Thijl Sunier

Conclusions, Dynamics, and Tendencies

Two seemingly opposing trends can be observed in the development of Turkish Islam in Europe. On the one hand the transnational field has been intensified and transformed, partly as the result of modern means of communication and the explosive growth of social media. On the other hand an increasing number of young Turkish Muslims are rooted in local society of residence, and organized Islam in Europe increasingly evolves according to its own dynamics, independent from Turkey. This is not a contradiction, but part of the contemporary global conditions. The Turkish-Islamic landscape should be approached as a transnational field that is structured not anymore by unequal migrant family networks stretching between two nation-states, but by multi-polar transnational networks and new senses of belonging sustained by modern media.

Turkish Organized Islam in Europe

This chapter provides a picture of the historical, social, and political circumstances under which Turkish Muslims arrived in Europe and how Islamic organizations came into being. This description builds on two characteristics. The first concerns the fundamental breach in organizational development before and after migration. Turkish Islamic movements are rooted in the political struggle in Turkey, but they have diverse origins ranging from state bureaucracy to mystical Islam. In Europe these organizations converged into typical migrant associations offering basic religious services. The second characteristic concerns the major demographic and socio-economic shifts that took place among the Turkish population in Europe. This shift also changed the orientation towards Turkey. In the course of time Turkish Islamic movements have developed their own niche in the Islamic landscape.

Other Movements and Organizations

This chapter deals with two smaller but nevertheless relevant ideological currents among Turkish Muslims in Europe: Turkish ultra-nationalism and radical Islam. Originally Turkish ultra-nationalists were anti-Islamic because Islam was considered alien to the Turkish identity. For strategic reasons they changed their position. Turkish nationalists in Europe today are predominantly organized in religious organizations, but the core of their activities is strictly nationalist in character.

Islam and Politics in Turkey

This chapter addresses the changing relation between Islam and the Turkish state since the foundation of the republic in 1923. This is necessary information to understand the origins of Turkish Islamic organizations in Europe and the way they have developed since. Rather than reproducing the simplistic secular-religious dichotomies that characterize many historical accounts on Turkey, the authors approach the complex relation between state and Islam as a political struggle around the question, ‘What place Islam has and should have in society?’. It shows that the relationship among religion, politics, and economy changed fundamentally in each of the four historical stages to be distinguished. It reveals what issues were at stake; who the principal actors were; and how Islam was organized politically and socially.

Gülen-movement (Hizmet)

The Gulen-movement was founded in Turkey in the 1960s. It is one of the fastest growing Islamic movements in the world. They have established schools, institutions, and business companies in more than one hundred countries. The movement was founded by its present spiritual leader Fethullah Gulen and emerged in the early 1980s in the changing political and economic environment of Turkey. In the 1990s the movement expanded internationally. Today they count as the most influential Islamic movement in the Turkish political landscape and beyond. The modus operandi of the Gulen-movement as well as its internal structure is markedly different from the established organizations. It has made the organization effective on the one hand, but also suspicious in the eyes of many policy makers on the other.