generalizations123 while dealing with the specifics. Furthermore, it aims to go beyond the opposition between the "objective" and "subjective" areas in the conventional perspective, making it possible to understand the role subject positions124 play in the process.

Although this method does not reject the significance of generalizations, its main goal is rather to explain a specific context and the world this context is positioned (Rabinow and Sullivan, 1990: 9) Today, a mixture of methods is preferred to use, depending on the nature of the subject. As Bourdieu and Wacquant point out (1992: 30, 227-8): “We must try, in every case, to mobilize all the techniques that are relevant and practically useable, given the definition of the object and the practical conditions of data collection.” For this reason, flexibility is critical in terms of the techniques and perspective that guide both theoretical and field studies. This is closely related with what Bourdieu calls the shift from the "rule" to "strategy", that is, with a radical “scientific reflexivity” (Bourdieu and Wacquant, 1995: 42). Calhoun expresses this complex scientific process as follows: “interpretation …can be

120 The strongest point of the argument at this point is that "positivist sociology" regards people as "mere objects” by not going deep into the human life, and therefore, “misses something fundamental to their nature” (Calhoun, 1995: 60). 121 Understanding is defined by Gadamer as "being informed about as issue" before "understanding their aims and intentions" and the at most a specific importance should be given to the historical background to whatever we try to understand. (1990: 103-4); Calhoun underlies that a social science topic is not something to be understood at once but that it is rather a matter of the whole process. (1995: 65). At this point the words of Weber for verstehen as, “one does not need to be Cesar to understand Cesar” is relevant Gadamer who referred to Heidegger to understand the verstehen concept which is, in German, points out that it means to get first hand information about a point in addition to its theoretical meaning. It is explained as in the following sentence: “He does not understand anything when it comes to reading." Verstehen is mentioned as being close to and active in a certain topic, and having an expert knowledge on it. 122 Calhoun (1995) refers here to Bourdieu: “social facts do not just appear, they must be won” 123 When examining the Weberian interpretative sociology, Roth (1978: xxxvıı) notes that “Sociologists live, and suffer, from their dual task: to develop generalizations and to explain particular cases. This is the raison detre of sociology as well as its tension.” 124 “A good explanation” is, as opposed to the positivist method, the one that can interpret human behaviours best not the one that find regularities about them: Rabinow and Sullivan (1990: 5-6) claim that there is no criterion other than a thesis' claiming its superiority on the other to be accepted, in order to assess this. Calhoun stresses the importance of empirical data treasure which is accompanied by judgement and practical reason because it is not possible to create some already prepared “methodological principles” and therefore “systematicity, parsimony, scope, intuitive insight” become more visible. (1995: 60). informed by theory, and guided by wise precepts, but it can never be settled by method in such a way as to guarantee the fertility of the fields or to make sure in advance that they grow the scientifically correct crops.” (1995: 65).

Field Study: In-Depth Interviews and Observations

Why hermeneutic, in-depth interviews?

This study developed a conceptual and historical perspective, which also provided us with an understanding of the subject positions125 and the relationships between subject and object positions simultaneously. Weber’s interpretative sociology necessitates an understanding of specific meaning in a certain context and subject’s motivations, “even though it has not actually been concretely part of the conscious intention of the actor” in his statement. He underlined that “sociology in the present sense and history as the object of cognition is the subjective meaning-complex of action” (1978: Vol.1: 9-10, 13). In contemporary cultural sociology, agents are characterized not as “passive cultural dopes” in Crane’s (1994: 11) words, but “active, often skilled users of culture.” Crane states (1994: 11), following Weberian analysis that all cultures “contain diverse, often conflicting elements.” This view is parallels with Swidler’s (1986) “tool kit” approach.

When I decided to study this issue, MÜSİAD was not in a critical position in the Turkish agenda in terms of its connection with political Islam. However, when I was preparing my dissertation proposal MÜSİAD had already taken its place in the center of the political debate. In that period, MÜSİAD was declared as holding "Islamic capital" in the media. This was of great importance for this study because I had planned to rely on the in-depth interviews to be held with MÜSİAD businessmen. As already known, in the studies relating the cultural field, researchers resort to hermeneutical tradition; mainly in-depth interviews and participative observations. The culture and ideological milieu in which the organization is embedded has a unique and dynamic character10, continually renewing and constructing itself. Grasping its specificity could only be possible through the open-ended or semi structured interviews with the members. Because this provides us an opportunity to discuss the questions on which this study is based.

There is no scientific studies in Turkish context focusing cultural and economic fields by relying on the interpretative methodology simultaneously. In terms of the studies that analyze economy as embedded in society at

125 This need is most apparent in studying "emotions and sufferings" of the people in social movements according to Bourdieu (in Hamel, 1997). See Saktanber (1995: 235) for the specific context of Islamic movement. She refers to Piscatori and Wallace in this context: Piscatori relates Islamic movement with “a sum of individual unhappiness” or “contentment”, and Wallace with “stress” and “lack of satisfaction” It is important to note here, however, that “subjective meaning” mediates between order/structure and action/cultural motivators according to Weberian interpretative sociology. 10 See Dobbin (1994) for the relationship between rationality and culture in the organizational context. It includes explanations about rational character of an organization as a culture. large "the political economy" approach is applied causing a neglect of the socio-cultural dimension. Buğra's well- known study of "State and Business" (1995: see especially 48-51) is one example of this kind of studies, focusing on the specific functioning and the mechanisms of Turkish big business. The reason that why she underestimates the cultural dimension lies in the socio-cultural specifities of Turkish society in the period as well her theoretical12 and methodological preferences.11 There are some other studies in the various fields in social sciences as well: There are studies of Ülgener (1984; 1981), who was a Weberian, on Islamic economic ethic and modern economy, which was done prior to the establishment of MÜSİAD and even before the rise of Islamic movement at the "center" of the country as an active constitutive element including business life. His studies are predominantly doctrine-centered13 and should perhaps be included in the field of "economic philosophy" as Sayar, the observer of Ülgener, points out. These studies were, at least, historically very old to grasp mechanisms and dynamics Toprak (1995; 1982), as a historian, is another name studying Turkish economy focusing on its socio-historical specificity. He dealt with "the national economy" policies of pre-Republican Turkey. Toprak's studies (1995; 1982) with the mainly historical nature of these studies should be considered as the main reference for further studies.

The crucial principle of understanding a "new" social process and/or concept is the first hand experience, in depth or not, of the process or concept. During the period when I planned to study on this subject, one of the first things I noticed in some of the publications of the organization was the contradiction among the ideas. Their publications sometimes lacked consistency. This was a strong evidence to convince me that I was facing an organizational structuring of a changing and ideologically contradicting existence. This could also be explained as my being unfamiliar to interpret these present conflicts. However, the research revealed that the inconsistent and contradictory outlook of the organization is closely related with its being an organizational entity where there exist dynamic and intensive subjective activities. Therefore, to achieve the aim of this study it was necessary to go beyond the contradictory nature of the documents, journalistic narratives and descriptions relating to MÜSİAD. In order to realize the aim, it was necessary to be mastered the relevant literature to make the whole research process as a real "learning" process for myself - reflexivity and flexibility are related with this necessity (Bourdieu and Wacquant, 1992; Calhoun, 1995). In terms of this type of reasoning the actual research process was never independent from my

12 Buğra (1995) does not mention the literature before Karl Polanyi: Therefore, he did not refer to Max Weber in her book. 11 Since Polanyi (1957b) stresses more on how economic periods and political processes are embedded regarding economy-government relations, it is more relevant to Buğra’s preferences, the materials he worked on and the period. As claimed in this study, in terms of the interaction of economy with the society, the dominance of socio-cultural dynamics apart from political mechanisms is relatively a new development. Moreover, athough economy-politics approach is an appropriate preference when studying the Islamic identity of MÜSİAD and the embeddedness of the businessmen into the society, for the specific MÜSİAD case, an analytical frame in which cultural analysis and understanding have a key role is a better preference. 13 In fact, Zaret (1985:6), for instance criticizes studies on religious dimension claiming that the sources they rely on are doctrine-centered, and puts even Weber's Protestant Ethic thesis in this category. However, it should be noted that the problem about focusing on religious sources is not inherently caused by the features of these sources, but by the perspectives reflected on the religious periods and processes. Therefore, in this study, religion is conceptualized as an exploration of conditions and effects of a religion in a historical context, in parallel with the approaches of the above-mentioned sociologists (Turner, 1974: 45). identity as a researcher and, thus, never appeared to me as just a process of collecting the data. I was aware that the nature of the information I could get would be related with the way and content of my questions and behaviors directed to the businessmen and other sources I have referred. By approaching the issue in this way, it would be appropriate to express this whole process as "generating data" rather than data collection.14 This reflexivity principle is very important given the complex institutional and ideological structure of MÜSİAD in particular and of Islamic movement in general. Studying only the publications of the Association or analyzing the works on the subject would not go any further than providing me with one-sided information which is difficult to reflect on. The main goals of the study were determined as understanding the dynamic structure of the organization in general and the difference between the administration and its members, the conflicts in the process they experienced; specifically understanding these aspects that source from the members and the ones that affected them. In order to follow the traces of the ideological dimension of the change, perceiving the inner dynamics including differences -conflicts and novelties due to these conflicts - that the religious organizations are aimed in this study. Although Islam as such is usually regarded as a uniting element, the differences and conflicts experienced are, in fact, one of the major defining characters of organizations like MÜSİAD. These are the factors that necessitates applying the principles of interpretative methodology necessary, on the base of interviews and direct observations15; this is also why the socio-political atmosphere of the country very significant to this study at the time when the interviews conducted. The most appropriate method, thus, was to pursue in-depth interviews, as long as possible16 and being a part of the world of the businessmen as much as possible. In sum, the profound analysis of the issue at the level of an organization which was in formation as an institution organized all around Turkey, is thought to provide the ground for a clear vision concerning the role and position of the individual in this process as well as clarifying the interdependence of the "cultural" and "material" worlds.

14 I want to point out that the working hours of the businessmen allocated to me during our interaction were determinant for this process. The use of this method is closely related with the subjective positions of both the interviewer and the people to be interviewed. If the person who is contacted has a political identity, everything you do as a observant participant is the subject of their "strategic" approach. This situation can be seen clearly in the words of Saktanber(1995) during her research period to comment on the woman who almost questioned her attitude “She apologized for asking all these questions but, as she hoped I would understand, she had to know what type of person her ‘community’ was dealing with, so they could know how to express themselves.”

15 In this respect, the talks and interviews I carried out both in Ankara and Konya offices -although limited in time- should be put under the category of participant observation. I had the opportunity to participate in a dinner meeting during the time I spent in İstanbul. Media members were also invited to this meeting. 16 Although I have interviewed as long as the person continued to talk to me, they tended to last between 2.5-5 hours. Because I live in Ankara the realizations of interviews were both longer and easier to compare with the ones in Konya and Istanbul. For some interviews I conducted in Ankara –5 of them- I have visited twice to finish my semi-structured questionnaire. However for these cases the real reason was indeed that these persons were willing to talk longer and of course I preferred to see them as long as they want. Some interviews took less than 2 hours in Istanbul because businessmen had limited time to see me. In Konya, the head and the personnel of the organization and businessmen in general were very helpful and had enough time for interviews. Why MÜSİAD?

Because of the particular emphasis of the present study on the dimension of practice of culture, a useful strategy was to concentrate on key junctures in movement development, key organizational situations, and points of contact with institutional and structural constraints as Jonston and Klandermans state (1995: 17). The socio- economic and cultural changes in Turkey occur in such a rapid pace that we may hope to understand this continuing intensive and fast change by conforming to the principle mentioned above as for the topic to be selected.

Zaret (1985: 6) indicates that studies on religion are very much limited to the analysis of "clerical writings" and/or other religious texts and positions. Concerning the Protestant Reformation, he argues that “laity” and certain other factors which are not directly religious were quite critical in shaping the religious developments. That is why he states that, “Interpretation should rely on analysis of the organizational and social contexts in which Calvinist beliefs were developed.” As known, although religious activities in Turkey generally rooted in the periphery, they are being gradually transferred to the urban areas. Therefore its informal and "private" character are being replaced by the public/formal one. MÜSİAD is a good representative of such a process since it defines itself as positioned in the "center," gaining its power and legitimacy from the periphery: In this respect, as a business organization the organization is centered its activities in the "center" of Turkey voicing -and serving- the "Anatolian Tigers" of the periphery. This nature of MÜSİAD is significant for the conceptualization of religion in the present study which takes religion into consideration together with its historical background and socio-economic connotations. Therefore, this choice renders the essentialist view of religion, i.e., as excluded from historical and socio-economic dimensions irrelevant for the study.

However, it would be beneficial to be cautious while making generalizations about Islamic circles and movement as a whole through only an analysis of MÜSİAD. Although by being loyal to the Islamic project in general, MÜSİAD is part of this movement; it does not have the sole power to represent the whole Islamic movement in its diversity. Moreover, the main aspect while starting this study and the most important finding of the research is this multi-module and complex-dynamic characteristic of the Islamic movement. The differentiation, fragmentation and complexity in Turkey in general and in Islamic circles in particular were the assumptions at the beginning of the study and confirmed by the findings of the research at the end. This does not mean, however, that there is no opportunity for the study to reflect on the movement as a whole and, thus, to come up with certain generalizations: First, such differentiated nature of MÜSİAD is one of the characteristics of movement as well. Second, it also represents some common principles of the movement which serve to bind the different groups as a whole. To this end, MÜSİAD offers an unequalled opportunity to reach at certain generalizations.

Given that MÜSİAD's socio-political identity is not independent from the field of economic activity, the choice of the organization provides an analytical base for the study to go beyond the politically oriented perspective with a state-centered view. Focusing on MÜSİAD paves the way to reflect upon religion and religious organizations with their embeddedness in the whole socio-economic miliue as a study concerning religious field. This choice made easier, as a result, to rely on a conceptualization of religion which is neither a-historical nor reductionist.

Of course MÜSİAD, providing a valuable source to observe the place and the role of cultural/religious dimensions in the economic transformation in Turkey, is not the only Islamic organization in the Turkish business life. There are other organization such as İŞHAD, known as the businessmen organization of Islamic Fethullahçı group. that would be suggested to study for the purposes of this study. However, as mentioned above, choosing MÜSİAD is much more appropriate in many respects. Certain other factors can also be added: First, the member profile of MÜSİAD is much more rich both in terms of content and quantity with its organizational strategy that is not exclusive. It is also obvious in the thoughts of many MÜSİAD members who are criticized this Islamic association by claiming that it is "elitist" with its exclusive organizational strategy, which cannot be acceptable for these businessmen since all people should be treated equally according to Islamic religion. MÜSİAD, with its broad organizational web, poses, therefore, a more significant opportunity for this study. Second, due to the fact that "Islamic capital" has almost equated with MÜSİAD the Association has a central place in the political and academic agenda of Turkey, which can also be considered as a sociological laboratory a scientific study requires.

About the Research Process

Contacting the Businessmen

There were three problems while contacting the businessmen: The first and the most important one was the political atmosphere when I attempted to do the field study. As I completed all my preparations for the field study and formed the semi-structured question format that would guide me, there appeared a political tension which was triggered by the Welfare Party's being in the government and thus created a questioning of the existence of MÜSİAD. An "Islamic businessmen" list was published in the media that included some MÜSİAD members. KOMBASSAN for instance, that is a MÜSİAD member, was in the center of this questioning due to illegal collection/accumulation of its capital. MÜSİAD's Islamic identity had become a problematic one by making connections between these businessmen and religious organizations. This specific situation was important in that it made both contacting businessmen more difficult, though not impossible, and it would not be a reliable, healthy interviewing process even if I succeeded to reach them. This political environment worried me seriously as for the conducting of the interviews in a reliable way as much as whether it was possible to hold the interviews at all.

The second difficulty was related to the time needed to consume to properly, that were planned lasting at least 2 hours, interviewing the businessmen who are known as busy people in general. The small and medium scales of the firms were considered as advantageous in contacting businessmen although the businessmen in this category were even busier than others due to their working very hard as person. My being a young researcher as well as being a woman was the third problem. I hoped to approach this group that I assumed to be rather religious and fundamentalist as a woman and an outsider. (The term "outsider" is used here to indicate that the situation could be different if I were a headscarved university student). The process of in-depth interviewing needs to create a "warm" atmosphere rather than a formal one guiding by a mechanical questioning to these businessmen.

The first thing I was planned to do was to ask for assistance directly from the central or branch administrations; MÜSİAD's critical position due to the political atmosphere of Turkey, however, abolished this possibility. If I had gone to the central administration and asked for permission and help, I could have eliminated the possibility of trying other ways as well. (In the further steps of my field study when I was carrying out the field study in Istanbul, I was told that they would not let me conduct the interviews if I had gone to the them first.) For these reasons I was lucky knowing a person helping me to contact with the businessmen in Ankara. The first contacts are especially important since one may feel worried and somewhat scared because of not knowing the people and the environment to work with: with each interview it is possible to gain skills to feel relaxed in that environment and provide solution etc. for further steps. That is basically what makes these intermediary people very important for such studies, Therefore, it is possible to say that it would not be possible to realize the interviews, at least to reach the number I have reached in the end, and to have the confidence to solve the problems that I faced in the later steps if it had not been this person who arranged the first contact. The following remarks reflect the critical position given to these people who carry the researcher to the field:

…how ethnographers establish contact with societies they study ignores the role of intermediaries who arrange the Grand Entrance of the heroic field researcher. Intermediaries (e.g., missionaries, merchants, administrators) operate at the fringers and borders of cultures and are among the first in any society to denounce, proselytize, and straddle cultural systems. Often stigmatized as eccentric, deviant, and mission- oriented, the intermediaries are prototypical marginal citizens (Kirk and Miller, 1986: 64).

The political environment that I mentioned above made these contact people more important since it risked the reliable conduct. Therefore, the trust that naturally comes along with these ‘mediators’ is essential to carry out the interviews in a more reliable way. The "marginal" character of the intermediaries is important to create a trustful atmosphere, which is necessary to get in-depth information properly. The person who bridged between me and the MÜSİAD businessmen is rather on the leftist side in politics having connections with some MÜSİAD members due to their participation to the same activity centered on helping people to Bosnia-Herzegovina during the war. Similarly, my first contact in İstanbul was also provided by a friend who I never thought of knowing people in MÜSİAD. Even though the number of members I reached by the help of the mediators was not large, having the feeling of being a part of the environment made these first meetings important. Moreover, once the first meetings were held, the rest came along more naturally. When I felt stuck, I asked the businessmen who I already interviewed in a positive atmosphere to be a reference to me in order to reach other businessmen, and they mostly agreed to do it.

Another benefit of starting the interviews by the help of "mediators" is about to overcome the difficulties of being a young female researcher. If the mediator had not existed, a member who did not think of allocating time and talking to me would not have been as positive, not having the reference of my mediator. It is also important to note that preparing a Ph.D. dissertation for a reputable university was also helpful in this process17. Some businessmen were really very kind and interested in the subject: some even said that it was their responsibility as Muslims and/or human beings to truly and properly inform a researcher. These businessmen who took the information they gave very serious and who had the sensitivity for this research, were mostly the more politicized/conscious ones and university graduates –it might be more appropriate to describe them as the ones who confided in their knowledge. I think another reason for this positive attitude for such cases, concerning the interviewing process, could be considered as an attempt to effect the researcher positively as a part of their ideological orientation.

During the interviews I tried to get the best product by avoiding everything that would not be expected from a female – proper clothing, not smoking, etc. Once I started the interviews I generally faced no difficulties as the businessmen had the tendency to talk. In most interviews I felt as the time they offered me is extended due to the fact that they convinced that this was a serious study on the Association. In addition to this the informal and flexible interviewing style was guaranteed that I gave special attention to what they were saying, and they were not bored. In one specific case, although the businessmen said he could accept me for half an hour, he extended it to four hours on his own will and offered to provide any assistance in case I needed. My feeling is that I created the trustful atmosphere starting from the first minutes of the interviews owing to the quality of the questions and my way of treating their responses.

The first businessman I met in Ankara could not provide other people to interview due to political atmosphere of the period. He said he talked to some friends but that they were not willing to talk about MÜSİAD under such negative circumstances they were experiencing. He added that if not for the my contact person he would also not accept my desire to interview with him. Such a start was very discouraging, but I went to see two other people the mediator sent me to. Yet at some point I got stuck again, so I tried to reach them through their phone numbers that I got from the Ankara branch: some businessmen agreed to interview and I tried the same method in İstanbul as well. Most of the interviewers I reached over telephone without having a reference were average and/or passive members of MÜSİAD who could not give me the opportunity have in-depth discussions about the organization; this helped me, however, to understand the variety among MÜSİAD members. I even reached the only female member of MÜSİAD by phone. She accepted my interview offer without any hesitation and we had one of the longest and profound interview of this study.

17 Saktanber, who experienced similar difficulties” points out the positive influence of presenting the study as “serious academic project” to overcome the difficulty. It is natural that people are concerned about the negative things to be mentioned either about themselves personally or about the Islamic gatherings. One of the businessmen expressed his opinion as : “If you see any mistakes that we make, put it down, so that we

Conducting the fieldwork in Konya branch was much more easier in these respects The first reason for the smooth flow of interviewing there is this city's relatively small scale as an Anatolian center making easier the process both in terms of my uses of time as well as their apparently voluntary participation in the process. Their less formal and complex working conditions was an advantage given the requirements of the interpretative research process. Second, becasue Konya was the last city where I interviewed I was much more confident and ready to recognize and solve the possible problems that can be faced during the research process.

It should be noted that a "warm" conversation atmosphere was dominant during the interviews in general. Two things can be noted to create such an atmosphere deriving from my own experince: First, it is necessary to listen to the person very carefully with relevant and guiding questions at appropriate times. Second, a maximum importance should be given to make good transitions while getting on to the next topic or question. Following the questionnaire formally/mechanically and/or causing a lack of disconnection while passing from one topic/question to another one may lead the interviewee to feel alienated to the topic and thus give short and average responses. To provide the smooth transition, the researcher should prepare the question in a logical sequence before the interview. However, this preparation itself might not be sufficient to carry out the interviews smoothly. Qualities of flexibility and reflexivity are also essential in creating such atmosphere; that the most relevant question be asked when necessary rather than following the already arranged order of questions. One should be quick shifting from one topic to another especially if the person stopped the topic by bringing it to another one, that could be one of the following questions if not an important problematic concerning the study even if there is no direct question that is included by the questionnaire. Such an ability is related to the researcher's communication skills as well as his/her competence in the subject and questions to be asked. That also explains why it is crucial for the researcher to be personally conducted the whole interviewing process in this methodological tradition.

I think that my small town background played a positive role in realizing the interviews in an intimate atmosphere due to my familiarity to traditional Islamic way of life, and more important, more informal way of interaction. This should be pointed out as one of the factors that made the interactions possible and more productive. In other words, this factor (i.e., referring to the same communication code) had an important role for me to understand the businessmen as well as to be able to create an effective interaction. As a result, I believe that the fieldwork of this study was a very productive process as a "data generating process" despite the political situation, and the time limitations of the businessmen.

Also, although it is not possible to say that the political situation had not affected the interviews, in other words, that it had not changed the fieldwork process at all, I can say depending on some of my observations that this situation still did not have a remarkable negative effect on the interviews. First of all, most businessmen indicated their views

also learn from them, but if you see good things as well do not forget to write them”, which indicates that such studies can make the participants hesitant. about the political situation without any scare saying that they were very angry about the situation, although I had not asked them this question. The dominant tendency about this was that they believed that "they were treated unfairly," however, as the interviews continued with the average members, they pointed out their worries about MÜSİAD's being involved in the political process and that they therefore stayed away from non-economic activities. Secondly, my questions were generally about their identities as businessmen; there were no direct and agitating questions on their ideological and or Islamic identities.

In some cases I had to complete the interviews in two different steps due to the businessmen's difficulty to spent such a long time -2 hours at average- interviewing with me, which was even preferable for me. It was desirable for me because the businessmen allocated more time to me if I went to see them twice, and the better chance I had to interview in a more detailed and multi-dimensional way.

In one sense, it can be said that my being an 'outsider female' turned out more positive than I thought at the very beginning. The first reason for this is that, the businessmen have striven more to express themselves to an outsider. As the second reason I got the impression that it was easier to speak about the 'serious/dangerous' topics such as economic issues with a woman. To illustrate, the feeling of being questioned arises when questions by a man are asked as to how much he earns, how he treats his employees, how he carries out his business and perceived as an interference to what he does; on the other hand, it does not bother them in these terms when a woman asks the same questions.

Sampling

According to the hermeneutic tradition, it is a common view that the universe that is to be focused on, or determining the people to be interviewed is not very important. This view gets it roots from the idea that we have to benefit from the people or situations that provide the most information - i.e., intensity and information rich cases. (See for instance, Hamel, 1997:104-5). Although I started this study with the criterion of reaching the most intensive and multi-dimensional information in specifying the main universe of the study, some additional criteria have also been added in this respect. The first one of these is to cover all the settlements since MÜSİAD is located on a very large geographical area. The second one is not to ignore the average MÜSİAD members since most of the information is obtained from the administrators in the organization.

These points are important in that it is highly possible to encounter different structural-moral and sensitive forms in the frame of different regions and scales in the country which rapidly becomes heterogenized. The importance of the balance that should be established to represent both the past or current administrators of MÜSİAD and the regular members is related with the expected differences between these two groups: The ones who had the title of administrator in addition to their MÜSİAD member status would be more comfortable; Therefore, it would be considered that they could constitute a more reliable group to get information. On the other hand, it was also possible that they could use some cliché information for the image they wanted to create on outsiders. For this reason, it was important to interview the regular members to get some spontaneous information rather than prepared ideological cliché and beyond the inner dynamics relating to organizational conflict. The principle that I adopted to reach the average members was to include the ones who did not worry about speaking about the organization and also who felt as part of the organization or were in intense organizational relations and, thereby, were willing to give information.

It was inevitable to choose İstanbul, where there is the center of the organization having the largest number of members, for the interviews. Ankara had been chosen as the second city to carry out the interviews due to reasons to Turkey and also practical and/or personal ones. As a capital of the country, especially considering the factor that Turkey is still is a country that has a state and policy centered social environment for business life, Ankara should be included in this study in any case. Furthermore, the characteristics of this city is completely different than those of Istanbul as a metropolitan settlement in terms of both their different levels of diversity and complexity on the structural level and their differentiated lifestyles in general and attitudes towards politics and economy in particular on the ideological and cultural levels. The practical reasons were the main ones: Ankara, being the city that I live in, had the factor of reducing the problems of the research, which were mainly financial. An additional factor was feeling more comfortable while interviewing without having any help and assistance in a settlement where I was familiar with; it was true especially in the very beginnings of the research.

The interviews realized in Ankara and İstanbul would not be sufficient to understand an Association organized all over Turkey. Therefore, it was necessary to cover some of the branches of MÜSİAD in Anatolia; however, I unfortunately had to limit myself with Konya. I could interview with only 10 people in Konya, but thank to its small scale I could sense the economic and socio-cultural specificity of Konya branch of MÜSİAD in particular and the city in general. A more important limitation was that I could not hold interviews at least in two other Anatolian cities. The reason for this was lack of time and financial opportunities. Consequently, the total number of the interviews I conducted was 55 -23 businessmen in Ankara; 22 businessmen in Istanbul, and 10 businessmen in Konya between May and August of 1997.

Although it was a limitation that I could not include some other Anatolian cities in this study apart from Konya, I still think that selecting Konya in addition to Ankara and Istanbul was a very good choice which can compensate this to an extent - if one city had to be selected, I think Konya was the best choice to serve the aims of this study. One factor is related with the historical importance of Konya.

Firstly, Konya has the reputation for being the only Anatolian city that succeeded in becoming economically active as the result of national economic policies aiming to improve Anatolian cities. The first banking enterprise was realized in this city18;moreover, Konya has been the most active city during the II. Meşrutiyet (Toprak, 1982: 61- 2).19 Secondly, Konya is almost a center for multi-sharer holdings which reflects the philosophy of 'depending on sharings' very well and I had the chance of contacting three holdings there. I spoke with the General Manager and an employee for long hours. The third point is that Konya is a city that preserves its traditional Islamic social characteristics in addition to its following a continuous economic development trend. Konya is also seen as the center of the Welfare Party. For this reason, Konya is thought to be more representative than most other cities since it shows the dynamics in Anatolia by having an 'Islamic fundamentalism' and reacting to the economic development aim in a modern way.

The Research Process

I started to the field study in May 1997 in Ankara. Ankara took unexpectedly most of my time for the interviews. There were interviews which were cancelled/postponed or which could not be finished at once. Yet there was another difficulty which was not a lesser importance and which I thought I would experience rather in Istanbul: Transportation in Ankara took most of my time since I had to travel by bus or minibus (dolmuş), and some interviews were held outside the city. However in Istanbul, I did not have to spend much time and energy because the choice of certain neighborhoods still enabled me to embrace the heterogeneoity of the city and, because I was a guest from Ankara some members helped me even for transportation. I was sometimes given a a drive to the next interviewing spot. In one specific case, I was taken from and brought back to the city center in reaching a factory which is very far away from the center. In another case, a businessman helped me by offering to hold the interview at a nearby place to where I accomadated. Another factor that made the transformation easier in Istanbul was to take a taxi in some cases due to not knowing the city.

As I mentioned above, I could not hold even a single interview on some days in Ankara. It was just one single interview at avarage. Even if we do not take the transportation into account I needed 3-4 hours for each interview and taking their notes and recording them afterwards required great time as well. The reason for my recording the interviews the same day was that I did not take many notes while speaking with the businessmen both not to disturb them and to concentrate on the talk. Why I did not tape-record the talks was due to the political environment in Turkey. I knew that most businessmen would reject my offer of recording their voices; even if they did not reject, it would disturb them and I did not even suggest doing it. This was an additional factor that made the research more difficult to me. The way it affected my study is that the statements of businessmen given in quotation marks is

18 The establishment of Konya National Economy Bank was made possible by the initiatives of tradesmen and big farm owners. (Toprak, 1982: 151-5). 19 Toprak, trying to interpret this trade activity, lists the possible influincing factors as follows: 1) its being a very old settlement that can be regarded as “center” as for the Turkish population, 2) its being an important center in Anatolia, 3) The flow of some German capital to Konya in those years (Toprak, 1982: 151-5). Back in 1920’s 19 of the total anonim companies were founded in Konya. İzmir ranked the second sometimes not in their exact wordings. However, I always wrote down the words and expressions that I considered important during the interviews. That is basically why my advisor did not recommend to interview more than one in one day.

The period between May and August was the time I almost did nothing but concentrated on the interviews. During the daytime I was interviewing, getting an appointment for the next interview, and recording the notes. In the evenings I organized the notes and added to them if I remembered something extra. This already intense work rtym increased especially in Konya and İstanbul because the interviews there were sometimes taking place one after another, more than one in a day. Therefore, I had to take more notes during the interviews than I had done in Ankara. This situation might have resulted in loss of concentration at some points in these interviews. It was possible to forget to ask some points considering the frequency of the interviews and qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the questions. This was rather valid for the last interviews I held, but there was nothing crucial and original that I missed since I was quite competent then in what I was doing. After many interviews that I had made, I had a general idea about what was going on and I could easily recognize the repetitive points or something new that was mentioned. Most of the interviews were made in the businessmen’s offices - except for the two interviews with the branch manager and the secretary in Ankara branch, interviews with general secretary and certain administrators at MÜSİAD center in İstanbul, and the interview with the branch manager in Konya. I benefited from interviewing these people in their offices in terms of being able to observe them in their own environments. Moreover, the interviews held in the center and the branches gave me the opportunity to observe the organizational processes. The MÜSİAD center was very busy whereas Ankara branch was not, which was understandable given the limited number of its members. Although the members of Konya branch were very active and participating both in the center and the branch of the organization, it was noticable that such did not seem to be realized around the formal structure of the branch. A possible reason for this is that Konya preserves the informal and face to face relations, albeit in a changing form, which is dominant in Turkey's periphery.

Semi-structured Interview Guide

Two choices were possible in addition to the semi-structured interviewing technique that I prepared to use during the interviews (The sample guide is in the first Appendix). First, it would be possible to ask well-defined questions in a well-defined but rather mechanical way to everybody I interviewed. Another possible technique would be to follow a procedure characteristic in ethnographic studies which does not rely on any guidance and/or instruction especially in the beginning of the study to realize the whole research process as totally a “data generating one”. The latter method is more suitable for cases where the researcher does not have any idea about the culture s/he is studying and when there is no time limitation. However, I was not the total stranger to the physical and socio-cultural environment of the study subject, relying on this alternative technique would be pointless resulting in inefficient use

with 11 companies, and Aydın, Bursa, and Kütahya followed them with 3 companies in each. (Toprak, 1982: 61-2). of time and my limited personal financial source in my own case. The reason for prefferring the semi-structured interviews over the structured ones is that the former would provide me with some flexibility. Hence, I had the opportunity getting answers from each businessman I interviewed for all the questions I included in the guide as well as concentrating more on certain topics with certain businessmen when needed even if this topic was out of the guide in certain instances. What's more, it was possible to cover the points that were not related with the question or somehow related with that the businessmen mentioned themselves.

I mainly resorted the pilot survey on MÜSİAD publications I carried out to form the interview guide. That provided me with the information of the organizational and ideological structure of MÜSİAD and member profile before the fieldwork. Apart from this information, before entering into the field I learned about the main assertions of the idea of Islamic economy both from MÜSİAD publications and the literature that I reviewed. These formed the basis of the formation of the interviewing guide. What I aimed through this guide was to understand MÜSİAD at the organizational and ideological levels, and more importantly, to reflect upon the interaction among these two. The interview guide aiming at this are centered around the following categories: 1) questions to analyze the socio- economic context in which MÜSİAD's origins, its organizational and ideological structure as an Islamic voluntary civil society organization; 2) questions related with the socio-economic status of the members and their entrepreneural potentials, and questions aiming to frame the specific economic and sectoral informations about the specific mechanisms and functioning of their firms; 3) questions aiming at understanding the direction and intensity of the relations between the members and MÜSİAD the role of Islam in the economic lives of these businessmen in this specific network; 4) questions focusing on how Islam influences the working relations and business organizations; 5) questions regarding the thoughts of the members on the socio-economic conditions and how Islam is used as a reference point relating to these issues, 6) questions about determining the member’s activities in terms of foreign relations and the role of Islam in such relations

MÜSİAD Publications

Another data source that this study is based on is MÜSİAD publications. Yet it was not possible to reach all the publications since not all of them existed in the both archives of the center and the branch offices. A businessman offered to give me the publications from his own archive but this still did not provide me with the all publications. As a result, as I was going to the United States for library studies I brought over 60 MÜSİAD publications dated between 1993 and 1997.

MÜSİAD publishes these documents under the following names: 1) There are Research Reports such as “Homo Islamicus: Islamic Men in Working Life,” which is possibly the most popular publication of the Association focusing on the connection between Islam and economy. 2) There is monthly Musiad Bulleten, which aims to inform members about the activities of the organization including news from branches in Anatolia. 3) There is aother publication, Çerçeve, aiming to realize detailed and well-prepared researchs on important and problematic issues of the country. 4) The last publication is infrequently published Basinda Musiad (MÜSİAD in news), which was published more frequently during the first years of the organization.

About Data Analysis, and the Interpretation and Writing Processes

According to Weberian epistemology, the knowledge of reality is gained through a transformation by concepts. In other saying, the known reality is always a constructed one that is realized by abstract concepts. Weber’s ideal type (…) is limited to one or two appearances of the actual reality. Freund, 1990: 185

The procedures that were tried to be realized simultaneously in the process of this study were firstly doing the field study, evaluating the data gathered from this process, writing them down with a synthesis of the theory in two directions -by getting back from theory to data and from data to theory. In the beginning of the research process I consciously did not limit myself with certain theoretical assumptions even if I was depending on a looser and semi- structured approach while preparing interviews. Changes in the way of interviewing and seeing the whole research process were always a possibility. This contributed to my being relatively more self-reflexive throughout the study including the reading and writing processes. As a result, this study was a process of discovery for me rather than applying some ready formulas to the field. The further readings I have made were another source serving this helping me to see the data in different ways in different stages of the study. This necessitates a harmoniously interdependent research process in terms of the different stages and works of it mainly composed of theoretical and empirical parts of research as well as reading and writing –including data analysis- processes.

I did almost nothing relating to the analysis of the fieldwork for a considerable period of time after completing my fieldwork. Throughout this period, I rather concentrated on the relevant literature, including the MÜSİAD publications. This was due to the fact that I was in a totally different stage as compared with the time I first started to work. My approach towards the existence of MÜSİAD was rather depending on its political implications to the Turkish society, considering the Association as newly organized Islamic civil organization and as simply an extension of the Islamic movement. During the research process, I was convinced that the role MÜSİAD-like organizations plays, as economic organization with an ideological and/or Islamic emphasis, can be crucial in the restructuring of Turkish socio-economic environment. Furthermore, the theoretical background I had when I completed my fieldwork, I felt, was not enough to analyze and evaluate the data. That is why I felt that I needed to synthesize and reflect upon the research process and the intensive and rapid effects it resulted on me. In order to reach this aim, therefore, it was necessary to put more emphasis on the theoretical part of the study. I left the analysis of the data aside and evaluate the impressions and thoughts I gained during the interviews while reading the related works and furthering the literature survey to gain a fresh look on the subject. I felt that this was necessary to analyse data if I did not want to describe it in terms of what I have observed and what I was told in the field. I can argue that this helped me in distancing myself from the interviewing process which can be said to cause “a perspective from inside,” as a result of 4 months’ intensive work demanding a great effort and care both of a physical and intellectual kinds, reducing the role of researcher to a narrator.

The first stage of working on the interviews was entering the entering the notes to the computer, that were writen by hand for the reasons as explained before. The procedure in entering data I have basically changed nothing, and just follewed my handwritings’ sequence. During this stage which took a considerable time, I had the opportunity to review all my data to the interviews and to go further over my interpretations, which can also be considered as a start to analysis process. The first classification I made was according to the cities and people I interviewed, and this was followed by the one made according to the questions guiding the process. Such criteria in classifiying the data offered me the advantage of observing the differences among the members. Additionally, I also entered the fieldnotes about my impressions and observations concerning the people I interviewed, the context of the interviews and the like.

The fact that the data is analyzed in the present study in terms of two separate titles, "structural socio-economic" and "cultural-moral," is not because these two spheres should be avaluated as two separate domains of reality but because of the analytical purposes. Thus such seperation should not be considered as resulted from the very nature of actual reality. That is, the division between structure and action is artificial, because “subjective meaning mediates between order and action” as it is in Weberian analysis (Schluchter, 1981: 34). In this respect, it is considered that the socio-economic phenomena that is tackled in the structural analysis part is always embedded in the cultural one.20

Since this study is about analyzing religion as a cultural variable with its connection with the economic sphere, it is above all a historical study. Hence, the conceptualization of religion in the present study is of a historical and sociological one following the footsteps of the three masters of sociological thinking. Weber states the significance and implications of the historicity in the studies on religion as:

Religions are historical structures rather than psychological or logical ones which do not involve any conflicts. When observed separately and consistently, it will be seen that they involve some motives that obstructs or contradicts with the other. "Consistency" in religion has become an exception, not a rule. Weber, 1987: 249

This perspective provides the basis both in constructing the theoretical framework and in reflecting upon the interviews with the MÜSİAD members. In other words, the questions guiding the study do not consider Islam as having a holistic essence which is the same regardless of any historical changes and, thus, not trace the existence or non-existence of such an essence throughout the research; on the contrary, they are rather about how Islam is located in Turkey and, more particularly, in MÜSİAD. The approach permanent

20 Therefore the new cultural sociology literature emphasizes the idea of embeddedness of culture in social structure (see, Morawska and Spohn, 1994), as well as the argument that the structure itself is a cultural phenomena (see, Seweel, 1992). And this dimension of embeddedness explains why culture is often “invisible” (Crane, 1994: 11). in the process of the interpretation of the readings and the data has therefore been shaped in an “interactive way” by this very process. Hence, the writing process has been experienced as part of the above-mentioned active flux rather than as a mechanical wording of the empirical findings.

My interpretation of the data, therefore, has been principally guided by the main analytical purpose of the study which is to understand the relationships between economic development and cultural/religious change, in a way similar to Weber’s discussion concerning the Western context. Throughout the repetitive processes of analyzing the data, I focused on the six points maintained above which helped me form the semi-structured interview guide, with the principal concern that how the role Islam plays in the development of capitalism in Turkey overlaps with and differentiates from the dynamics Weber discusses in relation with the Protestant ethics. In order to understand the ideological and organizational structures of MÜSİAD and to analyze the relations between these two structures by paying heed to the socio-historical context they are embedded in, it was necessary to do some additional readings on the theory, which was not planned before.

In the first stage of the analysis, the aim was to put forth the results of the interviews in the most general sense; I particularly tried to map the basic characteristics of the businessmen in terms of both their common and differentiated aspects. This stage continued until the completion of the writing process during which I made frequent reviews of the relevant data to answer the new questions appeared in time. Surely, in evaluating the data, I tried to be loyal to the principles of reflexivity and flexibility that the interpretative approach necessitates and for which a reflection on the context of the interviewing and the personal characteristics of the interviewees are significant.

During the analysis, I also resorted to the MÜSİAD publications in various instances: for instance, the fact that I had already read these publications before the field work played an important role in centering the interviews around particular points. In the later stages, I again resorted to these publications in order to understand how the inner organizational structure functions, to learn which activities the Center and the branches are involved in, and to test whether the publications support the main tendencies and terms of conflicts the interviews revealed.

3.6. Ethical Dimension

In Kantian language, the social sciences depend largely on judgement, for the social world is not accessible to pure reason. But since social scientists are not passive, external observers but engaged social actors, their work is necessarily guided by the ethical imperatives of practical reason as well. Calhoun, 1995: 69, footnote 39

The moral significance of social sciences basically lies in the fact that “social science cannot be neutral, detached, apolitical”.21 To this end, the first duty of a scientist is destruction of the myths (Bourdieu and Wacquant, 1992: 49- 51). For this study, founded upon the hermeneutic tradition, Gadamer’s emphasis on the distinction between

21 A principle that a scientist should obey is to stay away from “organizational attachment”s: What is the most important one in this respect is an independence from “temporal powers”: Therefore, an intellectual must be “autonomous yet committed; engaged yet subject to no criteria of political ‘orthodoxy’” (Bourdieu and Wacquant, 1992: 53, 56-7). approval and understanding is of particular importance. To understand/to conceive means for a scientist to introduce himself/herself with “others’ opinions”, not to approve them. In this sense, awareness of our own prejudgments and being able to cope with them are not of a lesser significance (Gadamer, 1990: 102; Bourdieu and Wacqaunt, 1995: 39).

On the other hand, to study on a topic related with Islam puts the researcher directly under a political responsibility in Turkey. In fact, from the very beginning regarding the choice of the topic and the method to the stages of the data analyses, the approach permanent in the whole process is in the realm of politics. For this reason, the ethical implications of the present study go beyond the criterion of “objectivity” mentioned briefly above. Field works of all kinds do, indeed, bring with the principles of openness, trustfulness and not giving any harm to the interviewed person that come with the very nature of the method of interviewing. In this particular case, however, the specific position of the Islamic movement and MÜSİAD in Turkish political arena makes the present study a more vulnerable one given the risk of not being able to realize the above mentioned principles. As I maintained before, MÜSİAD was one of the main organizations whish was under suspect and kept under observation when I started my field work. Many members, including the president, Erol Yaşar, were in court for various reasons. In fact, it can even be claimed that the difficulties involved in a study on such a newly established organization that is at the center of the political debates are far beyond the discussion of ethical issues. As a result, the researcher undertakes a difficult responsibility both in obeying the principles that a scientific study requires and in trying not to harm any party, organization and/or person involved in the process in such an active and warm political atmosphere.

I explained my identity, the aims and reasons for doing the research to the businessmen I talked to. Moreover, I also believe that I did provide them with satisfying answers on the points they asked about. Additionally, I did not ask them anything which can purposefully force them to answer in certain directions and/or have unclear intentions. The fact that I did not use tape-recorder in the interviews is also among the precautions in order not to make the businessmen suspect about my intentions. Otherwise, I would possibly not have had the opportunity to make interviews with many, if not the all, of them and the interviews made would not have been so detailed.

In addition, certain businessmen gave me some information that they did not want to be included in this study; this kind of information helped me in deepening my perspective on the topic and certain issues. In fact, they were more of a personal information which was not so critical for the content of the study. The personal information that I did include in my study, on the other hand, is the ones for which their sources gave the confirmation to be included. To sum up, I hope that the realization of this study would yield positive consequences both for Turkey in general and for MÜSİAD in particular. I was probably expected to write down “the mistakes they made but without ignoring the good things they have done”, as one businessman pointed out; a scientific study, however, should not deal with such issues. For these reasons, the present study puts MÜSİAD under consideration not in terms of its political position and claims but rather in terms of its being a social setting.

CHAPTER IV

CULTURAL ANALYSIS:

TRANSFORMATION OF MUSLIM WORK ETHIC

Not ideas, but material and ideal interests, directly govern men's conduct. Yet very frequently the 'world images' that have been created by 'ideas' have, like switchmen, determined the tracks along which action has been pushed by the dynamic of interest. Weber, 1958a: 280

Introduction

Islam and Work Ethic in Historical Perspective We have many values and faiths which dominate our moral and intellectual worlds today, was gradually shaped by Anatolian folks’ religious tradition (tasavvuf): The temporality of this worldly wealth, the faith which is to be in a hurry is a bad habit, the idea that one should always follow his/her pir’s (religious leader) word and way… Ülgener, 1981: 105

In the early years of the republican period the issue was also on the agenda of the country. Attempts to create a national group of businessmen126 can be accepted as a start to reform traditional Islamic mentality in the economic realm. However, there is a critical difference – on the base of whether an attempt has a public base and support or not- between that period and our contemporary time. These attempts were not supported by

126 These expressions from the famous periodical of related period, Halka Doğru (Towards The Public), has shown the seriousness of the dimension of nationality. “One should not buy anything from outsiders for the good of his/her country as a whole, even if s/he faces difficulties because of a lack of something, s/he never does a thing that can help to become poorer of the nation by giving his/her money to the foreign people (Toprak, 1982: 57). the larger population in the country and were left as an attempt of a few elite. Therefore, it can also be argued that these attempts were main factor that was responsible for an increasingly negative attitude towards what is traditional and Islamic as a result of the unsuccessful attempt to create a national-Muslim businessmen group.

It was declared at that time that “being poor” was not something to be proud of; and the way in which a person became a loved one for God was to be a rich person. It meant that there was a total challenge with the traditional interpretation of Islam –which basically derived from the faith that in the idea that working hard for the worldly aims was meaningless, if not irreligious- in relation with economic issues (Toprak, 1995: 52-3).

Indeed, as discussed in the theory chapter, Islamic religion could hardly be responsible for the contemporary problems of economic life. On the contrary, there were many evidences that there was no serious Islamic resistance in the period of radical changes.127

Yet in terms of cultural heritage in the broadest sense, as it is known the only way to be rich in the traditional Ottoman economic order was to be a part of central authority – namely padişah. However, the meaning of being rich and poor was radically different from that of its meaning in the modern capitalism. Wealth was something related to the socio-political positions, not the individual self; and considering wealth as something not permanent, can be interpreted as the reason why people found it meaningless to follow their own material interests beyond communal/societal concerns (Mardin, 1991c: 212).

127 As early as 1840, there were “alternative” (or western) laws to solve some new economic problems, because “Islamic law was not enough” to do that. Moreover, in 1850 Ottoman authorities translated the France’s Commercial Law (Fransız Ticaret Kanunu) into the Ottoman language without making any chances. And this provided a legal base for gaining interest that is not allowed in the Islamic law –it should also be noted that this was experienced even before the acceptance of this law (Toprak, 1982: 38). This point has also been proved by Genç’s article (1989). The structural base to explain this going away from Ömer Tarhan (Seyfettin)’s observation on this Ottoman practice, resulting in a tradition of devlete kapulanma128 (try to find a position in the state or rather close to the padişah) is as it is in the following:

Who could have become in wellbeing and happy in our novels is always either a state bureaucrat, someone with a high position related to the palace, or someone who is rich because of parental heritage and so on. There are no businessmen. (…) it is known that ‘life makes novels, not the reverse’. (in Toprak, 1995: 158, 161).

It can be argued that what stamped the Turkish economy was this state-centered cultural/intellectual quality of Ottoman heritage rather than the dominant role the state had to play in the economic field –for the sake of realization of the needs of the contemporary economic life. This was so powerful as a cultural component in Turkish social political life, even during the period of Democrat Party for instance, though its difference was especially in its liberal ideas, the policies that served this line of reasoning has continued. This can be traced very well in the words of one of the businessmen Buğra interviewed: "Their slogan was 'a millionaire in each neighborhood.' Note it carefully, not a businessman in each neighborhood." (1994:121). Nothing has changed even since the liberal periods of 1980s .

To guarantee their existential and functional beings through state was, therefore, a basic premise of Turkish businessmen in the modern eraas well as for the rest of the society as a role model. This problematic position in terms of acquiring material wealth at the market and/or societal level –rather than acquiring wealth through some activities within

traditional economic order, as it is known, was economic relationships that Ottoman Empire developed with the western countries (Mardin, 1991c: 125; Toprak, 1982: 37). 128 It can be argued that this state-centered nature of the society functioned as a tampon mechanism, like the function Weber argued the welfare state model would play in the societies with a patrimonial origin (1978, Vol.2: 1107), in the transformation of society from a traditional and egalitarian order to the differentiated and competitive capitalist system. That is maybe why some economists reject the idea that statism is a mixed model (a mixture of capitalism and socialism). For instance, Boratav (1982) and Tezel (1982) argued that it is rather a specific form of capital accumulation within capitalist system. the boundaries of state apparatus- strenghtened by the policies applied during the late

Ottoman periods. The rapid shifts of capital from non-Muslims to Muslims, and even illegitimately in some cases -especially under the conditions of war129- were also experienced (Toprak, 1995: 113). During the republican period, there were further developments deepening the problem of legitimacy of the rich, such as putting a special tax for the wealthy (which was called as varlık vergisi)130 in a discriminative way, again on the base of the nationality of the rich . In addition to these, the policy of creating and controlling the national bourgeoisie continued (Buğra, 1994: 4-5, 11). The late Ottoman period131 was characterized with speculative economic activities, alongside the luxury consumption of the rich (Berkes, 1978: 243; Toprak, 1982: 34; Mardin, 1991c: 43 and following pages, 219). In the conceptualization of Ülgener, this represents characteristic tendency of individuals in transitional periods towards consumption rather than production; and one result of this tendency is having a hypocritical (ikiyüzlü) moral framework (1981: 95).132 Toprak (1982: 34) stated that the term sefahat (a lifestyle based on spontaneous entertainments, which is just the opposite of self-controlled puritan attitude) has been used frequently by the writers of this period, because large scale of consumption (har vurup harman savurma) was widespread among people who had

129 Toprak points out that Ittihat ve Terakki (Union and Progress) accepted the fact that under the conditions of national war some illegitimate operations should be considered as inevitable (1995: 124). And Toprak relates the general moral crises at the societal level with the emergence of such a group of “the rich that war creates” (1995: 154). Mardin (1991c: 237) emphasized that the new republic collected the wealth in few hands instead of expanding it on the societal level, because the tradition of strict state control is mainly continuing as an economic code. 130 See Aktar (2000: 135-214) for detailed information about this tax and the period that this event realized. 131 Ülgener exemplified that the moral problems in the Ottoman economic life began as early as the 14th century in the context of guilds (1984: 151-9). However, because there were the representatives of these guild organizations in the leadership in the rebellion called Patrona Halil, it can be concluded that the carriers of traditional ethics were against these developments (see Mardin, 1991c: 70). 132 Although the periods they talk about are quite different, Alkan (1993: 20-22) also points out the relationship between ethical dissolution and transitional periods that witness rapid socio-cultural changes in the context of conditions post-1980 policies caused. capital. The new patterns of consumption that the public was heavily critical included addictions like alcohol and indulgences to entertainments including gambling (Toprak,

1982: 350). These policies, as a result, had important long-term consequences on the socio-cultural bases of economic activities both on the political/legal and moral/ethical levels133 (Buğra, 1994: 50-1; Aktar, 1996; Toprak, 1982).

Of course, these are also related to the problem of legitimacy of these businessmen at societal level. Because of this problem it was almost impossible for the economic elites of Turkish society to become agents in the emergence of a new economic ethic as a role model in the economic life. Instead, one of the declared reasons to rationalize TUSİAD’s foundation as a large-scale businessmen organization was to “strengthen the legitimacy of businessmen in front of the society.” (Buğra, 1998: 524). Buğra describes the big businessmen’s state of minds as follows:

One of the dimensions that determine the self-perception of Turkish businessmen is that they are not comfortable about the legitimacy of acquiring wealth through economic activities. This insecurity can be traced in their efforts to show the positive social consequences that resulted from the investments they realized. (Buğra, 1994: 15).

It can be argued, therefore, that the new bureaucratic cadres played a crucial role as a role model in the sense that commercial bourgeoisie played in the western context (Göçek,

1996: 80-6; Mardin 1991c: 233, 337-39), such as being a role model for the rest of the society with its ethical strength and with its devotion for the development of Turkish

133 Faik Ökte (1951: 210), who was İstanbul defterdarı (the person who is in charge of taxes of the state in Istanbul ) at the time the Varlık Vergisi experienced, wrote in his memories that “The most precious currency that we lost with this tax in the realm of finance was the confidence of the citizen in the state. (…) Industry, commerce, all economic life can only live by breathing an atmosphere of confidence; with the capital levy this atmosphere was poisoned.”. society.134 If the legitimacy and moral ground that a social order should be based on cannot derive from the characteristics of a larger society, (it was new rising middle classes in the Protestant and firstly industrialized capitalist countries like England) especially in transitional periods, the revolutionary activities of cadres should certainly not be based upon their own personal interests.

Mardin (1991c: 233) calls our attention to the critical role of this bureaucratic bourgeoisie –which also includes teachers, lawyers and doctors in Mardin’s analysis- in the expansion of modern institutions and thoughts on the national level.135 From the late

Ottoman period to the early republican years, there was no alternative to the solidaristic solution based on corporatist organizations (Toprak, 1995: 127-8, 154; 1982: 205-8).

Indeed, these groups also played a crucial role in the nation-state apparatus to build modern civil institutions of a democratic regime,136 and therefore made state functioning basically as an “emancipating force” in Durkheimian sense.137 However, as it is known,

134 Shambayati’s study (1994: 329), has supported this idea. He compares Iranian and Turkish Islamic movements. While the Iranian revolutionary Islamic opposition was based on the emphasis putting on the lack of morality of their governments, in Turkey Islamist movements emerged as an opposition against the growing inequality among people, and the development of the country and other economic issues form the primary issue in their agenda. He emphasizes that whether the struggle between the state and these groups takes place around the moral dimension where “the rentier state” is the most vulnerable or takes place around economic issues is the basic criterion for the success of secular governments. The interviews that I conducted also supported that from the Islamist point of view around ethical/moral issues –with the exception of the matters that directly related to be religious or not- it is something new to critisize governments by being technically insufficient or their misuse of state authority. 135 For more information on the “mission” these bureaucratic cadres realized, see also Göçek (1996: 17, 80- 6), Güneş-Ayata (1994: 49), and Mardin (1991e: 39-56, 335-40). 136 The formal policies of republican period, some scientists argued, paradoxically resulted in the integration of central peripheric powers of the country. Güneş-Ayata (1994: 49) states that this is because of this group that the Republican history is an history of “integration of wider and wider sections of civil society into the political system.” Roniger (1994: 15) critisizes the classical view that considers patronage and other informal practices automatically traditional and corrupted. Instead, he argues, we should analyse and understand these informal dynamics of the society to the extent that the “privatization of public domain.” This will also cause, he underlines, to publicize the private domain. Because of their power and widespread nature, it is important to bring them to “public evaluation and accountability.” 137 The application of the idea of “civil religion” in Turkey, although Gökalp emphasized the necessity to synthesize what is cultural and civilizational, such a synthesis was not an easy task to create immediately: That is maybe partly why revolutionary cadres did not find any better solutions than replacing religion with the science. since multiparty period138, but especially after 1980s because of liberal policies, this group lost its quality as a leading power for both cultural-moral139 and economic

(re)structuring of Turkey (Mardin 1991c: 339, Heper, 1974). Today this corruption has reached to a point that the public does not trust politics, political parties and politicians at all (Alkan, 1993: 19) while the issue of morality has been carried as a function of political and bureaucratic cadres140 of Turkey as discussed above. Alkan calls our attention on changes that Turkey’s strong state tradition 141 experienced. This process can be summarized, by using the framewok that Mardin uses in the following:

…the quality and number of such bureaucrats was decreasing on one hand, the principles followed in the business life served to empower the commercial freeloaders that used to be rich through speculative economic activities on the other hand, and therefore, not to create a modest type of businessman. Mardin, 1991c: 339-40

Therefore, it can be suggested that a general decrease in the legitimacy of state activities have been experienced. As a result, on the socio-political level, the dynamics of civil

138 Alkan exemplified that as late as 1950s the moral strength of these cadres was not dissolved, by using a case that was on the media for days (1993: 18). 139 It is relevant here to note that moral dissolution of central elite is an important component in the rise of an alternative group, because “local elites in these settings (i.e. non-Western ones) have typically been the main source of social welfare and have enforced the customs and regulations that affect daily life.” (Wuthnow, 1987: 234). 140 Therefore, the nature of morality in Turkey was based on an outside control for the larger sections of society, -as stated before, in terms of modern rational ethic its main function was to introduce free individuals to the society with its cadres as a role model. The importance of this point is that what we have here is a control-base ethical framework for the larger society –even if state control is replaced with traditional community control- while the characteristic of modern ethic, as it will be exemplified in the following part, is the inner faith of a rational individual and his/her own self-control as an ideal typical situation. 141 This is related to the well-known distinction between Islam and Christianity that there was no bifurcated nature of the powers of state and religion while the church was powerful and autonomous both on the material and spiritual levels in Christianity (Lewis, 1993b: 8). See also Mardin (1991e: 42-3), Akarlı (1975: 135-141), and Heper (1974). In his other study, Mardin (1991c: 83) related the power that is attributed to the state with an historical fact that state and religion was perceived as a unique whole in the Ottoman years. society –or larger society- gained importance as the main legitimizing power. A critical change in the nature of society, which should be noted here, is the changing response to the question of “what should be important for us? to be a respectful person (adam olmanın değişen anlamı)” (Alkan, 1993). Alkan notes that getting a position in the state will no longer the only way for upward mobility. Expanding the opportunities that the

Turkish society and global market present is responsible for this change. This change has a dimension of modernizing society, in terms of the issue of ethic, by replacing the traditional feeling of satisfaction even by simply occupying a position (probably in the bureaucracy) with the expansion of individual-based modern rational activities. Because of the limited structural differentiation in the structure of Turkish society at least until the end of “the one party” period, this corporatist/solidarist state ideology faced no serious challenge. What has tragically changed since 1980s is the relatively undifferentiated nature of Turkish society in general and economy in particular. This brought about the growing role of larger sections of society in shaping socio-cultural, political and economic structures of Turkey. It can be expected that the center-periphery cleavage of

Turkey will be undermined further during this process especially due to migration and diversified relations between various groups and different parts of Turkey. And this is important in deepening capitalism in non-western contexts, because as Weber underlined, a common moral and/or cultural base is one of the necessary conditions of modern capitalism. This intensification of the relationship between “central” and “peripheric” powers of the country142 have certainly a potential to produce a cultural synthesis, since,

142 Under the republican period the nature of center and periphery has changed as follows: while the center and the big businessmen of this center introduced the western values (which were basically identified with being modern and secular) to Turkey, the periphery with its traditional esnaf (small traditional producers) was the carriers of religious and traditional values. as we know from the western experience that the differentiation and homogenization of modern society was an event that was experienced simultaneously. As a result, it can be stated that Turkish way of solving problems reflected the cultural/traditional ways inherited from the Ottoman Empire, as Mardin (1991c) discussed it in his article, the transformation of an an economic code. Thus, the Turkish revolution, like others143, carried the old values in the habitus (in Bourdieuan sense) of people regardless of their being modern or traditional.144 It should be underlined that in the beginning of the modernization process there was no determinant active resistance, and in this sense the efforts to reformize religion and traditional values were not succeeded not because of such resistance but materially and culturally insuffient conditions of the country.145 For

143 See Calhoun (1995: 146) and Hobsbawm (1993: 1-5) for his idea that all revolutions are inherently “inventing traditions”. The reason why Gökalp underlined the importance of the difference between the ones that still exist and others that have become a fossil as follows; to be able to select which one has become an institution because of the role it plays in the society should be protected (1973: 29-30). Gökalp’s emphasis is an indication that revolutionary cadre was aware that tradition will continue to live in different ways in the lives of Turkish public. An example is given by Mardin: The revolutionary attitute about cultural values these cadres followed was indeed, according to Mardin, a continuation of traditional attitute of Ottoman period that gave priority to shaping values (1991e: 166). 144 This is parallel what Scott (1985:xv-xvi; see also Scott, 1977, Part 1-2) underlined as the form of resistance for the weak classes (or subordinate groups) because of the impossibility for an open resistance. Safi (1994: 17) emphasized the passive ways as well as active ones in the context of Islamic countries in their resistance towards the western influence. Therefore, passive resistance is in the habitus of people beyond conscious ideological choices while active resistance exhibits itself in the Islamic movement in its modern (Islamist party and other political organizations) and traditional (tarikat organizations) contexts (Ayata, 1996; Şaylan, 1992: 124-167). This passive resistance implies a process of “structuration” in Bourdeoian sense, and as Calhoun (1995: 146) underlines; “revolution does not mark a break with the habitus, but is based on it, even though it breaks the pattern of stable reproduction.” 145 For example Akşit (1993: 116) notes that the basic problem in the field of education was the lack of scientists who were the authority equally in both Islamic and modern sciences. Education, as the determining modern socializing tool, is the most important field that directs both the state activities and the activities of Islamic circles. Another modernizing function of education is its rationalizing and emancipating role especially in terms of habitual-passive cultural resistance (Safi, 1994; Bourdieu and Wacquant, 1992) in terms of the revolutionary aims to change the national culture in the direction of modernization/westernization. In Turkish context, as will be discussed in the following pages, education is much more important as a mechanism to create new opportunities to undermine the static nature of the society: it is because of the specific dynamics of late Ottoman and early republican periods, bureaucracy, not economy and market, was played a role to create a dynamic modern society (Mardin, 1991c: 229-30). Still, it should further be noted that no formal education has a critical function today because of the technological development in communication industry (especially in media and computer technologies). The importance of media and radio and TV channels have been emphasized in the success of Islamic activities (Ayata, 1996: 50). example, Mardin (1991c: 68) notes that the public resistance towards new policies has sharpened especially in the economic realm because the needs of public had been very cheap and considered one of the basic problems of governments in the traditional

Ottoman economic organization. Therefore, even on the ideology and policy level, there was a positive attitude towards what is “sincerely” traditional. It can be traced in the hottest political and actual problem of veiling that was made a distinct phenomenon from that of traditional headcovers of our women (namely, old women and the women of periphery)146. In this sense, what Weber called traditional ethic and what Durkheim and

Bellah called civil religion147 has existed and functioned interactively since Tanzimat period.

First of all, as it is reflected in Gökalp’s distinction of culture and civilization, halkçılık

(populism) was directed to “protect national identity that represented the characteristics of Turkish people” as well as the aim of “people’s participation to modern socio-political and economic processes” (Köker, 1990: 72). Ayata (1996) notes that Republican leaders

146 It can be argued that in its relation to what is tradition in terms of religion, Islamic movement has a problematic and much more negative and radical attitute than the new republic that was in cooperation with what is culturally traditional –not politically. 147 What is important on this point is the contradiction between community based traditional ethic and rational and reflexive-emancipatory individualistic ethic (see also Mardin for this, 1991e: 121). A difference between usages of the concept of civil society can be determined: While for Durkheim, representing the catholic tradition of France, civil religion is merely a modern form of religion, for Bellah it is a metadiscourse even though it includes a lot of religious implications (Bellah, 1990: 266-7; Durkheim, 1957). It is interesting to note that all societies experience flux in terms of Bellah’s (1980c: 9) civil religion based on the consciousness of citizenship. Alexander (1988:195) argued that if there are no crises in terms of the “higher” values of politics, a political scandal will cause less public reaction -by referring to the case of “Watergate.” He agreed with Parsons and Bellah that there are profane (in the search of “purification” during the moral crises) and routinized periods (there is no problem with the basic norms and rules of the society) adjusting their moral state. This approach can be seen parallel to Swidler's (1986) distinction, which are called settled-unsettled cultures. So the periods of crises can be seen as the dynamic periods which signify the social change and where the human factor becomes predominant consequently. In Turkish experience, civil religion is represented from time to time as a replacement of traditional religion in Durkheimian sense, while some other times, i.e, in times of flux Bellah (1980c: 9) talks about, has become a dynamic process to renew the meta-civil discourse in national level. In this process, it can be determined, the radical break experienced during the Tanzimat period through the new bureaucratic elites were selective on this: They were against religion to the extent that it was a traditional force and thus an obstacle to the achievements of national ideals.148 Although they saw religious belief as an important source for national unity and mobilization, they were supportive only when Islam was consistent with Republican reforms (Ayata, 1996: 41).

This opposition towards what is traditional in religion, which can be discussed, is similar to today’s Islamic attitude towards traditional practices of Islam in favor of new interpretations, under the need of modern conditions.

As it is known, revolutionary cadres in the pre-republican period were mainly based on the traditional/religious organizational base of Ottoman society. In doing this successfully they tried to construct new motivating religious/Islamic messages compatible with the folk religiosity. Therefore, what emerged was a synthesis of a populist search on the pecularities of folk Islamic tradition, and an elitist strategy to mobilize masses. In the Ottoman economic life, this process can best be traced with

Ittihat and Terakki’s (Unity and Progress) leadership to create a national economy (milli iktisat). Gökalp described this as iktisadi cihat (the religious war realized in economic life) in his writings, and this reflects also the attempts to realize an Islamic reformation in socio-economic life (Toprak, 1982: 137-142). This contrasted to the traditional understanding with an emphasis on the war in its military sense. In the ideological background of these national economic policies, there was an effort to realize a

with a western education, who declared their loyalty to the nation or people (that means the emergence of the consciousness of citizenship) rather than Padişah (the sultanate). 148 While modernizing elites of Turkey in general, following Gökalp’s view, agreed on this idea that being selective on cultural matters was a necessity (see for example Berkes, 1978; 1964), for liberal thinkers (Mardin is the pioneer name in that) the degree of modernization -in the sense of westernization- was extreme and unnecessary, if not detrimental (see Mardin for a study on this topic, 1991c: 23-81). reformation149 in the religious sphere (Toprak, 1982: 137-142). Gökalp reinterpreted the place of religion within the social life by underlying the double role it had to play; the first one lied in the total consciousness of the community, and as a new dimension, the other one was in the personal realm as an element of individual personality150 (Mardin,

1992: 228).

Therefore, the nature of his writings on the issue of ethics was based on the idea that a change should be towards an individually internalized ethic –rather than a community and control base one.151 Gökalp saw no contradiction between modern civilization and

Islamic civilization; he even thought that Islamic civilization was superior in its unifying

(or egalitarian) nature between the dynamics of public/intellectuals, and religion/science, while in Christianity the stage could be reached under the effect of Protestantism (1973:

282). Gökalp’s emphasis on the similarity between Protestantism and Islam is so strong that he considered Protestants as Muslim, even if they were not conscious about it (1973:

282).152 It is interesting to determine that many businessmen used the same metaphor during the interviews: some of them used expressions such as “unfortunately Muslims live today how a Muslim should not live”. The businessmen, especially the ones who

149 It can be argued that the first synthesis created out of a negotiation between the reformist and traditionalist groups. Still, the main determining power was reformist and/or secular groups in the process of negotiation. In the process Turkey has been experiencing recently, the nature of this negotiation is far from a dichotomic one –on the base of a struggle between reformist and religious groups- but rather a socio-cultural processes that include all sections of the society somehow. More importantly, the inner tension within religious groups seems to determine the nature of change: and in this sense what is the main characteristic of the contemporary change in religious sphere is its internal power. That is, the external effect on the changes in religious sphere seems to be marginal this time. 150 Although their potential could prevent the policies for the good of the society in general to the extent, Gökalp (1973: 221) declared religious movements as dangerous, he considered religion as the main source determining the national culture. 151 See Mardin (1992: 229) for a parallel interpretation.

152 Esposito underlines that Islam as a religion differs from other religions in “the purpose of life is not simply to affirm but to actualize: not simply to profess belief in God but to realize God’s will. (…) Faith state in one of the western countries –especially Germany- for a while, also gave examples for this kind from Islamic history, which are a strong evidence of their agreeing with this idea. Following the same kind of reasoning, Fethullah Gülen153 gave similar examples from the context of USA (Sevindi, 1997), as this issue will be discussed in the sub-section of this part (Muslim Work Ethic in Transition). All these are indeed can be interpreted in reference to the reformist tradition in Islam (Safi, 1994). In this sense a need for reform in Islam was already there in the very beginnings of the Islamic movement in the intellectual sphere. However, although the history of Islamic moral transformation in the realm of cultural/intellectual thoughts is not something new, its massive character beyond the attempts of a few Islamic intellectual such as Muhammed

Abduh.

Sayed Qutb’s attempt to develop an alternative moral framework is important in this context. He is the first Islamist who declared that the world needs a new moral leadership because the world is experiencing jahili154 period as a society (Safi, 1994: 154-5). And his answer to the question of how this is to be done is very significant in our context:

“…bringing an Islamic society to life requires the emergence of an Islamic vanguard” as

without work is empty.” (in Saktanber, 1995: 243). It can be stated in this direction that this description is itself an evidence that the main principle of Islamic and Protestant traditions are quite similar. 153 İnsel (in Sayar, 1998: 336) mentions Fethullah Gülen (in Sevindi, 1997) in this context: his emphasis on individual and individualistic creativity is especially important in that. When he talks about his admiration of western societies, he emphasizes the systematic quality of this system. His statements like the following is an evidence for this: “there are many useful dimensions of western style of thinking: systematic thinking is a quality of a faithful person….I admired many things here, such as the perfect functioning of the whole system. Everybody in this hospital is in a warm friendly attitude, which are the qualities that all Muslims should have. Yet many people are always going to mosque to pray without having these qualities of a believer.” These statements can also be used as an evidence to show what they mean by their saying “true Muslim or believer.” 154 It is worth noting that how Qutb describes “jahili” (see Said, 1994: 155-6) is very close to Weber’s formalization and bureaucratization of charisma and/or societies; according to him, Christian societies are jahili not because they are not Islamic; but because 1) they have destorted their original teachings; 2) they are not universalistic but based on distinctions in terms of racial or ethnic differences; 3) their leading principle is animal rather than human aspects of man –i.e., physical attributes not the moral ones. a role model. It is apparent here that the large masses need a model based on “true principles and values of Islam” (Safi, 1994: 156-7). Therefore, as stated before, there is a dimension of “distinction” in this revitalization movement in Bourdieu’s sense – developed as a middle class characteristic basically- from that of traditional Islam as well as that of secularist western culture. Structurally, it is a consequence derived from the end of community based homogenous life-styles of Islamic societies in general.

This heterogenization is a reason of tension within Islamic groups on one hand, but on the other, as they also consciously know it, it reflects an Islamic success story of the

Islamic vanguards in the sense that Qutb used it as a role model of the new morality, which reflects the construction process of a new Islamic ethical code that could be shared by both lower and upper classes of Muslim society as a whole and in a positive mood towards Islamic religion rather than an apologetical one. This is the reason why their distaste towards traditional practices stronger than that of the distaste towards the western influences on their everyday lives.155 However, this is also why some Muslim people of traditional kind supports these people with a high status and/or class position, and more importantly with an opposing view and practice of Islam.

Today, it has become natural to talk about Islamic intellectuals as a group and middle class Muslims as rising strata, called as “secondary elites” in this study for the Turkish context. In contradiction with the big businessmen of Turkey (represented with TÜSİAD), MÜSİAD has a distinct position in this sense both because of its structural and cultural nature, although the organization faces various difficulties at political

155 The fundamental reason for this is the cultural hegemony of modernizing reforms since the foundation of the Turkish republic. On almost every point that Republicans are criticisizing Islamic tradition, they are either careful to associate themselves with, or (re) invent tradition in both substantial and “shape-form” levels as in the case of veiling. An example from another case within the movement, Saktanber points out that they are “quite careful not to be labelled as backward, narrow-minded,” and so on (1995: 246). and legal levels because of its Islamic identity.156 First, the organization has the advantage to be organised all over the country especially on small and middle scales.157 And secondly, it represents “the Anatolian values” as businessmen word it in terms of its cultural peculiarities.

The importance of this distinction between Anatolian and western values is as old as the introduction of western influence on the Ottoman Empire. This is why Gökalp thought that it was necessary münevvers (intellectuals) to direct their attention towards the

“values of the people,”158 while the public’s orientation should be directed towards science (1973: 283). It must be underlined that Gökalp’s understanding of education represents a synthesis between what is traditional and modern -as terbiye (ethical training) and öğretim (modern education) (1973: 64). According to him, while “a revolution in terbiye must be based on culture” (1973: 43), öğretim (modern education)

159 should be relied on civilization –i.e., methods in law, philosophy and economy should be European, and ruh (soul) should remain national and loyal to concrete conditions of the country –hayata uygun- (1973: 306). For this reason, Gökalp hoped that the widespread understanding of education based on folk’s örf160 would become

156 The political legitimacy of MÜSİAD is under question in this sense, while as the representative of big business of Turkey TÜSİAD’s problem of legitimacy lies in the socio-economic fields. 157 This can also be related to foundation dates of MÜSİAD’s firms –that were founded mostly after 1980 period (see, the chapter of “An Outline for MÜSİAD” in this sudy), and can also be related to the idea that the businessmen argued that they are based on their own capital rather than state’s financial supports; and this is also what they imply/mean with the word Müstakil (independent) in the name of the Association. 158 Accoding to this view, intellectuals should follow the western civilization within the limits of technics and methods, and should certainly base their source of joy, excitement and emotion on their “original” culture; if not, public will reject to follow them (Gökalp, 1973: 302-6). 159 The crucial (or modernizing) effect the Turkish formal educational institutions fulfilled in the country was their opportunity of creating role and the new educational policy that the new republic has chosen, which was the adjustment of the institutions in Turkish mass education. In this context, formal education in Turkish is also important in that by increasing the opportunity for the masses because the language of formal education in the Ottoman Empire was not Turkish although the majority of the population knew only Turkish (1991c: 58). 160 It should maybe note that the term örf represents also what is original and/or positive in what is traditional. Indeed Gökalp defined the term örf as “the folk spirit”. For example, Gökalp underlined that public view of education based on örf never accepted the traditional methods that based on memorization dominant in time, in the modern well-organized schools. He further pointed out a modern education that neglects this folk spirit would be in potential crises caused especially on the young generations.161

One of the critical differences between late capitalist countries and developed ones is about the history of mass education. As Weber (1992: 59-62) underlined, the importance of mass participation in the capitalist order have made the education of masses necessary

(see also Hill, 1967). Along with the importance of status positions rather than class ones, economic outcomes was almost just a function of a good education in non-western contexts, and it is very prominent for Turkish case (Mardin, 1991c: 230; Buğra, 1995:

99-102). In the western context on the contrary –especially with a protestant origin162- of the origin of mass education itself was the needs of economic life163 through a “long arduous” education (Weber, 1992: 57, 62-3)164 as Mardin points out (1991c: 230). In one of the Development Plans (1989: 112) a change of this formal nature of education was determined as necessary in order to integrate the needs of economy and society and

and corporal punishment. In addition to this He related some other positive values such as egalitarianism and love for the motherland with örf as well. (1973: 139-165). 161 Weber who did not even think about a possibility of togetherness of formal/modern and informal/traditional was not as optimistic as Gökalp on this point, because according to Weber, moral education "embraces all activities that help individuals gain clarity about the choices they face" (Brubaker, 1984: 103). Weber’s pessimism about the cultural side of capitalism made him to be content with mourning about the loss of magic in the world while Durkheimian tradition has tried in a sense to fill this so-called “magical gap” with a civil religion. 162 Weber exemplified his thesis by using some comparative data from Western and Eastern sides of Europe. According to this data, he argued, these workers had different attitutes towards the change of wages and new production techniques. While Protestant workers continued to work hard, even if they earned enough or there is a new technique to adopt, in a disciplined manner, others tended to stop working if he earned some money or faced with a new technique (Hisao, 1976: 86-8). 163 This explains why the businessmen are so eager to complain about the educated people (especially the ones with a university degree) to the extent to maintain the idea that instead of being functional and skilled with new skills and a clarified attitute towards their occupations, Turkish people are developing a negative attitute towards work through the process of education. 164 It is because of the nature of the Weberian “spirit” of capitalism necessitates the (equal) inclusion of workers as well as entrepreneurs. That is why, in puritan understanding “labor was a social duty and children must be trained to work” and related to this idea, for especially radicals an idle person was thought formal institutions of education. For this reason, in one of his studies, Mardin (1991c:

230) describes Turkish universities as resmi diploma imalathaneleri (factories for bureaucratic certificates). However, there was, of course, a “rational” reason for this that the needs of the country had wholly been fullfilled by bureaucratic cadres for a long time.

MÜSİAD in Historical Perspective

The Turkish businessman will not be late in saying farewell to the fatherly, peaceful world of yesterday which disliked numbers and calculations, if he wants to have and keep his place in this changing world. Ülgener in Sayar, 1998:377

The process of industrialisation and westernisation has brought the place occupied by Islam and traditional institutions and values to a problematic point. The role played by Islam in arranging socio-economic life has become an issue of discussion, especially with the Tanzimat. Actually, that Islam has referred to flexible measures for daily needs is older than the Tanzimat: The religion of Islam has not been the only regulatory source in the socio-economic and political fields, and was supported by sources outside religion165 (Genç, 1989). For these reasons, the obstacle before the reform trials has rarely been the religion of Islam. For instance, Genç (1989: 17) argues that at that period, even when interest rates were the issue, Islamic beliefs have not been part of the discussion.

That the dynamics related to Islam have become a new framework of reference is firstly due to the heterogeneous character of the population. The imperial order organised according to ethnic differences affected the organisation of the economic sector, primarily the choice of jobs, in accordance with these ethnic and religious differences (Mardin, 1991c: 212-3). As known, one of the effects on the Empire of the collapse of the traditional balance with international capitalism is the new power relations and balances. Consequently, the sides who they were to become advantageous or disadvantageous from this process and the conflicts between them is decided by these ethnic and religious differences166. The capitulations granted during the process of industrialization and the choice of local minorities as trade partners by European countries due to their similarities in terms of language, religion and culture167, are the historical dynamics that prepared the Muslim- non-Muslim competition in the field of economics. That is so, because, as we

to cease to be a church member. What is more is that in Massachusetts idleness was made a punishable offence in 1648 (Hill, 1967: 130, 141) 165 Genç underlines traditionality in terms of economic policies in the Ottoman Empire, and states that in addition to the regulations named kanunname issued by the sultans as head of state, traditions played an important role in that respect (1998:22). Kazancıgil argues that despite the Islamic foundations of the Ottoman Empire, the state followed a line in conformity with the idea that religion was subordinated to the state’s secular aims (Kazancıgil, 1991: 349). 166 It is known that it is important for the modern capitalist order that the population has a homogenous character. Gocek determines the bourgeoisie “as an element of ethnic, racial, and religious homogeneity” and points out to this fact in relation with periods of bourgeois creation in the national scale (1996: 108). The modern nation-state project is based on a centralist administrative model based on the homogenisation of the masses as opposed to the imperial system (Calhoun, 1994: 318, 325). One outcome of this homogenisation is that interest conflicts are lived between social classes in the Marxist understanding of the word. The Ottoman Empire has experienced in that context ethnic and religious conflicts far before class conflicts (Koc, 1992) and the Republican Turkey has experiences cultural conflicts based on traditional- Western divide. 167 It must be noted that it is not because of an issue of taking sides, but is related to such issues as having a given business and work experience, knowing foreign languages and so on (Aktar, 2000; 101-134; Gocek, 1996: 93-7; Toprak, 1995; Keyder, 1982: 134-140; to see its relation with human and social capital concepts, see footnote 14). know, this process has increased the position of the non-Muslims who were once considered second-class subjects in the society while hardening the situation for the Muslim-Turkish majority (Göçek, 1996: 112, Toprak, 1982: 20). That is, the minority groups who were expelled in later years according to the nationalisation process, were actually the representatives of the Ottoman bourgeoisie at that period (Göçek, 1996, especially p.112). Göçek emphasises the fact that the minorities were the only group that could escape sultan’s inspection and control due to the characteristic of autonomy embedded in bourgeoisie (1996: 89).

The Union and Progress Association has raised the idea of nationalism principally on the common ground of being Muslim against this domination of minorities and foreigners in economic life168. Hence, that a Turkish-Muslim, national or domestic, group of entrepreneurs are created has become the main aim of the economic policies of the first period. The UPA has found the economic base of nationalism at the retailers, in “the mystical life” of esnaf retailers and small producers.169 The “Union and Progress,” especially after moving its centre to Istanbul after the loss of Salonika in 1912, has satisfied with local Muslim businessmen associations rather than establishing contacts with Dersaadet Sanayi Odasi whose members were usually non-Muslims (Toprak, 1982: 348). Secondly, as the retailers’ associations who were a part of the Ahi tradition were providing the Association with guards170 and hence in sustaining the UPA’s hold in government (Toprak, 1982: 349).

The national economy attempts in the period following 1908 were accompanied by discussions and articles on such issues as “can there be Turkish merchants?” Within this framework, themes that show the importance given to economy by Islam were put forward (Toprak, 1982: 67, 137-42); and, for example in such journals as Halka Dogru, it is stated that it is a sign of nationalism that Muslims purchase goods from each other (Toprak, 1982: 54-5). To nationalise or muslimise the economy, in that period, the Muslim population was granted immunity from such practices as imprisonment and exile, used as anti-inflationary and anti-speculatory measures (Toprak, 1982: 301). However, many attempts aimed at strengthening private enterprise and create its dominance in economy failed for several reasons171 (Göçek, 1996:111; Toprak, 1982: 206-8, 350-1). When the war was over, this Muslim newly rich from the war who were enriched for the sake of creating a national economy were far from responding to the needs of the national economy. Consequently, these peculiarities of war and years of socio-economic and political change and instability have proven that the new economic order that is sought cannot be based on the current potential that the nation had (both materially and in terms of socio-cultural and human capital)172.

168 According to a survey conducted in Istanbul in 1922, only 28% of the companies in Istanbul are owned by Muslims (Aktar, 2000; 55-7). Toprak also states that of the 129 Turkish-Muslim companies functioning in 1918, only 9 belong to the pre-1908 period (1982: 61-67). 169 Retailers’ and other small producer’s associations have played an important role in the Ottoman economy’s spread over the empire along with working on local services as water-road construction etc., along with foundations (Yediyildiz, 1982a, b). 170 Among other functions of the Ahi organisation, there are such practical instructions to the youth on such things as riding a horse and use weapons which serve for protection (for the specifications of the Ahi organisation, see the chapter of cultural analysis that we discussed the issue as a process of a moral transformation). 171 Toprak links the failure in co-operatives to the people’s particularities. In that respect, low level of education and the feeling of solidarity are cited as two major reasons (1982: 218). For instance, Cemiyet-i Mutesebbis, Osmanli Sanatkaran Cemiyeti, and Milli Fabrikacilar Cemiyeti which were founded after 1908 to create modern Muslim entrepreneurs’ unions failed. Another reason for their failure according to Toprak is the lack of capital (1982: 206-8). 172 These developments showed that from then onwards, within the framework of the Turkish Republic’s history, things would be determined by human capital (Becker, 1975), social capital (Woolcock, 1998; Fukuyama, 1995; Bourdieu, 1992; Coleman, 1990) and by religious-ethnic bases. In that respect, it is important that Ottoman minority groups used the education facilities of the Western visitors and minorities in the Empire (Gocek, 1996: 114-5). On that account, the solidarist, populist and etatist policies173 that characterised the Republican era became dominant, especially in education and in economics, in accordance with the rapid industrialisation/development goal (Mardin, 1991c). It was also one of the reasons why conflicts in the Turkish socio-economic life derived both from cultural and material differences in interests was basically based upon ethnic and religious differences rather than economic ones –i.e. class divisions (see Koç, 1992). As it is a very well known historical fact that especially under the circumstances of war, the potential for a class conflict among Muslim population was easily prevented by the threat resulted from the power of their mutual enemies --minority groups inside and foreign investors outside. This socio-historical background also helps us to understand why a powerful solidaristic and corporatist and even statist organization model for Turkish society and politics have been a well-suited solution -- not only on the political level but also on the socio-economic and maybe even cultural ones174-- for a long time. In time, however, increasing urbanization and industrialization in Turkey brought about the deepening in the liberalisation and diversification175 in the economy and increasing İslamization of socio-political and cultural areas176 in the society. Especially since 1950, Turkey's social and economic transformation has reinforced gaps and inequalities between different economic sectors, and this produced a perception of interest conflict between various groups and regions competing for forming new political associations and conflict groups177 (Bianchi, 1984: 35).

The most responsive chord was, not surprizingly, a larger group of provincial Anatolian merchants who had begun to invest in middle-sized industry and were frustrated by government and banking policies that encouraged the concentration of investment in the bigger entrprises of the largest cities. Their unusual brand of moralism and populist protest became functional to organize provincial businessmen and esnaf (Bianchi, 1984:

173 About development of Corporatism in Turkey, see Bianchi, 1984; about Solidarism see Toprak, 1977. 174 The etatist and corporatist seal on the Turkish economy is considered with the ‘moral lowness’ of the people by Toprak (1982: 351). This moral lowness should be considered not as peculiar to the Turkish nation but within the context of historical development and change. 175 Mardin states urbanisation and developing education as critical in terms of rising opportunities in the field of economics (Mardin, 1991c: 226). 176 Ayata relates that to the gradual rise of the role of religion within the state since 1950s (1996: 47). The ties with religious sects, led by Turgut Ozal’s links with the Naksibendi sect, is seen as the beginning of a new era (Ayata, 1996: 44-8). 177 Bianchi underlines Durkheim and Tocqueville’s shared idea about the nature of modern organizations that is the “increasing group organization and activity were the result of the growing division of labor and the expansion of formal political equality” (emphasis is mine. Bianchi, 1984: 3). The homogenisation caused by the nationalist policies and the nature of the formal equality that provides the basis of modern law and politics that widens the gap in class differences that was mentioned before have to be remembered as sustaining points in here. 256). In 1969 campain of the Union of Champers elections, for example, Erbakan mobilized the small and medium-size enterprises –and won the election. It can be noted as one of the reason for this that the big business had sharply different interests from that of small and medium-size enterprises. TUSIAD's position was keenly different from that of TOB (Türkiye Odalar Birliği) with its aim to promote the rapid accumulation of finance capital under industrialists' control at the expense of other groups in economic life (Bianchi, 1984: 269). For example, a few years later after the campain (in 1972) TÜSİAD proposed to the government that they should use financial sources of esnaf and merchants in order to close the gap between the Third Five Year Plan’s projected financing needs and available capital resources (Bianchi, 1984: 269).

Organisational Framework and theMember Profile

The liberal politics of 1980s gave additional strength to these developments: And this process resulted, as it will be expected, in the mushrooming of sivil society organisations in Turkey178 Mardin notes that although one of the aims of new Republic was to build democratic civil institutions (economic, political and social) it was Islamic and transitional sections of society to have and direct the civil activities and institutions of the country for the long run (Mardin, 1991d: 28).179 One of the products of this process has been Musiad, (The Independent Industrialists and Businessmen's Association), which was established in 1990180 by five young businessmen. The member profile of the Association has reached today about 4,000 members181 in 27 branch offices182 all over Turkey, and 22 representatives abroad.183 Musiad is now compared with

178 According to the data provided by the Turkish Economic and Social History Foundation, the number of civil society organisations is 1,147 (Sivil Toplum Kuruluslari Rehberi, 1996). There was a leap in the number of civil society organisations when the multi-party politics began, the number rose from 800 to 38,000 (Yucekok, 1971: 119). One third of the leading CSOs in Turkey, were founded in the last 20 years: For instance, of the 1,710 CSOs analysed, only 106 belong to 1950s or an earlier period, 659 are founded after 1990. Same is true for international civil organizations after 1980 (see appendix-3a for a list of International Islamic organizations). 179 According to Bulut’s limited quote from the Turkish Daily News, the rise in the number of religious foundations through years took place as such: 1979: less than 200; 1983: 350; 1985: 850; 1987: 1258; 1994: 3,800; 1996: 4500 (1995: 418). 180 There are around 40 Industrialist and Businessman’s Organisations in Turkey according to the data from 1993 (Ardic, 1993). When the new organisations established since then are added to the list, one may say they are making a great sum. The 1990s have witnessed the foundation of organisations –such as CUSIAD founded by Alevite businessmen, MISIAD, a nationalist IBA, and Fethullah-followers’ ISHAD - that were founded with the claim they were alternatives both to TUSIAD and MUSIAD. 181 Although the 1995 operation report of the organisation states in 5 years’ time they aim at reaching 5,000, this aim could not be met. 182 In the website of the association, 28 branches, including the headquarters in Istanbul, are counted. The places of these branches cited there, are: Adana, Ankara, Antalya, Balikesir, Bandirma, Bartin, Bursa, Cankiri, Corum, Denizli, Diyarbakir, Elazig, Eskisehir, Gaziantep, Gebze, Icel, Inegöl, Izmir, Tusiad (which is the organization of the 'secular' big businessmen of Turkey) and reckoned a force in Turkey's economic life. They are very recently founded firms, mostly in the late 1980s and 1990s.184 Also, Müsiad, differently from Tüsiad, is mostly composed of small and middle scale firms (see also Buğra, 1998):

Table 1: Scale of the Firms

City less than 50 billions 50-100 billions more than 100 billions Ankara 3 2 15 İstanbul 3 1 17 Konya 1 2 7

Oktav, Önce, Karas and Tanyeri (1990: 3) classified KOBİ’s as “smallest” with 1-9 workers; “small” with 10-49 workers, and middle scale with 50-99 workers. According to this classification, the members I interviewed fall into the second and third categories, there are also members with big businesses as well. That is they are mostly middle firms rather than very small, traditional entrepreneural activities.

Also, these firms are not only engaged in the traditional sectors of the econonomic lifes: on the contrary to the common view the MÜSİAD members I interviewed are mostly engaged in the sectors known as modern:

Table 2: Sectors

City Construction industy Textile Services Ankara 4 3 7 İstanbul 3 4 7 Konya 2 1 3

This table only includes the sectors that were mostly referred by the businessmen. Other sectors that is not included in the table are industries such as manufacturing, the

Kahramanmaras, Karadeniz Ereglisi, Kayseri, Kocaeli, Konya, Malatya, Sakarya, Samsun, and Sanliurfa (www.musiad.org.tr). 183 Foreign representations are shown as follows in the website: Canada, Azerbaijan, Singapore, Malaysia, Iran, Jordan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Hong Kong, China, Malauri, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Austria, Australia, Germany, NCTR, France, Holland, Britain, Greece, Bosnia, Algeria, Denmark, Hungary, Rumania, USA, South Africa, Sudan, Egypt, Nigeria, Uganda, UAE, and Qatar. In the list, next to the country names, names of the contacts are also given. While this list usually contains 1 or 2 people per country, in Germany this number rises to 8 and hence shows the importance of the ties with this country (www.musiad.org.tr). production for the construction supplies, operating printing business, the commerce of electronic equipments, producer and seller of halvah (helva), packing industry, leather trade and production, shoemaking and trade and so on. Restaurants, fair organizations, advertising, press and publishing industries, and health services were the ones I faced frequently in the sector of services. The number of firms that is active in more than one sector is 10 in Ankara; 6 in İstanbul; and 5 in Konya.

Moreover, on the contrary to the general belief that Islamic people are totally peripheric: Of the 55 businessmen I have interviewed, only 15 are raised in cities185:

TABLE: Businessmen’s Places of Origin

City small city, town-village (periphery) city as metropol (center) Ankara 17 6 İstanbul 12 9

These indicators proves that there is a positive correlation between social mobility, namely “migration,” and entrepreneural capacity on the one hand. And on the other hand, the existence of a few entrepreneur with a socialization in urban areas can be accepted as a factor that empower the organizational strength of the association.186 It is clear that it is necessary to have well educated people to govern high level duties including international ones. In Konya too, the “in-between” socio-economic socialization and the mobility between cities are also relevant. Most of the members stated that they went to the university outside Konya. Though the number I interviewed is not representative, 8, out of 10 businessmen was out of Konya for at least four years: 1 for 14 years; 1 for 6 years, 1 for 5 years, and 5 for 4 years.

184Dates of incorporation of MUSIAD’s member-companies: By 1995, of the 1,780 MUSIAD-member companies, 589 are founded after 1990. The number of companies founded before 1980 are 437 of which only 71 date back to before 1960. Number of companies established between 1980 and 1990 is 744. 185 It must be stated that Erol Yarar, the ex-chairman, who is considered differently from others for his elite background, was born in Gaziantep (for Yarar’s short life story, see Appendix 1a). 186 All of the businessmen in an administrative position have stated that it is not him to be applied for this position, but it is the other member’s will that forced them to carry this duty. There is an understanding deriving from Islam that one should not seek for high level positions, but should consider such positions difficult to perform because of the responsibility these public positions includes. It is interesting to note that such a view includes both a rejection of seeking for worldly successes both material and cultural, and a perception of responsibility these positions includes. Emphasizing the dimension of responsibility is surely a modern and “ascetic” one, especially in the context of traditional socio-economic mind of eastern societies that put so much emphasis on status through getting socio-politicaly higher positions by ignoring the heavy responsibility of these positions, if not material wealth.

However, most of the businessmen have lived in cities, at least during their university education. Of the 55 interviewed businessmen, 32 are university graduates. It must be noted that there are more university graduates among Konya businessmen than those in Ankara and Istanbul (of the 10 people I met, only 2 were not university graduates). This is so, because being a university graduate is also a sign of leaving one’s usual living environment and entering new networks and is therefore a critical sign for Anatolia. Among university graduates, there are 3 with postgraduate degrees. One of them expressed that he is pursuing a PhD degree at the time of the interview. There are 14 high-school and 5 who are primary or secondary school graduates. Of the high-school graduates, 3 have left university, 2 are Open University students, and 2 are private high-school graduates. The highest ratio of graduates of high- or lower level schools is in Istanbul and all those who pursue a Master’s Degree are from this province as well.

T ABLE: Businessmen’s Levels of Education

City primary/middle schools high school university masters/doctoral degrees Ankara 3 5 15 İstanbul 1 9 9 3 Konya 1 1 8

Istanbul’s heterogeneous character can be observed as a distinctive element. One member with high school degree and one from middle school degree in Ankara branch of the association stated that they have gotten their degrees by taking the examination from outside in their olders ages. Among university graduates one of them was graduated from the açık öğretim (open university).187 Among the ones that graduated from high school in İstanbul two were graduated from private schools; three were stated that they quitted university while one still was a student in the açık öğretim (open university). One of the businessmen with a masters degree was taking classes in the context of his doctoral studies at the time I interviewed.

Including the university graduates, the wives of the businessmen do not work at an outside job188.

TABLE: Wive’s Occupations

City Housewife Others Ankara 21 2 İstanbul 19 1 Konya 11

4 women in Ankara with a university degree do not have a job outside. One businessman stated that his wife had to leave the university because of the ban on veil. Only two businessmen told their wives were working: One of the working wives was a barrister, and the other is a chemist.

187 Because one does not have to go to the school in this model this is maybe the only way to get a university degree for these entrepreneurs due to the fact that most of them are personally work very hard. It is reported by their husbands that there are 6 university graduates among women who do not have a job outside. Two of them are reported as merely “literate” without any formal education. Two entrepreneurs were single at the time I conducted interviews.There were two university graduates among the wives of Konya’s entrepreneurs. The only entrepreneur stating he has two viwes stated that his second wife is graduated from the university while his first wife has only a primary school degree.

Businessmen expressed their uneasiness from the common belief that “they jailed their wives to home” and said their wives had an active social life even though they do not work. As can be presumed, the areas the wives are active are charity work and other social occasions. Besides, Ankara and Istanbul apart, the wives of the businessmen are active within the “Wives’ Committees” (Hanimlar Komisyonu). The association’s bulletin gives information about these activities of the wives. This choice can be related to the will of businessmen who wish to re-describe their position trying to synthesise traditional with modern, formal with informal, and private and public spheres. That Istanbul members do not adopt this action may be related to Istanbul being more heterogeneous and to other factors created by the province being a metropolis. As to the Ankara branch, it generally discloses a weak presence in terms of social activities.

Moreover, the data of this study proves that the idea of Muslim businessmen is not willing to work women workers, as a whole is not true. The most important reason for them not to employ women workers is that “the working environment is not suitable for that”. For the ones that have a very small working place, even a lack of a second restroom would be considered a legitimate reason for that. The reasons deriving from Islamic norms and rules has also be stated in the above-mentioned context of “inconvenient environment.” In some sectors such as textile, however, the existence of women workers has never been questioned. A usage of women worker especially for marketing have been described as inappropriate because they think that it is in a sense the exploitation of one’s femininity which is not proper for a Muslim. One even stated that he preferred women workers for marketing and they were apperantly more succsessful than male workers in that, but he stopped doing this because of the reaction of his camia (community). The following two tables includes the numbers of the male and women workers of these firms employed.

TABLE: Number of Workers

City 10’dan az 10-50 51-100 100’den fazla Ankara 12 3 8 İstanbul 5 8 2 8 Konya 5 1 4

TABLE: Number of Women Workers

City None 1-10 10 ve üstü Ankara 1 15 7 İstanbul 6 10 6 Konya 3 6 1

188 Possibly, there is not even a need to say that the husband of the female member is working.

All but two businessmen are married, with children. In terms of the number of children (2-3), the businessmen are not different from the rest of Turkey’s educated section. The number of children they have and other indicators about their family lives have demonstrated that a shift to nuclear family is certainly realized in these newly rising midle classes of Turkey. The sort of thinking that says “Allah that granted the child will also grant his/her living” is very rarely observed. Nearly all businessmen send their children to the private education institutions which grew dramatically in number in Turkey after 1980. Although an in- depth knowledge could not be had on that subject, some businessmen talking about the schools admitted these had an Islamic character. However, one of their major wishes is to make sure their children learn at least one foreign language and have a vast knowledge in extra-religious matters.

TABLE: Number of Children

City 1 2 3 More Ankara 2 5 10 6 İstanbul 2 8 6 4 Konya 2 4 3

However, it should also be noted that when considered the avarage age of them (see the following table) that is relatively young, more children could be accepted for the future.

TABLE: Age

City 20-30 31-40 41-50 More Ankara 1 15 5 2 İstanbul 1 14 6 1 Konya 1 5 4

The age factor is also relavant to the fact that this group of businessmen’s entrpreneural dynamism and the possibility to create new solutions that are experiencing at the moment, rather than simply following the traditional ways of doing things. Including the factor of the young age, due to their “in-between” socio- economic and cultural background,189 most of them felt a threat from their newly emerging identities as

189 This in-betweennes.... It is interesting to note that the Islamist intelligentsia who are the leading elements in the movement, are also sharing this ‘in-betweenness’ just like these entrepreneurial businessmen. In this respect, Islamic intellectuals are of similar character. Meeker observes that Islamist intellectuals are about 30-50 years of age, of peripheral background, and attend university in big cities like upwardly mobile businessmen. That is why their sense of being a businessman is not well-defined and they are not comfortable with their businessman identity. It also indicates that this study is basically about “a process” both in the sense of businessmen’s structuring identities (with economic and cultural dimensions) and MÜSİAD’s characteristics as a dynamic institution. Therefore, it can be said that their middle class identity as upwardly mobile businessmen is in its formative stages.

This is also evident in their alternative partnership model that is described as a distinctive feature of MÜSİAD by the members. Since the traditional family model are still dominant one as seen in the following table, although most of the businessmen think that a change toward the partnership model is necessary. The most important factor that affects these people negatively to build such partnerships has been declared as “because even if you trust others it is very difficult to realize for mostly technical and bureaucratic reasons.”

TABLE: Partnership

City Family 1-3 Partner More Ankara 12 4 5 İstanbul 15 3 3 Konya 6 4

An effort can be seen in the table that cooperation between small entrepreneurs is trying to be realized in accordance with the aims of MÜSİAD, though the dominant type of firm is still the family-centered one as a pattern. A small entrepreneur in Ankara worked with one of his friends complained that he is not happy with the family model because of the quality of the relationship between his brother and himself, which mainly works “out of principles and rules” about the working processes. Multi-partner holding organizations and medical-centers include the highest number of partners among the multi-partner firms. This should be stated here that the relatively high rate of multi-partner firms in Konya caused by my preference to intervieweing with the representatives of holdings. I preffered to do this because Konya can be considered as one of the leading cities including Islamic holdings: the Kombassan and the Endüstri holding are only two of them.

MUSIAD leads the goal of “seizing what is current in national and international levels” and share this with its members. In that respect, publications190 and activities including colloquia and education activities are

Istanbul or Ankara and then continue living in these cities (1993: 263). One of the businessmen I interviewed said what is attempted at being done is to stabilise and strengthen the tripod which is important for Islam. These three groups were: 1) intelligentsia, university lecturer – ulema; 2) administrative class – statemen; and 3) businessmen-merchants. 190 There is MÜSİAD Bulletin that MÜSİAD publishes every month. This publication includes annoncements about the activities of the association and the activities realizing in branch offices. Practical informations about the working life in general and about the member’s problems and needs according to their business life are also included. Another publication’s, Çerçeve, is to making deep researches on crucial problems of Turkey, including proposed solutions by MÜSİAD. Articles written by scientists and comprehensive works also included in this publication. The Research Series of MÜSİAD are composed of respected within MUSIAD. Primarily among activities towards members comes publications such as research reports. The most important aim of these publications and educational activities is to relate the technical and general data to the businessmen so that they can improve their economic activities. That there is an issue on the agenda as “Overcoming bureaucratic obstacles and indoctrination of the members vis-à- vis relations with the state” shows the hardening impact of bureaucracy on business world191. This situation also is a sign that the members lack the technical and social abilities to establish contact with bureaucracy. The international activities of the association is as critical as to make MUSIAD divide the goals of the association into two as international and domestic. Among its international goals, there is “to encourage our nationals living abroad to invest their money by developing various investment projects,” too. For MUSIAD and its members, the Turks living abroad appear as an important source of capital. That the association focuses on this goal show that it trusts and depends on the foreign relations network that it had since its establishment. This is a sign of the fact that due to the increasing international activities in accordance with the reshaping of the world capitalism, domestic and international economic activities are now intermingled. As a result, the success of MUSIAD and its members in that respect must be seen as both a cause and a result of the existence of that agenda issue192. We had expressed above that the Musiad has established a network in the foreign world to ease its members’ international activities and to improve their feeling of security. Another important issue is the international fairs/exhibitions that the association is organising every year since 1993. Attendance to this fair which accepts non-members as well has dramatically risen in parallel with the increase in membership. The number of exhibitions which were 189 in the first fair has increased to 350 in the 1997 fair. The number of visitors has risen from 20 thousand in 1993 to 71 thousand in 1997193 (www.musiad.org.tr).

As known, MUSIAD emphasises the cultural dimension of development as well as its economic and technological dimensions. The identity of the association described by the motto ‘High Morality – High Technology’ is a result of this choice. Therefore, the conditions that bring the MUSIAD members together and describe MUSIAD’s identity turn out to be economic, socio-political, and cultural / religious. Accordingly, for some businessmen, MUSIAD is described as “the union of people whose wishes, pleasures, expectations from life overlap.” Businessmen have expressed their resentment about the fact that Islam is considered in Turkey as second-rate, and the Islamic religion as nearly

studies focusing a specific issue in each issue. MÜSİAD in Press (Basında MÜSİAD) aims to inform their members about the news on the media. It is not published regularly and frequently. The Data Bank of the Association including the informations about the member businessmen has given importance and has developed the information this includes each year. The associetion help also the member businessmen preparing a short introductory film on their firms. 191 Musiad states in its report on “Medium-Scale Enterprises and Bureaucracy” that the greatest hardship is ultra-bureaucratic obstacles and red-taping. In the report which argues that bribery is widespread, it is claimed that VAT returns may be obtained in between a one week and three years; permits from the local councils may take 1 month to 5 years of waiting period; and there is a need to wait for about one week to pay in taxes (Sarrafoğlu, 1997:4). 192 Bulut refers to the sources about the calculations of MUSIAD about the Muslim-Turks working abroad and mechanisms that strengthen the ties in a detailed fashion (1995: 314). “the religion of the concierges, those who do not have money.” With the own words of a businessman:

To be religious and even to embrace people’s values is considered as a virtue in the West. As to us, it is considered as something to be ashamed of. The intelligentsia, the elite are totally cut off from the rest of the society; they think themselves as the saviours of the people, but they dislike the people. Those discussions of secularism and such have also to do with this.

However, it must be emphasised that, the focus made on culture and values is not limited with the focus on people and their values. Even traditional values and understandings are criticised for they are not compatible with Islamic lifestyle: Within this framework, that the old generations have devoted themselves to prayer and presented to satisfy oneself with less as a religious requirement is criticised. According to the businessmen, it is nothing but a misinterpretation of Islam194. It is even commented as Muslims not doing their due for their acceptance of poverty is considered as a means to keep Islamic society backwards. The businessmen share the opinion that each and every Muslim must work hard and provide what he has earned to the service of Islam as the prime directive under this framework where Muslim countries are underdeveloped. It may be considered as a reformulation of the ‘Islamic jihad’ under modern conditions – that is, as an ‘economic jihad’195.

Linking Transitional Periods with Moral Renewal

Increased social mobility and the growing internal tension between tradition196 and the contemporary needs of the country two main factors that represents both the conditions - by creating a moral crisis197- and prerequisites of a moral renewal. Social mobility is one of the results of the rise of liberalism. In addition to rapid change in all spheres of societal life, liberalization deepened and made socio-economic and geographic inequalities

193 In the Second MUSIAD Exhibition held in 1992, the number of exhibitions raised to 235 and visitors to 31,000. In the 3rd Musiad Exhibition in 1993, there was not much of an increase, but in the 1996 exhibition, possibly due to the Refahyol government, exhibition number rose to 311 and visitors to 45,000. 194 Watts, who claims capitalism is adopted and religious sensitivity is tried to be raised in terms of moral degeneration, has similar observations on Nigerian Islamic movement (1996: 275). 195 In fact, economic jihad can first be seen in the Ottoman era. ‘Economic jihad’ has been a propaganda tool for the Union and Progress. In the years when national economy policy was in use, an article of Ziya Gokalp on the subject is finished by a saying of the Prophet (Toprak, 1982: 137-43). In those years, such quotes from the prophet as “Poverty is something near heresy,” “The one who earns is the beloved of Allah” which are resurrected with MUSIAD were in widespread use (Toprak, 1982: 52-3). 196 The concepts of tradition and traditionalism are being used in the sense Weber (1987: 253) conceptualizes them: In its most generalized meaning, traditionalism is defined as follows “everyday routine as a norm of conduct.” visible. It is argued that there is a direct connection between welfare state and moral- ethical issues, because the welfare state model guaranteed independent individuals

(Bowring, 1997)198, which can be considered as the most important condition for the modern ethics. This is why traditional communal ties are gaining importance -kinship ties and community bonds were being replaced by public and private insurance guarantees

(Bowring, 1997: 95). This explains why the visibility of Islam in Turkey in the public realm is experienced simultaneously by deepening market capitalism, especially as an effect of the demise of welfare state on the global level.199 Furthermore, because Welfare

State model was functioned as a problem solver at the individual and societal levels in decreasing social inequality and vulnerability of individual positions, this also explains the growing power of Welfare Party (WP) in Turkish politics. These problems have become the central issues in WP’s political propaganda because they could no longer be solved through the mechanisms of modern nation-state, namely welfare state. Ayata

(1996: 54) points out that in the search for “an orderly society based on mutual trust”,

“The WP spends more time and energy discussing equality, social security, welfare, and social justice than any other political parties including the leftist ones…” (1996: 54). For this reason it has a special meaning that Islamists have replaced the name Refah

197 For exampleTuran (1993: 376) underlines that ethical problems of politics in Turkey is directly related with the structural change of the country, such as rapid population growth, rapid urbanization and rapid economic growth and so on. 198 It is interesting to note that although Weber connected the welfare model of the state with only the societies with a patrimonial heritage (1978. Vol.2: 1107), developed capitalist societies had become a role model for other cultures in that too. Indeed, Polanyi (1957b) and Schumpeter (1950) were right that they considered liberal-market to be lived a short-lived model and even as a distortion. As Wiener also emphasized (1981: 109): “Laissez-faire was, Baldwin declared in 1935, as dead as "the slave trade."...."In place of the extreme rivalry of the nineteenth century," Arthur Bryant noted with satisfaction, "industry is returning to the ancient medieval practice of co-operation and mutual agreement." 199 See Wiener (1981) for the dynamics of this shift from welfare to a liberal economy again. (Welfare) with Fazilet (Virtue) in the process of “re-opening” of the party. That means that the moral emphasis is gaining importance even within the Islamic movement itself.

Therefore, modern conditions in general and liberalization process in particular decrease traditional ways of protection and dissolve communitarian bounds, and this caused formalization and impersonalization of relationships that had a face-to-face and informal base once. Such a base for intense uncertainty, Lenski argues, is one of the reasons of growing number of religious organizations under modern circumstances (1963: 332), although secular organizations and ideologies have also focused on moral issues and taken side in this dynamic competitive cultural environment. This can also be related to the fact that civil society organizations gained importance under these conditions. One of their functions is their role as certainty (and trust) building networks. Weber’s emphasis on the small scale in terms of Protestant sects (1987: 271) can be explained with these components of modern conditions as well.

Although this study synthetically separates the moral analysis from the structural part, it is important to emphasise the role socio-economic and structural played in the process of moral transformation. The key here is that not only Turkey but also the world as a whole are in a transitional stage. Because of the dissolution of the old system in these periods, individuals faced in-between positions both structurally and culturally and therefore, have become mobilized and forced to use their reason -instead of following simply their habits- to regenerate a new dependable system. This is the reason why the normative questions such as “how do we behave/speak/eat/dress?”, “which way is right to follow to be truly a human being?” or “what should I desire for my own society’s good?” intensified both in quantity and quality in such transitional periods. The disturbances in cultural definitions and moral values are the signs of a process of change in cultural- religious fields because of a general “distruption of the moral order”, as Wuthnow notes

(1988: 476, 479). And that is why these periods witness a competition between various ideological and religious alternative views (Wuthnow, 1988: 479).

Transitory periods consist of three stages: 1) a new growing power in terms of its cultural and ideological framework; 2) the polarization between this new group and present cultural hegemony; and 3) the reintegration process (Wuthnow, 1987: 222, 231). It seems that these three requirements are true for MÜSİAD in specific and the Islamic circles of

Turkey in general. Saktanber (1995: iv) observes for the Turkish case that “to build an

Islamic way of life is the major enterprise in the overall project in that if İslam is the legitimizing social force in social life.”. In this sense, the new middle class of Turkey including a new group of intellectuals –as a rising power shifting from the periphery of the country to the center lately in a very similar manner to that of Weber’s protestant entrepreneurs- can be seen as the main power to build a modern base for Islamic circles.

Turkey is experiencing the last stage of Wuthnowian schema then, which is a process on the base of an internal (in-group) and external (out-group) tension simultaneously.

Related to the moral realm, the internal conflict and tension within the cultural system itself is responsible with its transformative capacity. It is mainly due to the emergence of different ideas and ways of doing things under the same identity through the rationalisation and individualisation process since it serves as the main factor undermining characteristic features of the present culture. For our case it is Islamic

“traditionalism” caused by the dominance of personal authority and an ethical framework based on external control.

MÜSİAD Between Internal and External Tension

Ideology: Between Practices and Idea(l)s

The more a religion of salvation has been systematized and internalized in the direction of an ethic of ultimate ends, the greater becomes its tension in relation to the world.” Weber, 1978, Vol,1: 576

The idea of a man's duty to his possesions, to which he subrodinates himself as an obedient steward, or even as an acquisitive machine, bears with chilling weight on his life. The greater the possessions the heavier, if the ascetic attitude toward life stands the test, the feeling of responsibility for them, for holding them undiminished for the glory of God and increasing them by restless effort. Weber, 1992:170

In this phase of transition from so-called state capitalism to liberal capitalism,

MÜSİAD’s role seem to serve expanding a new and largely accepted moral framework for capitalistic functions in the Turkish market (See the chapter of cultural analysis for details). Therefore, as a new generation of Muslim businessmen, they have devoted themselves into developing an Islamic economy under materially and technologically modern circumstances so as to establish a fully successful Muslim society200 which can no longer be labeled as backward because of its Muslim identity. The need for Islam to rid itself of the stamp on it which makes it remembered with backwardness is so powerful at the individual level as well as social level that businessmen give an impression of confusion with conflicting ideas and values when it comes to their Muslim and businessmen identities. For instance, the concern of embracing the Muslim identity and great masses shows itself not only in the criticism of elitism and out-of-reach attitude for

200 In one of his speeches, Erol Yarar himself, the head of the association, said, "their aim includes the achievement of an (economic) system based on Islamic principles. They do not have any ready formulas for it though, due to the fact that the (political) system operating currently is not an Islamic one, although the population is largely Muslim. Therefore, one of the areas of activity is to find and develop an Islamic framework, which can operate on the basis of modern technology, if not, modern conditions altogether". TUSIAD and other driving secular dynamics of the society; most businessmen I interviewed also criticised ISHAD, the association of the followers of Fethullah, as it is out-of-reach and elitist itself. On the other hand, with the specification and privatisation of the examples given by the businessmen who carefully used a populist jargon when describing the association’s relation with Islam, an attitude which is ideological and elitist, therefore out-of-reach and deploring for great masses, has emerged.

This conflicting position, shows the fact that a “correct” Muslim businessman typology is needed to be decided upon in the short run, for the Islamic environment in general and for

MUSIAD in particular. For this reason, it can be determined that it is very important to build a role model for true Muslim personality --not only for Muslim businessmen indeed, because Muslim identity is one and unseparable part of one’s personality and it is important to keep this identity unique in both private and public spheres. To this end, "it is very important to be a 'conscious' Muslim because a Muslim must learn that just following what we have been taught about Islam or just praying in our private lives does not correspond to what Islam really necessitates". And, from that point of view, it is not enough for the owners and administrators of a company to be Muslim in a Muslim country for that company to be called an Islamic company. The association’s aim, according to this, is to synthesize so-called private and traditional Muslim identity with modern-public businessman identity. According to the businessmen, whether a country is administered or not by Islamic rules, those countries with Muslim populations are somewhat affected by Islamic principles. For this reason, it must be considered as

Muslim. However, the level of comprehension of this (Muslim) society must be raised. By this, the characteristics of socio-cultural and economic life will be wholly and truly compatible with Islam.

With their emphasis on the issue of bringing wisdom to the people, changing people’s character (for the good of the people but even against the people’s will), the MUSIAD businessmen’s jargon overlaps with the secular popular jargon. It may be claimed that the businessmen float between populism and elitism, in accordance with the middle class’ blurry character. The criterion most accentuated here is, in accordance to Weber’s puritan modern ethic, whether people act knowingly in terms of their belief and religious practices201. That is, being a Muslim is not enough, they have to be 'conscious' Muslims and able to adopt Islamic principles into the current conditions rather than practice their religion in terms of the traditional beliefs. This elitism, is a means of separating most of the businessmen from the lower echelons of the society as well as being meaningful in terms of the construction of the new and sought-for Islam.

Here, in terms of area of practice, constraints and possibilities derived from the two-way interaction created by the relationship between cultural Islam and ideal-doctrinal and/or ideological Islam. When speaking of tradition, the Islamic golden ages, especially the life of the Prophet as a superior man is remembered, but in doing so, the popular Islam, the

Anatolian way of life is presented as an obstacle202. Hence, MUSIAD has two missions, sustained by the interviews I have conducted: Firstly, to save the Turkish business world

201 Saktanber interprets the issue of “faith” in relation with Bourdieu’s concept of “taste” and as a means of these class-changing people to separate them from ordinary people (1997: 150). 202 Hobsbawm notes that studying about tradition as a modern phenomenon (he called this as “invented tradition”) is critical especially for historians –and vice versa (Hobsbawm, 1993: 13-4). Hobsbawm argues from the influence of the foreigners (the modernisation project is somewhat taken as the transfer of the foreign influence on the Ottoman state to the Republican era) and non-

Muslims (there is still a resentment towards a small group of non-Muslims and the

Western relations and values they brought to the economy and the place they have).

Secondly, to help the Muslim Anatolian people to rid themselves of their “satisfying with less” understanding. For this, it is necessary to make the Anatolian people to be given a new ethic and work understanding and to make sure he comes to the positions of decision in economy. Both because of the egalitarian heritage that the people inherited, and because of the limits Islam imposes on them, it is crucial to attend the ‘middle way’ and not to leave it. This is especially emphasised when consumption is in question. Moreover, that they avoid public display of their richness and their wealth not dividing them from the general public in terms of their lifestyles is a very important point dividing this group of businessmen from the others. As well as avoiding spending on luxury goods203; it is also essential to spend knowing the society has a share in their wealth, because in Islam, there is no such concept as individual “unlimited needs” (Maruf, 1995). According to the businessmen, the condition for the Islamic society to remain a grouping of people in unison with each other rather than becoming an arena of clashes between competing classes204. As can be seen, MUSIAD sticks to the traditional understanding when it comes to consumption. Its real innovation is in terms of production and to earn much

that all movements to defend or to resurrect the past can never develop or even preserve a living past as they always become ‘invented tradition’ (1993: 7-8). 203 Luxury spending reminds businessmen generally of night-life, having holidays at expensive places others cannot afford to go, to spend great amounts in issues beyond normal expenditures. There are some businessmen who express their discontent that some Muslim businessmen who became rich recently began to change their lives (family life is especially emphasised) and adopted a luxurious lifestyle. 204 Turkdogan, in the article titled ‘Islam and Work Ethic,’ states that such specialities as solidarity, savings-based life, and the pursuit of union and order are embedded within the popular Islam and such more205. Their point of view towards consumption can diverge from the tradition only in terms of shape and service quality. As far as it is spent in accordance with Islam, a

Muslim’s will to earn a fortune would, therefore, taken positively.

From Islamic to Economic Jihad

This change of understanding based on earning and producing more are possible only if these ideas are related to the ‘economic jihad’ concept. That is done by using their money in the service of Islam, turning their economic success into a religious one. Therefore, service to Allah and to Islam can be indexed to the strengthening of the Muslim countries’ economies at present conditions. The true reason for earning much money is to be useful to the society/humanity for the sake of Allah. To this end, a Muslim businessman should not be guided by material worries. The Muslim businessman must beware that ‘he is to account for everything he has done here in the other world’206.

Hence personal wealth should not be met by Muslim businessman without an inner calculation, because, to have property means richness and/or power and is very

issues must be revitalised in schools and other places as modern capitalism becomes deeper within the society (1995: 127). 205 Genc states the understanding that foresees everyone’s needs to be fulfilled as the most important characteristic of the Ottoman economic structure (Genc, 1989). This egalitarian view on consumption is one of the reasons of the neglect of production in the later periods of the Ottoman State. What is in question now is the refortification and building of respect for the Islamic societies and so the reconstruction of the production-consumption relation that were failing (Genc considers Ottoman economy’s traditionalism with this ratio). 206 The businessmen think that to really have fear of God and to believe in the day of judgement in the other world makes people more trustworthy. Because, “in people who do things with the fear of police or of law will always have a way out for cheating.” Weber too emphasises the trust-giving aspect of fearing God in economic relations when talking about piety-trust relationship in Protestantism (1987: 268). However, the reasons for show of piety are not considered as important: one may become openly religious in order to become rich; it is fine as long as he lives and acts according to the rules (1978: footnote 5 – 381). dangerous.207 Rich man should fight his conscience more than the poor men for not going to the wrong side. In such a situation, the reason for a Muslim to choose to become rich is his wish to do good deeds, to help out people, and to create a means of preparation for the other world. That is so because a good Muslim is someone who does not run away from choosing the hard way to do good deeds, instead of choosing the easy way, that is poverty or a way of earning moderately.

The businessmen believe, in such a moral framework, that "a Muslim businessman must never forget that his capital is an 'emanet', namely trust, and that he must fulfill all his responsibilities toward it". This means they are not the “real” owners of their wealth; they are the trustee’s “emanetçi”s of God; they are vehicles between God and material world. Therefore, they have the duty to manage their private property in accordance with God's rule. The question of “how to consume” is also determined in the direction of Islamic principles of course. For the case of MÜSİAD this reflects itself by using money for the purposes of production rather than consuming it or by helping other people in the sake of societal aims. Thus, “wealth will be not an end in and of itself for a Muslim as it is for Western and Westernized people, but it should be a mean to reach a true Islamic society”. As one of the businessman said:

"It was true for previous generations to feel satisfied with a small amount of wealth. They believed that according to Islam it was not proper to earn any further. They even stopped working at a certain age considering that it is the time for them to devote themselves to praying. The work-values of a Muslim in our day are to be hardworking and earning as much as possible; and eventually spending this money for the good of the country in specific, and humanity in general. Because, this is what God wants us to do."

It, of course, means that they have to use their money for the well being of the society instead of their private interests. However that does not mean it will be enough to fulfill just the religious responsibilities related to religious almsgiving (zekat and sadaka in

Islamic case). Just doing what the Quran command us to do does not mean a Muslim perfectly fulfills the religious responsibilities. Because a real Muslim must go beyond in

207 The connection between Protestant ethic and capitalism Weber analysed did not mean these Protestant businessmen did not have a problematic relation with the money, the case was just the opposite (see Weber, 1978. Vol.2: 1200). every field to what s/he has been commanded to do as a religious necessity: “just fullfilling these personal responsibilities called by a businessman as “it does concern to this person only as a religious task, not the overall society.” In this sense there is an obvious re-interpretation of the priorities of religious life as it is in Hobsbawm’s

(1993)“inventing tradition” in the form of an invention of a religious tradition.

There is an attempt to clarify how a Muslim businessman should behave In 'Homo-Islamicus (Muslim Person in Working Life: Way of Organizational Behavior in the Firms governed in the Direction of Islamic Principles)',208 published in 1994 by the Association. As we understand from the name of the publication, it is supposed to facilitate the formation of an alternative model to the 'homo-economicus' of the Western capitalism.209 This notion of homo-Islamicus is largely based on a renewed Islamic ethic210; and in this sense, Western countries are criticized as being non-ethical for seeking their own selfish interests rather than the well being of the society-at-large. Thus, 'homo-islamicus' also refers to an idealized model of 'businessman' by rejecting traditional/secular 'Muslim' identities,211 which do not really exist in the real life, and by motivating Muslims to try to synthesize an Islamic identity, which is powerful and effective, both

208 This publication contains contributions by 5 Turkish authors including Avicenna’s ‘On Soul’ and 12 translations. This shows that the interest on the subject is not limited either to MUSIAD or to Turkey. 209 See appendix-4 of this study (see especially article 2 in p.1). This is a part that includes MÜSİAD’s aims including replacing “economic man” with an Islamic one. 210Sayar states it is Prof. Dr. Orhan Turkdogan is the brainfather of the idea of resurrecting Homo-

Islamicus in Turkey (1998: 332). This shows us that the Islamic circles have deep as organic and dynamic relations with the raising middle classes including university lecturers. The raise in the number of universities in Anatolian provinces since 1990 is important as it provides an extra opportunity.

211In Musiad’s publications, it is stated that Islamic man is developing as an alternative to capitalism’s

‘homo-economicus.’ As opposed to the purely economic content of Homo Economicus –and this is only an ideal type-, Homo Islamicus is based on the social morality. While Homo Economicus reflects economy’s working on rational individual’s actions, Homo Islamicus acts on the morals of the individual who thinks and acts ‘socially.’ Everything to be done ‘should be done for the sake of Allah and humanity and not for the individual success or small selfish gains.’ publicly and privately.212 This idealized model of 'Muslim businessman' is not to be found anywhere though; because it is in the process of being constructed not to say it is an ideal in its very nature. The existence of a high rate of ending membership as a policy in MÜSİAD reflects the flexible nature of the businessman type of the organization: My fieldwork supports the idea that it is easier to protect moral- ethical purity in small city conditions while metropolitan lives are difficult to adopt strictly ethical values. There were differentiated expressions by the businessmen I interviewed: while some emhasized the privacy of their private lives, some others was defending a strictly organized life around religious-ethical principles. MÜSİAD’s principle of “high morality” can be determined less succselfull in metropolatian Istanbul in this respect. Even if membership to MÜSİAD is not arbitrary- there are some rules and conditions in the acceptance to the membership-213 there were a notable number of member who taking out from the association.214 And these were mostly from Istanbul as stated by the businessmen I interviewed. To be concrete, the businessmen I interviewed emphasized traits, such as being truthful and dependable in terms of business life, while considering a life that is strictly Islamic as of secondary importance, if not as a matter of private choice. Even if a member exhibits inappropriate behavior in terms of Islamic principles it is OK. to the extent that he was not seen in public, and avoided being excessive.215 Still, businessmen said

212Most of these are written by Islamist intellectuals or by university lecturers of conservative worldview.

The influence of Islamic intellectuals in the requestioning of Islam’s meaning by Islamic circles and their choice of different practices from those in the past is well-known (Saylan, 1992; Meeker, 1991). This contribution makes references to a new Muslim individual typology as can be seen in Ismet Ozel who tells that the real ratio of true believers in Turkey would not pass 6% of the population (Meeker, 1993: 294) or

Islamist writer Dilipak’s (1990: 68-69) claim that following tradition per se is not acceptable in Islam and that new ways of introducing Qur’an to life should be sought in his book This Is Not My Religion.

213 MÜSİAD’ın üyeliğe kabul şartlarından biri de iki üyenin referansıdır. 214 Dernegin, uyelerin belli sartlari yerine getirmemesi durumunda, uyeligin feshine gitmesi sozkonusu olmaktadir. Aldigim bilgilere göre, ihraca yol acan nedenlerin basinda ticari-toplumsal guvenilirligin sarsilmasi turunden iş ilişkileriyle ilgili nedenler gelmektedir. Bu da MÜSİAD’ın öncelikle güvenli iş ilişkileri için bir zemin/network olma hedefiyle bağdaşmaktadır. MÜSİAD’s policy to be ended the membership can be linked to basically their work ethic and prestige; other qualities, including realizing the rules of Islamic religion, have mainly perceived as issues of businessmen’s private lives, although they are expected to not taking alchaol publicly and so on. 4-5 member, it is stated, have forced to leave MÜSİAD due to their lost of ethical prestige in the working life. It is reported in one of the MÜSİAD publication that the memberships of 38 businessmen have been ended by 1995 (Basinda MUSIAD, 1995). However, in the media the number of the members ending their membership was reported as 30 by 1996 (see Hürriyet, 25 Nisan 1997: 6). 215Nearly all businessmen have used loose expressions like this about the Muslim identity of the members. This flexibility can be seen especially when prayer is concerned. Prayer is considered, as it has to be done by oneself, a less important need than one’s fulfilling his social duties. This is related to the above cited transition from obedience to Allah to social and humanitarian duties’ execution. In this respect, some examples such as there are MUSIAD members’ wives who do not put on the headscarf; what is important that although they are not looking for a certain way of practicing Islam among their members, they must be believers at a bare minimum, because they have principles and expectations deriving from the rules of Islam. They also added that non-believers themselves do not want to come and join them anyway beyond their own preferences about the quality of the members. Furthermore, to have a more or less complete view of businessmen in this regard, it can be helpful here to refer to the muslim businessmen typologies in MÜSİAD the editor of the Association's Bulletin describes (Müsiad Bülten, Year:3, Number:3, April, 1995). He argues that there are three models of 'the Muslim businessman' in MÜSİAD: The first type of businessman characterizes heavily with the traditional pecularities of a typical muslim esnaf. The editor defines this model as follows: "The priority is given to the Islamic principles; they strictly believe in the idea that a Muslim businessman must earn by 'helal' means (in the way that God wants) and spend in a certain way. They do not get involved, for example, in Bank circles and other institutions of modern capitalism. Becoming powerful businessmen and expanding the limits of their businesses is not important for them at all. Therefore, it is impossible for them to accumulate large amounts of capital". The most important problem with this model in terms of modern business activity is a lack of motivation toward being a successful and wealth person. However, my interviews show that these traditional minded Muslim businessmen are difficult to find within MUSIAD –but it is probably because my interviews based heavily on the members of İstanbul and Ankara; and we can expect to have many of them in the periphery of Turkey.

Businessmen represented by the second model (his last model in the article) can be described as moderate- minded Türkish muslim person who is a typical result of the success derived from Türkish experience of secularism: And according to the editor, this group of businessmen simply believe that "there is no contradiction in separating their public/business lives and private lives". For them, although it is very important to follow Islamic rules in their private lives, this is not necessary (and/or possible) in the business life, because economy has its own rules. This group "can easily get involved in some of the 'secular practices' in the business which is not appropriate in terms of Islamic rule, while they can be very strict in their private lives in terms of practicing Islam as a way of life". This model can be seen as a result of Turkish secularism, which is based on a strict separation of public and private lives. The 'pragmatism' of this group in terms of business activity creates a problem for the idealistic aims of the association, because their very reason of existence is to develop a unique Islamic economic system as an alternative to capitalism based on an Islamic society, not a secular one. So, the Islamic knowledge of this group is not enough to accept 'the necessity to unite their Muslim and businessmen identities'.

is to live according to social rights in general; and that a member may consume alcohol as long as he is not an alcoholic, are given. In fact, the emphasis on social duty as a sign of piety can be linked to ascetism that Weber sees in Islam as a deficiency. Nevertheless, as it is expected from the members of Protestant sects to follow the rules strictly and all the time (Weber, 1987: 238), the flexibility shown by MUSIAD members in Last model represents, I argue, the typical member of the organization: He describes this group of businessman (his second model in the article), as someone "who does everything needed to be done in the market in order to be successful" in spite of their strong religious beliefs. These group of businessmen believe that they do this in the name of Allah without sacrificing their Islamic identity. Hence, a Muslim businessman will be someone who gives his material wealth to the service of Allah. What they will serve is the 'Islamic faith', the 'will of Allah': "Wealth is a gun itself; and they want to have it in order to use it against the enemy, namely the West and/or capitalism; as the enemies of Islamic society". By pointing out that the association has a duty to discuss and develop the 'true' way of being a Muslim businessman he implicitly criticizes all three models. The only model he openly criticizes in detail, however, is the last one. Because the editor seem to be aware that the real determinat group of businessmen is this one living amidst of a life characterized by a tension between religious principles and the conditions of the outside world. Therefore, it can be argued that most of the businessmen fall into this second model, because it represents how they believe and legitimize what they are doing in the global market economy. Because this model presents the possibility for 'economic success' which cannot easily be compatible with a framework of Islamic society in general and Islamic economy in particular. It is this new vision that renders Islamic ethics compatible with these businessmen's will to power and wealth.216 The editor concludes his words by asking them about 'the quality and quantity of their spending'; "If it is a war, then, their way of spending money should totally be different", he claims.

This emphasis on spending money in the sake of God and larger community itself can be seen as the most important legitimizing point217 for general success for a muslim in business life to accumulate wealth to that respect and their relative approval on “the sin that is performed secretly,” can be seen as a reflection of traditional morality in modern conditions. 216 The message provided by a translated work printed in the association’s publication named Is Hayatinda

Islam Insani (Islamic Man in Work Life) is both striking and supporting our research’s findings: According to the article, in summary, even if an Islamic company will not aim at profit maximisation, it should aim at holding its profits as high as possible –this is considered as holding its profits to an acceptable level-

(Metwally, 1994: 133-5). Hence, it would be able to continue charitable work within society. The management of money should be done to use it on social ends by contribution to general economy by both doing charity work systematically and canalising the money to continuous investment –because the future of companies depend on their profitability.

217As the editor felt the need to warn as he saw this in the businessmen, sometimes the aim of becoming rich followed for the sake of humanity may leave its place to a religious terminology used to become rich:

Some expressions that Mitwally used in his theoretical article in the book Homo Islamicus show that this create a developed Muslim society in order to end the poor conditions of Muslim countries. So it provides businessmen with new interpretations of Islam to legitimize this wealth in order to accommodate their Muslim identity within modern economy and technology. Because in order to become successful in the global economy and to develop a high-tech industrial base for the country it is crucial for these businessmen to have as much capital as possible. But as we know, there are a lot of contradictions for doing this: Being a businessman (and wealthy) gives/impels them the opportunity to use Western technology and other modern goods, which have, at the same time, the ability to undermine their Islamic way of life. This contradictory position of İslamic businessmen explains why it is important to struggle to not being defeated by the market forces at the expense of their Islamic way of life. Therefore, these attempts have a double function. On one hand it is a threat as I mentioned above, while on the other hand it helps to “promote” Muslims in particular and Islam in general, that have been seen so far as a sign of backwardness.

This challenging and difficult in-between identity of these businessmen, it can be argued, hard to play for the long run. Weber’s Protestant businessmen turned into materialist capitalists for the long run, because there was no need to have a constant “spiritual support”: Therefore, it could be predicted that it is inevitable in this sense that these businessmen will turn into followers of “a ready formula” in time. According to Weberian formula, the formalization and institutionalization of these newly constructed identities is inevitable because of the expansion and relative homogenization of newly constructed ideas, values and institutions. This means that the process will end with a relatively static and formalized modern formation of a special type of Turkish-Muslim society and businessmen. Because there is always an end for in- between, dynamic and ambiguous identities and structures which are typical for the societies, groups and people in transition.

Muslim Work Ethic in Transition

Turkish businessmen will soon realise that he should abandon the old business type that is untroubled, fatherly and does not like numbers nor strict planning if he wants to have a place in this changing world.218

confusion can be experienced perhaps even at the intellectual level. While Metwally (1994: 135) refuses advertisement aimed at conning and underlines the fact that the charity to be done is to be done “for the sake of God and with sincerity,” he also emphasises that charity expenditures will make the companies appear “sympathetic” to the public eye.

218 Sayar adds that these sentences are the last words that Ülgener left us and can be accepted as a “last request of a philosopher of economics” (1998: 377). This request of Ülgener -as a person who shares the Weberian pessimism about the “iron cage” principle of capitalism- cannot be interpreted as a real desire, but a request not to postpone an undesirable consequence of modernization in Turkey, which is inevitable (for this, see Ülgener, 1981: 108-114). Ülgener (in Sayar, 1998: 377)

This double tension can be determined in almost every businessmen’s statements somehow when they problematise their problem as Muslim businessmen. There are always uncertainties and/or contradictory usages in terms of religious concepts and matters they discuss because of this reason: It is not only because of the heterogeneous and conflictual nature of Turkish political atmosphere as an external factor, but it is also because of the same heteregenous and conflictual nature among their muslim “brothers”.

Also, more importantly it is because of their ambiguous feelings and thoughts about religious matters.

To start with, the name 'Müsiad' itself captures an ambiguity in contemporary Turkish life: even though the acronym 'Müs-' in Müsiad stands for 'müstakil', namely 'independent219', some businessmen of the organization, and society at large assume/want it to stand for 'müslüman,' namely Muslim. Islam is (or must be) the basic component for the moral life of Muslim countries. Yet, according to most of the businessmen I interviewed “this primary or maybe the only identifying character of Turkish society with its

Muslim population and historical roots solidly embedded in a great Islamic civilization has been excluded and humiliated by a minority, namely secular elite of the country, under secular governments”. And since

“Turkey is a Muslim country, its institutions should be based on this identity instead of its rejection”. Yet, as some of the businessmen I interviewed stated, “they could not even use the word 'Muslim' in the name of the association because of the political atmosphere of 'secular Turkey' although 'Muslim identity' of the population is a legitimate and 'natural' one”. As a consequence to this kind of reasoning, only Muslims can become full members of the association. Non-Muslims are only accepted as honorary members to the association.

219 However, both the interviews I conducted with businessmen, and association’s publications show that being ‘independent’ is taken seriously. Within this framework, the businessmen have expressed, unlike the big businessmen, they do not owe their presence to the state. Historically, to owe its presence to the state is considered as an obstacle that prevents ‘independence.’ Actually, the emphasis on “the independence” is considered as the fundemantal problem in terms of the weakness of organizational and technological problems of KOBİs as Sarıaslan (1994: 292 and following pages) points out.

In spite of this obvious İslamic character of the organization, Müsiad is new and unexpected to the Islamic as well as secular sections of the Turkish society, because it is used to identify Muslim identity with small entrepreneurs and traditional esnaf220 if not backwardness and poor conditions. First of all, it should be stated that Islamic movement including tarikat activities represented the growing power with the intensification of multi-faced modern activities, such as TV and radio channels, schools, periodicals and other publications, holdings and other civil organizations since the 1980s. MÜSİAD with a religiously and morally empowered civil identity is only one product of the above-mentioned processes. Also, the fact that TÜSİAD and some other organizations221 starting to emphasize ethical problems of the society reflects the importance of the matter on the general level. MÜSİAD’s slogan of “high technology and high morality” reflects the importance of moral dimension in the identity of the organization. Emphasizing the moral dimension alongside with the economic and technological issues, was dominant during the interviews conducted with the MÜSİAD members.

MUSIAD in the Triangle of State, the Muslim People, and the Civil Society

Islam is taking on new meanings as Muslims assert the centrality of Islam in public and private (…) Understanding Islamic fundamentalism as an expression of modernity rather than tradition yields insights into its powerful appeal and draws attention to the social and economic processes associated with its spread. Victoria Bernal in Watts, 1996: 280-1 As we know, there are strong ties between Islamist movement in general and Islamic Welfare Party in particular, and these Islamic businessmen. And this is the reason why the secular governments accused these businessmen222 on the premise that this 'Islamic capital' supports radical Islamist groups. 223 Both in

220 For the only comprehensive work on the traditional Islamic economic understanding and retailers’ characteristics and the results created by these in modern economy, see Ulgener, 1984 and 1981. 221 Alkan states that it is apparent that civil organizations and universities put emphasis on the moral decline of the politics in particular and Turkish society in general: Thus, it is not a coincidence that both TÜSİAD and TÜGİAD published reports and books lately on this issue (1993: 178-9). 222 This is also why the military authorities took a public stand against the "Islamic capital," including some members of MÜSİAD. terms of its member base, and in terms of the widening of its activities, the ties of the association with the RP (Welfare Party) are important224. With the electoral victories of the Welfare Party at the municipal level in 1994 and later in the general elections of 1995, MUSIAD had become increasingly become visible and influential. However, in fact, MUSIAD members’ political ties are not limited to the Welfare Party (or the Virtue Party after it is closed down). The interviews I conducted225 show that among members of MUSIAD there are those who have centre-right, nationalist, and even Democratic Left226 orientations. Thus, that MUSIAD is providing a basis of organisation for small-and-medium-scale enterprises must be considered as the main factor that brings them together227. The businessmen are in unison about this aspect of the MUSIAD, that is to say, members have different opinions in some critical political issues228. However, despite some ideological differences that might be considered as important, even at different degrees, members have a common opinion that Islamic values must be reflected in the socio-cultural arena.

Businessmen think that MUSIAD is in a superior position in terms of “influence, widespread representational abilities, and functionality” in comparison with the other SIADs (Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Associations). They point to the fact that, as other EBAs that increase in their numbers in recent years, TUSIAD also has a limited nature229. It is said that MUSIAD is the only all-covering, umbrella institution. The businessmen do not see a conflict between Islam and democracy and do not think that MUSIAD has activities and/or aims conflicting with democracy. Moreover, the businessmen think that there is a correlation between the correct implementation of the modern democratic culture and correct and efficient experiencing of Islamic values. In that respect, many businessmen stated that the closed, restrictive regimes in Islamic countries create an obstacle, above all else, for Islamic way of life. The related literature since Weber states that the main obstacle before the Islamic countries in terms of such issues as democracy and other modern developments, is not Islam but the socio-economic reasons among which the

223 See Ayata 1996: 50-1, to see the working mechanisms of the relationship between Islamic groups and Islamic capital. Besides, see Bulut 1995: 256-62, for the relations between the capital and the sects which are seen in the press lately. 224 These numbers show us the growth potential of the association: the number of members which was 300 in 1992 has grown to 1,950 in 1995 and to 3,000 in 1997(Musiad Bulten, Year 3, Issue 4, 1995: 4). After 1997, although the membership has not fallen down, it has not shown a critical increase either. Musiad which has increased its membership twofold after the RP coming to power has stopped its growth after the 28 February Process which ended in the closing of the RP. However, it can be claimed after the interviews conducted on that issue that the initiative of the association and its members is also a factor in the end of the growth. 225 Uğur and Alkan also state the current MUSIAD members’ political affiliations cover a wide range (RP- FP line, MHP, BBP and ANAP) (2000: 147) but exclude DYP and DSP from this group. According to my data, MUSIAD members have a wider range. 226 The following words by DSP leader Bulent Ecevit who is the current PM at his visit to Ankara branch of MUSIAD in 1996 supports this: “... MUSIAD has important contributions on the spread of small and medium-size enterprises to Anatolia and to Central Asia and Caucasian countries. I am very pleased with this.” (MUSIAD Bulten, 1996: 52) 227 In a survey of Ankara businessmen, 38.6% of the members have explained their cause for membership as “the organisation’s compatibility with their weltanschuung,” while 22.8% have voiced their opinion that it is “Muslim brotherhood co-operation.” Those who said they were members because it provides them rapprochement and co-operation and with an influential organisation in business world are nearly 35% (MUSIAD members’ Survey Inspection Report, 1994: 40). 228 For instance, although not in large numbers, some businessmen say they did not like the association to have a confrontational line in such issues as 8-year primary education and similar current issues. One businessman told that he does not attend the association’s discussion groups for that reason and that he disapproves of the association’s taking part in actual politics as it will harm the association. 229 They believe TUSIAD is in a position to protect the big businessmen and follows state’s lead and does not pursue widespread organisational strategy to cover masses. In this respect, while Bugra holds the view that both TUSIAD and MUSIAD have equal impact from the state for they are the products of similar social environment (1998: 523), there are works that place the Islamic sector in a different category and hence sharing the businessmen’s views (see e.g., Keyder, 1995). authoritarian character of regimes is the most influential (e.g., Wright, 1996: 65; Lewis, 1993: 347; Turner 1974, Rodinson, 1973).

MUSIAD is one among the founders of TUGTEV (Turkey’s Voluntary Cultural Institutions Foundation)230. The goal of “strengthening co-operation and solidarity for the development of the country with other voluntary institutions and especially universities” in the charter of this institution is one of its goals put in practice. In the 2nd and 3rd Consideration Meetings Final Declaration of this umbrella institution, the Turkish democracy is described as a ‘democracy of elections’. In the same declaration, domestic and international conditions that are thought to be critical for passage to a participatory democratic model are also mentioned (TUGTEV Toplantilari, 1994: 9). Among the proposals, there is “the attainment of the ruling cadres to a scientific-philosophical development which conforms with the nation’s national feelings, traditions, customs, lifestyle and beliefs,” because if it receives its power from the people, the state would be stronger (TUGTEV Toplantilari, 1994: 15-6). In the 4th Consideration Meeting Declaration, it is stated that secularism has become a “concept that separates the state from its nation, that prevents the development of healthy defence strategies”. In the 5th Consideration Meeting held in 1994, Turkey is envisioned as “a country which will not need borrowed identities, populated by hard-working people,” and as “mother’s lap and area of leadership,” the world of Islam is shown.231 This declaration is ended with the words “hopes are in the future, the future is in the roots.” (TUGTEV Toplantilari, 1994: 30- 1).

The businessmen have expressed in several occasions that the key point for Turkey’s future is the “unification of halk and millet” 232 (what they call the unification of “halk (means “public representing traditional national dynamics” in its specific cultural context) and millet (means “modernized and urban population”). They relate the establishment of this to the determination of government and of politics on the basis of the public will and expectations. The need for unification requires the state’s political and cultural specifications to become in unison with the public feelings and lifestyle. The East Asian model and especially Japan has become successful despite, and according to the businessmen, just because of, keeping its national characteristics intact and needs to be taken as an example. The Japanese model seems to provide a source of motivation for the businessmen rather than a model for reorganisation as it can take on the Western economies. Hüdaverdi Çakır, the ex-chairman of the Ankara branch emphasises that the Turkish nation which has a great state and nation tradition is not less hard-working or less rootful than the Japanese nation (Cerceve, year: 1, issue: 4, 1993: 12-14). This point is narrated by another businessman as follows:

We too have sent as many men to the West as Japan has. However, our men took their shape, we took the wrong, not the right one. What Japan has done was to rely on its own peculiarities, its own values. It took West’s technology and now it’s challenging the world. What Turkey lacks is to respect its own values.

230 Within the TUGTEV framework, under the lead of the House of the Intelligentsia (Aydinlar Ocagi) which is the champion of the Turkish-Islamic synthesis idea, such institutions as the Union Foundation, Turkish Writers’ Union, and MUSIAD have come together. The first meeting held in 1991 was attended by 87 voluntary associations (TUGTEV Toplantilari, 1994:3). Bulut mentions that by 1994, some 600 foundations became members. In any way, this construction is acting like an umbrella institution which covers Islamic civil society organisations that work on a variety of areas (1995: 422). 231 Here it is interesting to note that a radical Islamist I have met during my fieldwork stated that in time he had to come to a point that republican/secular history is also part of the Islamic history. Two things, he underlined, were important in his realizing this; 1) When he went to Bosnia to help people during the war, before his turning back to Turkey an old male person wanted to give him a present which was something inhereted from this person’s father, and therefore was very important to him. The present was a picture of Atatürk. He stated that it led him think about this event deeply and frequently. 2) After his little son went to school he faced difficulties about national celebarations and things like that because of his ideological identification with Islamism. And he came to the point to be more tolerated for the good of his son, it was also because, he said, he thought he thought that he did not have the right to determine his son’s future in that respect. 232 It is interesting to note that one of the suggestions of the association due to the economic crises is to not conflict with the state (see appendix-2 article 11).

The main point related by these ideas is about the place of Islam in the public domain233. While the religion is tried to be limited in the public domain by the secular activities (Ayata, 1996: 56; Luckmann, 1967: 103), the final aim of the Islamic movements in Turkey, radicals and moderates alike, is to reactivate Islam in the public domain. Therefore, MUSIAD’s identity is being shaped simultaneously by concepts as far apart as religious or economic paradigms. Finally, MUSIAD appears, alongside the economic identity it has as a gathering of businessmen, as a late product of the Islamic movement in Turkey.

MUSIAD members legitimise the Islamic character of the organisation by the fact that the majority of the country’s population is Muslim. Most businessmen are engulfed by a populist rhetoric in that respect. This populist view expresses itself in that being Muslim himself should not be seen as an ideological identity. 234 What is to be done to ‘Islamise’ the economy is expressed by many businessmen carefully as ‘to establish the necessary idealism for the good of the nation and of the society’. In everything to be done to this end, the general profit of the society has to be considered (the emphasis made for the society’s good is always used synonymously with the saying “for the sake of God”)235. In that respect, the businessmen have mentioned that in a Muslim country the institutions emphasising Islamic identity should not be found strange. The businessmen underline that not relying on Islam, but its total exclusion from all modern practices should be considered as ideological236. In sum, for the businessmen, the main question should be why a businessman must stay away from religious practices in order to be considered as modern.

The businessmen argue that Islamic religion and history conforms with democracy and civic values; with the Ahi organisation to be cited first, the whole Islamic civilisation is based on the spirit of voluntary organisation237. For TUGTEV which incorporates MUSIAD as well, ‘civility’ is not a new and Western concept. It is stated that most civil institutions in Turkey are doomed to fail because they are based on the “spirit of imitation and selfishness” and hence cannot be ‘civil’ in the real meaning of the word, either (TUGTEV Toplantilari, 1994: 30). Moreover, it is believed that the civil society organisations cannot be considered as civil society organisations as their presence usually relies on the state238. However, when we approach that from historical perspective, since mid-1960s, TUSIAD appears to pursue a more wholesome and expansionist civil organisation process (Bugra, 1998: 528, 535). The conflicts in recent years between the older and younger generations within TUSIAD about the state-business world relations (Bugra, 1998: 527-8) can be used to support this claim.

233 The central-right parties which are offsprings of the Democratic Party established in 1946, just like the MUSIAD members, see religion as “a necessary social cement for the cohesion of the society” (Ayata, 1996: 43). As to DSP, it differs with its “respectful to the religion” approach from other left parties of Turkey and is sometimes considered as a right-wing party, as well. 234 A quotation from one of the women Saktanber (1995, see also note 23 in 293 for the explanation what is köfteci mean) interviewed is also explanatory in that: “Why do they call us Islamcı (İslamist)? …It sounds like köfteci. Aren’t we all Muslims? Why do they discriminate us like that?” 235 Hence the traditional-typical emphasis to obedience to Allah is shifted to “society” and to “humanity”. 236 Among examples given for this are that in places where businessmen meet there is insistingly no masjids, and that meetings are always done with alcoholic drinks. 237 Calhoun’s approach makes one think that this view has an important amount of correctness especially philosophically (or in terms of political philosophy) (1994: 309), White underlines that civil activity does not need to be expressed as formal institutions as in the Western example, and claims informal activities and protest forms should be considered in this category as well (White, 1996). Mardin, despite accepting there was a formulation in the Ottoman era which was congregational in character but which still managed most of the civil society functions, describes this as a quasi-civil society (Mardin, 1991c: 44). In another work of his, Mardin describes this function on the basis of a ‘private property area’ that was guaranteed by the sh’aria (Mardin, 1991d: 25). 238 There are theses in parallel with the businessmen’s ideas in the current literature (e.g., see Keyder, 1995: 203-4). From Static-Egalitarian to Dynamic-Hierarchically Oriented Minds?

MÜSİAD is new for Islamic circles because until recently they were happy with their small/traditional business activities in the periphery of the country. They were not a part in business life in its modern sense for a long time. The speciality of MUSIAD in claiming to be new and ‘alternative’ has to do with the approval of a total failure of Turkey’s mostly secular ‘modernisation project’. In that respect, MUSIAD can be seen as an attempt at ‘invention of tradition’239 (Hobsbawm, 1993) deliberately based on the religion of Islam and genuine Anatolian traditions. This remark should not be read in the form that “Turkish modernisation project is completely disregarding Islam and traditional cultural elements”. The “invention of tradition” is as valid for the modernisation project of the republic as the Islamic movement. This shows itself both in the search for a synthesis between traditional and modern against the Republic’s revolutionary and renovative character, and for the appearance of the public ‘habitus’240 against the involuntary efforts of change. The devotion of Ziya Gökalp, the first ideologue of Republican Turkey, to the aim of establishing a bridge between culture and civilisation supports this thesis.

Yet the MÜSİAD’s businessmen’s perception of the modernisation project of the Republic either is that it lacks local cultural values for good and/or that it does not have them as its bases. Even though some of them did not want to express any negative idea on this matter it was mostly because of the political dimension of the issue for the most cases. A businessman expressed his opinions as follows: “Kemalism went bankrupt, because the new generations could not be raised with ‘a spirit’ and are left faithless” The

MUSIAD businessman aims at building a development model241 without losing their identities242. Hence, a new socio-economic mechanism based on “the Muslim businessman model”243 and work environment will be implanted in Turkey.

239 Here, it must be recalled that “invention of tradition” includes developing ‘novel situations’ and ‘novel responses’ (Hobsbawm, 1993:2) in addition to reanimating the past by formalisation and ritualisation (1993:4). 240 Bourdieu uses the concept in sum like this: “Habitus is the source of these series of moves which are objectively organised as strategies without being the product of a genuine strategic intention.” (Calhoun, 1995: 145). 241 About the concept of modernity’s loss of its neutral character and become identified with Western values at the 19th and 20th centuries, see (Göçek, 1996:7). As known, the Turkish modernisation has been, due to different circumstances, in the form of adoption of Western institutions and regulations per se. That the first enacted law, the Kanunname-i Ticaret dated 1850 is a complete translation of the 1807 French Law of Commerce is an example of this situation (Toprak, 1982: 37). Musiad businessmen prefer to use a ‘development’ concept which does not conflict with the motto ‘Western technology but our own culture.’ However, what is meant by ‘development’ is not industrial development only, but the resurrection of the Islamic civilisation. By this, therefore, in this ‘value-neutral’ aim, there are new openings for local culture and to the Islam as well. 242 According to businessmen who think that way, the secular elite and businessmen of Turkey have turned their backs on their own identity in order to make the country successful. According to the Musiad businessmen, a real progress can be achieved by basing on ‘the core values, traditions, and Muslim identity of the people.’ 243 The alternative businessman that MUSIAD is trying to create should not be understood as a total and automatic negative of the secular businessman model in Turkey. In that respect, one must remember that despite the negations and differences, these two models of businessman have their common points due to being the products of the same socio-cultural environment. The most typical example is the ex-chairman of Yet, the question ere is much more “massive” –in relation to the general context of homo

Islamicus- and related to this worldy activities for the specific context of MÜSİAD: It is something that shows us the penetration of a true ethic into the larger muslim community: “Am I truly muslim?”, “am I really conscious of what I am practising?,” or maybe more reasonably “am I following the way of Allah because I am afraid of him and this worldly authority; or rather because I truly believe from the heart that what God wants me to do is the best and right thing to do?” Such questioning is parallel with

Weber’s (1978: 22) categorization between traditional-habitual action and rational one.

According to this, “the conscious action” is the only meaningful action in its ideal typical sense; and because all systems tend to be institutionalized, action that depends on “fully conscious” “is a marginal case”. And, these marginal cases are more likely to find in transitional periods, as discussed before. Religion in Weberian formula, as one of the crucial sources for change in the meaning system of the society as a whole, could serve such a renewal by turning back to the “original meaning” of the religious sources.

“The transformative capacity” of Islamic religion theorized by Mardin in a context of a set of “root paradigms” deriving from religious sources. According to this theory, a return to these root paradigms have been experienced in the periods of moral crises, because traditional values and habits have become inefficient and thus lost its power on the society (Mardin, 1992: 12-3). This turning back to the Prophet’s time is “an attempt

the association, Erol Yarar: Yarar, whose father was a founder of TUSIAD, has answered a question on how his father thinks of his attempts concerning MUSIAD as follows: “The economic environment of the time my father tried to establish TUSIAD and the one at the moment are very different. MUSIAD is an organisation which aims at embracing our own values and which is also able to incorporate the middle class. In that respect, my father had no objections.” (MÜSİAD in the Press, Basında MUSIAD, issue: 5, 1995). Such names as Zihni Kalsin, the owner of Fırat Oto, Mustafa Ekinci, the owner of Ekinciler Demir- Çelik, or as Fadıl Akgündüz of Jet-Pa about whom many rumours concerning his collecting money from to bring back the ‘original’ meaning of Islam in the 19th century.” (Mardin in Saktanber,

1995: 219). This search cannot be seen as a pure intellectual/theological one, but one that includes the practical human activities of all kinds, including public/formal and private/informal ones simultaneously. This simultaneous nature of what is theoretical and practical and private and public is a tension-producing source itself, in the Weberian sense.

As can also be traced in his analysis of the case of Said Nursi244, I would like to add one thing to this theory which is these periods of moral crises help to make a shift from person-centered authority and message to principle-centered authority and message. That explains also why the fundamental function of Said’s Risales are 1) being “a vehicle to construct Islamic alternative” about everything in their every day and social lives, and 2)

Providing an Islamic education in this sense: This is, as Mardin notes, “a process of internalization of religious rules and norms through systematic discussions that these people realized at home. And this reflects how they create a “reformized tasavvuf” although the door of içtihat (interpretation) is still closed (1992: 360). That renewal also meant for the Muslim people feeling free to take some modern cultural aspects and be in opposition to harmful Islamic practices (Safi, 1994: 153). What is accepted, as worth taking from western culture in the first place, is “freedom” of people from “tyranny and servitute” (Safi, 1994: 168).

people by conning them, who have deserted TUSIAD to become members of MUSIAD shows that one must be careful by assuming differences between these two groups of businessmen. 244 In Mardin’s (1992: 288) saying, it is “the replacement of the central of the leader with the ‘message’ of the movement.” Ülgener (1981: 57) notes that material wealth and consumption in Islamic civilization was tolerated with the exception that one should not use this power as a tool for building authority over others. This approval to what this worldly and consumption is in general could be considered something that is compatible with capitalism; yet if it means something it is an early reconciliation of religion with the world in Weber and Ülgener’s analysis. Still, what is critical in terms of the classical economic organization of Islamic religion is a distinction between “needs” and “wants”. Maruf (1995: 56) underlines that there cannot be “endless needs” in Islamic economy. According to Kahn (1995: 5-6), if the consumption pattern of a society is based on wants, as it is in the western context, because of the “unlimited” nature of wants reconciliation between public and private interests. Bell (1996: 22) notes that “What defines bourgeois society is not needs, but wants,” and “wants” are pscyhological not biological.

In Islamic context the category of “needs” cannot be considered as merely biological.

Maslow’s famous hierarchies of needs245, it can be argued, turns into a different schema in an Islamic context: The first level is where “the five fundamental elements are barely protected; second one is where the protection of these elements are comprehended and reinforced and lastly, these five elements are “not merely assured but improved upon or adored.”246 (Kahn, 1995: 35). This means that the classical understanding and interpretation of Islam is not purely material because everyone in the Islamic society is seen responsible for people in terms of their religious performances. Mardin (1993: 17)

245 The money-bounded nature of categories such positions that are being a citizenship, a gentleman or even membership of a sect is a determining element in the classical western tradition (Hobsbawm, 1998: 216). As known, according to Maslow’s priorities at least two levels are biological needs. This means that there would be someone –at least on the theory level- that is out of pscyhological and spiritual needs altogether. See Varol (1993: 101-2) about Maslow’s theory. 246 Maruf (1995: 56) and Zarqa (1983: 13-5) classification is as follows: 1) basic and/or necessary ones (zaruriler); 2) complementary ones (haciyat); 3) dressy ones (kemaliyat) emphasized the equal base for both lower and upper classes in Islamic tradition in terms of religious practices and stages (mertebeler). It is equally possible in the traditional understanding –maybe even easier- for a poor person to become superior in terms of religious faith, especially in the folk Islam.

What is needed is defined in one of the publications of MÜSİAD as “what lacks in terms of the necessary equipments to conduct a religious life” (Maruf, 1995: 56). As understood from the above-mentioned statement, the spiritual dimension is also included as a need for everyone, at least to the extent that one can perform fundamental religious duties. This is where Bourdeuan concepts of taste and/or distinction can be functional in

Islamic context. In Saktanber’s analysis the concept of faith is related to Bourdieu’s concept of taste247 ” emerging from the choices we make” (1995: 145-50, 247). The present study proposes that the concept of “faith” should be seen in the context of internalization of religious values and rules. This explains also why concepts of true and/or conscious Muslim are emphasized by businessmen of MÜSİAD. What is crucial in this context is to become truly Muslim –i.e., a conscious Muslim, as she also observes, to be a conscious Muslim “they should create their own Islamic patterns of living concerning the requirements of the society in which they have to live.” (Saktanber, 1995:

208). As already noted, creating a new moral framework is not an easy work, and it is where the Asr-ı Saadet -this is the “Golden Age” characterized with a “spirit of courage, sacrifice, compassion, and fraternity”248 (Nomani and Rahnema, 1994: 31)- or Prophet’s

247 Bourdiue conceptualizes “taste” as “the source of the system of distinction.” Saktanber explains it in the following; “since our choices which are actively the product of our tastes, constitute our life-styles” (1995: 175). 248 The typical person of that specific period shared “in-between” position with the person of our transitory period. Nomani and Rahnema (1994: 31) wrote that they were migrants (muhajerin) who “demonstrated their faith and utter selflessness before God, by sacrificing their home, property, family, status and all life as a role model comes into the real world in an active innovating manner. Because, again as Saktanber notes, “…to follow the example of the Prophet enables Muslims to

(…) develop new strategies, to create a space for action249” (1995: 210) in a way that

Weber’s (ethical) tension -between the real world conditions and religious doctrine- has become problematic and renewing in terms of traditional religious practices.

It can be concluded from the interviews that there is a perception of need of its spiritual emphasis is much more powerful for the rich.250 As one of the businessmen explained:

Property and money are very dangerous because they mean power. If one does not use this power truly one will surely fall into an unwanted position. Unfortunately, there also emerge a group of Muslim people who are not careful about the danger of the wealth; they do not escape from the trap of luxury consumption. And even their family lives affected negatively from this change. It is important to feel responsible what you have, you cannot use these properties in terms of your individual wants. One should feel responsible for the needs of the society in general.

It is related to the spiritual dimension, which is the dimension of danger in this worldly material wealth caused by the meaning attached to it, not with the wealth in itself.251

Indeed, the idea that material wealth does not have value without the socio-cultural

worldly attachments when they migrated with the Prophet to the unfamiliar land of Medina to create the ideal Islamic society.”. 249 Saktanber notes that “They watched television but tried to be selective. They went to the movies but watched only religious films,” and so on (1995: 246-7). This necessity to choose apparently requires a constant reasoning and what they are expected to obey is “an absolute principle” in a similar manner to the Protestants who were rejecting every authority expected from God. 250 This (traditional) emphasis on what is spiritual or cultural in the contemporary Islamic doctrine can be traced in the ideas of Sayed Qutb (in Safi, 1994: 158) who declared that being materially wealthy should not be accepted as sufficient to be accepted as superior as a civilization. meaning attributed, it is one of the fundamental principles of the literature this study based on. As Sayar (1998: 336) noted, the problematic nature of the relationship between being rich and being a truly faithful religious person is a common phenomenon as seen in

Weber’s analysis. Other than it is being a vehicle to serve God and Islam, why being rich was important according to businessmen I interviewed was their discomfort with the association of being poor and being Muslim. Yet, the crucial point is everything we have belongs to God that “a conscious Muslim should never forget that s/he is only a vehicle between God and his belongings.” Our relationship with this worldly material is, therefore, is an examination by God where the strength and sincerity of our faiths has been tested.252

The above-mentioned practical everyday dimension of cultural realm is critical especially when studying a mass phenomenon such as our own: Mardin (1992: 28, 31-2) emphasized a similar inner tension deriving from the practical concerns of everyday life.

He notes that “they are not taken their ideological power from the field of doctrinal and/or theological sources, but from the conflicts of their everyday lives.” in the context of Islamic movement of Turkey, the specific case of Said Nursi. Mardin, therefore, implicitly emphasizes that the conflict between Islamists and secularist camp have also experienced in the field of individual consciousness on the psychological level with its in-group conflict potential. Therefore, the mission of Said Nursi is “to educate his followers to enlighten them about the truth of Islam properly to make them understand

251 Still, the contrast between material wealth and “faith” mostly emphasized by Islamic thinkers and people at the same time in the long history of Islamic societies (Sayar, 1998: 336). 252 As an example how this idea developed in the Islamic literature, see Zarqa, (1983: 12-3). the religious needs of modern time.” As for Islam’s “inner” worldly tradition, Said defended the idea that “Islam should be back to what is this worldly” (1992: 126-7). 253 In a context of urbanized Islamic women as a middle class phenomenon, Saktanber also analyzes this dynamic process as an example of what Giddens calls “life politics.”254

This is parallel to what Weber (1992) called “ethical tension” and what Zaret (1985) called “doctrinal tension” in the context of Protestant ethic thesis. As a follower of this tradition Giddens (1990: 107) as well, argued that the role of religion could not be limited with its tension-relieving role underlining the tension and anxiety-producing role of religion in this sense. Walzer and Hill too, in their Prutanism as a Revolutionary

Ideology (Walzer, 1968) and Society and Prutanism in Pre-Revolutionary England (Hill,

1967) and Economic Problems of the Church (Hill, 1956) showed the socio-economic conditions of Calvinizm as describing its development as a response to the anxieties and stress created by the changing conditions (Walzer, 1968). In Hill’s (1967, 1956) case it was in the form of exhibiting the role of changing socio-economic conditions of the

Church and the religious men in the emergence of Protestantism.

Under modern conditions, the changing nature of social life forced Muslim people

(including businessmen) to rethink about their lives: “how should we live Islam in our entire life, -i.e., at home, at work, etc.” A common answer is as “real/conscious Muslim.”

It is obvious that this needs to be an active part as a believer and a cleavage between believers as “real” believers and mere followers of what they learned about religion,

253 A transformation in the individual self-conscious goes back to the Tanzimat period according to Mardin: Education before Tanzimat periad was vahiy (basic religious rules) common. The introduction of printing industry and the expansion of formal mass education provided a base for impersonalization in the process of education. This made easier to get information from impersonal sources such as books beyond individual teachers (1992: 189-191). which is worthless according to some of them. This means that a true Muslim255 will behave in a certain manner because he (really) believes in it, not because he passively and/or traditionally has learned to do so.256 Since they are conscious that they must renew or reform Islam to challenge Republican cultural hegemony properly: If there is not a new and functional Islamic framework, there should be little reason to gain further power and become an alternative. Therefore, what should be emphasized is that this emphasis on “conscious/true muslim” from the category of “ordinary”, “traditional” or “insincere” goes with the rising heterogenity257 of Islamist movement, especially at the intellectual level. This is in contradiction with the general anti-elitist attitude within Islamic movement –that quality can also be generalizable in the context of the businessmen interviewed. The businessmen have been in a hesitant attitude about any possibility to distort the community spirit including choices which differentiate a Muslim person from others. In this context, one group (namely Fethullahçılar) has been criticized because of their elitism on one hand, differentiating concepts like “real-conscious Muslim”, which has been referred very frequently by them, on the other hand. This reminds us the salvational dimension of Protestant ethic, which was based on the idea that salvation is

254 It can be summarized as “the politics of public presentation of the self” that is emancipatory –in the sense of liberation from inequality and servitute. And, the emphasis is on “the individual choices or ethics” (Giddens, 1990: 156-7). 255 Abduh pointed out “Islam requires that true belief has to be based on evidence, and should satisfy the requirements of rational judgement.” (the words emphasized made by me, in Safi, 1994: 124). 256 Therefore, the meaning of being a conscious Muslim is not something related to having been born into a Muslim family, nor following Islamic rules in a traditional manner as Saktanber also emphasizes (1995: 208). 257 For MÜSİAD’s case, as it is stated before, not all of the businessmen talk about a true category; and among the ones who point out this issue did not talk about it in the same manner and by putting a similar emphasis on the matter. Also, the ones who put a lot of emphasis on the issue were not completely anthipathetic about the category of insincere Muslims: Most of the time it was connected to the illiteracy, poor life conditions and/or the powerful western imposition on Turkish people. Although their declared aim is to make all of the Muslim population truly Muslim, what is important, about emphasizing being a true Muslim, again, is the heterogenity of this identity rather than its homogenous status against secularized masses as Saktanber puts it (1995: 29). possible only for the ones that were selected by God.258 Mardin (1992: 268) explains this in the context of a superhuman (parallel to Weber’s heroic personality) with his/her prophetic qualities.259

The difficulty being a Muslim has been emphasized by some businessmen in the context of MÜSİAD, due to the very same reason that a puritan Protestant aiming at a permanent salvation. “Because it needs a constant struggle, this is what makes almost impossible to be truly Muslim continuously” as quoted by one of the businessmen. On the doctrinal level, an additional difficulty can be determined that religious faith is partially human and partially divine –i.e., not only an issue of “reason,” but must also include a dimension of “revelation” that needs a spiritual faculty beyond rational efforts.260 This spiritual dimension is the limit that determines whether one can become a true believer or not (kamil-i insan).

To understand MÜSİAD’s aim serving to structure a contemporary Islamic framework for working life both on the individualistic and organizational levels, there is a need to analyze the individualistic and organizational roots of the association. At the organizational level it is clear that it is a network and a civil society organization

258 The question of “am I one of the elect?” is a determining one in Protestantism as stated before: What could relax one is an “intense worldly activity,” because this is the only thing that could give up any kind of suspicion about salvation through religion by providing believers with “grace” (Weber, 1992: 110-2). This can be related with modern ethic, as discussed above in the context of risk taking, courage, and ethical honesty with their religious and secular versions, which determines the degree of human activity making ethical conduct as an issue of a dynamic process (Bowring, 1997: 113; Beck, Giddens and Lash, 1994: 186- 7, 201; Bauman, 1973: 135, 159, 178). 259 According to Mardin (1992: 39) the life of Muhammed, prophet of Islamic religion, is the role model for Anatolian people. Tonbak also describes what mutasavvıfs try to do is to (re) practise the experience of Muhammed, by using techniques such as inziva (a withdrawal into solitude) and riyazet, ascetism in Islamic context that means tasavvufi perhiz (self-control focused on the control of spiritual life) (Ülgener, 1981: 44, 75; see also Sayar, 1998: 306). 260 See Safi, to see Abduh’s thought on that (1994: 125); and Mardin (1992: 34). including modern and traditional, formal and informal261 mechanisms to help its members. A historical connection with the traditional ahi institutions (traditional Islamic organizations in the socio-economic life) was made by some of the businessmen during the interviews. The fundamental continuity between these institutions and MÜSİAD; and similarity between Protestant organizations and these religious organization on the organizational level is their voluntary and autonomous/civil natures. During my reading of MÜSİAD’s publications I understood why and how some businessmen I interviewed remind me such a connection. In the publications of MÜSİAD there were many references and articles262 on the issue of traditional ahi organizations as a role model on their own.263 These articles were mostly about the functioning and meaning of these historical institutions. There is also a reference to them in the Report of the Research

Commission which reflects the truth which I was also told by businessmen that it was shared on the organizational level.

This institution (ahi institution) has functioned as mostly to order the society in accordance with Weber’s thesis that Islamic religion turned into a religion of warriors with their half warrier-half religious (derviş) quality, as the main carriers of the religion

(Holton and Turner, 1990: 79; Ülgener, 1981: 90-1; see also Sayar, 1998: 305). In the moral and technical –to be ready to defend their community- training of young males was the primary function of them (Solak, 1994: 70-1). Solak (1994: 72) notes that these

261 Mardin relates the hatred towards what is formal in Islamic cultures with the Qur’anic principle that every Muslim is equal in front of God regardless of their political ideas and or societal positions. And that is one factor, according to him, for the Muslim public to prefer to be away from formal-political and bureaucratic processes (1992: 260). Therefore, “a personalized and brotherly” form of formal/public sphere can be more suitable; an example is Islamic Şura, according to Mardin (1992: 24). 262 See for example the journal of Çerçeve (Year: 1, Number: 4, 1993: 50). 263 See Yediyıldız (1982a; 1982b) for traditional guild organizations (loncas) in the Ottoman Empire. institutions (ahilik and fütüvvet264) have especially played an important role to rebuild the social order, because of the weak central authority if not a total lack. Today, as a role model for MÜSİAD the same spirit seems to play a historical role again.

MÜSİAD’s declarations include creating a base for contemporary “homo Islamicus” in general and a contemporary true model for the Muslim businessmen on the individual level. Nasr (1998: 519) points out that this person will play a central role “to build an

Islamic society of equality and justice as a conscious representative of Allah”. Erol

Yarar, the previous president of MÜSİAD, declared in the preface of the famous book of the association, Homo Islamicus in the Working Life (1994), that “Homo Islamicus who has internalized Islamic values is the base to create our contemporary Islamic paradigm and to realize the functioning of the society in this paradigm.”

As noted before, the growingly differentiated nature of Islamic section of the Turkish society reflected in The MÜSİAD’s businessmen as well. The informations included in the interviews have diversified especially in terms of the city the interviews carried on.

The main point this information tries to clarify is how are these businessmen intellectually articulate some of the new and/or modern practices that they already experienced. On the individual level, the three types of businessmen discussed before should be reffered again. Since this study argues that the businessmen’s transformative capacity will be determined by their level of tension with the internal organization in

264 Ülgener defined fütüvvet as the principles of these small communities in very similar manner with that of tarikat organizations. Ahi was the name of the members of fütüvvet. This community was functioned according to the rules that was called fütüvvetname (Ülgener, 1981: 89). specic and with the Turkish society in general, the information this study will be based on will heavily be ideologically radical ones.

Many businessmen I interviewed in Ankara were tried to show that they have no difference from the avarage of the society. They emphasized that being Muslim and secular at the same time is possible and they do not want exclude themselves from the general population of Turkish society in this sense. “Membership in MÜSİAD is a solidarity network and there are businessmen, for instance, whose views do not veil”.

Still, there were businessmen in Ankara who are ideologically articulated and were critical towards other businessmen “whose general attitude traditional and esnaf like”. It can be argued that businessmen of Ankara were not active in terms of the activities realized by MÜSİAD in general. And they also seemed to have less tension caused by the conflict between needs of the real world and their religious ideals. That is why they put less energy on developing new religious explanations/formulations in the face of contemporary developments. As for members in Istanbul and Konya a much more dynamic picture can be observed. In Konya, I heard sentences often similar to the following: “we do not live any different from other parts of Konya; you can not see luxury consumption in our houses, the looks of our views are similar to other women, we do not spend money for expensive holidays and cars.” Also, “I do not recognize all these things as if they are mine, I have a car and an house for myself, for all the other things that is needed to continue my business they belong to Allah. Then, my responsibility is to use them truly.” Still, although they were few in number, businessmen who put a strong emphasis on the need of the exclusion of small entrepreneurs from MÜSİAD for technical reasons. This should be considered as an important difference from the traditional inclusive and egalitarian mentality. This is especally important for this section of the society because they are still complaining about the exclusion as small and middle scale businessmen they face.

Technological developments and diversification within the Anatolian capital seem to enlarge this exclusive tendency. Istanbul has a very different character in these senses.

Because explanations, expectations and roles the members carry radically differ in

Istanbul. Ideas that give a free space for individuals in terms of the religious duties were also from Istanbul. The criterion that is not exhibiting the religiously improper behaviour publicly is enough was expressed only in Istanbul as well. A member explained why there is no meeting for the views of the businessmen in Istanbul as following: “In small places it is possible to collect women under one umberalla because the lives of these women are mostly similar, and it is also because small cities makes it easier to come together for these women.” The businessman’s emphasis on the difference among their views can be considered a difference in terms of their life styles, preferences and so on.

Istanbul is the city I determined a topic that has a hot discussion around it: whether having a very expensive car should be considered as a luxury for a businessmen or not?

There is no aggrement on this issue; some of them think that they should not have expensive cars while others accept it as a necessity for business. A businessman has used two explanatory criterions, one is from the life of Prophet, and the other one is from the contemporary life. He said that he thinks there cannot be a rule on the issue: “if one feels that the lack of an expensive car can effect his business negatively, then this businessmen should have an expensive car as a result of his business.” However, he also admit that he does not aggre with some of the businessmen who think that having an expensive car is OK. because it is similar to having a good horse – since the Prophet suggested that every men should have a good horse.

A paralel and meaningful explanation on the usage of very expensive scarves and other materials can be examplified from one interview in Ankara. The following sentences show how this person articulated this with the Islamic worldview: What is important at the moment is to stop considering Islamic way of dressing as backward and traditional.

Every Muslim should have the possibility to wear a scarf from “Beymen” or “Vakko”.

The fact that few Muslim have this chance should not be considerede as a problem today; what is important is that there is the possibility to reach what is the best for the Muslim population. It is theoretically open to everyone, and they will know that they could reach these “best ones” one day. Of course, the point here is not only about the quality of a product but also the etiquette of it; and the second is what makes the whole process at the same tame a process of the exclusion within the Muslim community.

A renewal in interpretations and practices of religious sources that are directly related to the economic realm can be elaborated under two categories in its features: 1) Changing attitudes towards charity; and 2) Changing attitudes toward work and wealth. As known from Weber’s Protestant Ethic thesis, intellectual and religious approval of “hard work and acquiring more and more wealth” was extremely important in its functioning to help capitalist development. Weber stated that the most powerful effect of Calvinism on the economy was the change in the organizations of charity265 because of the new meaning

265 See Weber, for general information about the poor relief or charity in traditional religions (1978, Vol.1: 581-3). of “being poor” and “charity” in the context that where and who is the one that deserves this kind of help.

Changing Attitudes towards Charity

One of the radical changes that Puritanism caused is the idea that if one can work, his poverty can only be seen as a result of his own fault. That is why they treated such people with humilition rather than compassion. Considering poority as a sign of one’s irreligiousity they reject idleness and begging.266 This is the religious/intellectual dimension that caused systematically organized social organizations and planning267 in terms of these concerns (Weber, 1993: 220-1; and 1978, Vol.1: 588). All these also meant that rational reasoning will be determining social security of large masses so far, rather than natural268, immediate, particular-personal, and face to face mechanisms of the past social functioning. This is a reflection of the general rationalization, systematization, impersonalization and formalization-bureaucratization in the process of capitalist organization of economy and society at large: With Weber’s (1993: 221) words this can be summarized as “charity itself became a rationalized enterprise.”

Weber (1993: 220-1) described this rationalization process in its historical development as follows: “…the first step towards the systematization of charity had been taken with the introduction of fixed rules (…) (and) the institution of the medieval hospital –in the

266 As Hill points out, it can also be argued that “labour” replaced with charity in the sense that in puritan view “keeping the poor in labour” was thought “as the best charity” (1967: 277). See Hill for detailed information about the historical development of the experiences in the field of “poor relief” in England (1967: 293). 267 As Hill (1967: 495) underlined charity became a rational and systematic activity that aims only to fill the gap between hopeless individuals of city life without communitarion bounds and society. 268 My use of the term “natural” is related to what Weber (1978, Vol.1: 584) see “irrational” in the very roots of capitalism itself: According to this, to relate helping others with an “impersonal” reason as well as the capitalist’s obssesion of accumulation is irrational in its essence. In third direction, a spontaneous, unplanned attitute towards worldly things and events –like peasants do- have been considered as “natural”. See Scott (1976: 183) for the nature of traditional practices. He underlined that helping others was an organic part of it, as perceiving almost as a “right”. same way that the poor tax in Islam had rationalized and centralized almsgiving.”. The total overlapping of businessmen’s point of views and explanations on the issue with the systematic-planned nature of modern organization of charity can partly be explained with this historical background –here, we can also trace the effects of the centralized and strong state tradition- along with contemporary changes. For some businessmen, traditional Islamic practices like zekat (distribution of one fortieth of one’s income as alms which is one of the five pillars of Islam) and sadaka (alms given voluntarily to a needy person, which supports the spontaneous and immediate, emotional side of this application) can be the solution in this respect. Yet for most of them underlined the importance of systematic planning in this regard –some of them even stated that state must be taken an active role for this reason. Although helping others at all levels is important, they stated, one of the most important duties of state should be organizing this field. A typical and representative summary of this statement is:

State is responsible according to our religion. It is responsible even about the ones that are getting older without having an opportunity to get married. We know today that many people cannot marry because of economic reasons. Islamic almsgiving (zekat) is very important to solve these problems. I do not agree that religious rules can not be included in contemporary law, and one solution could be declared zekat as a legal necessity of a citizen.

Beyond zekat, the responsibility of a “real Muslim” to give others as much as possible has been emphasized in various contexts by both individuals and publications of the organization. Because one is responsible how to consume as well as how to get money, and also because one’s responsibility continues even after his/her death, consuming money in the most effective way is the responsibility of a Muslim. One should even be responsible for his/her leaving money to a son or daughter who would spend this money not in the way of wellbeing of Islam. This idea can be followed in the words of publication director of MÜSİAD: “You must give what you have today, because tomorrow you will not have the key to do that…(MÜSİAD Bulletin, Year:4, Number, 11,

1996: 3).The same person’s sayings about the child socialization during the interview process was complementary to what he wrote above. According to him, the most important thing a family could give to their children not to give them money, but teach them about how to get money.

However, it is clear that there is a contradiction between the thesis of this study that

Islamic businessmen have a changing attitute about wealth in general, have a part in business life even in the worldwide scale and continue to help the needy as much as possible. An observation related with this topic should be written in this context: It can be stated that in the process of growing of one’s business there are more plans they talked about (means this person is postponing this task) about helping others, instead of talking of real help. Some businessmen openly declared that his help decreased because of the new investments they made in their business. Apparently, the general rising tendency and growing opportunities of these businessmen, which will be argued, will be resulted in the formation of a new approach that includes a careful investigation of where, when and who to give, if there is not a decline in the total number of help

In the process of articulation of national cultures to the so called “culture-free” rationality principle of capitalist organization a mixture of the expansion of “rational choice” (what is called universal-global principle) on larger society and a dynamic cultural and “moral” vitality (what is called as local-provincial revitalization) have been at work simultaneously. A good example representing this mixture is about the quality of help

MÜSİAD’s members do. The people they help, as the businessmen have stated, should at least not consume their money against what is good according to Islamic religion. This shows how the systematic and planned nature of rational reasoning could be related to the specific context of Islam: who to help is guided by an Islamic principle. They want to make sure that their money will not be used in anything which is against Islam. Since, according to Islam, they are responsible for what to do with their own money; even giving it to a person who will not use it in the service of Allah. One of the businessmen has stated that he does not feel easy about the money he gives to his workes, and that is one of the reasons why he is so concerned about the ethical qualities of his workers.

My observation during the interviews is the ambiguous and diversed nature of their attitude towards the issue of “poor relief.” It seemed during their professionalization in their businesses they start thinking more about what and how to help instead of channelling some money to the poor unsystematically. Some of them have told that they are tried of the continous demands for help. Some stated that it was because their name was in the member profile book MÜSİAD published. This reflects what Weber tried to point out by emphasizing rationalization, individiualization and sytematization of

“charity”.

What businessmen said about the direction269 of their help supports the literature on

Islamic movement which emphasized that Islamic circles help the education270 of the

269 Help for the Islamic countries such as Bosnia and Çeçenistan, in their war with non-Islamic countries, has also been declared as the ones that systematically planned from the center of the organization. 270 Nearly all of the businessmen have stated helping poor students or investing in education as a concrete charity work. This happens more in the form of giving financial youth in all levels271 (Ayata, 1996; Şaylan, 1992). This reflects The success of Islamic movement in balancing the needs of Islamic community in specific, Turkish society in general and Islamism as a political movement. Businessmen used such expressions to explain why education is important: “the next generations should be educated by knowing their own values272 as well as technical knowledge”.

This historical role in terms of the systematic organization of this field in Islam is, according to Islamic school of economy, is complementary with the needs of capitalism

(Kahn, 1995: 9), on the contrary to the conventional idea that there is something in

aid to students. In accordance with their wealth, this takes place as either opening dorms or schools or contributing to such projects. That their charity work is focused on this area is a proof of the businessmen’s activities sustaining the Islamic circles’ general aims. As known, in Islamic publications and especially in the words of the businessmen, the point made is that to reach an Islamic social environment depends on raising generations in conformity with this. Aksit’s work on Imam-Hatip Schools (1993) has marked the emphasis on education of the Islamic side since Ottoman era. Saylan draws our attention to the fact that Islamic views are now becoming widespread among university students

(1992: 125-9). This situation is a success of the Islamic movement which aims at raising its own intelligentsia and its clash with the circumstances in Turkey where there is a population flow from the periphery to the big cities (Saylan, 1992: 129-30). See Bulut,

1995: 348-51 for the importance given to education by the Islamic movement, the schools opened by it, and other activities on that issue. On this subject, see also Ayata, 1996: 50.

271 School and dormitory building or partial help for building them; giving grants to students –this category includes many students for all of the cases. 272 Here, They are not talking about specific kind of values that will be expected to serve in the Islamic (re) organization of society. Rather, the way businessmen emphasized “values” is more connected to the charity that is inherently incompatible with the modern capitalist organization. Kahn explains this in parallel to Schumpetarian view that the end of small entrepreneurs will represent the success as well as the end of capitalism itself: “improvement in the economic conditions of the poor provides them an opportunity to make productive efforts, to improve their income earning capacity and eventually enter the group of savers.” Therefore, he adds that with the help of its anti-monopolizing effect there will always be enough entrepreneurs in an Islamic economy (Khan, 1995: 205). This means in a sense that Islamic principle of “modesty” is represented as a guarantee for the existence of a rising middle class which is considered as a necessary component of capitalism.

4.4.2. Changing Attitudes towards Work and Wealth Ülgener (1981: 98) described Islamic civilization as a process of change from perceiving world initially “as a place that people will work on it,” to seeing it later as a hak sofrası

(a dinner table of God) that can be consumed freely on it. The businessmen interviewed were mostly very careful about how to consume their wealth, in contradiction with the above-mentioned traditional Islamic easiness about it by overlapping with a similar care of Weber’s protestant businessmen.273 It is in this sense that the process experienced today can be described as an attempt to return to the original meaning, and/or the golden age of Prophet’s time. My interviews support that in both structural and cultural levels emphasizing human activity instead of stable norms and/or rules is a typical attitude.

problem of formalization in the Weberian sense –i.e., expansion of value-free rational faith (1978, Vol.1: 36), in all fields including education in the modern capitalist organization of the society. 273 Following quotation from Baxter reflects what I heard from most of the businessmen during interviews: ““Every penny which is paid upon yourself and children and friends must be done as by God’s own appointment and to serve and please Him. Watch narrowly, or else that thievish, carnal self will leave God nothing.” (Weber, 1992: 275 footnote, 72). In terms of this traditional way of economic functioning and reasoning, the role of the state can be traced in the following analysis of Mardin (1991c: 212): “Wealth is temporary for everyone because the protection of an individual’s wealth was not ensured by state (…) Power was also temporary to some extent because it was stated that could give a ‘bureaucratic’ position even to a smart servant.” The effect of folk religion, the tassavvuf tradition that valued “not having” (yoklukta şeref) strenghtened the above- mentioned relationship of people with the wealth (Ülgener, 1981: 77, footnote, 10).

This fragile relationship with wealth have relavance with the work ethic in many respects, the most important one is related to the question of why it is so difficult to create modest businessman in this country satisfying a small amount of money that could get through his own labor. Mardin (1991c: 237) explained why governments in Turkey preferred to support a few big businessmen with the idea of this tradition of control over wealth, so that larger population will be equal. An obvious connection should also be made with the continuity of equalitarian heritage in their emergence under the effect of solidarism. As a result of this, the continuation of “easy gains and losses” in terms of wealth was an important factor undermining labor (in the sense of getting rich through human effort instead of depending on traditional means and ties), which is fundamental in the emergence of capitalism in both Weberian and Marxist analysis. Almost all of the businessmen complained that the most important problem of Turkey is the lack of a guarantee to get what you deserve as a result of your efforts; instead, to be close to the governmental power is the guarantee to be able to do business and to acquire wealth.

Ülgener (1981: 101) emphasized the fundamental Islamic principle as “everyone should be responsible for his and his family’s own livelihood” and it is important to catch the societal standard in terms of wealth.274 Avoiding luxury is the second factor which is as fundamental as being within the general standards of community in the traditional

Islamic functioning (Genç, 1989). Similar to Protestant reformation, in which economic categories became a religious “calling” trend, in Islamic circles there is a radical change in negative attitudes toward wealth and disciplined-hard work. On the contrary to traditional understanding, there is a total overthrowing in contemporary Islamic interpretation of economic activity in terms of its “egalitarian” philosophy based on

“modesty” (i.e. a middle way between opposite poles: orta yol) principle. It is important to note that this principle works equally for everyone in both material and cultural/spiritual levels in Islamic tradition (Mardin, 1991c: 17).

Luxury as “consuming different things from that of the general population do”275 rather than referring to some independent criteria, it seems, still continue to exist as the interviews conducted reflect. Indeed the reasoning most of the businessmen applied about the rejection of luxury consumption was also not related to its inner meaning, but to the idea that “there should be a limit to exhibit ones’ own wealth to the public.”276

“Waste” is the main category that the businessmen were surely referring negatively.277

Businessmen were not quite sure about having an expensive car –but certainly not having a car- could be considered right or not. Some of them were using carefully chosen cheap

274 This is what Genç (1989) calls iaşecilik as the determining quality of Ottoman traditional economic order. In terms of the principle of iaşecilik, satisfaction of food and other basic needs of population is extremely important (see also Toprak, 1982: 301). 275 Some of the examples of the cases that were frequently referred by the businessmen are as follows: “using cheap and simple cars,” “choosing a middle-class environment to live rather than the ones upper classes live” and so on. 276 I explain this sameness of reasoning of Bourdieu’s (1992) concept of habitus with Hobsbawm’s (1993) concept of “inventing tradition,” although their patterns of behavior are changing. 277 But there is an article in the set of suggestions MÜSİAD prepared for members in the crisis period that states they should not waste things. This could mean two things that either they knew that there was an obvious waste among the MÜSİAD members or under contemporary conditions of capitalism it is hard to decide what means waste in itself. cars as a result of their faith that necessitates being simple in their consumption patterns.

Yet others maintained that at least under some conditions having an expensive car is a requirement of their businessman status because of some people with whom they try to do business. Such kinds of things could be taken as evidence showing whether their business is going well or not. Having a house on their own and sending their children to a private-expensive school are the categories of consumption that are accepted as “normal” by the businessmen even if especially the second one cannot be seen as something average as a consumption pattern. An explanation for this is that the expenses for the education of the next generation should not be considered something related to the realm of luxury.

As a result, it can be argued that the quality of mass consumption in capitalist system is compatible with this Islamic tendency towards including even luxury items, if there is a possibility of having them for the average people of society to some extent. The important factor seems to be not to cause a huge gap between various sections of the society because of the changing consumption patterns. It is interesting to note here that according to one observation of Gartman (1991: 432), capitalist societies are also in a trend that the consumption patterns of ordinary people and upper class are getting closer.

He points out that with the exception of “high arts”, there are no critical differences in terms of the preferences of different classes in the realm of material commodities.

4.4.3.The “Subjective” Dimension of New Islamic Ethic It is still argued in the literature, eastern societies are associated with communality while western civilization is based on the principle of individualism (Kim, 1995; Hofstede,

1985). The opposition between western individualism and eastern communalism, Weber argued, has rooted in the religious forms of worshipping and the specific honor codes of different cultural context in the first place. While salvation in Christianity was succeeded on the base of the saint’s individual efforts, Weber (1987: 247) stated, the religious leaders (pir) have gotten it through their successes by serving the religious needs of their communities.278

Indeed, according to Weber (1978: Vol.2: 1107), it is clear that “there was nothing in ancient Islam like an individual quest for salvation.” Ülgener (1981: 44, 75) calls our attention to one of the functions that the folk Islam performed –i.e., tasavvuf tradition and tarikats- was to convert Islam’s fundamental principle of “I” to a “We” due to the need for a strong solidarity among people on a belief that wealth had a temporary nature both for the rich and poor (Mardin, 1991c: 212). These unsuitable life conditions were also related to the inner-worldly nature of eastern ascetism by Ülgener: It was like spiritual shelters for the public that had almost no worldly awards (Ülgener, 1981: 120-132). As discussed in previous pages, the individual-based western heroic code of honor should also be included in this context. That is why Weber also pointed out “the ideal glorified by mass legend” in “the good King not the hero”. Therefore, “patriarchal patrimonializm must legitimate itself as the guardian of the welfare of the subject on its own and in their eyes.” (1978: Vol.2: 1107). For the specific context of the Ottoman period, Sayar (1986:

134-5) emphasized the anonymity of individuals in their public activities: For example, a letter to state authorities could not include the person’s name, and this could best be observed in the anonymity of artistic activities. Mardin observed the supremacy of

278 For instance the right for equal vote in the USA was accepted only in the 19th century and excluded black population. Furthermore, even in the Protestant culture, known with its universalistic principles, Weber (1987: 267) underlined the relationship between the approval of one’s religious purity and having the right to be a citizen. personhood –with an emphasis on the communal function of individual activity- against individuality in the Islamic realm of identity formation (in Saktanbar, 1995: 277).

As discussed in the chapter of theory, all these above-mentioned dimensions of individualistic-communalistic societies are related to the cognitive faculty of human beings at last. Indeed, depending on reason or emotions as a human being lies in the heart of this issue, and this is represented by the shift from magic of peasant society to ascetic protestantism of urban life of capitalism. The question is then that how could this solidaristic communal tendency, which is basically inner worldly and communal- emotional in its essence, ignoring material rewards of this world be turned into a rational worldly orientation.

Developing a new individual-based honor code deriving mostly from the modern education gradually made the internalized ethical relationships of individuals with the religious sources “the rule,” rather than exception. As discussed in previous pages, the individual-based western heroic code of honor should also be added in this context. That is why Weber also pointed out that, “the ideal glorified by mass legend” in “the good

King not the hero”.

However, the communal, solidaristic spirit also continues to exist in the emergence of this new Islamic interpretation: it is not a coincidence that the deepening of capitalism in the eastern societies coincides with the revitalization of community spirit. Mardin (1992) argued that –even if it is for the specific case of Said Nursi, Muslim people cannot be motivated as “free” citizens, but rather as members of a community. Remember that this is a transformatory period on the global level experiencing what is “formal and informal”; and what is “individualistic and communal” simultaneously because of the cultural-moral crisis of the west. That can be seen as an advantage for eastern societies with a strong sense of communality, because it is argued that morality crisis of the west caused mainly by the excessive individualization as discussed before.

Watts (1996: 275) observes a similar tendency for the case of Nigerian Islamist movement: their new Islamic ideology, he determines, is also a form of protest against traditional noncapitalist values279 and against the perceived corruption of religious values and practices simultaneously. And in this context he determines a shift from communal to an individual mode of religiosity. And according to his analysis, an ethical tension derives from doctriner discussions is one of characteristics of this individualization process (Watts, 1996: 277).

General “ascetic” quality of Protestantism and many other features have lost their significance or function in the development of capitalism and secularization in the cultural realm. Yet, especially “the Protestant concern for intellectual autonomy”

(Lenski, 1963: 351) could reshape within new institutions of modern societies, such as educational ones, especially in the universities. In this sense this quality of Protestantism

“seems to play an increasingly important role,” as Lenski pointed out (1963: 351).

“Systematization of religious beliefs” in Weber’s analysis is the intellectualization (Safi,

1994) that reflects the contemporary developments in the context of growing power of

Muslim intellectuals. This process is described by Safi in the following: "The systematization was carried out through a program of self-criticism aiming at overcoming inconsistencies, and reorienting action towards worldly activities…At this

279 See (Sloane, 1999: Bugaje, 1997: 434-5; Alatas: 1997; Nagata: 1994) for more information on Nigerian and Malaysian cases. phase, purposive-rational action continued to be confined to the framework of an integral value-rational system."(Safi, 1994: 52)

The data collected for this study supports autonomy in general, but intellectual autonomy in general seems to become crucial in the rise of Islamic middle classes -as a secular core that Christian and Islamic Puritanisms share mutually during the movement and later. As known, the emphasis of Protestanism on this intellectual autonomy is tied with the autonomous quality of rising middle classes in terms of traditional structures and communal bonds. This is where dynamic intellectuals280 and enterpreneurs of Islamic movement are rising, and so MÜSİAD is relavant from this point. This connection explains why the expansion of middle classes brought about an intensification of modern individualistic/internalized ethic under the guidance of modern rational reasoning; it brings emancipation from traditional authority figures in both actual and intellectual lives of people.281 Safi (1993: 97-103) underlines why reformist Islam emphasized the need for an avangard group as a role model is their potential to create a reflexive (self-critical) individual as a new Islamic community base.

This is a sign that all groups in the modernizing Muslim countries start referring to a common cognitive code. Although these groups depend on different values and conceptual tools, the boundaries of these so-called opposite groups have become

280 Bulaç (1995: 96) stated that a group of middle class intellectual people whose education is either social sciences in the western context or a technical field are gaining importance in the development of a modern Islamic model of society: He states that “it is true that the actual leaders of the Muslim world are doctors, scientists, engineers, and lawyers whose interests include Islamic science, called ilm, as well as western sciences. However, because a religiously trained teologicians (namely ulema) should be determinant in an Islamic society, Islamic intellectuals will be replaced with them in the long run. 281 The organization itself and the member businessmen I interviewed underlined the importance of depending on rules and principles strictly in general (including truly functioning legal ones). See for instance article 1 and 15 in appendix-2 supporting this view that includes a set of suggestions about principles and rules regarding partnerships and the idea that we do not need flexibility in our economic life but instead more rules and principles due to the lack of a proper legal normative behavioral base. indefinite because of this similarity in the very cognitive part of their identities. An example of this can be given from one of the interviews: a businessman graduated from one of the good private schools of Turkey states that what makes the real difference is education:

Educated people will succeed whatever will be succeeded in this country. The real problem is about the dominance of ignorant and illiterate people especially in the political processes. This is true for all of the parties of Turkey including Islamic Party. What I observed that is basically a misuse of power because of ignorance even in the Welfare Party power in Istanbul municipality. Not to humiliate these people, but a çaycı or büfeci (people who have a coffeshop or a small grocery store) should not determine the future of this country. People without the ability to do these important duties (liyakat) will certainly be harmful in giving important decisions of politics. We need to have educated and independent individuals who really care about what is happening in the country and feel responsible to do something at all levels, from warning someone about not throwing his/her trash to the street to these political problem-solving mechanisms. What type of people the society rewards are not the valuable ones, but the ones without quality in every sense of this word.

This explains why the divisions of traditional-modern and religious/secular have lost their analytical functions due to the deepening of rationalization and individualization.

This fragmentation within Islamist movement as well as in the society in general is the reason of the potential for within-group conflicts at all levels: the conceptualization of

“true believer” as one line of distinction is fundamental, but this is only one example in this fragmentation of the movement.

Watts (1996) also calls our attention to the fragmentations within Islamic movement in

Nigerian case, caused by modernization process and alternative Islamic interpretations rather than ortodox Islamic institutions and practices. The tension deriving from the reinterpretation of Quran by heterogenous groups, he states, is a result of the general modernization of these societies (1996: 277). The effect of social differentiation of these societies is so strong that even a new type of “Islamism” called “lümpen”282 emerged

(Watts, 1996: 279-80). It is noteworthy that this can also be interpreted as an important point bridging what is structural and value free and what is culture specific in the study of classes.

The legitimation of the above mentioned changing trend related to the Islamic practices and mentality, which can be described one of the fundamental functions of MÜSİAD, is the idea of the rebirth of Islamic civilization283 in the context of contemporary capitalism.

The fundamental change in the Islamic discourse is the shift from being a servant to

Allah (God) to be a servant of the humanity. This does not mean that Allah is not important any more for them. Rather, it should be understood as a struggle to explore what it means to serve to Allah and Islam, which means to serve to the community and the humanity284 as a whole, in its ideal typical sense, in our case.

4.5. Ethical Transformation and Muslim Women To understand Puritanism we must understand the needs, hopes, fears and aspirations of the godly artisans, merchants, yeomen, gentlemen, ministers, and their wives, who gave their support to its doctrines. Hill, 1967: 511

To analyse about women is almost always considered as a problematic sociological matter, especially if it is in the context of morality and/or religion. That is why I also began this issue by problematizing this issue in the minds of the businessmen and/or their husbands. It seems that the vulnerability of the issue of women comes from the fact that the field of consumption of their lives is under the

282 A parallel example from a Turkish case is to refer to some people in the movement himself/herself as sick with a “split personality” as a result of the degeneration (Yalçıntaş, 1996: 36-42) of the people of the movement. 283 Sloane (1999: 51) demonstrates that similar dynamics are at work in the case of Malasia: “making money is represented as what Allah wishes for them,” if not “having it is certainly better than giving it to the Chinese.” 284 This is almost the same effort with what Ülken (1999) tried to do in his Aşk Ahlakı (Morality of Love), by stressing universal love and humanity as the superior human spiritual state. According to this interpretation what the total community of humanity means is Allah itself (Ülken, 1999: especially see, 86- 157). control of women. It is also related to the fact that their lifestyles are depended on women’s ability to continue, renew and/or transform of the way they want to follow as a Muslim family. On the practical level, it seems the most popular and important problem of the Islamic circles is about having wives more than one. It is both because the traditional and folk version of Islamic religion in Turkish context mostly rejects this Islamic practice; and because this practice is connected to a change in one’s lifestyle in the process of getting rich. This is not compatible with the strong sense of egalitarianism which still exists in the background of Turkish culture. Furthermore, there is no agreement on this matter, like many others, in Islamic groups including MÜSİAD members. Most of the businessmen were not comfortable with some businessmen’s appearing in the media news on that matter. For some it is because they know the Turkish Islam rejects this practice and it is not good to make them think negatively about Muslim businessmen,285 while some others believe that this practice could only be applied under exceptional conditions. The second group considered this practice (having more than one wife) as a deviance from the Islamic morality itself caused by a sudden wealth.

Extended family model seems to have ended286: The nuclear family model is the general form they share either they have one wife or more than one. This means that women in

Islamic circles in the urban context have nuclear families with few children (see table 4).

It is both because of the changes in their cultural identities and the positive structural conditions that made possible or rather necessary to live in a small family. A direct effect can be expected out of the change they experience in their private lives, which reflects a decreasing traditional control and authority of the older people and the larger family -

285 Bulut’s study (1997: 418) proves that Islamic circles in general are concerned about an in-group reaction. 286 Saktanber’s (1995: 131) study proves this idea that there was only one case of extended family in an urban Islamic community context. even that of their husbands’ to some extent.287 This should have an emancipating effect on these women’s lives in terms of leisure time and the loosening control over their lives.

Saktanber (1995: 130-1) argued that Islamic movement in general288, and “Islamic middle class ethos”289 in particular could best be studied through focusing on private sphere and lives of Islamic women. Yet it is a well-known fact that the issue of Islamic women has become an important issue because of their public visibility.

The problem of Islamic women on the Turkish context appears especially in terms of veiling issue in opposition to secular and Islamic manners in women’s lives. As known, this problem was related with the public visibility of veiled women, especially in formal educational institutions as the main modernizing institutions of the secular republic. As studied before, these women differed from the traditional women with their radical attitude towards religious issues and also with their conscious choices of Islamic way of life (Göle, 1991: 84-5). Özdalga (1998: 102) also underlined that even parents of these women were against their decisions of veiling in some cases because they thought that covering their heads is not needed for a young modern girl even if their mothers cover their heads themselves -if not because it could be a problem to be able to graduate from a university.

MÜSİAD provides this study with a “field” where the cultural and economic, private and public and formal and informal strikingly intersect. A few examples for this intersection in the context of women are the following: the first one is from a story that was told me

287 It is because a modern businessman must spend his time mostly out of the private sphere relatively to compare with someone who works under less strict time planning of a traditional economic organization. 288 She maintains that because religion is experiencing basically in the private sphere as a result of secular policies and political atmosphere in Turkey, to study how Islamists organize and work needs to focus on their private lives, and so women’s lives (Saktanber, 1995: 228). 289 See Saktanber (1995: see especially 42-5) for women’s role in the making of an Islamic moral order in a specific Islamic context by the only woman enterpreneur I interviewed: She makes a fashion/ by using famous professional woman models wearing turban (the headscarf). In another instance, an entrepreneur makes bathing suits for Islamic community including distinct spaces for women who are veiled ladies who do not ever uncover their hair, arms, and so on, in the public. In this process we are experiencing now, the public appearance of young veiled girls with the turban who walk hand-in-hand with their boy-friends on the university campuses or on the streets, needed to be explained. This is a new life style in accordance with a new economic organization of their lives, -i.e. this relates a new relationsip with what is economic as well as moral ones.

Since Tanzimat290 higher classes in Turkey have agreed on the westernization and modernization of women in the sense of their emancipation from private sphere (Mardin,

1991c: 36). This was true of course only for the centre of the country while in the periphery women’s freedom from their private spheres was considered as a lack of morality –namus in its culture-specific wording. Excessive consumption was one of the important identical components of these higher-class westernized women. Not only for the peripheric culture indeed but also for the center, the typical quality of Anatolian women was considered as a pure form of moral perfection of the modern women in its essence. This cultural heritage that can be traced in Gökalp’s analysis on Turkish culture in general and women in specific, was stamped on the women type in Turkish cinema for a long time. The typical woman star can be described as a synthesis between national and western forms in accordance with Gökalp’s formula that their spirit was purely national

290 Mardin (1991c: 33) states that novels of Tanzimat period was critical about many cases that basically relate to men contrary to their approval about the ones that relate women’s westernization. This proves Göle’s (1991: 42-5) idea that women were considered as advanced couriers of their project of “new life” (yeni hayat). while their appearances and technical abilities were perfectly western: There were many instances showing how a good/morally pure girl from the periphery turned into a civilized urban girl just by learning basic urban practices such as how to eat, how to dance and so on.

In the process of constructing a “new” Islamic way of life also necessitates a transformation of women’s lives in a very similar manner. The emancipatory dimension in the case of Islamic women is much more complicated due to the fact that Islam is equated with its reverse in conventional thinking. Yet, in the case of these Muslim women, veiling and community itself that is considered as the negative dimension of

Islamic lifestyle have become issues of their specific emancipatory process under urban conditions. Saktanber (1995: 248-259) for instance, exemplified how a specific Islamic community life can serve women’s feelings to be free. Moreover, Islamic women themselves do not have a common base about their existence in the public life, although almost all of them sure that they should be a part of the modern society.291 That reflects what we call as new Islamic ethos is a process in its formative stages at the time we are going through now. The conscious efforts of these groups along with other societal and cultural dynamics altogether are shaping this process.

291 However, it is important to note that this positive attitude towards being an active part in public life should be seen as a process itself: Göle (1991: 95-100) states that these women mostly prefer a return to their domestic role after their education, after summarizing these women’s differentiating attitudes on this issue, ranging from taking a side in their domestic role to being a part of the public life actively by having a job. However, Özdalga’s study (1998), which is a newer one, shows building a carrier on their own and having a job is important for these cases. The expressions of Islamic men about women’s unwillingness of being at home also supported the deepening difference between male and female attitudes on that (see Hürriyet Pazar, 20 Mayıs 2001: 7). As a result, these women play a critical and active role in the formation of a new modern

Islamic ethical framework as well as the in-group conflicts292 out of the fragmentation, systematization and rationalization of Islamic movement. This quality of Islamic women is also related to an increase in their education level (see table 2) that brought about rationalization and systematization as well as autonomy and freedom. These women have exactly a same socio-cultural background with the small-scale businessmen –and also like Islamic intellectuals- of our study: they are newly urbanized with a modest family background in the periphery. And they are relatively well educated, some with a university degree (Göle, 1991: 84-6; Özdalga, 1998: 71-107; See also table 2, for the specific information of the MÜSİAD members’ wives). Out of 51 entrepreneurs’ wives interviewed for the present study, 7 women have a university degree, and 1 left without getting her degree.

This relative increase in the education of women from a peripheric background should be considered as the fundamental emancipatory factor in these women’s lives. In one of

MÜSİAD’s publications, one of the reasons why Islamic countries and Turkey remained to be underdeveloped is the low rate of education in woman population (21. Yüzyıla

Girerken Dünyaya Bir Bakış, no date of publication: 43). This point cannot be read as a criticism towards merely secular governments of modern Turkey, but has a strong dimension of traditional view that there is no need for women to go to school.

As known, education has a general postponing effect on the age of marriage (Özbay,

1978: 205). Self-reflexivity and critical thinking which is the result of modern

292 See Arslan (1997) for a study focusing on in-group conflicts of Islamic groups. Kıvanç (1997: 39) also describes the problem areas in detail, such as how to get dressed and behave as Muslim people living in modern conditions. education293 should also be related to their radicalizing attitudes towards life in general and traditional Islamic practices in particular. These are qualities that can be considered within the same cognitive reasoning discussed in previous pages. Therefore, Islamic women as well, started to emancipate from traditional bounds and recognized Allah, and/or original messages of Islam that should be interpreted by the believers themselves, as the only authority to obey in a very similar manner to that of Protestant entrepreneurs of Weber. In one of Özdalga’s (1998: 94-5) interviews this quality is examplified well:

I have not gotten any support to get this point. What I have learned from this loneliness was the fact that one should depend on their own feet. Yet you are a humanbeing and need someone to trust. Alas, is there someone to trust but only Allah? …you start thinking strictly about your feelings and behaviors especially because (and/or when) people treat you badly. …that is how you start knowing what your aims are; and, who and where you are in this society.

“How to reshape relationships between sexes” seems to be the main problem caused by the increasingly determinant role these women plays in public life. This problem is central to dominate the agenda of Islamic and secular media as well as the actual lives of these people. This is accompanied with a very conflictual and tensely intellectual and practical atmosphere.294 However, this ambiguous and conflictual nature of the relationship between sexes should not be taken as merely a problem producing issue, but rather as a functional process of adjustment between sexes in front of their changing life conditions. For example, most of the entrepreneurs interviewed complained and felt

293 “The mediation of everyday experience” is a necessary component of this reflexivity (Lash, 1994: 140): It is very meaningful in the context of our study that underlined what is practical and everyday in terms of ethical and cognitive concerns. 294 See Göle (1991: 114-125) and Özdalga (1998: 107) for main areas of conflicts with men, and about the emergence of an Islamic kind of feminism. There is a public event in the “Channel 7,” in a program on Islam and Women, that reflects well the challenging and autonomous nature of women. What happened on guilty about their not having enough leisure time to be with their families. Long working hours organized largely around the public life is contradictory in its very nature with the traditional relationships as a family form. This new effect, which can be argued, powerful enough for a need to change the base of the relationship between sexes in the private sphere. This development is also important because it brought women new responsibilities as well as more free time on their own. “How to fill this new free time and space” is a problem in itself. It is necessary to talk with these women themselves in another study, but what the businessmen told about this free time is important in this context: some were angry about the image of “their” women who knows and does nothing but only stays home. Some even insist that I should have written that they are not the kind of men who close their wives to their house; on the contrary, their wives (as I was told) were “dynamic people with their diversified fields of interests.” The organization of helping the poor and some other social activities with a communal purpose have been mentioned very frequently as the basic public activity of their wives.

MÜSİAD’s publications include enough evidence supporting the above-mentioned ideas of the businessmen: These are mostly commissions of active women295 in some branches of the organization although there are few woman members in MÜSİAD. This means that the members of these women’s commissions are mostly composed of the wives of the businessmen. The head of Adana branch has given the following message after the foundation of woman’s commission in Adana (MÜSİAD Bulleten, year:5, number: 16,

1996-7: 55): “We are very pleased that our women with whom we share our ideas in all

this program was a veiled woman, who published a book titled as “The Projections on the Anti-women Discourse in the Islamic Tradition”, was sitting down not properly (see Hürriyet Pazar, 20 Mayıs 2001: 7). areas of our lives have taken an active role under the umberalla of MÜSİAD.” In her study on Malaysian entrepreneurship,296 Sloane (1999: 13) also notes that women have taken an equally active part in reshaping Islam in modern conditions.

This active support of their wives given to their husbands reminds us the wives of

Protestant entrepreneurs who also played an active part in the emergence of Protestant ethic as a dominating cultural force in all parts of their lives as Hill (1967: 511) underlined.

As a result it should be emphasized that the organization of public and private lives simultaneously can be determined as a requirement of intense search for a new ethical framework in accordance with new problems faced in changing conditions. Hill (1967:

455, 449, 511) examplified this connection in the context of the general “spiritualization of the household,” as an attempt to create “a little church” in their own houses.

295 When I conduct my interviews there was only one woman member in Ankara. However, there is news on the Bulletin of the Association (Year: 5, Number: 16, 1996-7: 44) announcing the membership of a woman.

CHAPTER V

SOCIO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATION

With uncertainity absent, man's energies are devoted altogether to doing things; it is doubtful whether intelligence itself would exist in such a situation; in a world so built that perfect knowledge was theoretically possible, it seems likely that all organic readjustments would become mechanical, all organisms automata. With uncertainty present, doing things, the actual execution of activity, becomes in a real sense a secondary part of life; the primary problem or function is deciding what to do and how to do it.

(Knight, 1964: 268)

As long as the small primitive group is self-sufficient, a pervasive equality exists in that each member of the group works for the group itself; every achievement is sociologically centripetal. However, as soon as the boundaries of the group are ruptured and it enters into trade in special products with another group, internal differentiation develops between those who produce for export and those who produce for domestic consumption --two wholly opposed modes of being. (Simmel in Woolcock, 1998: 169)

5.1. Introduction: Network Analysis

The aim of this section is to analyze MÜSİAD as a socio-cultural structural whole with the help of a broad sociological perspective. As it is known Weber classified economic action under the categories of purely economic and as a mixed nature including non-economic factors as well as economic ones (1978, volume,

I: 340). MÜSİAD, in this respect, should be considered under the second category and therefore, should always been treated as cultural and economic entity simultaneously. Yet, studies on the issue from the point of political economy, takes culture as an input in the process of “rational choice” by neglecting the dynamic and embedded nature of culture in relation to socio-economic structure and processes. First, an attempt in this direction is made to analyze MÜSİAD as one of the business association organized mostly small and middle scale businessmen with its middle class nature and entrepreneural role. Next, under the light of this framework, an attemt is being made to determine and discuss the specifisities and qualifications that the organization introduced to Turkish society and economy.

296 The Malasian example, according to Sloane (1999), is a case where the usage of the notion of “entrepreneurship” is very common among the newly urbanized population in connection with a reinterpretation of traditional Islamic practices and values. MÜSİAD as a network offered its members the opportunity to get into contact more and more with large metropolitan centers and the world capitalism beyond their small communities.297 While doing this, it can be argued, they adopt the modern and universal principles of capitalism and/or work, without restricting themselves to local structural and cultural dynamics. Therefore, it is important to note here that the organization as a network has a highly transformatory function and cannot be seen as a static set of relationships, values and structures.

Network studies have a distinct and independent place among post-1980 sociological studies (Granovetter,

1985; Zelizer, 1989; Portes, 1993; DiMaggio, 1994; Portes, 1998; Burt, 1994). These analyses based largely on the idea of embeddedness that is important to understand economic issues such as transactions in social relations, in generating trust, in establishing expectations, and in creating and enforcing norms

(Coleman, 1990: 302).

These studies can be analyzed under two main trend: One group encompassing those who concentrate on the structural-horizontal connections among individulas, institutions and economies (e.g., Granovetter, Burt and Portes); and the second group encompassing those who focus on the relationship between the cultural dimension and the categories such as economy (e.g., DiMaggio, Zukin, and Zelizer) that are accepted as value-neutral in the neoclassical economics. What is dominant (and common) in these studies is an approach which challenges the basic views of classical economy; namely that of putting the individual to the forefront and of comprehending the society as static and categorical. These studies have also emphasized the relationality of various social groups and the idea that economy is not a category set apart from the society, but rather, it is embedded in it.

The studies included in the first group dominate the disciplines of sociology and economy. A shared distinctive characteristic of the studies carried out in the disciplines of modern sociology and economy, where relationality is emphasized in a variety ways, is that these studies are based on a structuralist perspective where the factor is almost completely neglected. The tradition298 upon which these studies are

297 It is a well-known fact that because small and middle scale businesses in Turkey largely placed at the periphery of the country, traditional values and relationships on a face-to-face base are predominant in them (Oktav, Önce, Kavas and Tanyeri, 1990). 298 This tradition has many paralels with institutionalist school that has developed an alternative theory to the classical economy. Bu ekolün başını çeken Veblen’in (1898; 1994a; 1994b) düşünceleri serbest piyasacılığa karşı toplumsal kurumların ve tarihsel sürecin önemini vurgulamasıyla gerek Polanyi, gerekse Marks ve Weber’inkilere paraleldir. based is the one initiated by Karl Polanyi (1957) whose main contribution is the concept of embeddedness.

In contrast to the 19th century thinkers, who hold the idea that the historical reality299 behind the emergence of the free market relations is related to letting everything follow their natural and spontenous flow, Polanyi in The Great Transformation (1957) attracts the attention to the socio-political components of this process, i.e., the embeddedness of this economic development.300

The concept of the embeddedness has considerably been modified by the contributions of the past 1980s network analists. For instance, Granovetter’s studies goes beyond the idea that all economic structures (traditional or modern) are enmeshed in social relations: He argues that there are still differences between socio-economic structures. However, the main difference should be based on different structural specificities that the relationships based on rather than the question of whether these relationships are formal or not.

Granovetter, arguing against the assumption that the modern societies have relations based on a formal contract while the traditional societies have informal relations, asserts that, contrary to the general conception, both types of societies have the formal and the informal simultaneously (Granovetter, 1985). The result is to go beyond the dichotomy between traditional and modern when analysing modern socio-economic institutions.

The network analyses, being under the hegemony of the structuralist perspective, are criticized because of their neglect of the culture and the human factor, in spite of the conceptual and emprical richness they

299 The emphasis on the historical dimension of the issue finds its most striking expression in Polanyi (1957) with the idea that self-regulating capitalist system constitutes the shortest period of history. 300 Some of the basic assumptions he makes in line with the concept of embeddedness are: a) Moving from the studies of two eminent anthropologists, Malinowski and Thurnwald, it becomes clear that there is no desire for profit in the primitive man; therefore, the argument that “the motive of gain is not natural to man” is valid”; b) The argument that expecting payment for labor is not natural is valid; c) To restrict labor to the unavoidable minimum is not “natural” to man (Polanyi, 1957: 269); d) The usual incentives to labor are not gain but reciprocity, competition, joy of work, and social appropriation (1957: 270); e) Individual food collection for the use of his own person and family does not form part of early man’s life ; f) Reciprocity and redistribution of economic behavior which apply not only to small primitive communities, but also to large and wealthy empires (1957: 273); g) Economic systems, as a rule, are embedded in social relations; distribution of material goods is ensured by noneconomic motives (1957: 272). provide in the field of social economy (Emirbayer and Goodwin, 1994).301 DiMaggio (1990; 1994), as one of the outstanding names of cultural analysis, underlines the embeddedness of the institutions in the

“cultural-cognitive”,302 “structural”,303 and “political”, beyond their common embeddedness in the “social”.

Zukin and DiMaggio (1990: 17) underline that the cultural dimension of economic action is neglected in the network literature to the advantage of structural and political dimensions. These categorizations and concepts have the potential to provide a very convenient basis for studies in economic sociology and therefore, concepts like social capital and social networks move to the forefront in the literature.

Because these concepts are generally used in an improper and disorderly manner without thinking over the necessary theoretical and/or empirical connections, the studies based on socio-cultural analysis are not out of criticism. The lack of clarity and the confusion in conceptualization let alone the inadequacy of empirical research are the basic ones: Concepts like “social capital” and “cultural capital” are generally “loosely” used without critically scrutinizing them from theoretical and empirical angles (Woolcock, 1998: 155). For this reason,, in spite of the richness of the descriptive literature that concepts such as ‘embeddedness’ and

‘ties’ has been consumed frequently, “little is actually known about network processes” (Powell and Smith-

Doerr, 1994: 393). Because, positions within a network has vital importance and need to be studied case by case, formal theorizations should be derived from these concrete cases.

One of the weaknesses of these studies Woolcock underlines is the usage of social capital as a positive and power yielding factor -regardless of the differences empirical cases exhibits. Bourdieu’s concepts of social, cultural and symbolic capitals for example, are much exploited but used without adequate clarification

301 Emirbayer and Goodwin (1994: 1413) write: “…this new mode of structuralist inquiry –in all its versions- offers a more powerful way of describing social interaction that do other structural perspectives that focus solely on the categorical attributes of individual and collective actors, it has yet to provide a fully adequate explanatory model for the actual formation, reproduction, and transformation of social networks themselves.” 302Cultural embeddedness is defined as “shared collective understandings” that become effective in determining the economic course, objectives and strategies while cognitive embeddedness is defined as “structured regularities of mental processes” that limit the rationale of economic functioning (Zukin and DiMaggio, 1990: 16-8). 303For DiMaggio, emphasizing the dimension of culture, it is important to study the concept of embeddedness as a multifaces phenomenon that structural embeddedness is only one aspect of it. Zukin and DiMaggio (1990: 18) define structural embeddedness as following: “The term structure refers to the manner in which dydic relations are articulated with one another –for example, whether relations are bundled up in a densly connected but mutually segregated cliques as opposed to scattered diffusely throughout a population.” concerning this point.304 Indeed, the father of the concept, Bourdieu himself tends to reduce capital to power as a form of wealth (Calhoun, 1995: 139-40, 155) by stressing qualities such as having a distinguishing ability in its positive meaning and “prestigious” forms and manners in general (Bourdieu,

1990). Calhoun notes that Bourdieu’s work is insufficient in the respect of understanding of the nature of mediation, and the role actors plays as constitutive agents305 (1995: 155). The process of constitution of actors has also crucial importance. Indedd, most of the categories that we qualify as “capital” have the specificity of belonging to dynamic processes. By pointing out the “negative social capital”306 Portes (1993;

1998) has a leading place in this respect.

And all these, though not completely canceling out the analytical importance307 of these concepts, decrease many of the advantages these conceptual tools can provide.308 One of the reasons of this problem is related to the newness of cultural studies -for the social science of the recent period one can claim that they are almost referred to as a separate discipline- but the lack of theoretical and empirical clearity still appears as an important obstacle. The fact that what is economic/material cannot be separated from what is

304 As one of the good example of such a conceptual and empirical confusion the usage of the concept of social capital itsel can be taken: The sociologists and economists of “rational choice” theory are the ones who take the concept merely with its positive function. For example, Coleman, one of the pioneer names in rational choice sociology defines social capital as such: “…Like other forms of capital, social capital is productive, making possible the achievement of certain ends that would not be attainable in its absence.” (1990: 302); while Burt defines it basically as “contacts” for people’s advantages to use other forms of capital (1992: 9). See Woolcock (1998: 189-9) for some other variations for the definition of this concept. As for the concept of culture, rational-choice theory does not even include as one of the constitutive and transformative components of the capital. The role prescribed for culture is only a regulative and sanctioning one (through the norms and values dominant in the society). For the very same reason the concept of human capital -which emphasized advantageous and/or disadvantegous conditons of individuals in the process of creating personal capital- has been introduced to the field. 305 This is a very important point because almost all forms of social and cultural capitals are dynamic processes forming the subject matter of social struggles. 306 While Portes and Sensenbrenner (1993) list the consequences of negative social capital as “constraints of freedom,” “free riding” and “levelling pressures”, in a recent work Portes points out other aspects of the issue such as “exculusion of outsiders” and “group or community closure” (1998: 15-6). But the socio- cultural differenses should be taken into consideration in this respect, because whether a social and cultural-symbolic structure has a power yielding potential or not depends on the comparative advantages and disadvantages of different socio-cultural settings. And that is why these forms of capital should not be taken simply as a form of capital in its positive sense. 307 These concepts have crucial importance because small entrepreneurship does basically depend on human effort –and the quality of this human effort is the capital itself- rather than material capital. 308 Some of the weaknesses Woolcock (1998: 155-8) mentions are; a) trying to explain a lot with small empirical data; b) inability to answer whether the social capital is infrastructural (just a medium) or has a quality (the message) related to the essence of the relations (in neo Weberian terms); c) the theoretical and empirical confusion brought about by the positive meaning loaded on the concept by the liberals, while the concervatives take it as a zero-sum game; i.e., concervatives and liberals define the concept in a very social/cultural, not even in an analytical level, should be added to the difficulties as another point (Braudel,

1985: 227; Zelizer, 1989).

That is why these concepts alone, as theoretical constructs created from a fairly different concrete socio- cultural framework, can provide a limited benefit for us in penetrating a specific case (MÜSİAD as a specific network formation process in our case) especially under the circumstances of rapid change. Under current conditions more firms develop network alternatives to conventional markets and hierarcies

(DiMaggio, 1994: 39). Therefore, we sure need a theoretical/historical perspective that will provide us an understanding of the subject positions and the relationships between these positions simultaneously.

Bauman emphasizes the dynamic aspect of culture –the man-made origin of everything is cultural, as opposed to the ‘natural’ in modern era (1973: 159):

With the advent of the constantly changing, highly unstable modern world the perpetual stability of types could not be taken for granted any more; (…) The orderliness of the human world, far from being automatically assured, now became a matter of continuous and active concern (Bauman, 1973: 135)

These explain why we rely on Weber’s theoretical and empirical insights as we note earlier in methodology chapter. Although they are very broad in reach, Weber’s concepts are still more dependable and powerful to analyze paralel issues in our day because of strict cultural and historical specifitiy of their content

(Swedberg, 1987; Calhoun, 1995: 70-1). DiMaggio also proposes that cultural analyses should be based either on the regulatory309 or constitutive elements of the subject seperately310 –which can be determined as a basic distinction in this field (1994: 26-7).

Therefore, despite the static nature of these varied approaches, our perspective takes social institutions inherintly cultural and the concept of culture as dynamic and constitutive process in the first place.

different manner in the field of political science(s); d) further need to clarify of the concept because socio- cultural capital causes costs as well as advantages. 309 Parallel to Weber’s line of thinking DiMaggio states that once constituted these actors will start acting rationally –and the regulatory aspect of culture will stand out (1994: 47). 310 While constituve effect is related to a “broad temporal and spatial dimensions”, regulatory effects can be studies in the form of a comparasion of groups either within a certain society or in certain societies within the same period. Therefore, as long as the units of comparison are similar ignoring the cultural factor would not be a problem (1994: 47). Consequently, in the present study related to a specific network organization with economic and civil functions, culture is conceptualized within a dynamic and reciprocally constructive/formative context.

5.2. MÜSİAD as a Middle Class311 Organization

There are some other nations that did not have this class (middle class) once. However, their governments and people worked very hard together. They opened banks; governments helped the people by giving them money; and saved the entrepreneurs from the competition of other countries: Industrial and commercial centers developed out of these mutual efforts. Therefore, this new class emerged. Muhittin Birgen (in Toprak, 1995: 219)

The primary aim of this part is to demonstrate the embedded character of class categories in the socio-cultural factors, and not only economic and political ones. This is a story from the uniqe formation of a specific type of buorgeoisie –bureaucratic bourgeoisie312- to a capitalist bourgeoisie in the western sense (Göçek, 1996; Mardin, 1991c: 337-39).

Turkey’s unique “bureaucratic bourgeoisie” was a transitional –from traditional socio- economic Ottoman order to a modern/capitalist one- phenomenon in a sense. And it is argued in this study that the emergence of a small-modest national businessmen type is

311 It is known that in English the term “middle classes” is preffered instead of “bourgeoisie” (Wallerstein, 1993: 292). However, beyond the difference derives from the language, there is an important emphasis that these two concepts includes: While the word “bourgeoisie” emphasizes this group’s homogenous and relatively institutionalized class features, the term “middle classes” seems to best represent its “transitory”, ambigues and in-between nature. Still, these two concepts have been used interchangeably in this study: The term bourgoisie is preferred especially when describing some common features to underline homogenous tendencies in this middle strata. In Marxist analysis too, middle classes has a distinc place defined as either a “transitory” phenomenon or just a “separate group within typical-larger classes of capitalist systems” (Giddens, 1999: 35). 312 This is why some scientists is called this group as “bureaucratic burgeoisie” in contrast with the classical class perspectives and Marxist tradition (see Göçek, 1996: 82; and Mardin, 1991c: 338-40). Such an argument can be explained within the Weberian conceptualization of capitalism, by using for example the repertuare of Bourdieu’s cultural capital: And what is considered as the most important factor in this context is the quality of the capital that is independent from the traditional fields of authority. The transitory power of this new group derived not from the economic market but from a new and special kind of cultural capital (Göçek, 1996: 81-2). crucial as Weber (1987: 271-2) underlined313; and MÜSİAD’s activities as a middle class organization with its cultural-moral as well as economic activities/aims. Fundamental cultural dimension in shaping class divisions in its modern sense is the internal tension/division within the Islamic movement itself distincting from traditional Islam with newly emerging forms and contents of an Islamic ethic as discussed in the chapter of cultural analysis in this study. 314 What is important to emphasize in this point, here, following Weber, is that the emergence of class categories in more its western senses coincides with paralel changes in cultural moral spheres: in our case transformation of

“the muslim work ethic” in general should be read as a necessary companien to the emergence classes. In this sense what is going on in the cultural sphere complements to the sphere of structuration in the socio-economic, rather than having a conflictual nature.315

Also, because free labor is the base for the capitalist organization of society along with the socio-economic positions depending on gains getting from the activities of this free labor rather than fixed socio-economic positions of traditional societal organization, it means depending on free and otonomous labor increasingly is one fundamental evidence proving modernization and capitalization of society. In summary, as will be discussed in its relationship with entrepreneural activity in the next chapter, an intense use of labor in small-middle scale businessess is the factor that makes them the creator of capitalist organization in a very similar manner with Weber’s protestant entrepreneurs as provider the cultural dimension of capitalism.

313 See also Bell (1996: 55-6) and Mardin (1991c: 237) for a discussion on the very same connection. 314 Note here that the connection between being small-modest business type and the “deepining of capitalist class categories” in Turkish context also discussed in the previous chapter from a different angle. This study based on the idea that economic activities have a cultural dimension as well as a purely materialistic one; that is also one of the fundamental reasons why an economic bourgeoisie did not emerge in Turkey. Financial shortages constituted only one side of this problem, the other was related to the the nature, structure and culture of entrepreneural activities that is related to the whole organization of a society including ethical concerns as motives effecting human behavior including economic ones, as Weber theorized in his Protestant Ethic.

The same dynamics have led to similar results as far as the process of becoming laborers are concerned The ethnic stratification in production had resulted in the Muslim laborers’ working in unskilled and temporary works, while those with foreign origions and non-

Muslims were occupied in administrative positions (Göçek, 1996; Koç, 1992: 73; Toprak,

1982: 49). This was causing reactions among the Muslim population, and was discarding, in general, the possibilty for a unification of laborers, as well. Therefore, a class identity could not become dominant. Within this framework, the economic processes shaped by the socio-cultural factors; and as a result this has hindered both the steps to be taken in terms of capital accumulation and the emergence of a class-consciousness among capitalists and laborers (Özuğurlu, 1994; Koç, 1992: 72-5).

Turning to the classical literature on class what we have a tendency to neglect cultural factor in class analysis. As it is known Marxist conception of class underestimates the cultural/ideological dimension in favor of material/economic ones. This resulted in a static notion of class for the long run by ignoring culturally specific dynamics and the historical nature of the issue: Indeed, the reason why cultural dimension has ignored is

315 See Alkan (1993) for a good example using also in the part of “cultural analysis” of this study: Alkan talks about the changing meaning of adam olmak (related to the question of which position to get to be a the relative cultural homogenoity of the population in the Western context.316 Otherwise, as Parkin emphasizes, the religio-ethnic factors play a role in class formation through the processes of closure that surrounds them to enact decisions based on tradition rather than the market rationality, which treats all labor as equal at least formally and legally (Göçek,

1996: 109).317 Because the Marxist conception of class was consumed without considering its cultural and historical specifisity in the academic world until recently, cultural differences were rarely studied. Another factor was to treat superstructure in the

Marxist literature in the sense of ideological- strategic action by neglecting cultural. In this line of reasoning Calhoun argues that Marxist analysis either devalued or ignored socio-cultural dimension in the struggles of ordinary people (1982:5).

Yet, social struggles are seemingly depend on objective socio-cultural relations as well as ideological/stratejic decisions of human mind (Calhoun, 1982: 22). It is especially true for heteregenous and/or for cultural contexs with a sharp differentation between socio- cultural agents, that belonging to the same socio-economic class does not necessarly creates group solidarity. And it does not also mean that there is no economic differentiation among classes that have cultural and ideological solidarity (Zubaida, 1989:

84). Thus, as a result of radical changes in the conditions of developed capitalist countries318 along with the globalization effect –which is resulted in the growing relavance of the cultural differences of non-Western societies, cultural aspect have gained importance in the contemporary studies on class. Gellner notes that it was not a mere

respectful person) in Turkey as a result of liberalization of economy and socity. 316 As it is known, the developed capitalist countries like England was homogenous in terms of race and religion, and this gave way the crucial division on a material/economic base (See Göçek, 1996: 108-9; Hobsbawm, 1998a: 98-110). 317 See also Weber for this impersonal character of the market (1978, Vol.I: 635-640). class struggle for Iranian case for example to cause a revolution, but mostly ethnic and religious features (1981: 66). Hobsbawm also observes the role of religiosity in the formation of the working class in the western context (1984: 181). Calhoun, following

Weber, establishes a relation between the success of a social movement and the set values in a specific cultural context:

Collective action is likely to be radical where it defends established premises of thought and action against fundamental attacks (…) People will, in short, resist the distribution of the communities and ideas within which they are oriented to the world. (Calhoun, 1982: 234)

This means, in the Islamic context, that revivalist movements has a dimension beyond its political character in terms of opposing secular regimes, which demonstrates itself as a cement between different interet groups as well. The Iranian Islamic revolution was an example of such uniting power of cultural specificities. Labor organization such as Hak-

İş, with an Islamic identity in Turkey should also be studied with such a perspective.

What makes the leadership of such movements powerful is his community-based behavioral orientation319 giving priority to collective interests in opposition to western leadership giving priority a competitive atmosphere (Calhoun, 1982: 160). MUSİAD can be seen through this solidaristic framework both in its discourse and the organizational structure. For example, the head of Konya branch of the time –who was also elected as the chairman of Konya Chamber of Commerce- articulates MÜSİAD’s position as following: “People who make their fortune along the true path of Islam would not

318 Under these new conditions of capitalism, Cloke, Philips and Thrift (1995: 224) for example, propose a “cultural concept of class” in its brodests sense, especially for the issues of gender, ethnic differences and so on. 319 Here is a similarity between Hobsbawm’s leadership in the primitive communities and Weber’s typical patrimonial personality. constitute a class; if personal wealth is used to opress other people, then classes emerge and this is something that our faith rejects.” (in Buğra, 1998: 533).

The Malasian case, which experiences a similar ethical transformation in terms of work ethic as a country with a dominant Muslim population, is constructing under the effects of ethical division as well as Westernization effect: The wealth of the Chinese population in Malaysia is a motivating force to reformulate traditional Islamic attitute on wealth

(Sloane, 1999: 51). A similar mood can be determined for a majority of MÜSİAD members: This holds true for the big business which they identified as being anti- religious, as well as for the Jewish and Greek businessmen. Yet, there are some who underlined that they are happy about their businesses with these groups because they can trust and develop good business relations with them.

Because Marx, like Weber, was based on culturaly and historically specific observations of Western societies, it can be argued that his analysis of class cannot be interpreted as fully material. For instance, Marx’s specific studies on Asiatic mode of production (See

Divitçioğlu, 1981) can be accepted as an evidence for his sensitivity about the cultural dimension. As for Weber, the cultural dimension in terms of class analyses is even emphasized by pointing out the interests deriving from socio-cultural ideals along with material ones. In this context, the concept of status group320 introduced by Weber to the literature is important. Thus, power differences that are depended on the exchanges

320 Weber’s analyses are heavily based on the idea that societies are organized not merely in terms of classes, but also in terms of status groups. While classes are rooted in the sphere of production and acquisition, status groups are rooted in the realm of consumption (1978, Vol.1: LXXXVII) And a status group is something basically related to the socio-cultural preferences and values and not one’s material wealth –social honer and prestige are two basic components of status groups (1978: 305-7). Wealth was functioning as a tool to reach and realize social and political functions in the Ottoman context; that is mean wealth was not important in itself, but rather to get something socio-cultural or political, which relates the transitory nature of wealth in this system (Mardin, 1991c: 30-1; 212). This explanation is closely related to realized not in market have been studied under the concept of status (1978, Volume, II:

927-8).

The category of class, according to Weber, is limited to “the modern conflict of the large- scale entrepreneur and free-wage laborers.” Thus, this category appear as a modern phenomenon while status groups are premodern (in Schluchter, 1981: 78-9). Weber emphasized different patterns of behavior based on status differences: USA has given the typical model for the equality in terms of status –for example, a businessmen treating one of his servants as equal outside the workplace- in contrast to German or French models321 that represented by just the reverse attitutes of people (Weber, 1987: 183). This distinction is paralel Hirsh’s (1976: 138) argument that religion as a dominating factor in traditional societies transformed into a powerful market economy (in the countries with a

Protestant origion such as England and USA) or politics as a dominant machine322 (in the countries with a catolic origin like France).

This emphasis on the cultural is important to both making sense of the accomplishments of the Islamist movements in general and the radicalized character of small and medium scale entrepreneurs. A point expressed by almost all of the small or middle scale

MÜSİAD members is that they personally also work as much as, and even more than, the workers. This is a key to understand the expansion of the capitalist system and the

what Weber was talking about as positive or negative social honor as “the basis of status groups” (in Roth, 1978: LXXXVII). 321 For a detailed explanation about national differences in terms of capitalist transfromation, and a list of studies see Göçek (1996: 10-1). Hampden-Turner and Trompeaars (1993: 358-361) notes that, “…to be an engineer in France”, for example, “does not mean you can fix a machine. It implies something about social standing, about outlook, about professional self-esteem and national pride.”

322 Weber also used a similar categorization as “politically oriented capitalism” and “market economy”; According to this, “Patriarchalism can be the carrier of a specific welfare policy, and indeed develops it whenever it has sufficient reason to assure itsefl of the good will of the masses.” He added that, “it is no accident that specifically modern capitalism developed first in England where the rule of officials was process of diffision of an extensive capitalist culture, which finds its full meaning in the

Weberian literature, throughout the society. This is mainly because while large scale organizations and the structures where formal relations dominant do not support the emergence of such a common culture, the smaller scale business provide the basis for such a phenomenon. For small producers, it was still possible to treat workers as one of the family members within paternalistic model. The technical and religious educations of workers, which was a necessity in a sence because educated and disciplined labor was one of the components of capitalist production, by these small producers was a consequence of these small-scale capitalist units (Hill, 1967).

Furthermore, the relations between the periphery and the center have gained a more complicated and intensified dimension in Turkey, along with the multi-dimensional developments lived through, especially during the last twenty years.323 This is because the periphery are getting modernized, diversified and transformed rapidly along with the new rising middle classes.324 In a very similar fashion to the period of emergence of capitalism in the West, a large majority of the businessmen of MUSİAD are of rural origin or have recently been urban (see table 3). This group places, in this respect, between the traditional and modern; or between the periphery and the center. The efforts to differentiate and free onself from one’s traditional/village origin and past is an outstanding characteristics. An example to this is the identification of laziness to

minimized.” As a result, he identified countries with a patrimonyalist heritage with the first model (1978, Vol.II: 1091, 1107, 1109). 323 It has been accepted as valid that Turkey would be represented as a small minority of elites and a substantial majority of rural population since the beginning of the Republic till the end of the 60’s. Yet, this has rapidly been changing. The recent developments in the Anatolian part of Turkey –plus the more recent progress in the Eastern and South-Eastern parts- caused a high level of interaction between cities in various scales. traditional features and relating poverty to being lazzy of particular individuals by these businessmen.325 Furthermore, some differentiating modes of behavior to “distinc” themselves in terms of socio-cultural positions (status) in the Bourdieuan sense (1984) are becoming more and more widespread, as it can be observed in the media. The most typical ones is the form of dressing, and the content they put on the meaning and practises of praying. However, it is important to note that this is not a fixed- institutionalized development, but rather an open-ended process of formation as Fischer

(1982: 78) emphasized: “In their search for distinctive status, they attempt to differentiate themselves from their rural origins and from the Europeanised elite (presumably a style not readily available to them in any case?). An interesting observation on India can be related with this trend: According to Akbar, emphasizing religiosity and piety has become upper class features in Indian context (1990). Indeed, as discussed in the previous chapter, a deepining and intensification in the piety –one’s being of a true

Muslim- is inherently related to urbanization and diversification in the economy, along with a rising in education level of diversified sections of the population, which caused individualization and the use of “theoretical” reason.

There are crucial factors, probably differeng from one Islamic society to another, effecting this above-mentioned process. For our case, because having close ties with the state is almost a necessity especially for business affairs (Buğra, 1994), these rising enterpreneurs have difficulty to solve formal problems created by bureaucratic

324 The connection between diversification –in terms both of in group (this means a dissolution of communitarian ties in a sense) and out group concerns- and becoming a part of middle-class should be underlined on these matters. 325 Sloane (1999: 62-3) emphasizes the very same point in her study on enterpreneurship among Malays. processes326, and to get benefit from economic facilities of the state.327 However, because they have recently cut apart, or still have relations with their rural cities, alternative ways of solving problems in business affairs, mostly through networks, have introduced into the capitalist functioning of the society.

This new type of business person is neither the man of the small town, who used to live strictly under the community control and solve his problems largely through clientelistic ties, now tries to solve his problems through new and innovative ways –by depending his double edged economic and cultural capital of the periphery and the center. In his new life in the city, because his all problems are not economic in nature, he has to consume his cultural capital he brought from the periphery –but, of course, he has to use this cultural capital in a new and very strategic innovative ways.

This is the process reflecting how the process of transformation of traditional values –in the sense of Hobsbawm’s inventing tradition (1993)- have taken place in Turkey. This reflects a process of making a self-made bourgeoisie in the western sense. Consequently, both in economic and moral fields, many different and new syntheses (to the contemporary problems of masses), deriving from the tension between the old values and the new conditions, have introduced into the capitalist practice of Turkey.

Modern capitalist culture as a mutual base was a by-product of the struggle of middle classes, as we know since Weber. And this feature of middle strata is what made

326 Two basic problems of small and medium scale firms have been determined as bureaucratic obstacles and technical knowledge and/or education (VI. FiveYear Developmental Plan, ÖİK Report, 1989: 198). This report includes two solutions about bureaucratic problems that causes losts in time and finance: 1) the purification/swimplification of legal language; 2) Decreasing the number of related laws (1989: 201). 327 During the Welfare Party (WP) led-coalition, before February 28, this group also caught the chance of benefiting from state and bidding opportunities, has been confirmed during the interviews I held with the MUSİAD members. According to some businessmen, however, this was limited with their members from Motherland Party (MP) or True Path Party (TTP), although WP was in power. This has been related to their MÜSİAD relevant most in the process of modernization both economically and culturally: As is known, Weber’s Protestant Ethic thesis has shown that a cultural element, religion, played a crucial role in the emergence of Western capitalism. The later formal/bureaucratic institutions have nourished by this source have taken many of their unique characteristics from there. What was basic to describe Weber’s middle strata is its urban and mobile nature, dominated by a highly competitive environment. These features are also known as factors responsible for individualistic tendencies328 of middle classes in contrast to the strong traditional communal ties. Walzer, following Weber, describes this as following:

(...)the primary source of the saints' radical character lies in their response to the disorder of the transition period. The old order is only a part, and not the most important part of their experince. They live much of their lives amidst the breakdown of that order or (as with the clerical intellectuals) in hiding or exile from it. Much as they hated bisohps and courtiers, then, the Puritan saints hated and feared vagabonds more and dreaded the consequences of the vagabonds in themselves, their own "unsettledness." "Masterless men" are always the first products of the breakdown of tradition and the saints hardly thought such men less dangerous than did their former masters. Without the experience of masterlessness, the Puritans are unimaginable. (Walzer, 1965: 312-3)

The fact that the social reactions that developed in the years following the Industrial

Revolution were not limited to the working poor, but included the small and marginal businessmen along with the petty bourgeoisie supports the idea that cultural heritage of a

having ties in the bureaucracy along with their experience and “know-how capital” in terms of bureacratic affairs. 328 Marx also identifies the formation of modern classes and individualistic tendencies as historically compatible, at least because of the fact that the emancipation of individuals from feudal authorities was a necessary component of classes (Beck, 1992: 94-5). societal context is an important constitutive factor. The participation of the local businessmen and farmers in the acts of breaking of machinery is significant from this point of view. The petty bourgeoisie, at the edge of abyss of non-property, Hobsbawm notes, shared a common discontent with the laborer (proletariat) (1998: 48).329 This is a new identity, finding its expression in the “boldness” that was determined both by the old and emerging structures. These classes, in spite of having humble origins and being self- educated, represent that critical point where the two sections (the old and the new, and the poor and the wealthy) intersect (Hobsbawm, 1998: 204). These historical observations, although not certain, makes sense especially when considered the ambiguous and autonomous nature of these nem middle classes. Calhoun (1982: 14) is questioning this ambiguous and paradoxical relationship between these classes and working poor during the Industrial Revolution as following:

products of the breakdown of tradition and the saints The relationship between artisans, outworkers and factory workers in general problematic. Did the artisans merely leave the workers an ideological legacy, or did the join together in struggle? When, and how long?

When taking culture seriously in class analyses, this can be related with the existence of MÜSİAD with its populist discourse as a middle class organization. As it is well-known the introduction of capitalism brought about the destructions values, such as feeling compassion for the poor, helping the needy, by taking poverty as the responsibility of the individual and that accepted hard work and gain for individualistic concerns (Weber, 1992: 155-183). Values such as producing constantly, and hardwork, while limiting consumption are typical small-scale producers’ characteristics with a town origin beyond religious affiliations –i.e., Weber’s ascetic Protestantism (Bell, 1996: 55-6). Because their relational base included both traditionalistic/feudalist (typically face-to face relations with cultural concerns) and modern features

329 It can be traced in Engels analysis of the role of the Chartists, also encompassing the members of the radical middle class, as the “genuine representatives of the proletariat” for that time (in Işıklı, 1990: 72). (formally free base for relations and wages and the importance of organizational discipline and so on) (see especially Hill, 1967; and Weber, 1992), they represented the typical ambiguity and “in-betweenness” of the middle classes in front of old and emerging civilizations as a cultural and socio-economic totality.

MÜSİAD, with all these characteristics, are, foremost, is also constituting a new Islamic middle class ethical framework, as it discussed in the previous chapter. This ethic, as well as being brand new with its

Islamic characteristic for the secular circles, is alien for the groups from which it has emerged and for the traditional populace’ claimed to be represented by the Islamic centers, with its rational and dynamic nature, and with its readiness to solve contemporary problems based on a plurality of views within itself. This is experiencing through a process of “the ending of the process of exploitation of the people by a minority” as is expressed by the businessmen I have interviewed. The word “exploitation” has a double meaning here: it meant both the cultural hegemony of the governments on the people, and regional and economic inequality between this small group and the public. They, as a new economic and moral social power, will bring liberation to the weak and the opressed. They do not think that they constitute a “class” as a group, or rather as an opressive group living differently from other parts of society. This last point is related to Ottoman egalitarian heritage including Islamic tradition that does not distinct public from elites in terms of religious faith (Mardin, 1993: 17; Mardin, 1991c; Genç, 1989).330 Mardin’s center-periphery division as a key is highly relavent here to interpret their emphasis on the sameness, especially in terms of their consumer patterns. And principles like helal kazanç (legitimate wealth), modesty and staying away from luxury, helping others are put forth as a guarantee against their becoming a priviliged group, apart from the general public. Their long- term goal is “a society where one will have difficulty in finding a poor person to help.”

Here, the governments are criticized because of the policies in which unproductive spheres –gainings deriving from rents and interests331- are made attractive for the capitalists.332 And they maintain that Islamic people are inclined to be much more productive in their economic activities.

330 This egalitarianism deriving from the principle of provincialism was largely based on a strict state control as Genç notes (1989: 19). Mardin argues that new Republican model is a continutiation of Ottoman state-centered economic system, and this is the reason why the public maintained their relatively equal positions along with a small portion of wealthy people (1991c: 223-37). 331 The interest rates moved from 0.6% in 1980 to 3.5% in 1990 and a 10% in 1996 increased to 12.4 % in 1999 (Source: MÜSİAD Bulletin, year: 7, number, 35. 1999: 25). 332 According to Mardin, although it was possible structurally after 1950, because of the economic policies of governments, there would not emerge the type of businessmen who is more humble and more inclined to change traditional economic organization. Indeed, the diversification in the business life has began in early Specifically, the appearance of Islam in the public sphere takes place in conjunction with the rise and expansion of middle classes basically as a result of the developments in Turkish domestic market.333 As it is well-known that the liberal politis of 1980’s empowered this process and resulted in a socio-cultural dynamism of this newly emerging middle strata. Owen and Pamuk (1998: 116) notes that even “The villages became important markets for textiles, clothing, and food industries, and gradually for costumer durables, radios, TV sets and even refrigerators.”

More specifically, it is argued that because the Eastern models of society in general334, and the Muslim society including the Ottoman model based on a balance between the individual and the society, this model is not suitable for class formation and social stratification (Mardin, 1969; Lewis, 1993: 70-82). While the Western heritage has easily supported the interest-based characteristics of capitalism, with its aristocratic cultural tradition, the eastern model resisted the interest-laden reorganizing principles of this new and alien system.335

Contemporary studies emphasize the importance of cultural heritages on economic processes. Japon has been examplified as a synthesis of Eastern and Western traditions with its aristocratic past. Smith (1966) notes that although there still a tension between the traditional and the modern forms, there is no need to a democratic revolution in

Japon, because of its aristocratic past and the aristocracy’s voluntary transformation into

1960s as a result of economic investments of the governments, and relative democratization in the political realm (Keyder, 1987: 143; Bianchi, 1984). 333 Owen and Pamuk states that the expansion and growth in power of the Turkish domestic market depends on the State’s “support” oriented to small and middle scale peasants as well as large landowners. The contributions of the Turkish workers in Europe are also mentioned related to this matter (1998: 113-5). 334 This has been characterized Marx’s idea of “Asiatic mode of production” and Weberian emphasis on status group as a premodern and especially patrimonial eastern phenomenon (see Divitçioğlu for a specific study on the Asiatic mode of production, 1981; and for a comparision of Weber and Marx’s ideas see also Turner, 1974: 15). 335 Buğra (1994: 31) also notes that there is a paralell between the ideal of Kemalist “classes society” and Turkey’s not being a “hierarcy-conscious” society. Furthermore, see Mazrui (1977) for an extensive study on this point. Also, Godsel's work (1991: 87-9), supporting Mazrui's thesis, stresses that, through an emphasis on the elements of Islam encouraging solidarity, the Muslims in South Africa, while constituting the new system. A similar analysis can be made for Turkish context in that a new buraucracy emerged within Ottoman system and transformed the country into totally different socio-economic system (for the spefic role this new bureaucracy played as an autonomous agent336 in the transitional period and after the foundation of the new republic, see Göçek, 1996; Saktanber, 1995: 173; 81-4; Mardin, 1991c: 337-39).

Still, following Hobsbawm’s idea (1993) that inventing tradition, we can determine the cultural continuation of “the old” within these new modern systems as Mardin emphasized in his article, the transformation of an economic code (in 1991c: 237).

According to this, the strong state tradition, based on the division between the powerful governing elite and the equal others, has still been alive. And this is the reason why the above-mentioned new bureaucracy has been diminished in time; and this is also the reason why the governments are happy with a small and easily controllable big business in the economic field. Furthermore, in the cultural field it can be observed that a strong religiosity based on the spirit of solidarity derived from the eqalitarian tradition among the masses is also present (Türkdoğan, 1998). The businessmen also stressed out this communal tendency covering the dimension of solidarity is what makes modern Islamic economy different from the western one.337 It can be argued that a combination of

only a 20% of the population, dominate the world of business with a ratio of 70%, which is highly significant. 336 This includes “a different kind of personality formation and social attachment” that meant that “younger generations were not centered around the idea of loyalty to the sultan but to the country (…) and this was the starting point for the notion of Islamic community to be challenged by a more abstract concept of society.” (Saktanber, 1995: 173). 337 One example they underlined as an indicator for degeneration of Turkish society is people’s not knowing their neinghbors, although the command of Islam is very clear: “Do not sleep with your stomach full while your neighbor is hungry.” Sloane (1999: 108) verifies a similar emphasis for the Malay case: "The corporation (…) must be run informally and openly, without hierarchy or domination (...)insisted that the workplace must not be impersonal, as it often is in the West, but must be 'like a kampung or a family'." Meyer (1959: 36) also emphasizes a similar point that job preferences of the middle Eastern people are characterized by “mediator” positions rather than leadership positions. Kağıtçıbaşı’s data supports this point: although they can tend to accept authority easily as a cultural norm, egalitarian and solidaristic private/informal and public/formal, or constructing a “privatized public” (Roniger, 1994:

18) is a suitable model for the development of capitalism in the Eastern context.338

Güneş-Ayata (1994: 51) also underlines that due to the clientelistic ties determining the public lives in small places their private and public spheres are almost overlapped in

Turkish context. Rejecting the presence of class divisions, a solidaristic ideological base for the Turkish republic, thus, can be interpreted as a continuation of such a cultural tradition.

5.3. Entrepreneuship: A Middle Class Characteristic

These revolutionary men do not simply attack and transform the old order –as in the Marxist story. The old order is only a part, and often not the most important part, of their experience. They live much of their lives amidst the breakdown of that order, or in hiding or exile from it. Walzer, 1968:127

In this chapter the businessmen of MÜSIAD are analyzed from the perspective of their entrepreneurship.

One of the characteristics of small-scale production is the entrepreneur’s personal labour in the production process because of the limited capital they have and other related sources. In the sense that entrepreneural activity defines in this study339, although KOBIs were 99.2% out of the total companies in Turkish economy by 1985; -and 53% of the total employment; and 26.5% of the total investments (Oktav, Önce,

Kavas and Tanyeri, 1990: 24), entreprenural dynamism can be considered as a new product of liberal period in Turkey.

Liberalization in the economic shpere340, along with the changes in the international conjuncture341, has placed Turkey in a strategical position, both ideologically and socio-economically. These circumstances

tendencies are dominant among Easterners, and the authoritarian personality has a western origin on the individual level, (in Hofstede, 1984: 87). 338 Such a combination is maybe a characteristic of all transitional periods as shown also for Western context in several parts of this study. 339 This concept has been used first by Richard Cantillon describing someone “who exercises business judgement in the face of uncertainity.” (in Bull and Willard, 1995: 3). 340 See Owen and Pamuk (1998: 104-124) for a more recent study analyzing the process of liberalization of the Turkish economy in a detailed way. 341 In this respect, the differences caused by the relatively increasing relations of Turkey with the Muslim countries and the economic and political possibilities brought about by the newly emerging Republics after the disintegration of the Soviet Union are of prime importance. Akder underlines the importance of the European and the Middle Eastern markets for Turkey in this study, although these cannot be alternatives for have elevated the country to a higher position where she can have more alternatives and possibilities from the socio-economic perspective. According to the businessmen, liberal policies would be creating a more genuine/real, effective and active environment for competition. One of the consequences of this would be an increase in the number of capable entrepreneurs who would occupy a more significant and dominant position in the system, beyond the investment and rent cycles. Actually, as a consequence of the increase in the number and mobility in middle classes, and as a consequence of the rise in the phenomenon of being workers and social differentiation brought along by increasing migration, entrepreneurship has gained acceleration in Turkey. By placing the issue of entrepreneurship in such a structural and historically framed cultural context, it can be said that a special discussion on the contradictory nature of the constraints deriving from Islamic religion342 and the innovatory entrepreneural activity.

Ayata states in his study that the sample group he has analyzed is comprised of individuals/people who either come from rather poor village origins or, even if they are of urban origin, are not part of the eşraf notables, but who try to move up to higher ranks through education and so on (1991:182-3). Parallel to

Ayata’s findings, in this study the businessmen also occupy a position between the periphery and the center with respect to their social origins; that is, they are new urbanities as it is also emphasized in this study (see

Table-3). Some of these have come to urban centers for purposes of education, and some have returned after completing their education. In other words, under all circumstances, they form a bridge between the periphery and the center. Moreover, the increasing international relations add more power and strength to the dynamism brought about by growing relations between the periphery and the center. A significant consequence of geographical mobility-from the perspective of culture- is the uncertainty and conflict/inconsistency that emerge as the traditional and the modern are lived simultaneously. Their age level is another factor affecting this entrepreneural dynamism (see the table includes the member’s ages).

As Knight also rightly emphasizes, this situation leads people to resort to religion and other cultural resources, besides human intelligence, and to seek new rational solutions and syntheses in all spheres since

each other. (1987:565). In addition, Onis, while underlining the expectant possibilities of the new era Turkey has entered after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, draws attention to the advantages provided by the shared similarities of religion, language and culture (1995: 49, 50, 60). 342 Although Prophet Muhammed is usually quoted in his saying that: ”…the worst things are those that are novelties; every novelty is an innovation, every innovation is an error leads to hell-fire.” What we obserbed in Islamic history however, Lewis notes, “It soon became necessary to distinguish between ‘good’ or licit innovations and ‘bad’ or illicit innovations.” (in Lewis, 1993: 283). it moves other human capabilities to the foreground, as well.343 The relationship Hill establishes between puritanism and urbanism by following Weber, supports our emphasis on the interrelatedness/togetherness of economic and cultural dimensions: “Puritanism had been especially an urban phenomenan, or rather one whose strength came from the industrious sort of people in town and country.” (1967: 499).

Knight discerns uncertainty and risk as the two fundamental elements that foster entrepreneurship.

(1964:268).344 Thus, Knight, in a parallel fashion to Weber’s and Swidler’s conceptualization of settled- unsettled345 maintains that people continue with their lifes by only ‘imitating’ in environments without uncertainty; but in environments with intense uncertaity, the human factor and intelligence will become significantly more operative.

The view that recent history is full of obstructions for the Anatolian capital is dominant among the businessmen. This phenomenon/situation is carried all the way back to the Ottoman times and, thus, related to a historical reality. The situation that the Muslim population in Turkey has preferred either the military or white-collar occupations and disdained becoming a merchant or an industrial-man since the Ottomans is expressed as a historical error. Therefore, these occupations have remained under the monopoly of the non-

Muslim minorities, and the Muslim population has stayed behind and could not progress in these areas.

Turgut Özal, identified as the initiator of liberal policies in the economic sphere/area, is known and always remembered as the person who has created a turning point in the social and economic life of Turkey. Thus,

343 As additional factors in this line, the phenomena of widespread education and the increasing social and geographical mobility, which are simultaneous with the process of modernization/capitalization, become determinant. The role of widespread education and literacy has been highly critical in the process of capitalization. In fact, the phenomenon of Protestanism’s getting widespread among people and gaining stronger support or its transformation of the laymen into a sort of a clergy becomes meaningful by this factor. The historical studies have, with related documents, proven how intensely the written material for the common public was used/consumed during the expansion of the domination of Protestantism; so, these studies have proven that the interest in religious texts was not limited to a small group, what was true just the opposite (Spufford, 1981:196). Baxter was later to specialize in this type of literature, designed for the use of a the more intelligent and diligent sort of masters of families (who would have a practical directory at hand to teach them every Christian duty, and how to help others in the practice).” (Hill, 1967:457). Among such small popular books descriptions such as “how to write and open a letter” covering examples of formal and informal letters were also included (Spufford, 1981: 71). Spufford (1981: 13) underlines also the role played by the unwritten culture in this process/period. 344 In the more recent period, Beck (1992), in a parallel fashion, sets a relationship between the post- industrial or post-modern society and getting widespread and deepening of this characteristic of modernization. Thus, he associates the post-modern society to the increase in uncertainty. Beck identifies this uncertainty-loaded society as the “risk society”. 345 DiMaggio draws attention to the parallelism between economic studies stressing/emphasizing ‘Risk and Uncertainty’ and the Weberian line of conceptualization (1994:47). we also observe among the businessmen of MÜSİAD the same anti-state or liberal discourse becoming increasingly more common nowadays among the Turkish secular businessmen and the capitalists of large industry. Yet, a significant difference in this respect is that, these MÜSİAD members also include the circles of the large industry, who they never doubt, will form an alliance against them with the military and state bureaucracy when and if necessary, within this connection. According to a large majority of the

MÜSİAD businessmen, these ranks (circles) who rely on rent and investment revenues for their existence are pleased about state’s dominance in economy, although they seem to support liberalization; what is more, they, in fact, owe their existence to this. According to these businessmen, the benefits or profits of the big capital being on a level with the policies of the government results in hindarence of the potential of

KOBİs. Accordingly, Turkey’s attaining economic welfare is related to the state’s giving up the practice of putting up obstracles in front of the general populace to the advantage of a group of businessmen. This is because, in the words of a businessman:

Capabilities of people can emerge in an environment of freedom and equal opportunity. Yet, till very recent times, the large companies in Turkey have neither exerted any effort themselves nor let any one else develop or progress, since they were able to maintain their existence without any effort and were able to make good profit.

In the opinion of businessmen these points explain the emergence of MÜSİAD and of many local SIADs.

Again they think that the promotion and support given by the state is not objectively granted346 and this inevitably leads to the emergence and existence of civil society organizations.347 Contrary to the commonly

346 Complaints about the existence of privileged groups with regard to their relations with the state can also be seen in Soral’s work of 1973. 347 This is a study carried out in 1993 by MÜSİAD; it clearly shows how the small and middle-sized businesses are not acquainted with and don’t know about the formal institutions related with their business. Accordingly, 44% of the businesses don’t know about KOSGEB (The Center for the Development of Small and Medium sized Businesses). The ones who do not know about DPT (State Planning Organization) is 5.6%; and although some know about it, 49% has got no relations with the organization. A percentage of 18.9, on the other hand, complain that they cannot receive any information from this institution. In relation to being acquainted with and receiving information from an organization, TSE (Turkish Institute of Right Standards), the most well-known organization, does not present a bright picture (with a 3% of those who do not know the Insitute); and a percentage of 12 have stated that their attempts to get information from the Institute have failed. (MÜSİAD in the press, (Basında MÜSİAD), number. 2, 1993). held assumption, they believe that Turkey has adequate potential for enterprise, but this potential is properly supported by neither the social-cultural millieu nor by the state.

On the other hand, the view that economic development should be executed by the state in the developing countries due to some insufficiencies in the individual and local culture is commonly held in the literature

(Berger, 1991: 14-7; Left; 1978; Meyer, 1959). Both of these views, although correct in their basic lines, are reductionist. This is mainly because there is neither a relationship restricted by the economic sphere between state intervention and enterprise (In the case of Turkey, dynamic bureaucratic and instructive cadres, created under the leadership of the State, have played a critical role in this respect), nor any restrictive or obstructive function of State intervention required in relation to the role of individual enterprisers and local cultures in this sphere. It is believed in state centered economies that financial support can be solved the problems of small and middle scale entrepreneurs, yet 1) a market with a sufficient dynamism; 2) a functioning banking system and 3) additional private institutions for financing should also be included in the economic realm (Wilson, 1995: 76).

In Soral’s study, it is found out that a large majority of the people who engage in businesses, as enterpreneurs, have originally been government employees. While 50% of the Pakistani businessmen have origins of commerce, the enterprisers who come from origins of commerce in Turkey are in the second category (1974: 35-40). This situation is closely related to the fact that the new fresh force needed by the commerce and industry, which were in the hands of the non-Muslim minorities in the Ottoman period has been formed by the government employees who made up the more qualified ranks of the rest of the population during the Republic.348 What is more, this situation should be seen in association with two existing conditions at the time: 1) This strata or groups of the population had the means to know and had the access to the promotions and priviliges provided by the State and 2) this group was also equipped with

348 Because, as it is known, during the establishment of the Republic commerce and industry, being in the hands of the minorities in the Ottoman times, were left in abandonment as these groups were pushed outside of the borders of the new Republic as a result of the population movements. Some numerical data given in Soral’s study is enlightening in this respect: according to this study made in 1961, 20% of the Greek industrialists are of Anatolian origin (1974:29). Some other statistical data supporting this is that industrial organizations established between 1901 and 1923 and still active during the Republican period have been of a negligible number (Soral, 1974:30). the proper technical knowledge349 necessary for any enterprise, especially during the years right after the establishment of the Republic.

As activities characteristic of the period of transformation grew and as more and more people started to live in-between and in uncertain circumstances, not only activities or ways seeking to have a better morale but also, similar to MÜSİAD, the emergence of organizations basically economic in purpose and founded with the aim of solving multi-dimensional problems have gained acceleration. As known, the need to get organized has emerged, along with the social struggles for such activities, as networks of traditional solidarity got loose through the processes of becoming individualistic and becoming workers in relation to urbanism, which, in turn, was related to the growth of capitalism in the western countries, as well. (Talas,

1990: 77-81; Koray, 2000: 22-26). In our case, this situation happens as follows: When one considers the rise in the rates of interest that is getting chronic and the uncertaintly and risks the economic milieu is in, it becomes clear that the economic environment is not convenient for the enterpriser in Turkey yet. But with the help of solidarity networks like MÜSİAD, these businessmen who try to continue their surrival and to enlarge their business by carrying it outside of the borders of their city and country, start having more convenient means for of investment compared to the past. Furthermore, the new urban individual of the modern urban life resorts to such civil organizations like MÜSİAD for the solution of even more basic problems he has. With the guidance of this type of organizations hey produce solutions that would make it possible for them to survive. The businessmen’s “in-between” newly rising middle class position –in the sense of risk taking, responsibility and an ability to manage limited sources (see, Müftüoğlu, 1991: 39)- in itself is a form of capital in Bourdieuan sense.

Therefore, it is no coincidence that both MÜSİAD and other SIADs have emerged during this period.

MÜSİAD serves a manifest need in a social environment which grows richer in its potential of enterprisers ready for independent investment, but which lacks the background to support these both culturally and organization wise. Granovetter asks the following question related to these types of organizational make- ups: “Why some communities organize for common goals easily and effectively whereas others seem unable to mobilize resources, even against dire threats..” He answers this question as follows:

349 Ayata (1991: 210) have considered “technical knowledge” especially in the form of “having information” as the most important factor determining the entrepreneural potential. Sarıaslan (1994: 286, Imagine, to begin with, a community completely partitioned into cliques, such that each person is tied to every other in his clique and to none outside.350 Community organization would be severely inhibited … radio announcements, or other methods could insure that everyone was aware of some nascent organizations; but studies of diffusion and mass communication have shown that people rarely act on mass-media information unless it is also transmitted through personel ties .. Granovetter, 1973: 1373-74

Granovetter designates formal organizations and work settings as the two fundamental sources creating

‘weak ties’ (1973:1373-75). MÜSİAD fulfills both of these conditions as a civil formation/organization active in the economic sphere. The relationships that the members develop through this association carry the qualities of being weak and having the capacity to open new horizons, in the sense that they foretell new relations, instead of being powerful and, thus, restrictive. According to Granovetter’s theory, the more the individuals get surrounded with networks of communication and relations by breaking through the cover of their environment the more chances they get to become successful enterpreneurs; (here, a lot of communication and relations will mean, inevitably, weak relations). Granovetter draws the attention to the typical characteristic of weak ties in creating many ‘links’351 by emphasizing the power of such ties (1973:

1361). As these ties increase in quantity, the individuals’ chances of finding employment, being creative in

333-4) is connected this lack of technical information as the main factor resulting ineffective decision making of small and middle scale firms. 350 “The strength of a tie is a combination of the amount of time, the emotional intensity, the intimacy (mutual confiding), and the reciprocal services which characterize the tie …” (Granovetter, 1973: 1361). In another source ‘strong tie’ is defined like this: “1) a sense of relationship being intimate and special, with a voluntary investment in the tie and a desire for companionship with the tie partner; 2) an interest in being together as much as possible through interactions in multiple social contexts over a long period; and 3) a sense of mutuality in the relationship, with the partner’s needs known and supported (Wellman and Mortley, 1990: 564).

351 At this point, I have to point out that the concept of “linkages” originally belongs to socioligst Georg Simmel. Simmel have stated that the condition for the “poor” communities to overcome their underdeveloped state is their creating social ties which would carry them beyond their local ties in the long run: to reach beyond the original spatial, economic, and mental boundaries of the group and, in connection with the increase in individualization and concomitant mutual repulsion of group elements, to supplement the original centripetal forces of the lone group with a centrifugal tendency that forms bridges with other groups…as soon as the boundaries of the group are ruptured and it enters into trade in special products with another group, internal differentiation develops ..." (in Woolcock, 1998: 168). business and of upward mobility352 are increased.353 Furthermore, trust-building nature of networks are closely connected to the “opening out” and “reflexivity” of institutions (Beck, Giddens and Lash, 1994:

187); intense relationships with the environment and the acception of critique and contestation is necessary in this respect.

In this present study entrepreneurship is taken up as a phenomenon354 carrying the marks (stamp) of social and individual transformation periods of turbulence.355 In this respect, characteristics of the modern society like rapid and continuous change, social mobility and differentiation, and individualization and getting more rational are significant (and typical). Methodologically, the classic approach which considers the subject in its historical and socio- economic connection rather than perceiving it merely as an individually psychological situation is very suitable for the purposes of this study and for the empirical cases and data involved. Hagen, who sets a relation between status withdrawal brought about by change and entrepreneurship states that this condition arises from 1) displacement by force; 2) denigration of valued symbols; 3) inconsistency of status symbols with a changing distribution of economic power; or 4) non acceptance of expected status on migration to a new society” (in Martinelli, 1994: 482).

352 Burt (1992) shares similar ideas with Granovetter: He notes that the weak ties, by bringing along the chance of attaining or having access to new knowledge/ information and sources fill in the ‘structural gaps’ and this leads to upward mobility. 353 Burt expresses his ideas on the subject in the following way: “structural holes are sources of competitive advantage for outsiders as they are for insiders. The difference is that outsiders do not have direct access; they have to borrow the network through which they broker connections across structural holes … We are each insiders in some settings, outsiders in others … ‘Mishpokhe’ are twice advantaged as legitimate members of a population.” (1998:30). 354 Simmel, who is accepted as the first sociologist of modernity, analyzes the ‘increase in nervous life’ of the individual, brought about by the sudden and continuous change as created by the indulgence in a metropolitan life and thus, by the psychological tension the individual faces during this transitional period (in Frisby, 1992:71-2). This situation is valid for a majority of the businessmen who constitute the subject of this study. In addition to classical economy’s perspective which gives priority to individualism, the work of McClelland (1971, 1961) which focuses on the motivation for achievement, with motivation factor in the foreground, and the work of Hagen (1971) which focuses on the psychology of the individual enterpriser, with views parallel to those of simmel are also classic. According to Hagen, the entrepreneurs utend to come from ….” (in Martinelli, 1994:482). These carry significant similarities to the views which associate creative acts and entrepreneurship with deviance and ethnic differentiation: Sombart’s approach, interpreting modern capitalism and a consequence of the commercial activities of the Jews who were excluded from the system, is well known. The studies analyzing modern capitalism from this perspective are also becoming predominant in the literature of “new economic sociology” (Light and Karageorgis, 1994; Ellent Adrich, 1984). 355 Weber, in his analysis of the emergence of capitalism has analyzed the phenomenon of entrepreneurship as a basic element explaining the emergence of a new system In Weber’s thought the capitalist entrepreneur is distinguished from his historical precedecessors in traditional economies because of virtue of his rational and systematic pursuit of economic gain. In contrast, in the Marxist analysis, where the cultural and At present, the literature on entrepereneurship is progressing in a considerable way under the light of

Schumepeter’s conceptualization, findings and analyses. Schumpeter’s entrepreneur is an essential element/component of the capitalist system and the function undertaken by this creative group in the system is that of creating ‘new combinations’356 (Schumpeter, 1995: 5). Therefore, entrepreneurship calls for a specific type of personality and conduct of the economic man; and first of all, s/he is not the average product of capitalist culture.357 Because entrepreneur is the function of innovation in Schumpetarian analysis. S/he has no place in the system for the long run. (1950:131).The accumulation of wealth and capital in the hands of a certain group is the compulsory result of the rationale of capitalistic functioning (of capitalism); and this, while being the triumph of capitalism, is, also, the end of entrepreneurship since the bourgeoisie, forming the backbone of the capitalist system, relies economically and socially on this enterpreneural group, the disappearance of this group will also bring the end of the system (Schumpeter,

1950:134). Thus, the system would evolve in to a kind of socialism (1950: 416)358. ‘Managerial revolution’, leaving its mark significantly on the 1890s, is critical in this respect. During this period, the economy has lost its entrepreneurial character significantly and has evolved into the managerial. In other words, the type

individual dimensions are not taken into consideration, ownership of the capital is taken up as a separate phenomenon. 356 The importance of middle scale entreprices in terms of the dynamism of capitalist sytems are still relavant (Oktav, Önce, Kavas and Tanyeri, 1990: 31-3). Here, 5 tpyes of combinations are expressed: 1) the production of a new good; 2) the introduction of a new quality of a good, or the new use of a product that already exists; 3) a new method of production; 4) the opening up of a new market; 5) a change in the economic organization (Dahms, 1995:5). 357 Dahms (1995:3) notes that Schumpeter bases his theory of entrepreneurship on this fundamental dichotomy: creative and the rational economic act. As Schumpeter directs his attention to entrepreneurship in his search of a reason for the change in the capitalistic economy within economy itself, he differentiates between static-hedonistic and dynamic-energetic/creative acts in a parallel way to the above mentioned concepts. Static act is the rule in Schumpeter’s analysis (1995:4-5). Therefore, according to Schumpeter, the intensive transformational period that the West is going through is transient and extraordinary (not common) period bound to be short-lived (1995:5) The period under discussion is the product of people who do not act with rational ‘economic motives, but act with motives which are accepted as being completely irrational when seen from the perspective of such economic motives. Schumpeter holds that the acts of these people can become meaningful with the joy felt in occupying a certain social status position and the contentment gained by creative activities. In this context, their activities are similar to those of artists, thinkers and politicians. Stone takes up the (active) mobility in England during the her initial years of modernization: that is, the down word and upward socio-economic mobility with respect to income and status, in all its dimensions and draws attention to the results of this mobility, which has created discontent in the social and religious spheres (1966:48-9). Moreover, he also stresses that such intense mobility would be transient. According to Stone, the permanent results of this process are the qualitative increase of the middle classes (increase in the numbers of squirearchy and gentry) and the rise of the commercial and professional classes in number and wealth (1966:52). of economic act loses its dynamic/creative characteristic and takes on a static/ hedonistic character (Dahms,

1995:6).

The parallelism set by Schumpeter between technological innovations and economic development is shared by the contemporary economists as well. Within this framework, creative potential is evaluated as the interaction taking place between technological and organizational innovations and 1) opportunities; 2) capabilities, and 3) strategies (see

Tukcan, 1992). Also in studies emphasizing culture, the relationship between social innovations and movements, and opportunity, strategy and capability (this category is called the cultural repertory of the society) is taken up as a relation of mutual affect and not as one of mutual definition / determination since “their effects are interactive rather than independent” (McAdam, Mc-Carthy and Zald, 1996: 7-9). Also, Goldstone (1978) determines the “rate of innovation” as a reason of the emergence of capitalism in the

West359:

Whenever there is the belief that innovation is possible, plus social pressure that rewards innovation or punishes lack of innovation on the part of those who develop innovations, plus a political climate in which state authorities find it to greater benefit to encourage or at least tolerate innovation than to surpress it, solutions will always be found. Goldstone, 1987: 127-8

358 This is paralell to Weber’s “iron cage”: for the very same reason these two are admired the heroic values of the (calvinist) entrepreneur. 359 To relate with Islamic religion and the issue of innovation in specific following ideas can be covered: Although Prophet Muhammed is usually quoted in his saying that: ”…the worst things are those that are novelties; every novelty is an innovation, every innovation is an error leads to hell- fire.” What we obserbed in Islamic history however, Lewis notes, “It soon became necessary to distinguish between ‘good’ or licit innovations and ‘bad’ or illicit innovations.” (in Lewis, 1993: 283). In the literature on Islamist movement the term “revitalization” and/or “revival” has been largely consumed. Wuthnow defined a movement as “revitalization movement” only if there is an attempt to restore or reconstruct patterns of moral order that have been radically disrupted or threatened (1987: 233).

Within this line, he maintains that the progress/development of this ability in different cultures depends on the abandoning the oppressive cultural environment360 (1987:129). Young, on the other hand, relates the success of the entrepreneur to the existence of factors that increase the chance of competition/competitiveness in the system where he occupies a secondary position (in Martinelli, 1994:

483). Creating obstacles inventions, “difficulties to get patent” as a factor stated by the member businessmen in Turkish context. In one of the publications of MÜSİAD (Çerçeve, year: 1, number: 4, 1993:

52-3) it is also stated that it is hardly possible to understand the language –due to its usage of words that is very old- of the patent law.

The social presence of a second, educated group, referred to as ‘secondary elite’ in the literature, can be regarded as the courier of an economic and socio-cultural vigor/vitality and renovation (regeneration) to be lived in a country.361 Yet, this class’ not occupying a place or position among the elites of the society, in spite of its being educated, is related to the special characteristics of the middle class.362 These secondary elites will be in competition with the dominant groups, who externalize them from the economic and cultural centers of power in every sphere. Charles Brockett evaluates this as “elite fragmentation and conflict” being/forming a source of political opportunity among opposition movements363 (in Oberschall,

1996: 97-101). Wuthnow’s (1987) explanation, stating that the cultural sphere, including also the moral and ethical framework of the society, will be facing uncertainty during the transitional periods where uncertainty reigns; and thus, ideologies clashing with each other as rivals will appear on the agenda, also supports this approach.

In this context, Turkey is in a climate of cultural crisis. The cultural-educational milieu dominant in the society is questioned, challenged and criticized by the businessmen, not

360 In this connection he maintains that the development of this capability in different cultures can only be possible by a change of attitude of the administrators toward culture (Goldstone, 1987:129) 361 See Göle (1997) for a study taking Turkish case of Islamist movement in the context of a struggle between primary and secondary elites of the country. 362 There are exceptional examples within the structure of MÜSİAD; but the positions of these individuals in the association are not, in general, marginal. Erol Yarar, ex-President of MÜSIAD, occupies the first place among these. Although Yarar has descendend from a family of secular elites of the Republic, he has adopted the mode of living and beliefs of the ‘secondary elites’ later on. It is possible to learn Yarar’s personal adventure from his own words: In an interview, Yarar says, “I’ve learned my religion in the U.S.” Yarar relates his acquaintance with and his devotion to the Islamic values to the years he has spent in America, in other source, also. (MUSIAD in the Press (Basında MUSIAD), Number 4: 1994). only from the point of immorality, but also because of the traditional- hierarchical understanding of education which, in fact, kills/drowns creativity and individuality. The fact that education should not be too disciplinary and oppressive and that it should not be detached from real life are especially emphasized.

The businessmen, by drawing attention to the tendency towards lack of dicipline, and towards being lazy in Turkey, have stated that a work ethic should be established by surpassing the traditional approach or understanding in work life. They have stated that the importance given to the individual should be increased in this respect. In this connection, the businessmen reject not only the existant formal educational system, but also the dominant approaches in the society, starting from the family. They have also stressed that the practice of directing the youngsters of the family towards prestigious and uncomplicated office work is an ailment the roots of which lie in the past. And it has been emphasized that this is the main reason for the trend of earning prestige and money by a shortcut and in an effortless manner instead of the positively constructive values such as achieving certain things by the sweat of one’s brow. Instead of such an “easy” way out, the necessity of teaching or instructing the younger generations that the important thing is to do “the best” whatever the task may be is also underlined.

In Turkey, as it is aimed by the businessmen, not an oppressive or authoritarian but a liberal and free atmosphere should be secured, and an economic functioning providing assurance for upward mobility to the ones who are sure of their capabilities will be dominant. As known, Protestant Ethic departs from the general practices by its placing the individual judgement or reasoning at the foreground in the realization of the rules

363 Öncü and Weyland (1997: 4) underlines that “borders” have become the locus of social struggles mobilizing actors’ boundaries vis-à-vis others. stemming from religion, in the real life. The notion of Homo-Islamicus in the minds of the businessmen has characteristics parallel to this ethic: The principal rationale or logic this is based on is in order to carry out the rules of religion God demands rational, intelligent and free people.

MUSIAD has an ideal of “reviving the original/pure Anatolian values”. The source of this finding is comprised of the interviews I have made and the publications of the

Association itself. Yet, as Fisher also points out, there is no set of such “native-values” in reality, for the time being (1982: 78). This is just an ideal or goal awaited with longing and much effort is put forth for its realization. This effort for revival oriented towards the ethical sphere, requires the transforming of the new conditions in order to be able to respond to them, rather than protecting or laying a claim on the traditions. In this sense, the cultural-ideological dimension operates along with the economic and structural dimension in a simultaneous fashion. For instance, the businessmen have criticized traditions rather than the West during the interviews I held with them, with their main target of criticism being the secular elites of Turkey at the national level. The secular elites are thus criticized because of the reason that they have rejected the ‘intrinsic values’ and have directed themselves towards the Western values, and have thus neglected collective benefits/profits for the sake of their individual ones.

The interaction with the West has created its impact on the MUSIAD businessmen concerning such areas as rational processes, dicipline, work ethics and systematization.

Since a great number of these businessmen have an experience abroad in one way or another, they have made comparative evaluations by giving concrete examples from

Western countries in their description of the ideal work environment. In this framework, the work ethics and dicipline of the West form the common aspect of admiration they have verbalized. Some of the businessmen have related the subject to the religion of

Islam by saying such things as, “unfortunately, it is actually the Westerners who live as our religion demands and requires in these respects. In this way, contrary to the interpretation of the Islamic religion serving the rationale of being content with the small and the limited, values and assets like the “hard” and “diciplined work” are expressed as inherent values of Islam. While the relation between the characteristics of being contestant or combatant and independent in one’s thinking as required by entrepreneurship, and religiosity is thus established, some have stated that the real meaning of the “Holy War” concept lies in the understanding of piety as a continuous struggle and contest both at the individual and the societal levels. Thus, the existence of difficulties is perceived as an opportunity means for the continuous and regular testing of belief and faith in the goals.

As I have mentioned before, the interviews made in this study have been carried out in a period during which the businessmen refrained from and did not wish to talk much because of the political milieu. One of the first interviews I held was with the Chairman of the Ankara branch. When I had told him that I was hoping to get his help and support throughout my research, since he was in an administrative position in the Association, his answer was, “yours is also a struggle, and you should also overcome the difficulties through strife and great effort.” I believe the same meaning is concealed in this interpretation of his.

An example concerning the functioning of a house for the aged in Germany given by an enterpriser who has previously lived in this country displays how the mechanisms of traditional support and solidarity can easily be abandoned: He has stated that there, a person is taken better care of than the care that is given by his very own child.364 Another example can be given by the words of one other businessman:

The milieu in Turkey does not promote or motivate work. We met a Turkish youth while dining in a Turkish restaurant in Germany. This young man was attending a course for his profession during the day, was working at another place in the evenings and during the late evening and night, was working in that restaurant and was, thus, earning his pocket money. He also asked us to hire him as our translator during the weekend. If he were in Turkey, this youth would be idly sitting in a coffee house.

As can be seen, “in-between” positions that the entrepreneur group is economically and culturally in, is not true or valid only for the domestic conditions in termf of their urban- rural origins, or in terms of modern-traditional dichotomy within cultural sphere, but also for international relations, as well. The process called “globalization” is maybe truly related to this study in this context as a “weak tie” creating factor in MÜSİAD’s context.365 For, the growing international relations form one of the main vessels nourishing this new entrepreneur group who carry on and provide a guarantee or assurance for capitalism (Keyder, 1995: 207).

At this point the relations with the Muslim countries come to the mind. Although the publications and the general policy of MÜSİAD give weight to the development of relations with these countries, especially concerning the long-term goals, the interviewed businessmen’s antipathy towards these countries and their reluctance for any joint

364 Antoun has also underlined the same points in one of his studies on the Muslim population living in Germany (1994: 165). 365 MÜSİAD encourages his members to do international businesses -especially in terms of technological perfection and quality (see appendix-2, especially article 7; and also see appandix-3b for a list of connect ventures have been very clear to observe. This situation can actually be explained by the economically and socio-culturally underdeveloped state of these Muslim countries, although this negative attitude can also be attributed to the inadequacies in the legislation to regulate the relationships with these countries. The reason for the economic underdevelopment of the Muslim countries is associated with a lack of democracy and oppressive governments. According to the businessmen, who know the Arab countries as a result of their personal experiences, Turkey, in spite of all, have been accepted to be highly developed and progressed in these respects and cannot even be compared with these Muslim countries.

5.4.1. Globalization and MÜSİAD: Different Paths for Modernization

The international relations are important for the Association at two basic, fundamental points. Turkey has found herself amidst rather different balance of forces concerning economic and political relationships in the post-1980s: The increasing relations with the

Muslim countries366 and the new markets emerging after the change in the Soviet Union have brought up new chances and opportunities regarding especially the producerst/manufactures who did not have a chance of competition in the European markets, in the economic sphere. This supported small and medium firms’ international relations by preparing new international ties.367 This is an opportunity for these small firms to solve their problems and/or find new opportunities to become bigger. And

persons of MÜSİAD in the international scale; see also appendix-4 for some international services of the organization). 366 It is examined that opening up of Turkey economy to other international markets other than European countries strenghtened the cooperation among Middle Eastern countries (Çarkoğlu, Eder and Kirişçi, 1998: 4-5). 367 Müftüoğlu (1991: 105-7) critices legal institutions of KOBI to their not supporting properly to small firms in terms of research, creating new markets abroad, providing financial support and technological support. Still, export orientation of state policies in 1980s (Müftüoğlu, 1991: 97) should be considered as an encouraging factor in terms of an increase in export. MÜSİAD is significant in this sense, because to be organized itself is an advantage for the members to get used these new opportunities to compare with the organizations based on forced membership.

This situation, while paving the way to an increasing variation among the industrialists and businessmen by enlivening the atmosphere of competition, has, also, created significant results, especially for the small-scale and middle-scale industrialists through the new opportunities it brought along. In this respect, these industrialists’ having the possibility/means of turning towards the alternative markets outside of Turkey, without being restricted only by domestic means and possibilities, are factors increasing their chances of survival and growth. Doubtlessly, those who attained the means of organized action and solidarity, either within Turkey or outside, are on the advantageous side in the process of competition, stirred up by the atmosphere of caos and uncertainty brought about by the newly arising conditions. This is the basic reason why the Association, very consciously, gives equal importance to being organized in Turkey and at the international level.

In this study, I set out from the conception that the process of globalization magnifies the capitalization process. But this is not a barrier to the process of capitalization exhibiting itself in different appearances in different cultures. The approaches that see the globalization process as the messenger of a global culture are not favored in this study.368

Importance is given to the contributions in this area of those studies369 investigating and

368 For example, Akbar and Donnan, who see the globalization process as a move towards a common economic system where cultural differences disappear, lay emphasis on cultural homogeneity (1994:3). This is called as a process of “new regionalism” in another study by determining that what is new in this contemporary regionalism is “deep integration” (Çarkoğlu, Kirişçi and Eder, 1998: 30). 369 Featherstone states that globalization, rather than creating one single common culture, creates, in fact, ‘cultures in plural’ and that these can be named as ‘third cultures’ (1990:9-10). Also, Göle underlines the different and various forms of Westernization in her recent study (2000). So, we can say that attention is emphasizing the dynamic role played by the local cultures in this process. The approaches that conceive globalization as the deepening and growing of modernity

(1990: 3), and not as a pointer towards a new dawning of the society after modernization/capitalization, empasize such points as increasing individualization and self-reflexivity (Giddens, 1991), and risk society (Beck, 1992). These emphazised points can be traced back to Simmel, who is accepted as the first theorist of modernization.

Simmel, in “The Metropolis and Mental Life”, describes moderntiy as a process in which

“reality is experienced in flux” and states that” ony ‘the painter of the passing moment’ was able to capture modernity ...” (in Frisby, 1992:59).

As perceived in this perspective, the process, growing in experience at present and in general deseribed as ‘disorder’, ‘re-formation/revival’ or ‘ patterned disorder’ (Sennett,

1996; Gill, 1994: 171) is neither seen as a deviation or departure from the fundamental characteristics of modernization nor simply as a worldwide expansion of a certain type of modern and capitalist society. On the contrary, the process is seen as the deepening and expanding of these characteristics by a variety of societies within their individual originality, through a reproduction and re-construction.

Without any doubt, the globalization process, while strengthening, on the one hand, the relations between local cultures and/or affiliated culture, contributes, on the other hand, as a modernizer and a means of rationality to the local cultures and economies. Moreover, it displays a function of admitting such societies into the world capitalist network. In this respect, the direction and content of the interviews held in this study support this approach: The aspect emphasized in the interviews is the priority given to the satisfaction

substantially directed towards investigating this variety in the literature of globalization (see Smith, 1990; Appadurai, 1990; Held, 1995). of mutual expectations and needs. In other words, the fundamental dynamics directing and orienting the economic acts of the members are processes of taking rational decisions and other mechanisms offered by modernity. In this sense, the desire to make use of modern technology and other instruments as throughly as possible is at such a rate that this can be generalized for all members of MÜSİAD. In sum, the aim of developing the network of relations involved is the successful integration of the firms/ companies into the domestic and world ecnomies, and their being able to place their growth strategies on as extensive grounds as possible. The major point where the approach of this study meets with the studies focused on the innovations brought along by globalization is related to taking a closer look at the situation in which the whole world is going through a process of transition and uncertainty (Appadurai, 1990; Featherstone, 1990; Lash and Urry,

1987). Dirlik (1994) have called our attentions the transitory nature of this “transitory” period especially in the context of post-colonial literature’s emphasis on culturel specifities. The role of the local cultures in this process has actually dynamic character indeed. This is because this role is the product of multi-dimensional interactions derived from differences or variances, which in turn have been derived from the necessity of responding to the needs arising from new materials and cultural conditions.

5.4.2.What is the role of Islam in International Relations?

The MÜSİAD members do not worry that the international relations’ creating unfavorable results related to cultural values. In addition, the view that the Turkish people living outside of Turkey will have more advantages during this process is dominant among the members. As expressed in the words of Tayyib Erdoğan (1997: 46), the ex-mayor of İstanbul (of main province), in his speech during MÜSİAD’s trip to Germany370, the world-wide expansion of Turkish people is perceived as a kind of guarantee for the future of the country:

Today, the number Turkish students getting educated at the universities of Germany are over 10 thousand; you should settle here and should increase your share in the German economy. But, by accepting the world as a global village, you should grow more powerful in the area of international economy.

The members’ not having local values may be explained by the situation of Turkey’s dominant cultural atmosphere’s arising from Western values, anyway. A considerable majority of the businessmen have stated that they were sending their children to private schools and that they were unable to protect their children, especially sons, against the results of moral degeneration in Turkey. At this point, it is noteworthy that while some have praised the Fethullahçı schools, some others have been of the opinion that those children getting educated abroad are perfect and flawless as far as morality is concerned.

The members, who have stated that the youngsters brought up in foreign countries grow more sensitive towards the national and religious values, rather than losing their sensitivity towards such values, share the view that it is highly difficult to bring up a child (especially a male child) in Turkey. One of these businessmen have reffered his son, in a heartbreaking way, who had responded to his father, as the father was advising him about how to act/behave in business life, with the following words, “I would manage all, just as Koç or Sabancı manage their factories; there is no need for such words like workers.” This businessman is not seen only the society as being responsible for this; he

370 In the same source, Erdoğan states that of the approximately 52 thousand businessmen living and working in the European Union countries, 40,500 live in Germany. believes that he, personally, has committed serious errors related to his son’s education, like making a wrong choice of schools.

Concerning the cultural aims and objectives, MÜSİAD aims at leading certain activities empowering the Islamic civilization, against the Western one. This is a point frequently encountered both in the publications of the Association and in the words of the members.

Yet, this objective does not lead to the consequence of MÜSİAD members making business transactions only with the Muslim countries and/or Muslims, concerning both the domestic and foreign relations. Businessmen and the executive board of MÜSİAD are aware that such a restriction cannot be reconciled with their own economic advantages, afore anything else. First, the Muslim countries and their, along with Turkey’s being dependent on the West with respect to advanced technology is a totally recognized and accepted point. Second, the businessmen are conscious of the fact that economic development is related to firm and good relationships spread over as large an area as possible. Therefore, contrary to the commonly held opinion the MÜSİAD members have certainly no longing for relations restricted only to Muslim countries.

Yet, most of them believe in the necessity of developing better and closer relations with the Muslim countries, at least, with respect to our relations in religious and cultural spheres. This is because the development of the Islamic civilization and its regaining its position of leadership can only be possible under the leadership of Turkey, by being in cooperation with the Muslim countries.371 In addition, the view that there is an obligation of conscience towards the more underdeveloped Muslim countries as compared to

Turkey, coming down from the Ottoman era is shared by a large number of businessmen. According to these businessmen, care should be taken to develop the relations with these countries for this reason, although there are certain valid materials bases for the transactions with the Muslim countries not being profitable, at the present. It is believed that the difficulties in the relations stem, up to a certain degree, from Turkey’s “not developing relations with these countries consciously,” since years. The lack of suitable and convenient legal grounds to base the relations on at present is also expressed as a factor hindering the development of relationship. But the impediments considered by the businessmen with regard to the development of the relations with these countries are not limited by material conditions372. Although the businessmen emphasize the common denominator of Islam, some of them also give importance to the cultural differences373 between Turkey and these Islamic countries, with which that wish to act in coordination in the long run.

As mentioned earlier, in spite of the fact that the secular Turkish Republic is criticized because of its neglect of local culture and religious topics, the opinion that Turkey is at a very advanced point that cannot even be compared with the other Muslim countries for a

“correct” or “orthodox” experience of Islam is expressed by many businessmen.374 Thus, the common denaminator of Islam is an adequate condition neither for the development of the relations nor for cooperation and the realization of the wish for solidarity. There

371 Social scientists also emphasizes the possible leading role Turkey and other relatively developed economic in the Middle East will be played among Middle Eastern countries (Çarkoğlu, Eder and Kirişçi, 1998: 4-5). 372 Especially the backward conditions in transportation and communacation have been mentioned in terms of material shortcomings of these countries (see also Zaim, 1996: 69). 373 The cultural differences on the nation-states grounds have also emphasized by Zaim (Çerçeve, year: 5, number: 16, 1996: 67-9), an Islamic intellectual and scientist, as a factor decreasing the importance of the Institution of Islamic Conference on a wider scale as well. 374 What I observed durşng the interviews is that some member businessmen reflected the typical popular anthypaty Turkish people have towards Arabic countries and culture. Some publications cover articles reflecting this specificity of Turkish people trying to build a friendship bridge between Arab and Turkic are even some member businessmen who carry their antipathy to an extreme by deciding never to have any business with these countries, because of some experiences they lived through in the Arab countries. The evaluation of a member concerning the relations in work life in these countries is as follows:

The Muslim countries are highly different from Turkey. There is no work discipline and no understanding of work. Everyone does whatever and however he wants. They are highly informal and too casual. You pay his money, but he leaves you at a place where there is no bus. You cannot do anything. You enter a work place and no one attends you. Anyway, wealth is accumulated in the hands of certain groups there (in South Arabia), but still there are some who are earnest of serious, and business can be carried out with them. We don’t want Islam to be cheapened or be used for different purposes. However, the association’s aim to construct a powerful Islamic-Turkic bloc should also be mentioned: As one of the articles in a MÜSİAD publication (MÜSİAD Bulletin, year:

3, number: 7, 1995: 13) call it “to form a block” not preffering “globalization” that may be seen as a saying that neglects cultural-regional interests. Another businessman expresses his evaluation, in combination with the task or responsibility that Turkey should fulfill375, by the following words:

There is no state tradition in Muslim countries. Those in the government are driven by the West. They exploit the people. It is administration by sheik, clan or tribe. Their natural resources are abundant. We also have Western influence partly in our country also. One must think about how to break this chain. The solidarity among peoples, workers and employers is important. The horizons should be widened. Democracy and the state of law and order should be

worlds by pointing out the fact that Arabic people also have a paralel anthpaty towards Turkish people (see for instance MÜSİAD Bulletin, year: 3, number: 8, 1995: 18). 375 See MÜSİAD Bulletin (1996, year: 4; number: 11: 39) to see an article supporting this view. explained to them. It is dark, but instead of cursing, we should light the candles.376 For this reason, I espouse Erbakan’s D8.

‘Being a Muslim’ is the principal condition for becoming a member of MÜSİAD and for taking part in trade-fairs. The ones in the executive board of the Association and/or the members with home. The member businessmen I have discussed this topic have expressed the view that it would be a mistake to seek any ineffective intentions in the

Association’s bringing together the Muslim people; along with this, they have also stated that they believe this situation would not necessarily narrow down the Association’s economic activities and perspective. But, some have added, nevertheless, that they would consider stepping out of this condition, especially at the trade-fair activities, with regard to strengthening their international relations more in the mid-run. In other words, what is important is serving the long-term benefits of the Association and the members. And, in this line, if the priority they give to the cultural values and the religion of Islam in the work life is accepted, there is no need for excluding anybody from the sphere of activities of the Association: This is what the managers and members have stated. Furthermore, as far as the relations with the Muslim countries and with the Turkic Republics are concerned, the actual reason for the efforts to turn towards these regions is related with their being ‘more suitable markets’. Therefore, it is believed that Turkey’s economic success in the future can be possible by strengthening the relations with these countries.

The idea of Turkey’s position in forming a bridge between the West and the above

376 One other businessman expresses his ideas thus: “It is highly possible for MÜSİAD to become a model for the Muslim countries. This would not happen in the short-run, but the following can happen; it can incite the ‘ego’ consciousness. Although slow, you can see the effects of this. They would remember the civilization they were connected with in the past. But what is important for us is to produce/form a model which is not awry or deviant. Such an orderly model, satisfying the contemporary needs would get a response or reaction, even from the Western countries. mentioned countries growing thus more in strength is also expressed by some of the members.377

The following interview minutes include in-depth information in a good summary, reflecting the place or position assigned by the Association and its members to the

Muslim countries in terms of foreign relations:

Today, the world has changed a lot, there is Japan. There are Korea, Taiwan and Malesia. There are China, India and Singapore. At the time being. Europe, with the exception of Germany, looks clumsy… There are also resources in the Muslim world, which is recently externalized by Turkey. Our objective/aim is glabolizing with the world, including the Muslim countries (…) Relations with Europe are inevitable, anyway. But why should the other countries be neglected? MÜSİAD is proven to be right about the European Union. Now Koç says the same thing, says ‘they would not admit’ us… The widening of Turkey’s horizon is important. This manifests itself in the society also, right now there are Chinese in the streets. Large scale Japanese investments are made, these are put into action, anyway. A dream of a fanatic Muslim union is out of the question. They are our brothers by nature, as far as possible, we want to make joint investments with them. According to them, we are in a leadership position. We are respected and there are things we can do for them. It seems MÜSİAD was also highly esteemed in South Africa. A move towards world leadership can be a matter in question. We have members selling goods to Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Iran. There are those carrying out sales to the far East. These are actually highly underdeveloped countries. Saudi Arabia is a Kingdom. People talk in whispers because of the fear of the King. One who is put in dungeon can never come out. As a matter of fact, this is dictatorship. It is not something Islamic, either. This is so not because of the people, but because of the political administration. Actually, there are no Islamic countries in existence. What is more, it is difficult to work in cooperation with Muslim countries, it is difficult to go to Iraq: in some, there is war, in others, dictatorship; how are you going to

377 See appendix-3a includes information that MÜSİAD does not aim to restrict its international relationships with the Islamic bloc. have business? One should not look at these matters from a single, limited angle; what is important is the increase in welfare. Ihlas has made joint investment with Korea. The rest will follow. For the time being the MÜSİAD members are not so active, but they will be… We receive offers also from Malibu; but we want to determine the countries with priorities (preferred one) and orient the members accordingly. The basic criteria are transfer of money, political risk, and human rights. Actually, there is also the factor of religion, but it is not a criterion by itself. At the time being, we are discussing about placing Sweden among the preferred countries since it has advanced technology. We are doing rational types of work, aimed at increasing productivity. We have no fixation about religion. Money has no religion or faith. In any case, no one will receive us with open arms simply because we are Muslim. At present a trip to Japan is being considered. Opening the horizon of the members is our most fundamental aim. Some of our members who have gone to the U.S. have already started having some business, here and there.

5.4.3.MÜSİAD As a Network Based on Weak Ties

It is observed that MÜSİAD serves the benefits of its members not only by forming a network that reaches out to all parts of Turkey but by producing “weak ties” in the international field also. The number of the members of MÜSİAD have reached to 3.000 by the year 2000. The higher rate of member numbers itself reflects this: an evidence can be included from the data from Gaziantep (see MÜSİAD’s 1995 activities Report, 1996:

83): there is a news that management of the Gaziantep branch put a wall album including the pictures of all Gazintep members.

The educational institutions make up a fundamental area springing from formal institutions which form the sources of weak ties of solidarity and cooperation. The staff making up the nucleus of MÜSİAD have known one another since their university years.

These young people mostly with rural origins (See the related tables), have continued their mutual acquaintance of university years by cherishing it through rather formal activities such as joint business or, founding an association and other formal acts, in the face of the hard living conditions awaiting them after their education. Erol Yarar articulates MÜSİAD’s aim of being established as follows:

MÜSİAD has been founded with the aims of allowing the rather closed (or introvert) small business to to step out his shell and get into relationships with the general sector of industry and of enabling him to overcome the difficulties he encounters in such relations, and also of being able to obtain adequately rich knowledge and information concerning technology and markets.

He also adds that MÜSİAD, with his characteristic it has, is rather different from local associations of solidarity which cannot fulfill the function of “opening out,” and also from other associations which are organized throuhgout Turkey, but which fail to function beyond lobying activities they carry out in the government (Çerçeve, 1992: 34).

Actually, the structure and administrative formation of MÜSİAD clearly reflects its nature of creating “weak ties” as a network: The nature of the Association’s administrative philosophy exposes itself in the following areas: 1) Through the means of publications distributed and delivered throughout Turkey, the members’ being informed about other members and their access to information, inaccessible at the local level378, are secured; 2) The members are activated by making them participate in numerous modern activities, beyond the narrow environment they have. And, 3) Mutual business, partnerships, and the such are encouraged, and thus the members are prometed for larger scale businesses.

378 Among the context of the cities I conducted interviews especially for Konya even the weekly conversation meetings including a scientist or politician/bureaucrat has a special function/meaning because their opportunity to connect with these people are highly restricted. For information about other small cities With respect to the its structure and activities, the Association stands out by such features and active work as cited below: 1) Having a nation-wide member profile379; 2)

Developing the efficiency and effectiveness of members with regard to both their numbers and intensity of relations380; 3) Developing relations and projects to strenghten corporation between different regions of the country; 4) Arranging activities such as trade fairs in Turkey and abroad381, trips and so on; 5) Accumulating and/or generating technological knowledge that can be shared by the members, through committee and commission work at the central head office.

For businessmen, trips to foreign countries and the trade-fairs organized have a primary place among the activities provided for the members by the Association. The reason for this is that the businessmen cannot afford such activities by their own means.A member

(Celal Geyik) who was asked about his opinion following a trip abroad expresses his views concerning the trip with these words in the MÜSİAD bulletin:

If a lesson is to be taken from this trip, I can say this: We should not shut ourselves in our factories, workshops or offices. We should participate in trips, trade-fairs, should learn a foreign language, and especially should aim at bringing up our children in this fashion. MÜSİAD Bulletin, Number: 15, 1994

there are news on even the general activity reports of the association exhibiting the importance they put on such meetings (see for instance The Activity Report of MÜSİAD for 1995, 1996: 103) 379 In a research carried out among the members in Ankara, the members have stated their expectations from the Association in this sequence: 30% wants attention to be paid to the member problems; 20% wants more weight to be given to educational programmes; 19% wants trips to be organized; 17% wants meetings for solidarity and cooperation to be held; 9% wants political lobbying to be carried out; and, finally, 14% wants the development of foreign contacts. 380 The empowering cooperation between MÜSİAD members has stated as one of the fundamental aims of the organization in its publications as well. The Membership Cataloges prepared by the organizations aim to serve for this (Çerçeve, year: 1, number: 3, 1993: 17). For the verys same reason the association helps their members preparing a 1-3 lasting advertising film advertising the specifities of their firms (MÜSİAD Bulletin, year: 3, number: 7, 1995: 48). 381 MÜSİAD encourages doing business abroad: there are chains of stores in Germany, USA and Russia, for instance (Intermedya Ekonomi, December 3, 1996: 28-9). MÜSİAD have provided services to make easier to the participation of members to international fairs (see appandix-4 especially article 5). In this framework, besides the ones who speak of a development in the quality of the product they produce after they had a trip abroad, there is a great number of businessmen who mention that they have gained a brand new perspective concerning production and organization, especially concerning the significance of utilizing technology. What is expressed under The Second Advancement Period Working Programme indicates that the weight given to these activities by the Association is not coincidental:

MÜSİAD, as the leader and the voice of “Anatolian Tigers” who have adopted the principle of “High Morality-Advanced Technology,” has aimed at assisting the reinforcement of entrepreneurship and economic development in our country, based on free market economy, and at providing the economic growth of our industrialists and businessmen based on exports by opening out to international competition.

By looking at the increasing success of the Association with respect to these types of activities, it should be concluded that their work is carried out by faithfulness to the mission assumed, appropriated at the formation phase. Among the other goals of the

Association, detection of the problems related to country’s economy and development of solutions to these in conformity with Turkey’s socio-cultural structure and beliefs; cooperation with the government and regional administrations; preparation of research reports and publications382 and educational programmes383 aimed at informing the members; proposing promotional policies to the members directed towards production; working towards the reinforcement of the civil society; contributing to the formation of

382 It should be stated that the publications, besides their function of informing the members also included research to get a member profile including the state and the circumstances of the members, especially during the first years. In addition, the Association’s efforts to identify the present status of the members efforts to identify the present status of the members should also be mentioned in this context. Also, a study made in 1996 takes up in detail a probable “Cotton Union” Project between Turkey, Pakistan, Ozbekistan and Turkmenistan (MÜSİAD Research Reports (Müsiad Araştırma Raporları): 19, 1996). 383 Among these, highly technical and practical subjects such as “commerce on the internet” (MÜSİAD Bulletin, 1999: 99). Also seminars to teach in English, or in topics on “how to export something şn practice an industry-university-state cooperation, and sustaining the trade-fair activities for the development of foreign relations for the development of foreign relations and technological facilities, can be cited (See appendix-2 and 4).

The following words of the Association in the Bulletin of 1994 (MÜSİAD in the Press

(Basında MÜSİAD), The Introductory Article, (Sunuş Yazısı), 1994), including a summary of activities for the year, display what is trying to be said according to the importance put on international relations:

MÜSİAD has arranged committee trips to exactly 20 countries of East and West Europe, Balkans, Central Asia and Russia, Far East and Russia and Africa. Moreover, it has taken part in international trade fairs in Moscow, Hannover, Teharan, China and Tunusia. The idea of making Turkey a center of commerce and trade fairs at the international arena has been supported and maintained, and great importance has been given to domestic trade fairs. The best example for this is İzfaş- Müsiad Trade Fair, which is organized this year. …..Today, MÜSİAD has become the center of communication not only for our businessmen in Anatolia, but for many foreign businessmen and committees of commerce.

An obvious consequence of MÜSİAD member’s being active in the World economy, is their being directly affected by the changes taking place in the world in increasing amounts, as far as their economic activities are concerned. This impact, while meaning new investment opportunities and growth possibility in the long run, leads aslo to unfavorable results: In this context, let me note that the current economic crisis in Asia adversely affected them however since most had developed ties with Muslim countries in

Asia. Erol Yarar for instance, suffered severe financial setbacks and was taken to court over his debts.

step by step,” “Public relations in Industrial Firms” are also included (MÜSİAD Bulletin, year: 4, number: Especially in the interviews I held with the businessmen of Istanbul, “the need and necessity of getting globalized with the world” has frequently been verbalized. The reason for this that the number of companies having the necessary size and financial and technical means for establishing such relationships is concentrated in Istanbul, accepted also as one of the megapolises of the world. For, although the Association has the goal of including all of the members within this process in a dynamic way, the realization of the development of this type of relations can only be possible in correlation primarily, with the financial and material means.384 There are no alternatives offered to businessmen to surmount the financial restrictions; but, still, the members are largely dependent on the

Central Head Office (of the Association) regarding the development of international relations. The words of a member among those who state that they cannot participate in such “critical” activities because of a lack of monetary means are striking:

I was able to participate in a trip abroad only once. I cannot afford more than this. This, I believe, is a shortcoming of MÜSİAD. Those with money can participate. The real important activities do not include the lower-strata groups. This is a point I criticize. Attending a panel discussion is not so important, its advantages are limited, it is also open to everyone; it is not an advantageous activity in a sense. I should, actually be going to the USA, or have a trip to Egypt. . A considerable number of members conceive this as a “shortcoming of MÜSİAD.”385

Thus, MÜSİAD restricts very small scaled international relations, although with specific

14, 1996: 96). 384 The only female member I have interviewed considers her sex as an impedement for participating in trips abroad. Yet, the reason for this she stated that she knows that there will not no other female member; and that she would be lonely as one women among the male members in the case of her participating in such a trip. Other than this, she does not see her being a female instrincically as a hindarence to her participation in activities. 385 But, still, the idea of having the opportunity to be under the same roof with the merely large-scaled ones’ is a situation for widening their horizons’ as fas as a majorrity of the “small-scaled ones’ are relation to MÜSİAD, it is not necessary to be such a large-scale company in order to carry out some business at the international level because of the increase of the differentiated market possibilities since post-1980’s not restricted anymore with

European countries. When I have verbalized this problem in the interviews I held with some of the administrative members of the Association, I have been reminded of the importance of “cooperative action and solidarity” for overcoming this problem. It is thouhgt that by common and joint enterprises larger-scale companies will be attained, and financial limitations and impossibilities will thus be greatly surmounted. But, still, this heterogenous formation of MÜSİAD should be expected to lead to a more homogenous structure and a more limited member profile in the long run: Those who use the opportunities offered to them by this transitional period and thus can expand and reach a competitive state will survive, while the rest will vanish. In this respect, the evaluation of a businessman from Konya is rather enlightening. This person maintains that those who are not included in the category of industrialist (i.e., the ones who deals only with commercial activity and the traditional esnaf (artisan)) should not be a member of

MÜSİAD. Because, according to him, this condition impedes, or, at least, slows down the progress of the association, as they have live through concretely in the case of Konya:

I believe that admitting qualified members to MÜSİAD, rather than large numbers, and this Association’s becoming a group of industrialists are important. Therefore, I am in favor of setting higher subscription dues for membership. It would be better if there was a separate unit for the small and traditional tradesman and artizans. Because the two are different in size and quality. One cannot have

concerned, is dominant among the members. The Secretary General of MÜSİAD has made the following explanation in relation to this: “Since the cost of participation in international trips and trade fairs abroad is high, participation is low, but through time there is an increase. This happens both because our members get the advantages of the activities and also stands out as a phenomenon related to our members’ growing financially more powerful through time.” collective business or partnership and so on with the traditional tradesmen. The concerns of those who think of commerce and those who think of production are different. TUSİAD also has some mistakes however, participation should not be kept such narrow limits, but there is also the necessity of our being more homogenous.

At this point, TÜSİAD’s actually being in a process of expansion in terms of its membership strategy is interesting to note. There is maybe the factor od liberalization: As economic success moved away from being state-centered and has become related to activities realized in a considerable way, throughout the country and the whole society in a possibly larger context of network ties. It can also be foreseed that the importance of personal ties with the state bureaucrats in doing big business is decreasing in this process and economic networks of all kinds have gained weight in business successes. That is why the development in the opposite direction should be interpreted as the solified structure of TÜSİAD’s, with its strong relations, becoming subject to and relatively vulnerable to newly developed weak ties which promise new openings and opportunities.

One other dimension of the topic of solidarity and common, simultaneous action, which we can carry into this argument here is grasped during interviews held in Konya: For the purposes of developing international and outside-of-Konya relationships, participation in activities in activities outside of Konya, and, especially, participation in trade fairs organized in Istanbul is not left to the individual initiatives of members, but is administrated as a branch activity. The significance of such a practice is high both in decreasing the cost for individuals and in eliminating shortcomings related to know-how, which can form an obstacle for some of the firms. The branch ensures the arrival of materials of those firms taking part in the trade fair in Istanbul within a framework of one common organization; it also undertakes such tasks as booking rooms for the members in nearby by hotels for ahead of time by predicting that they will be full because of the fair.

During the interviews in Konya, it is stated that the role of MÜSİAD in developing foreign relations is in the form of supplying trust and reliance for both of the parties. This shows that, especially for Konya, those people with the potential to open to the outside have reached to the point where they can realize this potential by the opportunities offered by MÜSİAD. The following statements I have obtained through the interviews I held in Konya exhibit this situation:

….we were carrying out business on our own, we opened up a bit, thanks to MÜSİAD. If it were’nt for the assurance provided by MÜSİAD, we wouldn’t be able to go out of Turkey and find new partners for ourselves (…) Its most important contributions are providing solidarity among its members and widening their horizons, both in and outside of Turkey. Many people, who would otherwise be unable to go, went abroad by its organizations; they formed new relations there, and learned the know-how of having a serious business. The solidarity among the MÜSİAD members also protects us, at times and places, against the danger of being swindled while having business with people we do not know, we feel secure. We got together as 4 or 5 members and established a joint firm; we are exporting the products of our fellow members. (…) what has happened in Konya, happened, almost, throughout the whole Turkey; members got acquainted with each other, and preffered each other while having business. Konya, thus, has come to know Kayseri, for example, in a systematic way. The educational seminars of MÜSİAD are of high quality, many have grown much more conscious. 3-5 sentences matter a lot to a tradesman, he can expand his business 2-3 times, just as a result of this (…) There are very nice plans and projects for Turkey in the agenda of MÜSİAD. There is the reality that there is in fact on one to support or protect the small-scale and middle scale business. At present there are undertaking for entreprise in Şanlıurfa in textile. The factory is already established. Reaching the ultimate consumer abroad is the aim in the long run. The small and middle scale businesses are dynamic. One has to decide fast. Therefore, our receiving quick knowledge is very important; The pursuit of ease in bureaucracy-promotions-taxation is carried out, in our name, by MÜSİAD in a very organized manner. There have been no such activities carried out by the Chambers of Commerce up to now, though we forced to be a member by law.

Among the various reasons for the low participation of Ankara members in activities like trade fairs is that participation even in the Association’s activities in Ankara, is considerably low for the time being. This has been explained by an entrepreneur at an administrative position, by the dominance of traditional economic mind in Ankara. In spite of their being members of the association, the type of explanations such as “I find what is done inadequate” or “I don’t like what is being done” have always come from the

Ankara members. The structure in Ankara’s being more passive and clumsy has been mentioned by the businessmen of Konya and Istanbul, and this has been explained by

“Ankara’s being a city of bureaucracy.” The chairman of the Ankara branch in spite of all, has not used hopeless expressions on the topic of dynamizing the member:

I have organized a vocation with our wives and children, by saying we need vacation and rest as well. The first attempt was very unsuccessful; only one or two member accepted to join; but in the next attempt this number went to up 60. Thank God, there emerged hotels, and other holiday places suitable for Muslims, so now we are able to carry out these types of activities. There is a nudist holiday village for the French in this country; so why shouldn’t there be places suitable for the Muslims? As this type of possibilities increase, te number of places bringing us together will also increase.

Even administrative positions are reluctantly accepted and carried out in Ankara, as I understood from the expressions of the ones with an administrative responsibility.

Therefore, with respect to the human potantial to satisfy the effort and energy required by a really effective voluntary organization Ankara branch is obviously weak, compared to

Konya and Istanbul. As a conclusion, many material and cultures obstacles need to be overcome for the realization of the goals of the association: the success in this area, it seems, depends on the level of cooperation, coordination and solidarity to be achieved.

5.5.1.Between Structural and Cultural: Multiple Share Holdings and Solidarity Based Organizational Model

In this chapter, the process of integration of the Turkish economy into the world capitalism is pursued in connection to the strategies developed by the businessmen of

MÜSİAD. The (theoretical) framework we have constructed up to here reveal that economic and socio-cultural factors mutually construct each other beyond just affecting each other in some degree. We have stated in this context that the phenomena of the

“middle classes” (and bourgeoisie) in its connection with the entrepreneural activities are historically constructed dynamic processes nourished by cultural-ideological as well as socio-economic factors. Since such “traditional-informal” matters associated with tradition as Islamic identity, group cooperation and solidarity are moved to the foreground, the rather content of this process can easily be neglected. MÜSİAD’s businessmen, who are conventionally seen as a part of traditional Islamic organization and/or associated with anti-modern goals/aspirations are in fact the subject of formal and informal relations that simultaneously contain the traditional and the modern in a complex manner, like Weber’s Protestant businessmen.

Therefore, in this process we witness the re-molding of socio-cultural behavior patterns within which the business world is embedded, as a result of the pressure of new conditions.386 In this study, MÜSİAD as an organizational model, based on cooperation, solidarity and partnership as a new structure- synthesis (Bourdieu, 1992) emerging as a result of a blending of rational processes by “otonomous entrepreneurs” with some of the traditional forms of solidarity.

In the atmosphere of liberal economy, the topics of partnership coordination and solidarity are of vital importance for KOBİs. In their struggle for survival, which they carry out together with the large companies, the capitalist system does not offer any other alter alternative weapons to them. Ayata (1991: 183) defines partnership in its basic lines as "two or three people’s joining their means and resources for the purpose of establishing, maintaining and reinforcing an enterprise.” As can be seen, the basic reason of existance and condition for survival of a partnership requires loyalty to the overall benefits of this formation, rather than to personal benefits of the people who have brought it into existance. This is inevitable for the survival of an organism relying on a large number of participants and contributors; such a loyalty to overall benefits is also necessary for the shared benefits of the individuals involved. Ayata’s study proves that entrepreneurs have not been successful in maintaining the partnerships (1991: 184).387 As it is known family firms are widespread in underdeveloped countries and it is rather in frequent that people without bonds of kinship carry a business partnership to success.

Ayata states that the reason for the business partnerships’ being short-lived is the partners’ or shareholders’ focusing largely on their own interests. A sense of a common

386 While the debate on elasticity is going on, the observations of economists that for the time being a lack of rules, rather than elasticity is dominant in the economic sphere, have to do with the structural area (Şenses, 1996). These observations are also valid with respect to economy’s socio cultural organization. 387 Toprak (1995: 163) has quoted from Ömer Tarhan about the entrepreneural potential in late Ottoman period this: “For five years, Turks could not found firms -small as well as big ones. The two people cannot come together. The reason for this simple. We are not used to societal life. Everybody lives sperately. They benefit of the firm, in this sense, has either not developed at all or developed at a low level (Ayata, 1991: 184-5).

The observation put forth by the businessmen I have interviewed is that “the real shortcoming of Turkey is not about enterprise and entrepreneurship, but rather a lack of a sense of partnership encouraging working together. So, the real drawback is lived in cooperation in doing business and organization together in cooperation. In the words of a businessman, “everyone is too much of a master”; this is related with the understanding

“let it be small, but let it be mine,” which has historical roots and which is rooted in the minds of large masses. In Soral’s (1974: 158-9) study, dated 1974, the businessmen in his study have also mentioned that the number of entrepreneurs should be decreased.

Sarıaslan (1994: 252-4) have also emphasized unnecassary competition and a lack of cooperation and solidarity as one of the shortcomings of small and middle scale organizations. These complaints gain meaning when seen in relation to the nature of capitalistic system which swallows the “small” if a certain basis for partnership or cooperation is not constructed. The explanation Soral brings forth is that is this is not a consequence of the businessmen’s exaggerated support of the system, since a competition-intensified atmosphere was nonexistant at that time in Turkey, then it is a need for horizontal and vertical integration (1974: 159). As can be seen, the traditional framework provided by close and powerful ties could not be a fuiding entity in cooperation, concerning both the economic and pervasive social relations. For, these types of multiple shares holding partnerships are are rational and contemporary-modern by their nature, and it is necessary to form new modes of behavior (this concept should be

like it this way. We should stop this. Because “union” secures power. We will be able to do things easily if we come together, which we cannot overcome otherwise. comprehended in its relation to Bourdieu’s concept of “habitus”)388 that would ensure the establishment of mutual trust in the relationships.

Macaulay (1992) alerts us against the wide range of business practices that fall outside of contractual agreements. Macaulay contends that carrying out the business practices on a contractual or on other formal bases, and the inclusion of the informal-cultural processes are not necessarily conflicting or exclusive of one another. That is to say that socio- cultural factors (social capital) while being able to impede the economy, can also promote it. The information Macaulay obtained from the interviews he made with the western businessmen indicate that relations of business raise primarly upon a foundation of informal trust. The businessmen tend to see legal guarantee –that is, the contractual dimension- as more of a formality and an ultimate guaranty. The views of a businessman concerning the general attitude in this respect are as follows :

You do not read legalistic contract clauses at each other if you ever want to do business again. One doesn’t run to lawyers he wants to stay in business because one must behave decently. Macaulay, 1992: 273

Woolwock (1998) takes up the concept of trust as one of the forms of social capital. In this context, he states that the failures or troubles lived through in economic development arise not only from material shortcomings (even impossibilities in some cases) but also

(being equally effective) from social insufficiencies (Woolwock, 1998: 151-3).

388 Bourdieu (1992: 128) in order to stress the “cultural character” of behavior –rather than merely a matter of rational-choise, identifies the concept of habitus as life habit (practical knowledge of life) which automatically reflects at the practical. Yet, this tie established with the social world should not be comprehended as a consequence of a mechanical causality. This is a type of “ontological complexity” : Habitus as “passive syntheses”/structures that are structured prior to any structuring operation: Further, without knowing why and how, the coincidence between the ‘sense of the game’ and the game explains In this study the phenomenon of trust is taken up not as a firmly validated or given situation, but as a social phenomenon the existance or absence of which can be discussed depending on the social conditions (Luchmann, 1988; Lewis and Weigert, 1985).

Granovetter discussed this in the following sentences:

What looks to the analyst like irrational may be quite sensible when situational constrainsts, especially those of embeddedness, are fully apreciated. When the social situation of those in nonproffessional labor markets is fully analyzed, their behavior looks less like automatic application of "cultural" rules and more like a reasonable response to their present situation…That such behavior is rational or instrumental is more readily seen, aims not only at economic goals but also at socialibity, approval, status, and power. Granovetter, 1985: 482-491, 506 The topic of trust’s becoming problematic is related to the expansion of uncertain and

“risk-intensed” environments like entrepreneurship (Luchmann, 1988: 95). The expressions used while discussions the topic of trust and reliance with the MÜSİAD members also support this view. There are no businessmen to the MÜSİAd has created

“unconditional” trust and reliance in them. Piety or religiosity by itself, or a life closely conforming to the Islamic principles are not perceived as features adequate to provide trust and reliance for these businessmen. Even within the structure of MÜSİAD, other conditions keep their significance for establishing trust; and tis is effectively expressed by an administrative member:

MÜSİAD membership by itself cannot be sufficient for a full trust. Under any circumstances, there are certain or customs, and flaws or defects. Reference to MÜSİAD by itself would not be enough. We tell also the firms abroad ‘do not immediatley trust because it is MÜSİAD, ask us first.’ Other than this there is prefarence for each other in

that the agent does what s/he ‘has to do’ without posing it explicitly as a goal, below the level of calculation and even consciousness. purchasing and selling. There is also solidarity in the direction of establishing joint companies.

The Association’s reaching the point where all the members are accepted equally as being reliant and trustworthy is identified, in this framework, as a highly long-term goal.

For the time being, the aim of MÜSİAD is to eliminate the obstacles which arise from economic relations’ being run in a legal and social atmosphere lacking in trust. Efforts are made to offer the members a structural and cultural infrastructure for the establishment of trust, upon which they can construct their relationships. Many businessmen have stated that diffrences of religion and set would not be a criterion for discrimination for them. The factor of religion is not conceived as being defining or determining in creating solidarity and trust in the relations. As is seen in the sample below, which includes expressions echoing indirect reflections that emerge in relation to the ones in business, businessmen, rather than a showpiece type and/or individual religious practices, are actually interested in the concrete social results or reflections of faith like being trustworthy or hardworking:

In our environment solidarity and helping each other is of a primary position. A humanly approach is important for these. I never demand anything from them: I don’t tell tem to perform their daily ritual prayers or to fast, but many of them, maybe because they are fond of me, take me as an example.389 On Fridays the work is off during the prayer time. Those who do not perform their prayers also take the break. Nobody investigates into this. Each person’s piety and prayers are for his own self. In fact, the sin which is really hard to be pardoned is the sin committed against the society in our religion. Therefore, whether a person fulfills the religious obligations or not in his

389 Note that especially in small firms I have observed some shared practices, people washing hands and feet before praying, prayer rugs in the room of the entrepreneurs and similar things showing this person is praying in his/her workplaces.

individual private affairs is none of our concern. What is important is his being a good, honest and hardworking person. There is no such thing as the idealist person’s emerging from among the pious ones. I don’t divide up people on the basis of their faith.

What is more, it is possible for the shared basis of faith to lead to conflicts. The workers can express their demands more easily and sharply on a religious basis. The only female

MÜSİAD member I have interviewed has reported striking observations on this matter.

In social environments like friendly conversations and so on, as the topic of religion comes forth, it provides a suitable atmosphere for the workers to verbalize their rights. In this way, all those who work can say “how come you claim to be a Muslim” as they verbalize their problems and demands. This can be interpreted in the context of what

Burawoy (1987, 1985: 150) calls “hegemonic despotism.” We have already discussed the stimulating and stirring role which the factor of faith and culture plays in social struggles and movements (Calhoun, 1982). With respect to the place occupied by the element of

Islam in the business life, workers Unions such as Hak-İş to be preceding employers’ or businessmen’s organizations like MÜSİAD historically can be interpreted within this framework. what is more, it even could not be very meaningful to think that an employer’s organization where religious identity is emphasized would be functional in an atmosphere/environment in which Islam does not occupy a problematic place at the political realm. But, under the existing conditions, the emphasis on the religious identity has a potential of creating conflict and discrimination among the businessman also, due to the differentiation in the religious practices: while these acts of discrimination are exhibited in implied, passive forms such as not finding one another’s religious faith adequate, or not approving of one another’s attitudes in topics requiring interpretation, they can, and are also experienced overly in the forms of official complaints against those busşnessmen who are having intense business relations with someone of another religion, to the executive board of the Association and thus these disciriminatory attitudes turn into concrete acts of conflicts and clash.

As far as the factor of trust is concerned in the relations within MÜSİAD, the density of population, the level of modernization, the relations being risk-intensive or not, and so on of the cities I have held interviews in load to significant differences. In contrast to the members in Istanbul and Konya, who frequently stated that “they would trust in the

MÜSİAD members more easily,” those who have stated that they have benefitted from this convenience provided by MÜSİAD form a small minority of the Ankara members.390

This can be because of the less frequent gathering together of the members in Ankara, and the low level of participation even in the weekly chat meetings. It has been told that in Istanbul and Konya the number of activities is very high and the level of participation is high.

The reason for the importance attached to the confidence phenomenon in Istanbul can be related to, first, an emphasis on trust among the members being created by a risk- intensive general socio-economic atmosphere, and secondly, to the social climate brought about by intense activities and solidarity because of the fact that the central office is located in Istanbul.

390 The questionnaire made by the Association among the Ankara members consolidates these observations related to Ankara: Accordingly, only 8% of the 98 members have said that their firms, are open to the public. In the report, this situation is explained by the need for and confidence in opening up the traditional institution of the family to the outside not “yet being developed” (The report on MÜSİAD’s members, 1994: 29). In addition, the fact that of the 119 individuals interviewed, 106 have beneffited from the promotions and credits supplied by the state shows that these members are not far away from the classical economic functioning in Turkey (1994: 30). What makes up the condition of trust in Konya, on the other hand, is related to the relative weight provided and ensured by face-to-face relations. In fact, the question of trust seems critical, especially for those settlements and members still in the process of

“cracking their shells.” This is because the greatest stress on this on this question has come from Konya members. Among these, the gratitude felt for the chain of trust and reliance by MÜSİAd is more conspicuous. This is so because the risk they face is much greater, especially when the business practices abroad are in question gains vital importance, of course. The businessmen have stated that before having business with someone they have not met before “phoning to MÜSİAD central office and getting informed” makes everything so easier. All these are concrete indicators of two phenomena: 1) “trust” is built as a “social” process accompanied by the driving/motivating power put forth by the need created through “trust” is built as a

“social” process accompanied by the driving/motivating power put forth by the need created through the risk-intensive environments, and 2) in spite of being under the same roof, the feeling of trust cannot be experienced in the same way. Such a trust building process is paralell what Gidden (1994: 186) calls “active trust” in the context of

“reflexive modernization”: the integrity of the other is needed and it cannot be taken for granted on the basis of a persons social position, Such trust “has to be won and actively sustained” as “the origin of new forms of social solidarity in contextx ranging from intimate personal ties right through to global systems of interaction.” (Beck, Giddens and

Lash, 1994: 186-7). This explains how a societial situation called “risk society” (Beck,

1992) could be the one characterized by “active trust.”

Following Durkheim and Makaulay, Zucker notes that trust is necessary even to write a contract because of the collective nature in social relations relating trust with the need for homogenity in this context -the “migration and immigration itself” is determined as the cause of a lack of trust (1989: 53-6). He (1986: 69- 98) emphasizes that trust is built within the framework of a process as a socially constructed production391 depending on the relations among individuals and associations/institutions. In Zucker’s study of America before 1840, he uses this analytical framework to explain the localization in the banking area although the economy was in a trend of nationalization in a miliu where a new order had not become clear yet. In accordance with this, the banks, by getting organized at the local level, fuction as “institutional-based production of trust” mechanism.392 A situation paralell to the findings of Zucker, discussed above, concerning the banking sector, is also true for MÜSİAD as far as the business partnerships and companies with multiple share holders are concerned. Since no other Anatolian town, except Konya, is included by this study at hand, making an assertive or all-inclusive generalization would not be very correct; but it can be maintained that environments in which relativelysmall and face to face relations predominate are more convenient for such enterprises. This type of middle scale (secondary) cities, while advancing rapidly on the road to modernization and capitalization, have at the same time, the advantages of a climate of trust, as well, provided by various mechanisms being socio-culturaly still “traditional”. On the other hand it is evident that metropolitan cities like Istanbul and Ankara have fallen into a void in these respects as the regulating function the state had assumed concerning socio-economic matters was replaced by liberal policies after 1980. The sudden removal of the regulating/controlling role of the state, have, inevitably, placed, at the first stage, abuses, malpractice, and a functioning of economy with no principles on to the agenda. The relationship between an increase in such abuses corruption and mafia type activities and such a rapid transition into liberal policies in regimes with a dominance of the state over the socio-economic functioning is well-known (Oberschall, 1996: 101; Bellah, 1980a; Bellah, 1980b; Bellah, 1980c).393 The situation is one of the reasons why the Istanbul members, especially those in an administrative position in the Association, have used more cautious and careful expressions about partnerships. In a metropolis it would surely be more difficult to control and/or prevent the abuses of the “opportunities” concerning the common denaminator of Islam; the signs of such a probable situation could be seen in the increase of applications following the rise into governmental power of the Welfare Party. This point is put forth for the reason behind the rather frequent dismissal of members during that period. During the interviews, this subject has been taken up within the frame of Kombassan and

Yimpaş cases, which were very popular in those days. At the time, Kombassan’s illegal

391Zucker differentiates trust in an socio-historical perspective: 1) process-based and characteristic- based or informal-interactive mechanisms of trust became prominent in transitory periods; 2) institutional-based or formal structural mechanisms are generally replaced after such dynamic periods (1989: 53). In this context he talks about three modes of trust production: 1) process-based (tied to direct personel experiences); 2) characteristic-based (tied to shared social characteristics such as ethnictiy, gender and religion); 3) institution-based (stems from an external source able to guarantee that the trusting party’s expectations will be met). Trust for the case of MÜSİAD, it can be argued, covers those three cases in different contexts (1986: 47). 392 Fukuyama’s (1995: 338) explanations on trust has a paralel direction: by identifying informal and process-based trust relations with “high trust” environments, and “Taylorite mass production factory” and scientific Taylorism with “low-trust” ones: thus, organized capitalism is considered as a solution for a low- trust societal environment. 393 Beyond the well-known relationship between corruption and rapid change, Bellah notes that there is constant flux and a tendency toward degeneration: “good customs become corrupted and republican regimes become despotic.(…) Since republics is to survive that it concern itself actively with the nurturing of its citizens, that it root out corruption and encourage virtue. The republican state therefore has an ethical, educational, even spiritual role, and it will survive only as long as it reproduces republican customs and republican citizens.” (Bellah, 1980c: 9). Such conditions encourage the emergence of “entrepreneurs in the cultural sphere” because developing a new context of meaning has become a necessity: to overcome low cognitive and sociopolitical legitimacy (Aldrich, 1995: 99). collection of money/fees was on the agenda.394 Konya members have evaluated these subjects by using bold ecpressions and have had an unconditional positive attitude towards the matter. In contrast, the businessmen in Ankara, as a city of bureaucracy, have either approached the matter at a distance or have refrained from discussiong it. This has been so most probably because of political concerns, since these attempts at Kombassan were reflected on to the public as the topic of a legal case.

The Istanbul members have not fully claimed the matter, either, and have not defended it so whole heartedly, in general, but they have pointed out that one has to take into account the difficulties of partnership, in general, while evaluating this topic. The entrepreneurs turning to the people as to capital, has been related to the insufficiency of the credits provided by the state, in spite of the general increase in the number of entrepreneurs. In addition, the necessity of accepting this as a successful action securing an “overall development of the nation and the people” has been underlined: It has generally been pointed out that “people’s not drawing their money inspite of the legal sentence concerning precautionary measures” should be accepted as a highly sound evidence/proof of how much these firms have won the trust of people. Some of the members believe in this practice’s being beneficial to the contry’s economy so much that they insist on “the necessity of the state’s taking on a pioneering role on canalizing, in fact, people’s money towards production’, rather than placing impediments. These members have said that the succsess in this area is closely related to the trust people have in the entrepreneur, and they have drawn the attention to the neccesity of thinking carefully over the failure of the

394 It was put forward that Kombassan’s total invested capital was 20 billion in 1995, and this number increased to 30 trillion: the problem was 7.7 trillion of 30 trillion that was collected illegally (the unregistered money collection) from Turkish people living abroad (Cumhuriyet, a news by Esra Yener, April 14, 1997). state to construct this trust. Moreover, they have also stressed the necessity of evaluating the errors committed by well-intentioned enterprises in a different frame, through they might have stepped outside of the legal lines, especially in an environment dominated by abuses and malpractices in the country.

The vitality in Konya manifests itself also through the competition among headings in collecting money from the people. This competition has brought along rather creative ways and techniques for collecting money. While Kombassan did not recruit any women, a more recent holding’s recruitment of women in order to collect their under-the-pillow money is a good example to this. The chairperson of the same holding has also pointed out that they have undertaken such tasks as fulfilling the religious duties such as sacrificing sheept cattle, or giving out obligatory alms in the name of the holding’s share holders in order to be distinctive and attractive among other companies and holdings. All of these are nothing but the deepining of capitalism through strong bonds created between economic functioning and local socio-cultural characteristics as they all interwine. The economic sphere, as long as, it moves away from being directed and oriented by the state and the law being directed and oriented by the state and the law and grows social, gains on a content reflecting the commonly shared social and cultural values, rather than attitudes based on force and directing. Exactly by this reason the shared values, under discussion, in this period would greatly be demolished and would be re-constructed. Large masses of people become a part of the capitalist/modern society in this complicated process, and subscribe to this formation because of the active role they play in it. The businessmen in executive positions, especially have stated that if it were not for the high possibility of such suspicious situations to emerge because of the difficulty of this type of enterprises, MÜSİAD, as an association, would be involved in more intensified activities leading this type of partnerships. There are such formations led by MÜSİAD, as an association, in various cities of Turkey, like Bursa and Urfa. According to the explanations of the executive businessmen, exactly because of this type of difficulties and drawbacks, the Association promotes share-holding and partnerships, but seldom takes the lead in their actual formation or construction. Yet, the active role MÜSİAD has played in the privatization process should not be underestimated, as the network of cooperation provided by the Associated is combined with the situation of the Welfare

Party’s being in governmental power. During the interviews some members, although very few in number, have excitedly discussed the success of business partnerships

MÜSİAD has formed for this purpose, and some businessmen, especially, have proudly narrated how they brought together large sums of money in a very short time. As early as

1991, when MÜSİAD have just founded, there were ten members coming together under

Anadolu Toprak Industry (See Çerçeve, year: 1, issue: 2, 1992: 18).

In 1997 Yatırım Holding A.Ş. (Investment Holding, Joint-stock company) have been founded with this purpose within the structure of the Association. The aim of Batı

Karadeniz A.Ş. (Western BlackSea Joint-Stock Company) is also forming a network of cooperation directed towards a proposal for contrast has been awarded to Kombassan

Holding and the administrators of the Association have taken part in 25 of the 28 propasals of contract for TEDAŞ (Uğur and Alkan, 2000: 152). We can also include within the framework of cooperation it aimed among the Muslim countries (see Cooperation Among Muslim Countries, MÜSİAD Research Reports: 19, 1996). And the

Project of “Cotton Union”395 (see Cotton Union, MÜSİAD Research Reports: 19, 1996).

A significant majority of the members –especially Istanbul and Konya members- share the common wish of these enterprises and Konya members –share the common wish of these enterprises and activities to increase within a certain program in the future. While discussiong the topic of public-based holding formation which is accepted as a difficult task, Kombassan and Yimpaş have been referred to in a desirous and possitive approach in the interviews held in all three cities.396 An Istanbul member has expressed his views thus, “The Kombassan incident has been introduced and brought out in a misleading manner. Of course, such wide-range enterprises would not function without control, but this control should not be partial.”

Buğra, because of his using conventional references as his framework of analysis, evaluates this subject as follows: "Two of the member companies of MUSIAD whose shares are not quoted on the stock market, Kombassan Holding (Konya) and Yimpas

(Yozgat), have recently gotten into serious trouble with the Capital Market Board authorities for collecting millions of dollars from thousends of individuals in an entirely

395 In this project the goal is set to bring together, first, Pakistan, özbekistan and Türkmenistan and then, in the long run, to bring together the other Muslim and Turcic countries. The ultimate aim is designated as covering the countries from the Eastern Asia to the Balkans within the framework of the Silk Road Union ; then it is designated as expanding intercontinentally to cover such countries as Egypt, Sudan, Malaysia and Indonesia (Cotton Union, 1996: Preface). 396 The Head of the Kombassan Holding Executive Board, Bayram’s look at the events can be summarized thus: their success is due to a multi dimensional -hierarchical, horizantal and circular developmental sequences. He has stated that if they are not impeded ideologically, today they have the means of recruiting 100 thousands people; and that, at present, they have 56 factories, 500 offices and 30 thousand people working for the Holding. What is more, according to Bayram, the explanation for these impediments – introduced by him as ideological impediments- from the economic point of view is the situation in which investment promotion documents were given abundantly to their rival competitors and never to their holding. In spite of this, he has stated that such impediments never discouraged them: but, on the contrary, they have become motivating forces for new enterprices. He has also stated that at present they have 40 firms in America and Europe and work is carried out for the establishment of new ones (MÜSİAD Bulletin, year:3, issue, 4, 1995:18). trust-based system…" (emphasis added; Bugra, 1998:532). Thus, Buğra sets the mechanism os the flow of money to the Holdings on a completely “irrational” basis.

Buğra identifies such a “capital mobilization” as “relational” and formal one. Formal and informal processes, apart from excluding one another, are processes that mutually form one another in a simultaneous fashion. Therefore, the subject of allocating money to such

Holdings as Kombassan and Yimpaş with totally trust-based incentives and causes should be taken up as a dynamic socio-cultural process, leaving aside the legal and economic dimensions of the matter. Although we might accept that these economic actors are not acting rationally in the modern sense, and that they risk their money because of not knowing much, up to a certain level, we should not think that there is no rationale behind their behavior. Because, as long as a new socio-cultural order wich would transfer to life

“the contemporary rules of the law or new attitudes and modes of thinking” is not settled in, there is nothing surprising about traditional thinking and forms of belief to direct and orient the behavior of individuals. The formation of the new, always takes place in interrelation with the old.

Contrary to the common conception397, orientation to Islamic banks and holdings cannot be solely explained by being faithful to the Islamic values. According to the findings of this study, the businessmen by pushing the calculations of economic profit to the background, do not limit themselves with the Islamic banks by incentives and causes based on faith. As a result of the developments in banking in Turkey, predominantly as a result of the increasing effectiveness have also stated that have the possibility of drawing

397 Boldwin’s thesis is that, in orientation to the Islamic banks the profit to be obtained from these is of seondary importance. According to him, what is critical is that these banks are run in accordance with the Islamic principles. Baldwin, while emphasizing also that Turkey should benefit from the developments in money without rent when they are in need of cash, as a result of an agreement they have reached with the banks about not taking any rent from their accounts in the banks. I have checked this with my acquaintances in certain banks. These people have also reported to me that especially in the period following February 28, when the economy entered a serious crisis, certain businessmen did not any longer refrained from procedures of rent and leasing (repo). Also, some businessmen take the yields of rent but instead of putting these do their income. But I should state that refraining from rent in an “absolute” way is not accepted in a widesperead manner among the businessmen. The reason for this is, sometimes, the acceptance of the fact that the religious prohibition of rent is no longer so menaingful under contemporary conditions; at other times, an identification of rents that one is forced to resort to in order to be able to surve in this system. As can be seen, the effect of cultural and religious values on the economic sphere does not directly happen only through such formations as Islamic banks, and so on, the affiliation of which to these principles are known are anyway: Parallel to the development of market economy, the other secular institutions of the society move towards developing solutions that would answer the need and the demand. In sum, no matter what, even in such a popular subject, there is the question of a variety of practices. This situation, is a striking example displaying the complex and dynamic interrelations among the state, socio-cultural dynamics and individual conscience, besides the requirements of the economy in the process of the deepening of capitalism.398

this area, states that these developments would contribute to the growth of Turkish economy (Baldwin, 1990). 398 The new chairperson of the association, Ali Bayramoğlu, supports the canceling of interest, also; yet, he has stated that this is impossible under these economic circumstances and has stated that this is impossible under these economic circumstances and has admitted that he too has taken rent (Kıvanç, 1997: 50). In 1997, the head of MÜSİAD at the time, Erol Yarar also declared that getting interest from money just in paralel to the rate of inflation is religiously ok. (helal). A news published in these days anonced that gains 5.5.2. Between Structural and Cultural: Employee-Employer Relations in the Model

The characteristics of the cities where I held the interviews lead to different employee- employer relations. In this context, for Ankara being the capital the effect of bureaucracy, for Istanbul, being a large metropolis, complex relations and its being relatively smaller and thus creating the chance for face-to-face relations and its incorporating the center and periphery cultures simultaneously are significant. The quality of the work relations is closely connected also to the company size and the number of workers employed. Sennett

(1992) discusses the different consequences brought about by the relations and forms of organization, on a basis of settlement and size -and in relation to transition to urbanization and larger factory system– during the process of development of capitalism.

But, in line with the basic premises of this study, the effect of cultural dynamics in this process should not be neglected. In this direction, professionalism’s and formal rationalism’s becoming dominant in the relationship depend on the use of new technology and other material conditions, as well as an increase in rational and proffesional approaches. It also depends on the development of new life habits of new urban workers and entrepreneurs.

The first effect I discuss has been expressed most frequently within the context of differentiation in the qualities of workers. For example, the worker typology in Konya has been depicted rather differently compared to the typology in Istanbul. The approach of the Ankara businessmen to the topic of workers has a moderate tone. Those who are in a position to make such a comparison among the businessmen I have interviewed share one point: it is more difficult to please the worker in the metropolitan cities and the

from interest and stock market is religiously legitimate (helal) (Milliyet, a news by Perihan Çakıroğlu, January 20, 1997; see also Ali Özek, a proffesor from the School of Theology, for paralel explanations, employee-employer relations are more problematic. The administor of a large company in Istanbul, who was also involved in similar activities at the provincial level, after underlining his dissatisfaction with the workers, in general, has stated underlining his dissatisfaction with the workers, in general, after underlining his dissatisfaction with the workers, in general, has stated that his dissatisfaction with the workers, in general, has stated that his relations with the workers are professional and distant basically because of this reason.

Although the businessmen have yet not formed such a relation, the role played the scale of the companies should be taken into consideration. Thus, we can state that two effects I have mentioned above are determinate together. This administrator has mentioned the consequences especially like “loosing workers to another firm399” of not being able to develop full solidarity with the workers, which affect productivity negatively. He believes that they will be able to overcome these difficulties in the new factories they will establish in various districts of Turkey. This is because he also believes that in smaller provinces first, it will be easier to please and satisfy the workers, and secondly, the small number of factories/firms will not possibly create problems of “loosing workers to other firms.”

Çerçeve. 1993: 42-5). 399 This matter as a widespread problem, is not conceived as the one without a solution by some businessmen –who were either from Konya or the ones in Ankara and Istanbul with rather small number of workers. A businessman of Konya says that “In our city the relations are like those of family. They are very close: when somebody’s elder brother gets married, this person can come and asks some loan of money from me. Later he pays it back. The place where his older brother works for does not offer such a facility. For these reasons he is sure that his worker would not leave him to work for another company. Private helps such as mentioned-above and others like helping to the wrokers in time of birthgiving, death or giving allowance while doing their military services are, moreover, identified as means of motivation. The belief in the possibility of developing more harmonious relations with the workers in enterprises in Anatolia is reflected also in the words of the head of the MÜSİAD Konya branch:

In our workplaces adversity towards “the capital” is infrequent. People with village-origins are content about the conveniences in the firs/factories. Compared to their village and/or smaller working place origins, here middle sized conveniences become satisfactory. They are thankful about social security and relatively good pay. They also know the conditions of the market. They have the good morale training they’ve received from their families. Most of them are villagers. Maybe some of them have also triend managing an entreprise before, and have seen and lived through the difficulties. The quality of the workers in the big city is different. They have mostly been oppressed. Therefore, from a very young age onwards, they become full of enmity towards capital. We do not very much approve of oppositional views around here.

A businessman of Istanbul uses the opposite expressions when especially describing the urban and, what is more, educated workers:

I cannot say that I’ve found workers as I wished. But one thing especially attracts my attention: the people we identify as illiterate are more industrious than the educated ones. I don’t know why. What I could not catch in 7 years in Bahçelievler, which is a place with a high level of education, I caught in Sultanbeyli. I don’t know what there is in education such that people get more corrupt as their level of education rises. People coming from the East are more trustworthy and honest; we cannot make the ones here work.

Sennett (1992: 80) draws the attention to the pervasiveness of paternalistic relations400 that manifest themselves under different regimes and forms in the transitional phase of capitalism.401 The socio-economic

400 The differences included in the patrimonial and paternalistic relations have to do mostly with the right of inheritance passing down from the father to the son; there is no difference between the two as far as the lasting of the male hegemony is concerned (Sennett, 1992: 60). In relations based on this foundation, a kind of power based on “false love” as Sennett (1992: 57) calls it and/or “practiced for the good of others” (1992: 90) is relevant. Scott (1976:157-92), who takes up patrimonialism as a type of relationship of the capitalist/traditional economy, states that this type of relationship, especially as a form of relationship of agricultural society, arises on the foundation of reciprocity. Patrimonialism, as a form of relations, transitional period we are experiencing, brought surely about a re-emergence of patrimonial relations –at least in the form of an expansion of face-to-face relations in the workplace- with decreasing importance of the small and middle scale firms. There are studies supporting this view in the literature (Pollert, 1988 in

Öngen, 1994: 144; Shaiken, Herzenberg and Kuhn, 1986 in Öngen, 1994: 144). Buğra (1999, 1998) too, by classifying TÜSİAD as the carriers of formal-modern rational values related to the working life, argued that because of the rising power of small-middle scale firms, like MÜSİAD’s members, informal ties and traditional working relations will probably be dominant in the working life of the country in the near future.

Still there is an opposing view; by pointing out the “transitory nature of this period”: It emphasized that these flexible-informal relational base is a respod to a rapidly changing environment –full of uncertainity and instablity (Burawoy, 1987; Piore and Sabel, 1984; Hirshorn, 1984). The differences in the quality of this relationship, as the results of my fieldwork also supports, in terms of size, worker’s quality and so on can somehow be taken as evidences proving the second view.

Therefore, it is maybe more appropriate to talk about a special type of paternalistic ties in the working life under modern conditions that makes possible cooperation and solidarity between the parties as well as its negative results in terms of the workers’ rights. In the case of MÜSİAD there were very few businessmen stating that they manage relationships with the workers on the proffessional-formal level, others uses such descriptions: “they consider me as a ‘father’;” I cannot say that I feel myself as boss in front of my workers, how I feel is basically is that we all aork together under the very same conditions; I eat with them, and I work with them.” Moreover, such a patrimonial base was considered by businessmen as something very positive because of its “human relations dimension” based on warmth and sympathy between the parties. In small and middle scale firms, relations with workers seems to be highly important, especially the ones with qualified ones that they do not want loose. The typical method to provide them with some priviliges, such as buying a car, house and so on; if not services like transportation, periodical helps with private reasons and so on. As a result it is important to know for them how their workers live, think and even feel; and what are their problems and needs.

necessitates a hierarchical base including traditional otority relations like treating workers as if they were little children. In this context there is a strict control on the behaviors of the workers: the owner can dictate rules over workers including their private lives –this was so also in the case of Weber’s entrepreneurs as discussed before. Still, a modern-rational phenomena, it should be noted emerges out of these set of relationships: it seems it is getting more important to base their relations with the workers on a systematic-professional and rational bases in the sense that they do not want to work with someone just because he knows this person or he wants to help to a relative to find a job fro his son. They expressed their growing need to find workers who works hard and qualified in terms of ethical conduct and attitude towards the work. A faithful person as well as a good one for a certain job does not need to be someone who they know personally –thank to their large network402 from which they can get any information they need. A disadvantage of being work with a close relative, some underlined, is the tendency towards normllessness in terms of the relationships deriving from so-called taking for granted trust between them. The importance of putting “rules and principles” in terms of working life is determined as fundamental. One interesting and practical example to overcome the traditional ties’ harmfull effcets on the business life was to find partners403, in the case that one want to enlarge his business by giving responsibility to his son, but does not trust enough to the working abilities of him.

The principle of “give a job to someone who is able to do it very well” (işi ehline vermek) was the one I heard very frequently both in terms of their workers, and other contexes, such as politics, exucuters of MÜSİAD and so on. Yet all these should not be interpreted in the sense that the familial ties are no longer important and/or primarily important for these businessmen. They choose to behave in such way maybe just because their familial

–which are nuclear rather than extended as an important distinction (see also table 4-5)- interests lies in rational processes rather than traditional ones especially for these rising businessmen under the conditions of metropolitan life.

These analysis shows that such a patrimonial base for working relations cannot be interpreted as just symbolic as Sennett does (1992: 61-2); on the contrary these

401 Stalin’s words, “state is a family and I am your father” are typical in this respect; for this and other paralell examples see Sennett (1992: 80-1). 402 To note here that MÜSİAD’s periodicales are full of advertisement anoncing the ones who are looking for a job or the ones who looking for an employee with certain qualifications; the association has even become a mediator providing businessmen with qualified workers. relationships are basing on a very materialistic-rationalistic base for both parties. In one instance, an interpreneur choosing someone to send as the director to a new branch of his workplace in another city have narrated the following story:

I am the one who established this firm. The two of my present partners have started here as apprentices just as a few years ago: this door to be rised is always open here. I told them this too when I hyring them. Partnership is not just a matter of money, but you should be a potential to become an adam (a mature male person recognizing his responsibilities as an adult). I gave them higher payments to make it posibble for them to become a partner with me, so that they could repay to me. They either become a good rival to you or a partner to you. Both alternatives are good for me. This firm has a summer resort for instance, and every worker of this firm can go there to spend their holidays.

There is a set of suggestions MÜSİAD published during the economic crises (MÜSİAD in Press, number:5, 1995) gives us evidences about the specific roots of this type of paternalist model in the working life, showing again it is not just symbolic but characterized with important concrete and/or material results: related to the relationships with their workers, businessmen have been proposed by the association that they sould not fire their workers regardless how much it costs: it is necessary to be not harmful on the “familial spirit” (aile ruhu) in their workplaces. Instead of fireing them they are offered either giving a relatively low amount of money to their workers, or to be freezed their wages. A personal story about this crisis period also follows: Everbody fired their workers in the April 5 crisis. I even increased their wages. I know that how much I give them is not even on the level that I give to my wife for just one shoping. (yet, he adds that she does not even feel happy about it). I asked myself “howcome these people could get bread to their children” and decided to increase their wages. I generally pay high relatively to the general market, and that is why my workers never want to leave me for another company. There were no such practices like compensation payments in the past; now we have this opportunity to pay a worker who is not able to work enough and/or properly. This is profitable for the interests of the company: It is much

403 This partner should include both technical and ethical qualities to be taken as trustworthy. more “human” as well. Once many entrepreneurs had to treat a worker badly if they want him to live, which is very unhuman. It should also be stated that most have perceived themselves special just because of their providing worker’s social security rights (and other legal rights): It is mainly because of the fact that few businessmen in Turkey fullfill the legal requirements.

Although close and sincere relationships with the workers have been argued as a necessary component of the working life for many, they did not mention the workers’ right to be organized as a natural right. Some even become apparantly nervous about the question I directed to. But these were few, probably because there is no such problem like a strong worker’s organization under the current conditions of the country. To compare the cities, Konya, Ankara and Istanbul, there were no such nervous expressions in Konya, a few in Ankara and Istanbul. One explanation to this in their sayings can be the followings: “I work harder than them, they should know that they are also living owing to this factory;” “they should even be greatful to us under these conditions of unemployment. They should also know that it is not easy to manage a factory, the real rich people do not deal with these problems in Turkish economic life just putting their money to the banks and getting high rates of interest. ” In Konya, there is no consciouss of being exploited by their bosses because of the fact that they start living relatively comforted conditions by getting a job in a relatively organized firm. There was only one businessman who stated that his workers are members of a syndicate.404 Yet there were other businessmen in Istanbul stating that they would preffer rather an organized labor in time due to the proffesionalization and the increase in number of their workers: they

404 According to a research conducting among 121 members of Ankara branch in 1994, there is no single firm experiencing collective bargaining with workers. This explains with the fact that they already have given to their workers’ rights, there is no need to such practices. It is believed that there will be no peace in the workplace when they organize in a syndcate (The Report on MÜSİAD members, 1994: 16). stated that it would be easier for them to deal with their worker if they are organized in a proffesional big company. Still they added one condition for this that they should not organize under the perspectife of a conflict base ideology towards the capital. There should be somehow followed the corporative relations between the parties.

This picture has supported by Sennett (1992) arguing that effective and widespread worker organizations have been possible only after the foundations of industrial centers.

According to this, the town factories with patrimonial relations a labor organization was very difficult and slow, if not totally impossible. On the contrary to this, in larger cities

(or in bigger towns) with many industrial institutions workers can relatively be organized easily (Sennet, 1992: 79-80). He explains this with the fact that closer otority is more dependable from the viewpoint of the worker and powerful in term of its sactions on the workers.

An instance that one of the businessmen has narrated is completely opposite to what

Sennet was claiming above: Worker’s strike in this example405 has resulted in a positive manner thorough the paternalist relations an employer developed with the workers. In this example, this businessman stated that workers were calling for such paternalist ties, and according to him, the very reason of this strike was a lack of strong ties between the parties. According to this businessman developing a good and strong relationships with

405 Businessman stated that workers decided to strike even though his friend’s factory was in a terrible financial crisis. The reason for the strike is that this businessman could not pay his worker’s payments due to the crisis. And this businessman declared to his workers that he will be closed his factory if they continue to be on strike. He was serious on his decision. When the businesman, who narrates this to me, learned this event during the strike. This businessman proposed his friend to be emotionally closer to his workers. Told him that “tell them how much you gained and lost openly;” “tell them you will share your profit with them beyond their regular payments;” And “ask them about their problems sincerely.” And his friends did what he propesed, the result was positive, strike was ended, and workers started working even harder. the workers is the ultimate solution for the problems of all kinds –especially in a Muslim country.

As a result in most cases employers are also working along with the workers, some even probably work harder than the workers themselves. This is one is the factors that make possible close relationships between the parties. For middle scaled firms, it can be argued, it is harder to find a “middle” solution due to the fact that there are not many but still more workers to be able to develop sufficiently close relationships, yet the factory is not big enough to formalize these relationships and to employ proffesional employees in administrative and executive positions. Businessmen states this as “it is almost imposible to be able to find qualified personall suitable to take responsibility of the firm.”

The quality they are looking for, many underlined, is not related to have university degree. They mostly expect a high level of trustworthiness and ethical conduct. In this sense, in its historically determined scarcity in the context of national culture,

“trustwothiness” itself has become a form of socio-cultural capital. 406 They believe that because there is no institutionalized working ethic (including norms and rules in accordance with contemporary working conditions) on the nation level, the university graduates do not have a positive attitude towards work. It is clear that this is connected with the bureaucracy-oriented nature of formal education in Turkey (Sarıaslan, 1994:

261-2; Mardin, 1991c: 230). Still, in the process of professionalization and growing of the factory, it is sure that one cannot realize informal face-to-face relationships with the workers, even if he prefers to do that.

406 Another fieldwork conducted between 1969-71 proves that there is a strong connection between trustworthiness and high moral standarts (Dubetsky, 1976: 443-45). According to this conceptualization, however, trustworthiness is defined as something not gained through social processes, but a characteristic that either a person has or not. If not, these patrons believed that a worker “no matter how skilled, will slack To summarise an experience a businessman narrated me, an acquaintance of that businessman urged him to employ his son who has newly graduated from university. The businessman expressed his surprise and unease when the boy came to the meeting, after he replied the demand ‘Let him visit me,’ not by himself but with his father, and to add insult to injury, when the father made all the talk instead of the boy, a situation unfortunately not too unusual in Turkey. The first question asked by the father was about

‘how much his son will earn and under which conditions he is going to work.’ The businessman thinks that it is futile to wait any productivity from someone who is unable to speak for himself and whose first question is not ‘what I can do for this company?,’ but is ‘what can I obtain from this company?’ Nearly all businessmen expressed the argument that university graduates in Turkey now have to see the importance of being productive at every level in a given company. That is so, because businessmen think that graduation from university does not prepare the youth to business life407. Under the present conditions, every person, regardless of their level of education, must be ready to start a job from the point zero to be successful, however, within the framework of the dominant culture, “unfortunately, everyone in Turkey is after finding a comfortable position and earn as much money as possible, while spending the least possible effort.”

This is to such an extent that when the companies find an employee “fulfilling their wishes,” it is considered as normal that this employee decides his/her own salary and

off and not give himself fully to the job, it is felt, and possibly may even do damage to the firm in one way or another.” 407 It is fairly new in Turkey planning education as a preparation to the market, not to the governmental positions of course (VI. Five year Development Plan, ÖİK Report, 1989: 112). It is noted in this study that it was only after 1960s, the planned economy period, that a policy to educate technical personal has been started; in the praface of 3th Development Plan the following is included: “industrial institutions are not only for production but also for technical treaning and education (1989: 122-3). conditions of work. The companies believe they cannot keep the employee who is trustworthy in terms of his/her ability and human virtues if they do not act that way.

This point has often been mentioned for Ankara and Istanbul. In addition to the problem of ‘the good employees being transferred by other firms,’ that the able employees tend to establish their own businesses is another matter of complaint:

We have difficulty in finding intermediary qualified-technical personnel. There are lots of unqualified workers. Besides, our people do not have the patience to reach a certain capability. They want everything to happen immediately. They can shift to another job thinking it is easier, more comfortable. Whenever we find intermediary personnel, it is quite often to see them to leave after a short while to start their own businesses. In that case, dwarf enterprises are established. In fact, staying here with us is better both for the employee who leaves our company and for us alike.

I must admit that, although not as critical as in Ankara or Istanbul, the problem of

‘transfer of the good employee to other firms’ is also valid for Konya which has began to have a serious economic livelihood and competitive environment in recent years. The imaginative solutions used by a company to close the shortage of qualified employee408 are impressive:

We have a shortage in terms of qualified personnel; the education they had at school is insufficient. Some that we have trained transferred to other companies after a year. We have work-related training, computer training; and we bring experts from Italy on granite. The mistakes made are also costly to the entrepreneur. The workers are always thinking of earning a bit more and hence go to somewhere else, while the employers think of raising their own employees and keeping them in the company as personnel cannot be found at some sectors. We have had work courses with employment guarantee started. For instance, we

408 To have technically qualified personal have given importance to this degree that one of the MÜSİAD’s suggestions during an economic crisis was to work with qualified personalle (see appendix-2, article 2). have taken 21 people from these courses on gardening and greenhouse farming. They started work immediately after an eight-week training. As a result, perhaps the problem of finding qualified worker is much bigger a problem than unemployment for Turkey. We are providing training at work on work ethic, technical matters, and social life, too, because we see that the applicants lack knowledge in these areas. We have problems related to the personnel on foreign trade and public relations as we cannot find any. At the moment, personnel who can speak foreign languages is very important. We also have problems concerning holiday village and hospital personnel. How hard we try to make these sectors attractive, as everyone wants to work at the centre, it is very hard to find people to send to these places. To attract qualified workforce, we make careful calculations in such issues as payment according to productivity and so on.

It is striking that the issue of gender was discussed several times in relation with the questions of professional attitude towards work and finding more qualified personnel. To employ female workers outside areas of employment considered as female-oriented such as textile –which requires some qualifications- is preferred by the MUSIAD people only when qualified workers are needed. The preference of female workers depends also on the fact that, unlike men, they are not part of the ‘market circulation.’ That is to say, if you have a qualified female worker, the usual conditions of losing her is either marriage or maternity; that they leave for another company is very rare.

Moreover, it is believed that employing female workers contributes to the work environment, because, according to the observations of businessmen, there is a negligent and casual atmosphere in an all-male working environment. The presence of even one female employee at work is enough to create an atmosphere of seriousness. The province where no problems are aired regarding working with women and where the density of those who prefer female employees is Ankara. This result is no surprise for Ankara which still has a relatively homogenous demography and an orderly urban life. The Ankara businessmen have also mentioned they preferred female employees due to their ability and their better response to the need of qualified workforce. Therefore, in terms of work ethic and work culture, to be female can be considered as a social capital with positive significance in our country where traditional forms have disintegrated but the modern forms to replace them have not yet emerged. That is because women are raised, due to the harsh education they have, more inclined to such specialities required by capitalism as rule-abiding, discipline, patience, and industriousness. When the reluctant male-female relations enforced by the traditional culture is added to that, it is easier to clarify the

“female touch” referred to by businessmen. The reluctance emerging from this relationship should add a relatively more careful and thoughtful manner of acting to the workplace where acting as one feels like is the norm at times of absence of submission caused by the fear of the manager or of the boss.

Surely, the hardness of working with women is also mentioned. The first among these is that women leave work at one point due to reasons such as marriage or giving birth: This causes the businessmen invest on women reluctantly since they fear their labour on them will bring no profit. While Ankara is the province where people are the most comfortable with employing women, more hesitant expressions are observed in Istanbul and Konya.

While employing women is a rarely seen situation in Konya, there have been some among members in Istanbul that hesitated on that issue: The two members who declared they think women are employed because of their ‘physical attractiveness’ are from

Istanbul. However, this should not be perceived as if other businessmen fail to share this opinion. This is related to the metropolitan environment which creates such concrete cases more often and which is more suitable for the issue to be noticed. Such problems as decency and the like are voiced about female workers employed as unqualified workers – such as cleaning companies or daily cleaning and such-. At this point, the businessmen have told they have shown protective behaviour in such cases, giving examples. One example is that a businessman from Konya has employed a widowed woman with a protective attitude. Another example is the case when a businessman has chosen to pursue very harsh measures against men rather than dismissing the woman when another widowed lady “could not stop having problems with men.”

However, Konya is also the province where imaginative methods are used to employ women: While such big conglomerates as Kombassan prefer not to employ women, another relatively smaller and newer business conglomerate is employing women, despite in small numbers. The two female workers that I have met were also university students.

While I was conducting my interview with the administrator, one of them came and stood by us. I guess I have to express at this point that the only place where I have conducted an interview while a woman was attending was that company. Those two ladies had a distinctive place within the company only because they were female. Their workplace was decorated with furniture they could lay on and was very spacious. A comfortable room was exclusively given to them as they might have special situations, as they were women. Nevertheless, these accessories are also clearly aimed at the female customers these ladies are to meet. This environment surely must have played a very important role to make female customers who come to that corporation feel at a homelike environment rather than a formal – strange place409.

In terms of definitions of product and service quality, there was not a considerable difference among the provinces I have conducted the interviews. A great majority of the businessmen I have interviewed said they had confidence in the quality of their products or services. However, a majority of the interviewed businessmen have emphasised the wide range of products they produced and mentioned they did not produce or sell products at one single quality410, and that their prime principle is ‘not to cheat the customer’ about the quality of their products. Businessmen see a positive correlation between attending the growth objectives and product quality. In attaining quality, technology is emphasised as important a factor as qualified labour force. The required technological equipment is imported from the Western countries. To ‘possess the technology of the West’ is unavoidable for those who seek good quality. The backward position of Turkey is admitted and Turkish industry is criticised not because it lack the high technology, but chiefly because it lacks the ambition and understanding of quality on that issue. It is clear in his publications that MÜSİAD encourages the use of high technology and high quality. A training seminar has been realized in this direction

(MÜSİAD Bulletin, Year: 3, Number: 7, 1995: 34, 42). A businessman relates his personal evolution in that respect as follows:

You think what you are doing is adequate when you do not see better. What I have seen in Holland and Switzerland made me renew my

409 Mardin (1991:61) emphasises the “anti-formal” and/or informal character of the periphery. In that respect, it can be said that the company has managed to achieve a very clever synthesis by combining economic aims with informal expectations. 410 Those who made business with Islamic countries underlined the fact that the product they manufactured for these countries was of low or medium quality. They argued that if you provided even good quality technology. I now know that the products I am producing at the moment are the best quality. This changes your market as well. It increases your trade volume, makes you produce in greater quantities. You can provide a whole building’s furniture rather than pieces of furniture, for instance. When your high quality is perceived, the number of those who want to do business with you increases by itself.

Although such remarks as cited above are most frequently seen among businessmen in

Istanbul and Ankara, the situation is not too different with regards to Konya. The Konya businessmen are aware of the need to employ qualified labour and use advanced technology, as previously stated: “We try to produce the best with the equipment we have. According to our understanding, either you do something with good quality, or you do not do it at all. We would not want anyone say ‘they had dropped their quality in time’ for us. When and if our situation permits it, we purchase new machinery, some of them home-made, some made in Germany or made in Japan.” These examples, in summary, show that most of the businessmen aims to articulate to bigger businesses somehow.

CONCLUSION

Weber implied that the homogonizing effect of capitalism on different cultural contexts would be limited because similar economic organizations could be based on different ethical foundations (1958a: 268).

Weber defined “economic ethic” as “practical impulses” for individual economic action, which are founded especially in the psychological and pragmatic contexts of religions (1958a: 267).411 These impulses deriving from this culturally specific ethical framework, therefore, have either a negative or positive effect on economic functioning. Protestantism and reformation have provided capitalism with a

material to these markets, the buyers would not pay more than a given amount as they actually had an inclination towards goods imported from Europe or the USA. 411 Still, Weber underlined that no economic ethic has ever been determined solely by religion. Therefore, religion is only one of the determinants of the economic ethic in his analysis (1958a: 268). “Motives” that Turner (1974: 141) described as “acceptable answers to such inquiries as ‘why did you do that’ are important explaining what Weber meant with the “economic ethic.” compatible work ethics in Weberian analysis, while other cultures, a western country with a large proportion of catholic population like France or Islamic countries, have been seen as incompatible to the needs of the organizations of capitalist societies.

Since they focused on the culturally specific (but still universal) nature of western capitalism, the founders of sociology; Durkheim (with his theme of division of labor and anomie) Marx (historically specific nature of class struggle and capitalist exploitation in western capitalism) and also Weber, have all seen the foundations of modernization approach412 in the sociological tradition. This reflects that the idea of modernity, as it is well-known has two aspects, one is technical and the other aspect is normative- cultural. While one of the implications of this is the need for a cultural similarity with the western model413 was suggested to be required, another one is the culturally diversed paths for different modernization processes.414 This emphasis on the “cultural” is related to the idea that economic and technological fields are not value-neutral. Therefore, the defensive nature of Islamic culture has minimized and started to perceive western culture in a variety of ways –including acculturation, cultural resistance and opposition in a selective manner. In time, the possibility of a modern solution which is based on the transformation of the local culture to a totally different synthesis –i.e., not the one which imitates the western culture altogether has been accepted (See Safi, 1994; and Mardin, 1992). There must also be a place, of course, for the culturally legitimate resistance –even if it maybe illegal in some cases- through a process what Hobsbawm (1993) called “inventing tradition” although it is difficult to determine where we can find the “inventing” dimension in what is modern. “The difference between an old and invented practice is the latter’s “unspecific and vague character” as Hobsbawm underlined (1993:

412 This approach is based on the idea that the western capitalism is a universal model in the sense that it has an expansionalist nature. In time, however, this approach has neglected the historical and cultural specificities of modernization itself and been directed heavily by a functional and teological view of modern capitalism. For this reason, it can be argued that the failure of modernization theory was not caused by its universalistic assumptions. This happened because of its negligence of the dynamics and specifics of modernization process by focusing on whether or not a society is functioning in the direction and the manner of modern capitalism in it ideal typical sense. 413 Remember here that it is one of the fundamental models in Weberian analysis as an ideal type and as Swedberg (1998:193) points out he used these types mainly to overcome the split between the different fields of social sciences. That is; how these categories are not absolute, but historically and culturally defined analytical tools. 414 See Göle (2000) and Featherstone (1990) on the issue of the possibility of culturally plural forms of modernity. 10-11).415 That is also why it is imposible to map the Turkish revolution in detail beyond the general directions and tendencies because of the fact that to talk about and analyze “what is new” in detail, especially on the practice level, is almost impossible.

The development in Islamic countries toward more liberal socio-economic orders is a recent phenomenon. This has started a new discussion in both academic and political circles on the conventional idea that Islam is not compatible with industrial capitalism. In this process, “what is important and crucial” related to the issue of religion has changed from being politically oriented to a much more broader context. Changing nature of religious studies caused mainly from the fact that a development of increasing importance of cultural, religious factors in shaping general socio-economic processes in worldwide level, in contrast to the expectation that religion will be decreasing in time by being replaced with modern science and ideologies. Yet, modernized religious forms have gained importance not only in the private lives of individuals, but also in the public life embedded into the socio-economic realms.

Rational and systematic cognitive processes have become common for the larger sections of Turkish society along with the increasing civil society organizations bringing together what is central and peripheral under the same roof. Because these have strengthened “weak,” yet widespread ties (Granovetter, 1973) among people, beyond strong traditional ties, the socio- economic interaction between various social groups have shifted from being double-edged – limited to the interaction between peripheral and central dynamics as Mardin emphasized - to a multi dimensional one.

Thus, under the effect of the new flexible capitalism integrating to the world in a highly globalized world, the elites of Turkey have differentiated by positioning on the borders in the cities, between the metropolitan cities of the world as a whole and the peripheral cities of Turkey.

This processcan be described as the modernization (in the sense of heterogenization,

415 A further point is their marginal position to compare with the old ones makes them hard to determine. Moreover, Hobsbawm maintains that it is hard to distinguish between a strong flexible tradition (with a high adaptability) and an inventing tradition, and the absence of traditionalism as a movement itself as one powerful criterion to determine where we can find an “inventing tradition” (1993: 7-8). urbanization and industrialization)416 of Turkey’s periphery in a sense. Mardin (1991c:

204, 226) emphasizes the “opportunity creating”417 role which the expansion of urbanization provides. As we know, one of the characteristics of traditional societies is the static, and therefore uncompetitive nature individuals occupy in terms of social status.

That is why, these new opportunities helped masses to integrate to the modern republic by emancipating themselves from the limits of traditional structures and values as well as the protection they supplied. Thus, this process should also be determined as the base changing attitudes towards material issues such as wealth, production and consumption.

As a result, much more complex societal ties and forms, including new aspects of economic socio-cultural distinctions among social groups and individuals in a similar manner to western capitalist development have emerged. This new fragmentation has been emerging in a society that was relatively composed of equal people on the base of the Ottoman egalitarian heritage. Groups representing this new socio-economic fragmentation, originating from the classical class divisions such as newly urbanized workers, rising middle classes between their traditional origin and possible future successes in their new urban lives and increasing role and importance of entrepreneurial activities activating cultural as well as economic realms of Turkey.

Along with the deepening of modernization process of Turkey through increasing mass education, urbanization and migration from rural to urban centers, the classical cleavage of Turkey has entered into its conclusive stages. According to the traditional periphery-center cleavage of the Turkish society, periphery represented the society as a whole composed of socio- economically equal people while the center represented by the political-bureaucratic elites of a few cities of Turkey. The division between folk Islam at the periphery and doctrinal Islam at the center is well known. This cleavage has mostly continued in the (re) structuring process of

416 Ayata (1988: 50, 66) underlines that in Turkey small town lifestyle characterizes a distinction of insider and outsider: one considers others as one of these two cathegories. In this context, being an outsider is enough to be considered as itibarsız (a person with a lower status). Ayata notes that this is true even for poor groups in the community. Under the conditions of intensified migration from villages to towns and from towns to cities, because the immigrant status cannot represent a marginal status anymore, the above- mentioned criterion seems to become diversified, if not irrelevant. 417 Mardin’s (1991c) emphasis on the expansion of “opportunities” points out a structural base for the modernization of Turkish society –on the base of a transition from static to dynamic hierarchical order. Republican period by having a new shape under the secularized policies of this period, but still with an orientation towards creating a uniting whole under the rationalizing effects of modernization process. This dynamic process can therefore be summarized, with Ülgener’s (1981) words, as a uniting process of “mystical” (mistik) and “ascetic” (riyazetçi) Islamic understandings and/or traditions.

It is important to note here that in opposition to the diversification and fragmentation of society in terms of structural and economic matters –it is indeed why Marx called modern society as a “class society”- there will be homogenization effect in the cognitive faculty of the people out of the expansion of formal education, which is a necessary component of the capitalist order according to the Weberian analysis. It is very important in his analysis because this is where humanity’s creativity and revitalization capacity lies in. It means that regardless of how much political/ ideological or practical ideas and solutions differ from person to person, the very process of reasoning used by them will be the same in its ideal typical sense: it will be experiencing out of a development that the rational systematic thinking will be replaced with the culturally originated habitual one. This has been realized, as analyzed in the related chapters of this study, as a response to their immediate environments to control it because habitual thinking limiting just to perform what is “traditionally” learned from a person or institution does not solve the contemporary problems these people face. Therefore, what will be witnessed is a disappearance of cultural differences –in the sense of the determinant role of traditional/habitual categories in human relations. What will be left and become dominant is a “cold reasoning” on the base of rationally and/or formally determined principles that are defined in a culturally and historically specific conditions of Turkey.

Organized all around Turkey, MÜSİAD has such “in-between” position in terms of both its presence in the periphery as well as at the center of the country and of its multi-dimensional and functional nature. The member profile has also complementary with this in-between nature of the organization in terms of their geographical origins, age groups and educational level: The MÜSİAD members interviewed are mostly in their middle ages, considered to be the most dynamic years in a person’s life especially in terms of professional life. Therefore, many MÜSİAD members can be included in the category of what is called “secondary elites” in Turkish context because of their relatively strong attachment to modern education with a lower possibility to reach opportunities that the primary elites of the country have an easy access.

It is argued since reformist Islamic thinkers that a vanguard group has been necessary to reform Islam and create a contemporary Islamic ethic functional in every field of modern life (Saktanber, 1997: 141-3; Safi, 1994). Thus, the case of MÜSİAD has been analyzed in this study reflecting the cultural as well as structural dynamics of the deepening of the process of capitalism and modernization in an Islamic context. Following Weber, this “in-between” position itself as a source of risk, uncertainty and a potential to rise is considered in this study as (structural) components of entrepreneurship. Both ideologically and culturally this “in-between” composition of MÜSİAD’s members and the organization itself between what is old and new (in terms of the modern and traditional dichotomy) and what is formal-public and informal-private reflects its productive potential in socio-cultural as well as economic spheres. In the cultural-moral sphere MÜSİAD as the most popular Islamic economic organization in Turkey has served to increase the political and cultural differences and tensions between secular and religious dynamics of Turkey. More importantly, this process has also increased the internal tension and in-group potential for conflicts resulting in a rising differentiation and fragmentation in the traditionally highly homogenous Islamic group. In this process, the newly emerging Islamic middle classes have been considered as the main force that is responsible from this new fragmentation.

This group is also the dominant force creating a new and legitimate moral framework: they have a fresh memory of the peripheral values and conditions with a recent placement in urban areas. These conditions are basically what make a new interpretation of old practices necessary. The process of re-interpreting the old religious-cultural sources is the difficult one creating tension in both doctrinal practical levels of these people’s lives as Weber (1992) and Zaret (1984) underlined. This process of interpretation, therefore, aims to (re) turn to original culture and religion around a very complicated aim which is characterized by the need of creating values that are totally compatible with contemporary societal-structural needs by being loyal to the original meaning of religious sources: it is a distinct process as well as identifying themselves with both contemporary conditions and doctrinal sources at the same time. The fundamental function of this intense (re) interpretation process is the adaptation of habitual world schemes of various cultural contexts with the homogenous power of contemporary conditions of the world.

As a result, following Weber’s analysis of Protestants Ethic as the spirit of modern capitalism in the western context, MÜSİAD members are being used as an explanatory key/tool to analyze and understand the main dynamics and features of the transition of Turkish Islamic socio-economic order to the capitalism in this study. In summary, it will no longer be possible to analyze this “new Turkey” in terms of the classical cleavages of the “urban-rural,” “modern-traditional” and/or “central-peripheral”. This also means to understand Turkish society in general by focusing merely on the political mechanisms and processes has no longer be as effective as it was before. Today, the center and periphery of Turkey are in a process of intense interaction, resulting in conflicts and tensions creating a potential for a new synthesis as it is typical in the Marxian analysis to have something new as the result of the confrontation of two opposites: this confrontation has beenrealized in the primary and secondary urban places of Turkey as well as in the inner world of the individuals as a rationalizing cognitive process. These individuals live in a midst of a culturally anomic yet very productive environment. This position is a double-sided burden, an “in between” within old and new places/values, conditions, ties and so on. In spite of the fact that this study emphasizes a general liberalization and “civilization” of socio-economic processes, why discussions around the subject of “Islamic” capital, namely the “green418 capital”, have been kept under control mostly by the “already westernized center” of the country including the army419 needs to be explained. First of all, talking about a general liberalization trend does not mean a total disapperance of the strenght in the central power of state and bureaucratic elites. That is the “strong state” continues to have an active part in the reshaping of Islamic dynamics in Turkey, but just as one of the active parts, although the most critical, of this constitutive process. More importantly, an increasinly diversified attitutes at the center towards the developments in the İslamic periphery of the country can be determined. In terms of the governmental policies and attitutes towards Islamic organizations there is no longer an homogeneous stand of the central power in the country mainly because of the general diversification in

418 In the Turkish usage, “green” is the color identified with Islamic identity. The historical origin of this identification goes back to the years of Prophet: I was told that one of his sayings includes the information that his favorite color was green. 419 In the coalition government of Refahyol (Welfare Party’s and True Path Party’s coalition) Islamic and/or “green” capital have become the most popular subject on the agenda of Turkey, especially after the decisions, known as the decision of February 28, were taken by the NSC (National Security Council). The military have also declared in its June 10, 1997 briefing that a specific organization, called as Batı Çalışma society which was reflected on the state as well. This has been evident since the post-

1980 liberal policies of the Özal period. The attitude of the current Prime Minister Bülent

Ecevit, who rejected the general negative attitude around the theme of “green capital”420 from the very beginning is another example supporting the thesis of diversification in this realm. His flexible and alternative secularization policy as well as his positive attitude towards civil activities of Islamic groups are also important in this respect. This attitude is compatible with the information we have obtained from MÜSİAD members that there are also members in the MÜSİAD with “democratic left” orientation. Another example reflecting the differentiation and conflict in bureaucratic and military cadres is the following. Under the leadership of Bülent Ecevit, Haşim Bayram, who was the head of the KOMBASSAN, which was the subject of the most scandalous Islamic holding in the period following February 28, was chosen as one of the participants of a governmental business trip to the USA. This has created a governmental crisis because of Haşim

Bayram’s Islamic identity. This person has flown to the USA separately as a solution.

Three main fields of research area can be determined for Turkish socio-cultural and economic life for the future: Firstly in accordance with the emerging national liberal market economy, a shift in terms of theory and policy matters from classical cleavage based on traditional and modern (mainly created by a relatively unique and simple interaction between central and peripheral forces) to the socio-cultural differences, such as class divisions as well as ethnic ones and gender will be determinant. Secondly, the possible effects of Turkish people living abroad as well as cultural similarities such as having a religiously and/or nationally same origin, -the important point here is that the market and other advantages deriving from religio-cultural and linguistic similarities- will become more and more determinant in the economic development of national economy. Therefore, studying Turkish workers and entrepreneurs living in developed capitalist countries and studying the

Grubu (The West Working Group) has been founded to struggle against “the danger” of the Islamic capital aiming to found an Islamic state. 420 see Sabah Newspaper, September 27 1999 socio-economic and cultural conditions of other Islamic and Turkic countries will be crucial for the future research agendas. The third possible research agenda will be the newly emerging class categories that are basically harmonious with western class divisions even if they are experienced under fairly different historical conditions. In this context, focusing on cultural dynamics –similarities as well as differences to compare with the western experience- in shaping the emerging class categories seems to be especially important to get an overall picture of the unique capitalist transformation of Turkish case.

The Durkheimian perspective on this issue is especially relevant for Turkish context, first because France is a western case that experienced its transition to the capitalist system without a Protestant reformation. And second, Ziya Gökalp as the ideological founder of modernization project in Turkey followed his theoretical framework. Durkheim, in his

Professional Ethics (1949: 18-9), argued that it is one of the most important problems of modern societies that modern capitalism functions out of the present “ethical” realm because there may be no social institutions that do not depend on ethical principles. What is more, a new ethics embedded in the society cannot be produced from a certain “centre” and immediately. Durkheim underlined that a new ethics for a specific society can only emerge as a result of long-term organizational activities in a society. That is why the reformation of traditional economic organizations, namely guilts,421 is one of the central themes in Durkheimian analysis (1949: 20-30). The essence of this reform, according to

Durkheim, should be based on a shift from local to national level for their organizational base (1949: 65-7). The intervention and active role nation-state422 which is expected to carry in this realm is considered, therefore, as a necessity during the process of reformation and nationalization of traditional economic organizations (1949: 54). Thus,

421 In contrast with Durkheim, Weber (1987: 276-7) saw no connection between traditional economic organizations and modern capitalism. Because of the “rational” and competitive nature of the latter, it must be functioning in terms of a totally different logic through Protestantism that considered member’s rising power in both material and cultural levels as a sign of religioisity. the Durkheimian (1933: 408-9) solidaristic/corporatist solution for the ethical question of transitional societal contexts was not limited to a kind of statism, but believes in an internally built ethical synthesis of civil economic organizations in the long run. In his analysis, the role of the state is crucial due to the urgency of moral crises.

Turkish history has also proved this connection: For example, Toprak argued that there is a connection between the corporatist solution and the ethical problems of the society at the time (1982: 350-1).423 Gökalp, by emphasizing the role of national culture instead in the process of emergence of a new cultural-moral framework had become closer with the Weberian perspective rather than using the Durkheimian statist schema simply. He argued in this direction that periods of cultural crises –or transitional periods- have the great potential to create new national ideals and values (Gökalp, 1973: 48). However, the cultural cleavage of Turkish society between western and Islamic cultures created the whole difference in the long run. Because, as Durkheim emphasized, the civil initiatives of these lately modernizing societies are expected to be dominant for the ethical foundations of a society, and if the “transitory” solution the nation-state produced is in conflict culturally with these societal organizations, there will be a much more diversed and conflictual process in this respect.

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REPORTS and PERIODICALS

İletişim, (1988) Köylü Ayaklanmaları. Sosyalizm ve Toplumsal Mücadeleler Ansiklopedisi (Encyclopedia for Social Struggles and Socialism) 8. İletişim, (1988) Osmanlı Devleti'nde Toplumsal Mücadeleler. Sosyalizm ve Toplumsal Mücadeleler Ansiklopedisi 6. Müsiad, (1993) . Basında MÜSİAD 2. Müsiad, (1993) . Çerceve 1(4). Müsiad, (1993) . Çerceve 1(3). Müsiad, (1994) Economic Cooperation Among Islamic Countries. İstanbul: MÜSİAD. Müsiad, (1994) MÜSİAD Üyelerinin Anket Değerlendirme Raporu (MÜSİAD Member’s Survey Inspection Report). Ankara: MÜSİAD. Müsiad, (1994) Iş Hayatında İslam İnsanı: İslami Duyarlılıkla Yonetilen Firmalarda Örgütsel Davranış Biçimleri. İstanbul: MÜSİAD. Müsiad, (1995) . MÜSİAD Bülten 3(2). Müsiad, (1995) . Basında MÜSİAD 5. Müsiad, (1995) . MÜSİAD Bülten 3(7). Müsiad, (1995) . MÜSİAD Bülten 3(8). Müsiad, (1995) . MÜSİAD Bülten 3(4). Müsiad, (1995) . MÜSİAD Bülten 3(9). Müsiad, (1995) . MÜSİAD Bülten 4(14). Müsiad, (1996) Pamuk Birliği. İstanbul: MÜSİAD. Müsiad, (1999) . MÜSİAD Bülten 7(34). Müsiad (1994) Sunuş Yazısı. Basında MÜSİAD 4(Ekim). Müsiad (1994) TÜGTEV Toplantıları. Müsiad (1996) 1995 Faaliyet Raporu Müsiad (1996) MÜSİAD Araştırma Raporları Dizisi 19: Pamuk Birliği. (MÜSİAD Research Reports Series 19: Cotton Union). Müsiad website: http://www.musiad.org.tr Turkiye Ekonomik ve Toplumsal Tarih Vakfi (1996) Sivil Toplum Kuruluslari Rehberi. Ankara. IV. Beş Yıllık Kalkınma Planı (ÖİK Raporu) (1989).

APPENDICES

Appendix-1

A QUESTIONAIRE SAMPLE COMPOSED OF VARIOUS INTERVIEWS424

1.Levels of education, age, family background, the number of children, their and their wives’ education, places they live and how long.

2. Scale of the entriprise, sectors, income, the number of the male and female workers. Membership for other civil Associations? I am from Konya in origin as well; my father has a degree from an university and has turned back to Konya after his university years.

Answer for question 1-2:

He is 40 years old with 3 children. His Wife is graduated from a middle school degree (lycee). An entreprse that is oriented and motivated by the family members (partnership with his brother) as well as trusted- others. He is also a member of the Association for Children Without Parents.. The number of his workers are 210, and 5 of them are women. Our target with this entreprise is to increase employment of the country not to become richer on the individual level. We do not have a dream of a life donated by luxury items.

424 This sample includes the answers of different businessmen to reflect the most typical and explanatory answers for each question. Furthermore, I have chosen such a way also because of ethical concerns due to a promise that I made to the businessmen for not using the information on personal levels. (Aile sirketi, kardesler. 210 kisi calisiyor, 5'I kadin (buro, temizlik) 5. Sirketi kurduk su anda. Bunlari kurmanin nedeni daha cok istihdam.. Zenginlesmek degil. Luks hayat derdimiz yok. Aslen Konyaliyim, babam elektirik teknisyeni. Universite mezunu, universite sonrasi 6 yil once yine Konya'ya donmus. Esi lise mezunu, 4 cocuklu, 40 yasinda. Kimsesiz Cocuklar vakfi genel baskani.)

3. Businessmen’s motives to become a MÜSİAD member. 4. Their attitutes towards other businessmen associations, ( such as TUSİAD and other Islamic businessmen associations).

Answer for question 3-4: I felt that I was a natural member of MÜSİAD even before my membership to MÜSİAD since me and MÜSIAD as an institution thought about matters similarly.

3-4. Musiadli olmanin anlami? olanak olsa baska isveren orgutune girer miydiler?

Ben uye olmadan once de meselelere ayni baktigimizdan kendimi Musiad'in dogal uyesi olarak gorurdum. Musiad Turkiye capinda iddiasi olan tek siad'dir, digerleri yereldir. Ama musiad Tusiad'a alternatif olarak dogmamistir. Tusiad buyuk sermayenin olusumudur, farklidir. Disa kapalidir, bu kadar kapali olmasalar bu kadar siad da olmazdi. Insanlari dislarsaniz, elbette onlar da kendi orgutlerini kurarlar. Ben prensip olarak bolunmeye, ayrimciliga karsiyim. Keske butun isadamlarinin problemlerine tek cati altinda yaklasilsa. Fakat ne yazik ki farkli cemaatler, cephelesmeler var, 1960 sonrasi hizlandi bu..Bu durum ulkeye zincirleme acmazlar getiriyor. Hursiad da kapali devre calisiyor; ordu disiplini gibidir, hiyerarsik bir yapi vardir oralarda, ben bunu tasvip etmiyorum. Musiad, sonuc olarak cemaat realitesinin uzantisi olarak gorulmeli.

5. Advantages and disadvantages of being a MÜSİAD member.

5. musiadli olmanin avantaj-dezavantajlari?

70-80 yildir musluman insan isadami olmaz diye kandirilmis insanlar. Varligimi hissettiremiyorsam, o zaman ben de kendime uygun toplum olusturmak icin ugrasirim. Varligimin bir gostergesi olarak goruyorum Musiad'i. Musiad sayesinde, ortakliklar olusmustur, durust insanlarin birlikteligi kaynaklarin daha iyi kullanilmasini beraberinde getirmistir, ama bundan rahatsiz olanlar var.

6. MÜSİAD’s possible positive effects on the welfare of the country (on both socio-economic and individual levels) in businessmen’s minds.

6. Musiad gibi gonullu sivil olusumlarin ulkenin ekonomik ve sosyal refahini ve insanlarin mutlulugunu ne sekilde etkileyecegini dusunuyorsunuz?

Digerlerinin, ornegin TUSIAD'in bile Anadolu'ya acilma geregini hissetmesinde musiadin etkinliginin rolu vardir. Bu bile baslibasina bir hizmettir. [Su anki mucadele bir paylasim mucadelesi, ama kendi degerlerinden kalkan insanlar basaracak bunu eninde sonunda.]Insanlar buyuk sehirlere goc ettirilerek sefil edildiler. Bu biraz da Koc gibi buyuk sermayenin ucuz emek/maliyeti ucuza getirmek istemesinden kaynaklandi. Yatirimin yerinde yapilmasi gerekir. Insanlar buyuk sehirlere ust uste yigilmamali. [Bir avuc insan ve yahudi sermayesinin elinde oyuncak gibiydi Turkiye.] Musiad'in derdi sermayeyi tum ulkeye yaymak. Bu nedenle Urfa vb G.dogu illeri de dahil fabrikalar kuruluyor, ortak yatirimlara gidiliyor. Japonlar ve Almanlar yikimin ardindan 30-40 yilda dirilebildilerse biz neden yapamayalim bunu.

7. Information about businessmen’s awareness of the Association’s publications.

8. The Association’s activities businessmen attend.

9. The participation channels in terms of the activities.

7-8-9. Musiad yayinlarinin uyelere ulasmasi, belge ve duyurularin hangi konularda oldugu; musiad'in hangi etkinliklerine katilindigi; musiad'in katilim kanallarinin neler oldugu?

Butun uyelere ulasir, gunde 2-3 fax gelir bana Genel Merkezden.// Etkinlik sayisi cok fazla, yurtdisi gezileri de cok artti, ayda 1-2 oluyor su anda. Cok sayida komisyon var. Uye sayisi 800; bunlarin 200'u komisyonlarda uye. Onemli bir rakam bu. Uyelerle ilgili bir anket calismasi dusunuyoruz. Katilim konusu cok onemseniyor. Ben ozellikle Istanbul icin bunu soyleyebilirim. Ben diger derneklerde bu derecede katilim gormuyorum. Dernek kurmak kolay ama nasil isledigi onemli. Hic bir dernek genel kurulunu cogunluk gerektiren ilk seferde toplayamaz, ornegin. Biz topluyoruz. Cuma toplantilarina ortalama 50 ksii katilir her defasinda. Bazen 100'u geciyoruz. Katilimin daha da fazla olmasi hedeftir. Yurtdisi geziler ve fuarlar cok onemli bir katilim zemini olusturuyor. Egitim seminerleri, yogun fax trafigi, meslek kom. Faaliyetleri. Konular ilgi cekici kilinmaya, gundem yakalanmaya, ilgi cekecek isimlerin toplantilara davet edilmesine calisilir. Katilim konusunda ulkede genel bir sorun var. Tabii biz de bundan nasibimizi aliyoruz. Bazen Avrupadaki organizasyonlar icin bile kontrol icin Istanbul'dan adam gondermek gerekiyor. Bir belediye baskani diktirdigi agaclarin kesildigini soyluyordu. Ne yapilabilir? Dikilen agaclar icin yasayanlardan para almis biraz da ondan sonra sahiplenme baslamis. Yurtdisi gezilerden sonra Erol Bey anlatir geziyi cuma toplantilarinda. Bir uye tabii geziye katilmadiysa faydalanamz, ama artik Turkiye'ye gelen heyetlerin musiad'I da ziyaret etmesi sozkonusu. Heyetler geldiginde ilgili uyelere fax cekilir. Aksam yemegi veya workshoplar yapilir. Bu toplantilar aslinda devletlerarasi toplantilardan daha verimli oluyor. Dogrudan iliski kuruyor ve is gelistiriyorsunuz. Bazen aninda is bagliyorsunuz. Yurtdisi ticari etkinliklerde katalog bastiririz. Bazen fotograf da konur. Luks bir otelin toplanti salonunda, ilgilenen isadamlari gelir. Bu tanitim burosurleri sayesinde bizim uyelerimize ilgi cok olur. D8 gezisinde boyle oldu, cok yogun ilgi gorduk. Bu yontem yillar icinde gelistirildi. Bazen ayda 2 yurtdisi gezisi yaptigimizdan hem ekip uzamanlasti, hem de baskan tum gezilere gidemez oldu. Irak gezisine, ornegin, baskanin degil bir uyenin baskanlik edecegi…

10. What does it mean to be a MÜSİAD member on a more individual level?

11. What are the responsibilities of being a MÜSİAD member?

12. What are the responsibilities of the rich in terms of their Islamic beliefs.

10-11. Musiad'li olmanin anlami;gerekleri?

Benim ahlak burosu kuralim gibi bir teklifim olmustu. Normlarin inanctan kaynaklanmasi gerekir tabii. Ama ahlaki deyince ille de islami olmasi gerekmez. Toplumun genel kurallaridir. Vergisini odemeli, cekine senedine bagli olmali, iscisini magdur durumda birakmamalidir. Benim isyerimde asgari ucretle calisan isci yoktur. Ben tatile gidiyorsam onlar da gidebilmeli. Isci eslerinin dogumlari SSK'da olmaz, ozel hastanede olur. Benim yanimdan ayrilan isci benden memnun olmadigi icin degil benim ona saglayamayacagim bir is buldugundan ayrilir. Ben memnun olmasam da isyerimden kimseyi atmamisimdir simdiye kadar.

12. varlikli insan olmanin yukumlulugu; harcamayla ilgili hassasiyetler

Bosna Hersek/yurtlara, ogrencilere yapilan yardimlar…Yatirimdan artan paranin bir kismi mutlaka yardima gitmelidir. Bizim icin islamci yetistiriyor diyorlar, bu kotu bir sey mi? Benim gibi adam yetismesi kotu mu? Yardimlar yaparken insanin cani da yanabilir (Bosna icin onemli miktarda para toplanmisti.) Ama zaten kendiniz icin hicbir onemi olmayan bir yardim yapiyorsaniz, bu cok da yardim sayilmaz. Biz Kurbanlarda da cok kurban keser, bunlari derin dondurucularda saklariz, boylece yurtlardaki cocuklar bir yil et yiyebilirler. Mulk para, guc demektir ve cok tehlikelidir. Onu dogru kullanmazsaniz rezil olabilirsiniz. Kotu yola sapabilirsiniz. Ne yazik ki, son yillarda cok para kazanan kimi musluman insanlarin da bundan nasibini aldiklarini goruyoruz. Gosterise, lukse kaciyorlar, aile yasantilari dagiliyor. Oysa malin mulkun belli sekillerde kullanilmasi gerekir. Bunda icinde olunan ortamin da etkisi var tabii. Cunku islam bir cemaat dini. Birey olarak yasayamazsiniz siz kendiniz. Bu duzen insani maddi manevi haramla iliski kurmaya mecbur birakiyor. Ne kadar kacinmaya calissaniz da bir yere kadar kacabiliyorsunuz.

13. How to consume as a Muslim businessmen?

13. isyerinizde nasil bir orgutlenme modeli var? musiad uyeligi bu modeli etkiledi mi?

Yonetim modelimiz geleneksel modeldir. Bize eleman yetismis gelmez. Cok nitelikli elemana buyuk paralar verecek gucumuz olmadigindan kendimiz yetistiririz. Ama onlar da giderler. Ya bir baska sirkete, ya da kendi islerini kurarar. Ben universitedeyken basladim bu ise. Bir de SBF ogrencisi bayan vardi. Simdi burada rakip durumdayiz. Isi ogrendi ve kocasiyla kendi isini kurdu. Ben olmadigimda islerin yurumesi, yas-sayginlik-tecrube gibi gelenksel kriterlere gore bunlara sahip kisilerce ustlenilir. Musiad uyeliginin etkisi profesyonellesme gereginin ogrenilmesi bakimindan olabilir. Ama bunun da kosullari var, buyumek gerekir. Onun disinda bizim yaklasimimiz zaten bugun soylenenlere paraleldir. 14. The organization model in your workplace, and did the MÜSİAD membership effect this model in any way?

14. Calisanlarla iliskilerin nasil duzenlendigi?

Su anda ilk hedefim iscilerimi ev sahibi yapabilmek; bir karsilik beklemeden. Onlarin da ufak tefek tasarruflari degerlenmis olur boylece. Bir fabrikam da Denizli'de var su anda. Buraya tasiyacagim. Gecici iscilere ev almak gibi bir sey olamaz tabii. Uzun sureden beri calisan olmali. Bir tanidigim, buyugum, abim var; O yapti bunu… Ben daha once zekati disariya veriyordum. O'na dedim ki 'iscilerimize versek daha iyi, ama namaz kilmiyorlar ' dedim. O da bana, 'daha iyi ya,' dedi; 'namaz kilmasi gerekmez, ilerde baslayabilir, yakindakine vermeli'. Ben de o zaman O'na hak verdim. En makbul nafile ibadet dusunme (tefekkur)dir. Insan bunu ihmal ederse her kotu sey olabilir. (Isi ehline sormak cok onemli. Bir gun biri bana 'hiristiyan musluman olarak dogmadi ki neden cehennemde yansin' dedi. Ben bir cevap veremedim. Ama hemen ikna da olmadim, birine sordum. Yine bir alevi 'madem ramazan ayi bu kadar kutsal, biterken niye bayram yapiyorsunuz' diye sordu, bunun da bir cevabi vardir. Islami hic duymamis birinin bir hayvanat gibi gorulebilecegi…Ben dusunuyorum da, yanimda calisan isci en buyuk guvencem benim. O'nun gozuyle bakiyorum kendime. Onun icin de ben guvence olmaliyim. Ne yapacagim parayi. 1 milyar dolarim da olsa, yiyecegim-icecegim belli. Degil mi ki yarin obur gun de hesabi verilecek. Elimden geleni yapmaliyim iscim icin.

15. Employer-employee relations and MÜSİAD membership.

15. Calisanlar sendikali mi? sendikali olmakla ilgili bir politika var mi?

Sendikali yok, sendikaya gerek de yok (japonya'da yok mesela). Karsilikli birbirini kollamak onemli. Iscinin hayali ev sahibi olmaksa yardimci olacaksin. Sevket Kazan calisma bakaniyken 'eyvah' dedim; 'ustune giderlerse ne diyecek simdi'. Gercekten de sordular, O da cevap verdi: 'emeksiz sermaye bir ise yaramaz, sermayesiz de emek bir ise yaramaz' dedi. Ikisinin de korunmasi gereken haklari var. Ben haktan yanayim. Refahyol esel mobil sistemine gecilecegini acikladiginda sendikalar bundan hic hoslanmadilar, fonksiyonlari kalmayacak diye. Sen 1 yil ezme taraftarisin. Esel mobilde ayda bir ucret duzenlemesi esastir. Cunku sen isciden degil kendinden yanasin. Hak-is var daha farkli olan ama pek bilmiyorum onu da..

16. Is there a policy towards trade unionism?, and if they tolerate their workers’ membership to a trade union.

16. kadin calisanlara donuk ozel politikalar sozkonusu mu?

Isimizin geregi, buro tipi islerde calisabiliyorlar. Subelerimizde yok zaten kadin. Kadinlarla calismak bence avantajli. Ortami disipline eden bir etken. Biz daha cok kultur seviyesi dusuk insanlarla calisiyoruz. Kadin gorunce ceki duzen veriyorlar kendilerine. Bayanlar disiplinli, duzenli calisiyor. Sorumluluk duygulari yuksek. Beseri iliskilerde sikinti olur mu acaba, kaygimiz hep oluyor ama bizde olmadi simdiye kadar. Yine de bu potansiyel var tabii. Mesru olursa biz de onayak oluruz, ama g.mesru iliski olursa sikinti olur. Mutlaka bayan olmali calisma dunyasinda; onlarin yapmasi gereken isler var.

17. Is there a different policy towards female workers on the workplace level?

17. Turkiye'deki mevcut yapilarin insanlari tembellestirip ahlaksizlastirdigini dusunuyor musunuz, nasil?

Kurumlar iyi islemiyor. Vergi kaciran kacirdigiyla kaliyor. Yapanin yanina kar kaliyor. Kanunlarin uygulanabilir olmasi ve de uygulanmasi gerekir. Bu konuda kuyrugunun pesinde dolasan kedi gibiyiz. Iyi- durust insanlari one cikartmiyor sistem. Milletvekili olmak para harcamaya bagli. Dinle de ilgisi yok bunun. Erdemle ilgisi var. erdemli insanlari bu toplumda ellerini tasin altina koymalari gerekir. Tv almadim ben evime, basit, argo, kuruflu sozlerle dolu diye. Kucuk ibo aslinda toplumun ortalamasini yansitiyor. Okumus insanlar yapacak, basaracak, ne yapilacaksa Turkiye'de. Partilerle de ilgili bir sorun degil bu, butun partiler birbirinden beter. Babam sariyer meclisine 3. Siradan aday olunca anladik ne olup bittigini, sasirdik. Kucumsemek icin degil ama cayci-bufeci Sariyer'le ilgili kararlari aliyor, bu olamaz, bu kararlar onemli kararlar. Ben simdiki Buyuksehir belediyesinde de gordum, kararlar bir telas icinde ehliyetsiz insanlar tarafindan aliniyor. Herkes bir partiye girip calismali, hangi parti oldugu onemli degil. Babam cok hizli yukseldi, cok calismisti, park otele de karsi cikmisti, ama olmadi. Sayilari fazla olsa boyle durust insanlarin park otel yapilamzdi. Benim tek gorebildigim cozum bu. Her insan fert olarak kendisi icin musbeti amaclayip, bu yonde irade kullanmaya baslladigi zaman duzelecek isler. Sokaga cop atan adama tepkimizi gostermekle baslamali ise. Bizde ne yazik ki kalitesizlik prim yapiyor. Abd'deki insanlarin zihinlerinde fertler cok onemli, biz de ferdi sorumlulugu one cikartmaliyiz.

18. How do you think socio-economic structure of Turkey effect the behavioral and ethical framework of the country (for instance as a factor causing laiziness and non-ethical behaviours)?

18. Turkiye'de sermaye dunyasi hakkinda ne dusunuyorlar? Rantiye ve uretken sermaye vb. ayrimlar

Genel anlayis, az risk cok para kazanmaya dayalidir. Musluman kesimde ise ahiret korkusu oldugundan riskten kacmak yoktur, risk paylasilir. Faizin kotulugu bir baskasina zulum yapma boyutudur. Bize hitap eden finans kurumlari var simdi. Bizde temel dusunce uretimdir. Uretim zor ve kulfetli bir is. Turkiye'de daha da zor. Basta burokratik engeller olmak uzere pek cok engelle karsilasiyorsunuz. Rantiye kesimin hic bir toplumsal gayesi yoktur. Milletvekili olmak sahsi menfaat elde etmekle ilgili bir hale gelince halkin parasi birilerinin cebine akiyor.

19. Interpretations on the distinction around capital usage (such as productive and rentier forms)

20. Do you think the model MÜSİAD proposes is a suitable one for other Islamic socio-economic contexts as well?

19-20. Musiad'in modelinin diger Islam ulkeleri ile uyum icinde oldugunu mu dusunuyorsunuz, yoksa musiad'in modeli bu ulkeler acisindan yeni ve oncu bir rol mu ustlenmektedir?

Ithalat-ihracatta problemlerimiz var. Sektore de bagli oluyor bu islerin zorluk veya kolayligi. Finlandiya, ABD ve Avusturya'dan hammadde ithalati yapiyoruz (ambalaj kabi). Orta Dogu cok ozel bir yer. Ayrica ele alinmali. Benim yasadigim bir ornek var. bu meseleye cok girmek istemiyorum. Umutsuz vaka olarak goruyorum ben oralarla iliskiyi. Biz de aslinda onlardan cok farkli degiliz. Iran'dan ya da S. Arabistan'dan cok farkimiz yok bizim de ekonomik acidan. Orta Dogunun kurtulusunu Turkiye saglayabilir. Diktatorluk hepsi. Aslinda Islamin yasandigi bir ulke yok su anda. Rusyayi gezdim, bizim icin onemli bir pazardi, ama bir firsati kacirdik biz. Hukumetin yanlis politikalari nedeniyle. Sanki komunist bir ulkeymis gibi kapali davrandi Turkiye. Bastan suclu hissettik kendimizi. Sanki gizli bir emelimiz varmis gibi. Oteki ulkeler de bize 'acaba' diye baktilar. Kazakistandaki bir toplantida Tusiad (DYEK) ve Musiad ayri ayri katildi. Sanki devleti tusiad temsil ediyor gibi bir hava oldu. Devleti temsilen bir bakan dahi yoktu. DYEK'e soz verildi. Sonra biz de Musiad olarak soz istedik. Itirazlar oldu, Turkiye iki kere soz almis oluyoir, diye. Ama Cumhurbaskani onceki konusmalarda Erol beyden etkilenmis olmali ki, yine de soz verdi kendisine ve yaptigi konusma ayakta alkislandi orada.

21. Do you think MÜSİAD as a model can be played a new and leading role in the Muslim world?

21. Batili ekonominin ekonomik 'insan'i ile is yasamindaki 'musluman insan'in farki

Batida iki tip insan vardir; bir zevkte sefada olan insanlar, bir de idealist, cok calisan insanlar. Azinlikta da kalsalar bu ikinci gruptaki caliskan insanlar ayakta tutuyor Avrupayi. Yeni nesil bu kadarini da surduremeyecek. Genc nesiller kotu diye dusunuyorum. Ben orada da calistim, herkesin korkunc bir is disiplini ve ahlaki var. Muslumanlarda olmasi gereken onlarda var, dogruyu soylemek gerekirse. Orada hastanede hemsirelerin baktigi gibi bir insana oglu kizi bakmaz bizde. Iyi-durust olamk dinle ilgili bir sey degil. Kurallari iclerine sindirmisler, kaytarma mantigi yok. Kaytaranlar yine bizim Turkler. Is guvencesi var. Insanlar issiz de kalsa karnini doyuracak parayi veriyor devlet. Rusvet yok, aracilik yok; sanirim iyi bir egitimle saglamislar bunu. Bir de insanlar yasamlarinda her turlu ihtiyaclarini giderebildikleri icin ranta yonelmezler, biriktirme pesinde degildirler. Bizler, kizimizi oglumuzu dusunuruz, onlar dusunmezler. O yuzden de Turkler orada yemeyip icmeyerek mulk sahibi olabiliyor, ya da yatirimlar da yapabiliyorlar. Musluman adam inancli adamdir, bazi seyleri yapmamasi gerektigini bilir. Cekinme vardir, yumusaklik vardir. Ben 10 yil once yaptiklarim uzerinde daha az dusunuyordum, simdi ince ince dusunuyorum ve hata yapmamaya calisiyorum. Hacca giden, musluman bir insandan zaten iyi davranmasi yonunde bir beklendi oluyor, her hataniz bir baskasininkine gore daha cok goze batiyor.

22. What are the differences between the “homo-economicus” of the Western world and “homo-Islamicus” of MÜSİAD?

22. Sizce bagimsiz bir Islami Ekonomi Modeli mumkun olabilir mi? Japon ornegi ne anlamda yol gosterici olabilir?

Insana yatirim en temel faktordur, ve de idealist olma.. Bizim ihtiyac duydugumuz ruh budur. Ben Japon modelini inceledim ve hayran oldum. Ben kucukken grev yapan isciler beni fabrikaya sokmadiklarinda yasamistim bir hayal kirikligi. Insan isyerini cocugu gibi goruyor, agrima gitmisti. Japonya'da ise isciler grev sirasinda sikilip makine temizlemeye vb. Isler yapmaya baslamislar. Klasik anlayistan farkli bir uretim anlayislari var. Makinanin kaliplarini degistirme suresi Japonya'da 14 dakika suruyormus. Bu sure Almanya'da yarim gun. Surenin 1.5 gune kadar ciktigi ulkeler var. Bunun nedenleri de cesitli. Pazar gunleri isciler gelip fabrikada sokme-takma antrenmani yapiyorlarmis Japonya'da. Cok calismamak kotu birsey. Cok calismaksa bir meziyet. Ulke icin calisma bilincleri var. Fabrika sahibi de somuru derdinde degil; o da cok calisiyor.

23. Do you think it is possible for Islamic countries to have an independent Islamic economy? (please relate with the Japaneese model if possible)

23. Turkiye'nin kalkinmasinda kendi beyin ve iman gucune dayanmanin rolu?

Kendine dayanmak cok onemli bir nokta. Bir zugurt aga tiplemesi vardir. Pek cok isi dener ama sonunda cig kofte isinde basarili olur. Asil bildigi odur cunku. Kendimize, kendi yapabildiklerimize guvenmek gerekir. Yenilikleri de kendi sahip olduklarimizin ustune bina etmek, icine sindirmek gerekir. Basari da o zaman geliyor. Babam parasiz yatili okumus, ve hayatta icine sinmeyen hicbir sey yapmamis. Bir falsosu olmadan ilerlemis. Fikir, kultur, is hayatinda kendinden yola cikmak cok onemlidir. Ben klasik muzik sever, dinlerim ama Adnan Saygun'u basarili bulmuyoirum. Klasik muzik bestelemek bizim isimiz degil. Kut diye bir klasik muzik sanatcisi yetisemez, oyle bir gelenek yoksa, olmamissa. Bu, zorlanmamali, yapabildigimizi yapmaliyiz. Bizde de bir Bach ciksin diye zorlama olmaz. Onlar nasil bir Dedeefendi cikaramazlarsa…Evrensellik yakalanmali ama kendimize malettigimiz degerlerden yola cikilmali. Japonyada fabrikalarda corapla geziliyor toz kapmasin diye. Neden olmasin. Almanya'da 4 cayi uygulamasi var. Japonlarda yarim saatlik ogle uykusu uygulamasi var. Dinimizden utanmasak isyerlerinde boyle bir uyku uygulamasina gitsek belki bugun japonlardan da ilerde olurduk. Evrensel degerlerle kendi degerlerimizi kaynastirmak onemli. Tamamen taklit cok kotu birsey. Insaati da Turk gibi yapmaliyim. Belki keseri de. Kendime uygun yollar, modeller bulmak icin yollar aramaliyim. Osmanli'da bu yapilmis, muzigini olusturmus, makamini kesfetmis, Iran'I taklit etmemis, buyumenin sirri da bu olmus. Vedat Dolakay'in cami projesi bizde yapilamadi. Klasik taklit mantigiyla karsi cikildi. Oysa eski Osmanli tarzini asmak gerekir, imkanlar artmistir cunku. Bence camiler kotu yapiliyor. Bir estetik kurumunun onaylamasi gerekir. Tarihin taklidiyle Avrupanin taklidi arasinda sikisip kalmisiz.

24. What do you think the general public’s attitute towards the socio-economi policies of Turkish governments?

24. sorunun yanitlari:Turkiye'nin ekonomik ve siyasal politikalarini halkin politikadan beklentileri acisindan degerlendirir misiniz?

Yurtdisıni gormeden kendi yerimizi belirlememiz mumkun degil. Bu acidan Ozal'in katkilari cok buyuk oldu. Yurt disi, bir standart geregini gosteriyor, temizliginden, duzenine kadar.Bu geleneklerimizi terkedecegimiz anlamina gelmiyor. Devlet-millet barisik degil su anda. 8 yillik egitim meselesinde sivil toplumun sesine kulak tikaniyor. Oysa tepkiyi veren bir kisi de olsa dikkate alinmali. Gelismis ulkelerde fertler kendilerine deger verildigini hissediyor. Kural ihlallerini haber veriyor, bir kaynasma saglanmis. Devlet destegi falan da beklenmiyor artik, 'golge etmesin yeter' deniyor. Kombassan olayinda olan tedbir falan degil, bir girisimin onunu kesme olayidir. Sorunlar mesru yollardan cozulemeyince de yeraltina iniyor. Ankara'da devasa binalar var, ama o binalarda evraklar beklerken is isten geciyor. Devlet asli gorevlerine donmeli. Bankalar bugun arpalik gibi calisiyor. Bu anlayis ozel sektore de yansiyor. Devlette bitecek islerle ilgili olarak…Konyali Ankara'yi engel gibi goruyor. Tanidik bulunacak, isi yurutene rusvet verilecek falan. Durust insan is yaptirmakta zorlaniyor.

25. How could be a proper worker and a businessmen with a strong spirituality?

25. Maneviyati guclu isci ve isverenin nasil olmasi gerektigini dusunursunuz?

Artik heryerde geleneklere bir yonelme var. Moral-etik degerler one cikti. Sadece islamla sinirli degil bu. Ancak moral degerlerin istismari konusunda da dikkatli olmali. Din tacirligi yapilmamali, siz hiristiyan da olsaniz, is ayni olculerde yurutulmelidir.

26. What could be the conditions to guarantee rightful and proper working relations in their workplaces?

26. is yasaminda durustluk ve hakkaniyeti garanti altina alacak kosullar neler olmali, nasil olusturulmali?

Sekil zorlanamaz, devlet de zorlayamaz. Cuma gunu dukkanlar kapatilsin dendiginde zaten ters tepiyor. Ben S. Arabistan'da gordum, islam polisi var, ama ahlaksizligin en buyugu de orada. Goruntude musluman ama herseyi yapiyor insanlar. Iran da bunu yapmaya calisti, simdi gevsetiyor. Turkiye'de Islam'in yukselmesi devlet tesvik ettiginden degil, baski olmadigindandir. Kazakistan'da mesela islam adina birsey yok, fuhus sokakta yapiliyor. Erdemli insan devlet duzenlemelriyle yetistirilemez. Bir temel olusturulmali, ama zorlama olmamali. Devletin gorevi genel sinirlari koymaktir. Ama iste o zaman devletin genelev isletmesi olmaz, olmamali. Bir yandan fuhusu onlemeye calisacaksiniz…. Cogu yerde namaz ihtiyacinizi karsilayacak bir mescit bulamiyorsunuz. Luks otellerde sorun oluyor. Devlet dairelerinde yok. Tayyib Erdogan ufacik bir mescit koydu diye kiyamet koptu. Halbuki bunda birsey yok. Bu nokta disinda bu acilardan bir sorun gormuyorum ben.

27. To what extent do your enterprise has the necessary technological tools to produce high-quality products?

27. kaliteli mal uretimini saglamak icin teknolojik olanaklara ne olcude sahipsiniz, kendi uretim surecinizde kaliteli uretimi saglamak icin neler yapiyorsunuz?

Kaliteli uretim, ayakta kalmak icin sart. Pahali da olsa, kaliteli bir mal elinde kalmaz insanin. Kotu mali hem satamazsiniz, hem de kimseyi memnun edemez, duasini alamazsiniz. Ama ornegin S. Arabistan'a sattigimiz mal vasattir. Buna mecburuz, cunku orada kalite denince ABD mali anlasilir. Siz Beymen'I de goturseniz, Turkiye'den geldi diye vasat mal kategorisine konulursunuz. Turkiye'den genelde vasat mal gittiginden boyle biliniyor. Belli bir deger bicmisler, onun ustune cikmiyorlar. Bizim makinalarimizn %80'I bilgisayarlidir. Bu hem uretimi arttiriyor, hem de vakitten kazandiriyor, kalite de kusursuz oluyor.

28. What is the best way to do with a capital for someone who has money with no entrepreneural capacity?

28. sermayesi olan ama calisma gucu olmayan birinin bu sermayeyi en dogru nasil degerlendirmesi gerektigini dusunuyorsunuz?

Halka acilmaktan baska care yok. Girisimci ile paranin bir araya getirilmesi gerekir. Devlet vermeyince, kredi kullanilamiyor, ne yapacaksiniz, halka gideceksiniz. Gucu bir araya getireceksiniz. Cevre ve kendini yeterli hissetmek isin basinda gerekli. Bizim de bugunlerde boyle bir hazirligimiz var, bekliyoruz, zamanlama cok onemli. Piyasada hangi alanda bosluk varsa o alanda uzmanlasmayi hedeflemek gerekir. Bircok saha doldu, ama hala bos olan sahalar mutlaka var.

29. Who should be accepted as a main power who are responsible from the poor and needy? (the role of the state, general public in general, and the businessmen)

29. calisma gucu olmayan kisiler&devlete ve isverenlere dusen sorumluluklarin neler oldugunu dusunuyorsunuz?

Hastanede bile rehin kalabiliyor insanlar. Devlet kisinin insanca yasam olanaklarinin bir altyapisini olusturmali. Bu durum ne inancla, ne de sosyal devletin gerekleriyle bagdasmaz. Genc nufusu verimli kilmak, sikinti donemlerinde elindekilerle yetinmeyi bilmek de onemli. Ornek olarak insanlar kendilerine en zengini almamali. Kanaat etme, calismanin kutsalligina inanma onemli erdemler. Bu acilardan herkes kendi ustune duseni yapmali. 3 aci bir mahalle doyuramiyor, bunlar biraz da duyarlilik sorunu. Ahlaki bir cokus yasadigimiz bir gercek. Aile yapisi korunmadan, ahlaki degerler korunamiyor. Evlendirme, is kurma, fonlar, evlerde uretim vb cozum modelleri hep lafta kaldi. Devlet boyle seylere destek veriyor ama hep bir israf icinde. Ihtiyac sahibinin 10 milyonu karsiliginda 100 milyonun gitmesine sebebiyet olunabiliyor. Benim beklentim samimi, durust, belki orta zekali ama, surekili bir caba icinde olan insanlardan. Kucuk adimlarla buyuk mesafeler alinacagina inaniyorum. Cok zeki ama cok uyuyan bir insandan benim bir beklentim yok. Vasat olsun ama duzenli sekilde calissin. Devlet ve varlikli kisilerin elele vermesi halinde ben bu sorunlarin asilacagina inaniyorum.

30. Please describe the type of environments and conditions that could create reasonable, ethical and hard- worker entrepreneurs?

30. Iyi ahlakli, caliskan ve akilli girisimcileri yaratacak ortamlarin nasil olmasi gerektigini dusunuyorsunuz?

Aile en temel kurumdur. Asil burada belirlenir cocugun nasil bir insan olacagi. Ben Cankaya lisesinde okudum, kotu aliskanliklari olan arkadaslarim oldu hep, ben de sapabilirdim kotu yollara. Ki aslinda yapmadim da degil, herseyi yaptim. Ama ailemden aldigim saglam temel sayesinde bunlara kapilmadim. Anne babanin cocuklarina dogruyu yasantilariyla gostermeleri cok onemli. Her aksam raki sofrasina elinde sigarayla oturan bir babanin ogluna tersini ogutlemesi bosunadir. Bu nedenle aile bakanligi gibi kurumlar cok onemlidir. Bu bakanlik, aileleeri guclendirmek, desteklemek, ve bosanmalari onlemek icin calismalidir. Gelecek neslin saglikli-basarili olmasini bekleyebilmemiz icin bu sart. Insanlarimiz genelde cok cahil, boyle kurumlar tarafindan desteklenmeleri gerekir. Okul da tabii cok onemli. Ulkenin ihtiyaclari dogrultusunda cocuklarin dil vb teknik becerilerle donatilmalari gerekir. Ama cocuklara belli degerlerin verilmesi de bir o kadar onemlidir. Cocuklara belli bir idealizmle yaklasmalari gerekir. Ben bu konuda biraz kaygiliyim, cocuklarin cok iyi egitim aldiklarini sanmiyorum. Din dersinde ogretmenler, namaz oruc vb bilgileri veriyor ornegin. Oysa mana onemlidir, bunlarin niyesi onemlidir. Bu verilmiyor. Bu verilmeden otekini anlatmanin bir anlami yok oysa.

31. Size uygun calisan bulmakta zorluk cekiyor musunuz? Ise almada ve isten cikarmada ne gibi kriterleriniz var? sizin isletmeniz acisindan ideal isciyi tanimlar misiniz?

Eleman alimini mudurler yapar. Hangi konuda calisacaksa o konuda kalifiye olmasi onemli. Kavgaci, ickici olmamali; isi dort dortluk de olsa ahlaki bozuksa o kisi ise yaramaz. Kendisine onceden soyleriz isyerinin kurallarini. Testi kirilmadan uyaririz yani bir nevi. 1 ay deneme suresi vardir, is akdi sonra yapilir. Ve genelde isci cikartilmaz, cikartilanlar daha cok bu deneme suresi icinde cikartilir. Kalifiye eleman konusunda sikintimiz var. okulda aldiklari egitim yeterli olmuyor. Egittiklerimiz de bazen 1 yil sonra baska isyerilerine transfer oldular. Meslek kurslarimiz, bilgisayar kursumuz var; granit konusunda da Italya'dan uzman getirtiyoruz. Yapilan yanlislar sanayiciye de pahaliya mal oluyor. Isci surekli uc kurusun hesabinda, kafasinda baska bir yere gitme dusuncesi var. herkes kendi elemanini yetistirip onu sahiplenme derdinde. Bazi alanlarda eleman bulunamiyor cunku. Istihdam garantili meslek edindirme kurslari actirdik biz kendimiz talep edip. Bahcivanlik, seracilik alaninda 21 eleman aldik mesela bu kurslardan. 8 haftalik kursun sonunda hemen ise basladilar. Issizlik ulkenin bir sorunu oldugu kadar kalifiye isci meselesi de onemli bir sorun. Biz isyerinde is ahlaki, teknik konular ve sosyal yasamla ilgili bazi konularda da seminerler duzenliyoruz. Dis ticaret ve halkla ilsikilerde mesela kalifiye eleman sorunumuz var, bulamiyoruz. Dil bilen eleman cok onemli. Tatil koyu ve hastanede calisacak elemanlar acisindan sikinti var. burada calismak icin can atiyorlar. Uretkenlige gore ucret vb. Konularda titizlikle belirleme yapilir.

32. baska isletmelerle iliskiler& guvenilir kisi ve firmalar& ortaklik, isbirligi, fikir alma

Musiadliyla is yaparken beyan ettigi mali urettigine inanirim, alacak-verecek konularinda problem cikmayacagina inanirim. Bunlar hep guvencedir, birlikte is yapmayi kolaylastirir. O kisinin kazandigi paranin tamamini kendisi icin harcamayacagini, toplum yararina da harcama yapacagini bilirim. Bunlar da onemlidir benim icin.Yogun iliskilerim var Musiadlilarla. Sonuna kadar guvenirim hepsine. Cin- G.Afrika'dan mal alacagim, Musiad uyesi yok orada, mecburen baskasindan alacagim. Ama yeni uyelerde bu duyarligin oldugunu soyleyemem. Bazilari da uzun zamandir uyedir, ama etkinliklere katilmaz, bunlar farkli. Bir ihtiyac durumunda yardim esastir, yardima muhtac uyenin yerinde ben de olabilirdim diye dusunurum. Ortak sirket kurma gibi girisimler de var musiad uyeleri arasinda. Karsilikli guven bu tip seylerde en onemli seydir.

33. etkin bir uretim modeli icin dayanismanin onemi (sirketlerarasi ve isci-isveren arasinda) iscilerin boyle bir dayanismaya yatkin olup olmadiklari?

Musiadlilarla ve uye oldugumuz diger dernek uyeleriyle iliskide daha rahat ediyoruz. Ihtiyac duydugumuz uzun vadeli guveni onlarla ilsikide buluyoruz. Iscilerle ilsikilerimiz de profesyonel duzeyde. Her zaman tatmin edici sonuclari vermiyor isci ile iliskiler. Buyuk metropellerde bu is biraz zor. Eleman kaptirma bir sorun. Isciyle tam bir dayanisma pek mumkun olamiyor. Ama Turkiye'nin cesitle yerlerinde acacagimiz yeni fabrikalarda bu sorunlari onemli olcude asabilecegimizi umuyoruz.

Appendix-2

MÜSİAD ŞİRKET-YÖNETİCİ VE ÜYE PROFİLİ* (A MEMBER, ENTERPİSE AND GOVERNOR PROFİLE FOR MÜSİAD)

YÖNETİCİLER:

1.) Erol Yarar (Eski MÜSİAD Başkanı)

1960 Gaziantep doğumludur. Ankara Koleji ve İstanbul Işık Lisesi’nin ardından Boğaziçi Fakültesi’nde Bilgisayar Mühendisliği okumuş ve İngiltere’de yüksek lisansını tamamlamıştır. Öğrenimini Amerika’da Sistem Analizi konusunda sürdürmüştür. Erol Yarar, dernek başkanlığından biraz da hakkında çıkan ihtiyati tedbir kararı nedeniyle ayrılmıştır. MÜSİAD Başkanlığı sırasında, medyatik bir isim olduğu için derneğin kamuoyu oluşturmasında etkili olmuştur. Türkiye’nin ikincil elitlerinin temsil edildiği MÜSİAD bünyesinde, Yarar’ın tartışmasız bir biçimde Türkiye’nin elit ailelerinden birinden geliyor olması hem şaşkınlık yaratmış, hem de derneğe puan kazandırmıştır. Yarar üç kuşak sanayici bir aileden gelmektedir. Yarar’ın, TÜSİAD’ın kurucu üyelerinden Özdemir Yarar’ın oğlu olması, dernek hakkındaki TÜSİAD’a alternatif olduğu yönündeki düşünceleri pekiştirmektedir. Evli ve iki çocuklu olan Yarar, Dernek başkanlığından ayrıldıktan sonra da, eşinden ayrılarak genç ve tesetürlü bir bayanla evlenmesi nedeniyle medyanın gündemini aylarca işgal etmeye devam etmiştir. 1983 yılından beri, Kuruluş tarihi 1954 olan Atom Kimya Sanayii’nin Yönetim Kurulu Başkanıdır.

2.) Ali Bayramoğlu (Müsiad Genel Başkanı)

1958 Rize doğumludur. 1999’da dernek başkanlığına gelmeden önce, 9 yıl boyunca genel başkan yardımcısı olarak görev yapmıştır. Orta öğrenimini Kabataş Erkek Lisesi’nde tamamlayan Bayramoğlu, İ.Ü. Tekirdağ Meslek Yüksek Okulu Pazarlama İktisat Bölümü’ni birincilikle bitirmiştir. Evli ve 1 çocukludur. 5 ayrı sektörde (4’ünün yönetim kurulu başkanı ve birinin genel müdürü olmak üzere) ticari faaliyet yürütmektedir. Rizespor ve Rizeliler Vakfı gibi yerel oluşumlar yanında –ki, yöresel bağlarını halen sürdürdüğünün bir göstergesi olarak alınabilir- İlim-Yayma Cemiyeti’ne de üyedir.

3.) Natık Akyol (Müsiad Genel Başkan Yardımcısı)

Akyol da 9 yıl boyunca derneğin genel başkan yardımcılığı görevini yürütmüştür. 1956 İstanbul doğumludur. M.Ü. İşletme Fakültesi mezunudur. İngilizce bilir. Evli ve 2 çocukludur. 5 ayrı şirkette ekonomik faaliyeti vardır. (2’sinin yönetim kurulu üyesi, birinin genel müdürü, ve diğer ikisinde de ortak pozisyonundadır.) İlim-Yayma Cemiyeti üyeliği yanında, Kültür ve İktisat Derneği üyesidir.

4.) Şekib Avdağıç (Müsiad Genel Başkan Yardımcısı)

1959 Bosna-Hersek doğumludur. 1982’de İTÜ Makine Mühendisliği Bölümü’ni bitirmiştir. 1988’de İÜ İşletme İktisadi Enstitüsü İhtisas Programı’nı tamamlamıştır. Avitaş-Avdagiç Polyester Plastik San. Ve Tic. AŞ’nin sahibidir. Evli ve 1 çocukludur. Boşnakça ve İngilizce bilmektedir.

5.) Ömer Cihad Vardan (Müsiad Genel Başkan Yardımcısı)

1962 Sakarya doğumludur. 1983 yılında İÜ Endüstri Mühendisliği Bölümü’nü bitirmiştir. 1986 yılında ABD Ohio Eyalet Üniversitesi’nde İmalat Mühendisliği dalında yüksek lisans yapmıştır. Çukurova Isı Sistemleri San. Tic. Ltd Şti Yönetim Kurulu Başkanıdır. Evli ve 2 çocukludur. İngilizce bilir.

Dr. Ömer Bolat (Müsiad Genel Sekreteri)

Derneğin genel sekreterliği görevini profesyonel çalıan olarak sürdüren Bolat M.Ü. S.B.Enstitüsü Avrupa Topluluğu Enstitüsü’nden doktoralıdır. Lisansı M.Ü. İktisadi İdari İlimler Fakültesi İşletme Bölümüdür. 1963 İstanbul doğumludur. Evli ve 1 çocukludur.

ÜYELER:

1.Yimpaş Holding

1982’de marketçilikle işe başlayan Yimpaş, 1990’da 7 öğretmenin önderliğinde Holding haline getirilmiştir. 1996 yılı itibariyle 100’e yakın şirketi ve 30 bin ortağı olan Holding’in ortakları daha çok Yozgat ve Almanya’da. Yimpaş Yönetim Kurulu Başkanı Dursun Uyar, kişisel varlığının bir evden ibaret olduğunu belirtmektedir. (Aydoğan, 1996: 16-8)

(Kaynak: Intermedya Ekonomi, Yıl:3, Sayı:42, 1996:16-9).

2. Kombassan Şirketler Topluluğu

Topluluğun ilk çekirdeği 1989 yılında kağıt imalatı, matbaacılık ve ambalajlama alanlarında Konya’da oluşmuştur. En büyük özelliği halka açık şirket olmasıdır. 6. Yılında şirketlerini holding çatısı altında birleştirmiştir. 1996 yılı itibariyle 22 ayrı sektörde 30 büyük yatırımıyla faaliyet göstermektedir.

Kombassan Yönetim Kurulu Haşim Bayram’ın Yayınlanan Özgeçmişi: “1951 Karaman doğumludur. İlk ve orta öğrenimini Karaman’da; liseyi Akşehir İlköğretmen Okulu’nda ve Ankara Yüksek Öğrenim Okulu hazırlık sınıfında tamamladı. Daha sonra A.Ü. Fen Fakültesi Kimya-Fizik lisansı, ayrıca Kimya yğksek mühendislik tahsilini tamamladı. Anadolunun birçok lisesinde Kimya öğretmenliği; Sanayii Bölge Müdür Yardımcılığı, ayrıca bazı sanayi tesis ve kuruluşlarında mühendislik yaptı. 1981 yılından sonra özel dersaneciliğe başladı. 1989’da Kombassan’ı kurdu.”

(Kaynak: Kombassan Holding Kataloğu, 1996; Müsiad Bülten, Yıl: 3, Sayı: 4, 1995:18).

3. İpek Kanape AŞ

1991’de orta büyüklükte bir firma olarak üretime başlayan şirket, şu anda 50 çeşit kanape ve oturma grubu; 7 model yatak ve çeşitli ev tekstili üretmektedir. Almanya’da kurulan şirket ile Almanya’da, Moskova’daki şubesiyle bu bölgedeki ülkelere doğrudan dağıtım yapan şirket dünya pazarlarında da etkin olarak tanımlanıyor.

Şirket Yönetim Kurulu Başkanı Saffet Arslan’ın yayınlanan özgeçmişi: “1958 Kayseri-Hacılar’da doğdu. İlkokuldan sonra döşemecilik mesleğine başladı. (…) Kayseri’de mobilya sahasında çalışmasını ferdi olarak devam ettirirken 5.7. 1991’de 5 deneyimli girişimciyle İpek Kanape AŞ’yi kurdular.” (Vurgu benim)

(Kaynak: Müsiad Bülten, Yıl:3, Sayı:8, 1995: 20).

4. Abdurrahman Kaleli Oğulları Tic. Kollektif. Şti.

Şirket 1932’de Bursa’da kurulmuş; 1985’den itibaren İstanbul’da faaliyet sürdürmektedir.

Şirket Yöneticisi Süleyman Bahit Kaleli’nin yayınlanan özgeçmişi: “1946 Bursa merkez ilçe doğumlu. İlkokuldan sonra babasının yanında çalışmaya başlamıştır. (…)1970’de kardeşiyle bir kollektif şirket kurmuştur.”

(Kaynak: Müsiad Bülten, Yıl:3, Sayı:9, 1995: 19).

5. Feniş Ticaret

1952 yılında Kayseri’de kurulmuştur. “1962 yılında ilk yerli üretim olarak Arçelik ve AEG beyaz eşya ürünlerinin imalatıyla birlikte bayilik sistemine girerek buzdolabı ve çamaşır makinesi satışına başladık. (…) 1995 yılı başından bu yana ithal dünya markalarıyla bağlantı kurup yetkili satıcılıklarını aldık.(…) Özellikle tekstil konusunda MÜSİAD üyelerinden 4-5 kişiyle yatırım yapmayı hedefledik. MÜSİAD’a üye olmamız ve dış fuarlara katılmamız ufkumuzu açtı. Ayrıca, Kayseri’de kurulma aşamasına giren Kayseri Serbest Bölgesine kurucu müteşebbis olarak da katıldık.”

Şirket Yöneticisi Mehmet Hacılar’ın özşeçmişi: “1956 Kayseri’de doğdum. İlk-orta-liseyi memleketimde okudum. 1973’de baba mesleği olan dayanıklı tüketim malları perakende satışına başladım. MÜSİAD Yönetim Kurulu üyesiyim.(…) MÜSİAD-Hakka hizmet Vakfı işbirliğiyle faaliyete geçen Özel Erciyes Lisesi ve İlkokulu kurucu ortaklarındanım. Kayseri’de yerel yayın yapan Elif televizyonu kurucu ortaklarındanım. Şu anda kendi işim dışında tekstile yatırım için araştırma yapıyorum."

(Kaynak: Müsiad Bülten, Yıl:3, Sayı:9, 1995:19).

6. Genesis Genel Enerji Sistemleri

1996 yılında kuruldu. Binaların doğalgaz dönüşümünü yapmakta; kombi, kazan ve radyatör satış ve montajıyla ilgilenmektedir. Bunun yanında bina onarım ve inşaatı da yapıyor. Çeşitli yabancı şirketlerin bu alanlardaki temsilciliğini de yürütmektedir.

Ortaklardan Ali Gür’ün Özgeçmişi: “1964 Trabzon-Çaykara ilçeşi Akköse köyünde doğmuştur. İlkokulu doğduğu köyde bitirdikten sonra, 1.5 yıl kuran kursuna devam etti. Daha sonra OF İmam Hatip Lisesi’ni bitirdi. Okul birincisi kontenjanıyla İÜ İktisat Fakültesi Uluslararası İlişkiler bölümüne girdi. Daha sonra İngiltere’de iş yönetimi konusunda kurslara katıldı. İÜ’de Sosyal Siyaset dalında master yaptı. 1994’de Çalışma Ekonomisi ve Endüstri İlişkileri bölümünde doktora programına başladı. İngilizce ve orta derecede Arapça bilmektedir. “

(Kaynak: Müsiad Bülten, Yıl:4, Sayı:14, 1996: 65).

7. Fetih Giyim

Firma, 1984’de kitap-kırtasiye işiyle Adana’da ticari hayatına başlamıştır. 1991’de giyim de etkinliklerine eklenmiştir.

Firma Sahibi Bekir Fevzi Yıldırım’ın Yayınlanan Özgeçmişi: “1965 Adıyaman-Besni doğumludur. Adana İmam Hatip Lisesi mezunudur. Halen Anadolu Üniversitesi Açık Öğretim Fakültesi İşletme Bölümüne devam etmektedir. Lisede öğrenciyken cami önünde kitap satarak işe başlayan Yıldırım, şu anda iki kitabevi, 2 giyim mağazası sahibidir. Bir de dergi çıkarmaktadır. Türkiye, Milli Gazete ve Yeni Devir gazetelerinde muhabirlik yapmıştır. Bazı radyolara da program hazırlamaktadır. MÜSİAD Adana şubesi yönetim kurulu üyesidir.”

(Kaynak: Müsiad Bülten, Yıl:4, Sayı:14, 1996: 66).

8. İ-MAK Redüktör Varyatör

Dar bir kadro ile 1979’da kurulan 4 ortaklı İ-MAK, “bütün zorluklara karşın her geçen gün aşama kaydederek imalatın kalitesi ile kendini piyasaya kabul ettirmiştir.” Şu anda 55 personel çalıştırılıyor. Şirketin çalışmaları arasında Kalite ve Araştırma Geliştirme de belirtilmektedir.

Şirketin Yönetim Kurulu Başkanı Musa Hallaç’ın yayınlanan özgeçmişi: “1945 Sinop Boyabat doğumluyum. İlköğrenimimi Boyabat’ta, ortaöğrenimimi Sinop Sanat Enstitüsü’nde, Lise öğrenimimi Sultan Ahmed Sanat Enstitüsü Torna-Tesviye bölümünde bitirdim. Yüksek tahsilimi Yıldız Üniversitesi’nde tamamladım. Üniversite yıllarında iş hayatına atıldım ve arkadaşlarla şirket kurup muhtelif kademelerde görev yaptım.” (Vurgu benim)

(Kaynak: Müsiad Bülten, Yıl:3, Sayı:8, 1995: 20).

*İşadamlarıyla yaptığım görüşmeleri, kimliklerinin hiçbir biçimde açıklanmayacağına dair söz vererek gerçekleştirdim. O nedenle burada kendileri hakkında kişisel bilgiler veremiyorum. Bunu ikame etmek üzere burada MÜSİAD’ın yayınlarından ve başka kaynaklardan sağladığım bazı üye ve yöneticilere dair bilgilere yer verilecektir.

Appendix-3

MÜSİAD YÖNETİM KURULU’NUN EKONOMİK İSTİKRARSIZLIK ORTAMI İÇİN ÖNERİLER

1)Yatırımlarınızı özkaynaklarınızla yapın. Eğer özkaynak yoksa kendi kafa yapınıza uygun ortak bulunuz (Bütün ortaklık şartlarını peşinen yazın).

2)Kalifiye elemanlarla ve yöneticilerle iyi ücret vererek (gerekirse kar payından) çalışın.

3)Dövize endeksli yatırım ve borçlanmadan kaçınınız (buna ihracat yapıyorsanız veya mecbur kalırsanız başvurun)

4)Bankalarla ilişkilerinize çok dikkat edin. Kredi kullanmayın. Bankaların önünüze koyduğu herşeyi imzalamayın.

5)Her hususta yazışma yapmadan işlem yapmayınız.

6)Ürettiğiniz malların bir kısmını ihraç etmeye çalışın (%25)

7)Sık sık yurtdışındaki furalara katılmaya çalışın ve sektörünüzdeki gelişmeleri yakından takip edin, teknolojiyi yakın takibe alın.

8)Sektörel kriz sözkonusuysa, yanlış rekabetten kaçınmak için aynı sektörde olanların biraraya gelip dayanışmaları gerekir.

9)Ekonomik haber ve yayınları takip edin. Okumayı, sosyal faaliyetlere katılmayı ihmal etmeyin.

10)Devlet kuruluşlarıyla sürtüşmeyin; geçiş döneminde devlete borçlanmamaya özen gösterin.

12)Personelinizde verimlilik hesabı yapın. Randımanı artırmaya çalışın; gerekirse primli ve kalite kontrollü çalışın.

13)Israf ve lüksten kaçının

14)Mal satışlarında vadeli ödemelerden kaçının

15)Sektörel değişikliklere hazır olun

16)Ticari ilişkilerinizde bütün konuları yazıya dökün ve karşılıklı imzalayın.

(Source: MÜSİAD Bülten, Yıl:3, Sayı:1, 1995: 7).

Appendix-4

SELECTED INSTITUTIONS CONCERNED WITH THE ECONOMIC COOPERATION IN THE ISLAMIC WORLD

AFRICA

West African Community (1959) Organization of African Unity (1963) African Development Bank (1963) Central African Customs and Economic Union (1964) African Development Fund (1972) Manu River Union (1973) West African Development Bank (1973) Arab Bank for the Economic Development of Africa (1974) Central African States Development Bank (1975) African Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (1975) Economic Community of the Great Lake Countries (1976) African Fund for Guarantee and Economic Cooperation (1977) Center on Integrated Rural Development for Africa (1980) Preferential Trade for Eastern and Southern African States (1981) Economic Community of Central African States (1981) Economic Community of West African States (1981) African Economic Community (1981)

ASIA

United Nations Economic and Social Commissions for Asia and Pasific (1947) Economic Cooperation Organization (1964) Asian Development Bank (1966) Association of South-East Asian Nations (1967) United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (1973) Asia Partnership for Human Development (1973) Asian Clearing Union (1974) Center on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and Pacific (1979) Regional Commission on Food Security for Asia and the Pasific (1982) South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (1985) Asia Fund for Credit Union Development (1989) Asian Finance and Investment Corporation (1989) Asia-Pasific Economic Cooperation Council (1989)

ARAB COUNTRIES

League of Arab States (1950) Arab Economic and Social Conflict (1950) Arab Common Market (1964) Council For Arab Economic Unity (1964) Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (1964) Organization of Arab Oil Exporting Countries (1968) Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (1971) Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (1972) Arab Bank for the Economic Development of Africa (1974) Arab Center for Information Studies on Population Development and Construction (1974) Arab Fund for Technical Assistance to African and Arab Countries (1974) Inter-Arab Investment Guarantee Corporation (1974) Arab Monetary Fund (1976) Arab Petroleum Investment Corporation (1976) Arab Authority for Agricultural Investment and Development (1979) Arab Latin American Bank (1977) Arab Banking Corporation (1980) Federation of Arab Gulf Chambers (1980) Arab Trade Financing Program (1980) General Union of Chambers (1981) Gulf Corporation Council (1981) Gulf Investment Corporation (1982) Arab Industrial Development and Mining Organization (1988) Arab Cooperation Council (1989) Arab Maghreb Union (1989)

INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC ORGANIZATIONS

Organization of Islamic Conference (1969) Islamic Solidarity Fund (1975) Islamic Development Bank (1975) International Associations of Islamic Banks (1977) Islamic Commission for Economic, Cultural and Social Affairs (1977) Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Center for Islamic Countries (1978) Islamic Champer of Commerce, Industry and Commodity Exchange (1978) Research Center for Islamic History, Art and Culture –Turkey (1978) Islamic Center for Technical and Vocational Training and Research (1979) Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (1980) International Islamic University-Pakistan (1980) Islamic Fıqh Academy (1981) Islamic Foundation for Science, Technology and Development (1981) Islamic Research and Training Institute (1981) International Islamic University-Malaysia (1983) Islamic Center for Developments of Trade (1983) Standing Committee for Information and Cultural Affairs (1983) “ “ “ Commercial and Economic Cooperation (1983) “ “ “ Scientific and Technological Cooperation (1983) Islamic University-Niger (1984) Islamic University-Uganda (1988)

UNITED NATIONS ORGANIZATIONS

International Monetary Fund (1944) UN Economic and Social Council (1945) UN International Labor Organization (1945) UN Food and Agricultural Organizations (1945) UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations (1945) International Bank for reconstruction and Development, The World Bank (1945) UN Commission for Social Development (1946) UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (1947) International Finance Corporation (1956) UN Commission for Africa (1958) World Food Pragram (1960) International Development Agency (1960) UN Conference on Trade and Development (1964) United Nations Development Program (1964) UN Committee for Development Planning (1964) UN Institute for Training and Research (1965) UN Industrial Development Organization (1966) UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (1973) United Nations University (1973) United Nations World Food Council (1974) International Fund for Agricultural Development (1974) Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (1988) United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development (1992) United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (1992)

OTHER REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

International Chamber of Commerce –France (1920) The Commonwealth –England (1951) Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries –Austria (1960) International Trade Center-Switzerland (1964) International Development Research Center-Canada (1970) The Islamic Foundation-England (1973) International Center for Public Enterprises-Slovenia (1974) International Food Policy Research Institute- USA (1975) International Foundation for Development Alternatives-Switzerland (1976) Islamic Economics Research Bureau-Bangladesh (1976) Center for research in Islamic Economics-Saudi Arabia (1977) Islamic Economy of Science-Jordan (1986) Commonwealth of Independent States-Russia (1991) Institute of Middle Eastern and Islamic Countries-Turkey (1992)

Source: Economic Cooperation Among Islamic Countries, Müsiad Research Reports 8, 1994.

Appendix-5

YURTDIŞI BAĞLANTI İÇİN İLİŞKİ KURULABİLECEK İSİMLERİN VERİLDİĞİ ÜLKELER

Kanada (1 kişi) Azerbaycan (1 kişi) Singapur (2 kişi) Malaysia (2) İran (2) Ürdün (2) Bangladeş (1) Pakistan (2) Hong Kong (1) Çin (1) Malauri (1) Tayland (1) Srilanka (1) Avusturya (1) Avustralya (2) Almanya (8-biri kadın) KKTC (2) Fransa (2) Hollanda (2) İngiltere (1) Yunanistan (1) Bosna Hersek (2) Danimarka (1) Macaristan (1) Romanya (1) Macaristan (1) Romanya (1) ABD (2) Güney Afrika Cumhuriyetleri (2) Sudan (2) Mısır (2) Nigeria (1) Cezayir (1) Birleşik Arap Emirlikleri (1) Qatar (1)

(Source: www.müsiad.org.tr)

Appendix-6

MÜSİAD’IN İKİNCİ BEŞ YILLIK DÖNEMDEKİ HEDEFLERİ

A-Ülke ve Toplum Açısından:

1)Ülke ekonomisiyle ilgili sorunları tesbit etmek, dünyadaki gelişmeler ışığında, ülkemizin sosyo-kültürel yapısı ve inançlarımızla uyumlu çözümler üretmek. Bu çerçevede, Genel Merkez ülke çapındaki, şubeler de bölgelerindeki sorunlara çözim üretecektir.

2)”Ekonomik insan” yerine “İslam insanı”nın gerektirdiği sınai, ticari ve toplumsal ahlaka sahip ve rekabet ile uyumu birarada yaşatacak bir toplum oluşturmak.

3)Kalkınmanın ekonomik ve teknolojik boyutları yanında, sosyo-kültürel temelleri konusunda da araştırmalar yapmak.

4)Dünyadaki gelişen ekonomileri inceleyerek, bu gelişmedeki ana dinamikleri tesbit etmek ve ülkemize uygulanabilir sistemler haline dönüştürmek.

5)Bürokratik engellerin kaldırılması ve sürdürülebilir bir ekonomik kalkınmanın temini için gerekli teşviklerin uygulanmasına yönelik politikalar üretmek.

6)İşçi sendikalarıyla birlikte çalışmalar yaparak ortak stratejiler oluşturmak.

7)Meslek kuruluşlarının yönetimleri ile istişarelerde bulunmak.

8)Üniversite-sanayi işbirliğinin gelişmesine katkıda bulunmak.

9)Bütün Gönüllü oluşumlarla ülke kalkınmasına yardımcı olacak ortak çalışmalara girmek

10)Ülkemizde üst düzey yönetici geliştirilmesine katkıda bulunacak çalışmalar yapmak.

B-Üyeler Açısından:

1)5 yıl sonra şube sayısını 40’a; üye sayısını ise 5.000’e çıkartmak

2)Ülke kalkınmasının güçlü bir ahlak gerektirdiği bilinciyle yüksek ahlak ve dğrğst ticaretin gelişmesine yönelik çalışmalar yapmak.

3)Üyelerimize, iç ve dış ticaret, yatırım ve finansman, sigorta, uluslararası ticaret prosedürleri, vergi ve teşvikler ile teknolojik yenilikler konusunda bilgi ve danışmanlık hizmeti vermek.

4)Üyelerimizin bürokrasi, mahhalli idareler ve çeşitli kurumlarda yaşadıkları sorunların çözümüne yardımcı olmak.

5)Üyelerimizin yurtdışına açılmalarını sağlayıcı çalışmalar yapmak; yılda en az 3 yurtdışı gezi ve 4 fuara toplu katılım organizasyonu yapmak.

6)Milli ve milletlerarası kaynakları etkin kullanmalarını ve rekabet güçlerini artırmak için destek olmak.

7)Üstün vasıflı yönetici ve teknik personel temini için organizssyonlarda bulunmak. 8)Ekonomi, teknoloji ve mevzuat konularında sürekli araştırmalar yaparak üyelerin hizmetine sunmak.

9)Bir ihtisas kütüphanesi ve bilgi bankası kurmak

C-Dış Dünyaya Yönelik Hedefler

1)Ülkemizin ve Müsiad’ın tanıtımını yapmak.

2)Uluslararası alandaki teknolojik gelişmeleri yakından takip etmek ve üyelere bilgi aktarmak.

3)Yurtdışındaki vatandaşlarımızı yatırıma teşvik edecek çalışmalar yapmak.

4)20 ülkede 5 yıl içinde kardeş kuruluşlar kurmak ve üyelerin hizmetine sunmak.

5)Dünyada mevcut ve gelişen pazarları tesbit etmek ve ilişkileri geliştirirci stratejiler belirlemek.

6)Özellikle İslam ülkeleriyle ilişkileri geliştirmeye dönük çalışmalar yapmak.

7)Gerek ülkemize, gerekse diğer İslam ülkelerine dönük ekonomik ve siyasi baskılara karşı önlemler geliştirmek.

8)Ülkemiz adına imzalanmış anlaşmalardaki aleyhe gördüğümüz hükümlerin iyileştirilmesi veya iptali için çalışmalarda bulunmak.

9)Yararlı görülen türde anlaşmaların yapılması için çalışmalarda bulunmak.

10)Uluslararası fuarlar düzenlemek.

11)Uluslarrası etkinliğimizi artırmak üzere yurtdışındaki temsilciliklerimizi yeniden yapılandırmak.

12)Ülkemizde bulunan yabancı diplomatlarla ilişkilerimizi geliştirmek.

(Source:1995 Faaliyet Raporu ve 1996 Faaliyet Programı, MÜSİAD, 1996)