The Enduring Hold of Islam in Turkey

In the early 2010s, amid the Arab Spring revolutions and subsequent turbulence of counter-revolution, governmental suppression and civil wars, many desperately sought for solutions to many longstanding debates, including whether or not “Islam” (however defined) was compatible with “universal” democratic governance (as dictated by the West). Turkey under an election-winning “moderate” Islamist party committed to democracy appeared to be that shining light in the darkness, signposting the most likely future. Yet fast forward to the mid-2020s, it is clear that the Turkish model is no longer seen as viable or desirable to emulate.

Why is that? In The Enduring Hold of Islam in Turkey: The Revival of the Religious Orders and the Rise of Erdoğan (2024), David S. Tonge, an informed British scholar of both Turkey and Islam from the University of Cambridge, seriously investigates this question. He examines how Islam has remained a permanent, unmoveable force in Turkey’s political and social landscape and examines how Islamic movements and institutions have evolved under the Justice and Development Party (AKP) during President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s leadership. Throughout the book, Tonge is out to address the central paradox of contemporary Turkish politics: how could a nation-state founded along harsh secular lines witness the resurgence of the dominant religion it was supposed to have successfully domesticated and tamed?