Continuing with the new Salafism discussion

26.09.2014 Vatan
Translated by: Turgay BAYINDIR /
Orjinal Metin (tr-3/20/2014)

I wrote two pieces on March 10 and 11 on the developments and changes that are already seen or likely to be seen within the Islamist movement in Turkey as part of the process initiated by the December 17 events. I had ended the one titled “Waiting for the Salafis” with a note that said that we would continue the discussion. However, since our dear brother Berkin Elvan gave up his struggle to live and the things that followed forced me to postpone it. Today we can continue from where we left.

In order to expand upon the subject of the new Salafism which, I expect, will leave its mark on the Islamist movement in Turkey in the coming days, I would like to talk a little bit about Tunisia. I had observed President Abdullah Gül’s visit to Tunisia two years ago in March. When I had a conversation with a group of girls from a privileged high school, some of whom were wearing headscarves, I saw that none of them were worried about the Islamist Ennahda Party which holds a significant part of the coalition government there, but almost all of them explicitly expressed their fears about the Salafis. 

Later, together with President Gül, we went to visit the National Constituent Assembly in charge of creating the new constitution of Tunisia. When we went in the number of Tunisian flags around caught our attention. We learned that a Salafi had taken the Tunisian flag down at the University of Tunis and put up a black flag in its place and what we saw was part of the nationwide reaction to it.

The representatives who hung the flags all around the Parliament belong to secular parties. However, the representatives from Ennahda Party which constitute the majority in the Parliament were not any less vocal in this nationalist reaction this event. For example, when the secular representatives spontaneously started singing the national anthem, Ennahda representatives joined them to make it even louder.

Al-Ghannushi’s protestation

The following day, we had the chance to have a conversation with Ennahda’s legendary leader Rashid al-Ghannushi. When I asked him “What will you do with these Salafis?”, I got this answer from him: “They are our sons and brothers. And most of them are good people too. We value establishing a dialogue with them, we are trying to convince them. But if they attack others, of course the laws will be applied to them too.”

But it did not work. The Salafis did great harm to Tunisia on its transition to democracy. Anadolu Agency recently did an interview with Ghannushi where he called them “fools” and spoke as follows: “They do not understand the truth of Islam. The fact that they caused the collapse of Hamadi al-Jabali and Ali al-Arid governments which are the product of the Tunisian Revolution is enough offense. They think that they are doing good.”

Anadolu Agency reporter’s question “Why are religious young people becoming Salafis?” was answered by al-Ghannushi as follows: “These young people are the victims of a political regime where Islamic roots were cut off, religious education was abolished and political Islam was blocked. The oppression within the country paved the way for outside influences. The mild and tolerant temperament of Tunisian people does not contain extremism and judging other people’s faith.”

Lessons to be learned

Most of the objections to my observation that the new Salafi movement could also take root in our country can be summarized by starting with this sentence of al-Ghannushi: “The mild and tolerant temperament of Tunisian people does not contain extremism and judging other people’s faith.” The meaning of the sentence itself is arguable but even if we assume it is true, as it is obvious in the case of Tunisia, in our day it is not easy for Muslim communities to preserve their traditions. And in Turkey this has become impossible. Salafism already has a certain base in our country. Young people who follow the Salafi movement might have joined the jihad in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan at the moment but there is no guarantee that they will not return and bring their jihad with them into Turkey.

On the other hand, while the Islamist movement in our country is quickly developing with the platform and opportunities provided by the AKP government, it is at the same time quickly becoming a cumbersome part of the system. People who are not happy with this can easily make the new Salafi movement one of their main stations in their search. So much so that, Salafi-inspired groups are sprouting up even within the “Nurcu” school which constitutes one of the backbones of the Islamist movement in Turkey.

It is obvious that Turkey at the moment cannot indulge too much in the Salafi discussion since the country’s agenda is choke-full with issues like corruption, bribery, legal or illegal wire-tapping, and political crisis. But it is important to remember that these issues/problems are exactly the things that are creating a very favorable setting for Salafism.

Destek olmak ister misiniz?
Doğru haber, özgün ve özgür yorum ihtiyacı
Bugün dünyada gazeteciler birer aktivist olmaya zorlanıyor. Bu durum, kutuplaşmanın alabildiğine keskin olduğu Türkiye'de daha fazla karşımıza çıkıyor. Halbuki gazeteci, elinden geldiğince, doğru haber ile özgün ve özgür yorumla toplumun tüm kesimlerine ulaşmaya çalışmalı ve bu yolla, kutuplaşmayı artırma değil azaltmayı kendine hedef edinmeli. Devamı için

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