The relationship between islam and globalization in turkey in the post-1990 period: the case of müsiad

The aim of this paper is to elucidate globalization’s impact on religion in Turkey in the case of a business association with an Is-lamic orientation, namely MÜSİAD, whose prominence has increased since the November 2002 elections. It is important to investigate MÜSİAD as a case study within this question because this Association, which has pointed Islam as their economic and cultural identity, acts as a strong internal economic actor of globalization in Turkey in the post-1990 period. The main goal is to find out how and in what terms globalization has affected the democratization and secularization processes in Turkey since the 1990s. This paper challenges the view that globalization and the economic, political and cultural changes it carried have led to the process of secularization or the declining role of religion in the Turkish society. The contention of this paper is that globalization altered the relations between religion, economy and state; however, the change cannot be regarded as secularization. Instead it can be regarded as the sacralization as opposed to secularization with assertion of new (Islamic) identities in the economic and cultural spheres in Turkey.

MÜSİAD ,

Islam ,

Globalization ,

Turkish political economy ,

Secularization ,

Sacralization ,

Democracy ,

Turkey ,