RADICALISM AS A “RELIGIOUS” MONOPOLISM: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE GULENIST MOVEMENT THROUGH ITS PERCEPTION OF THE “OTHER”

“DİNCİ” TEKELCİLİK OLARAK RADİKALİZM: GÜLENİST HAREKETİN “ÖTEKİ” ALGISI ÜZERİNDEN ELEŞTİREL ANALİZİ

Abstract

Radicalism, which aims to fundamentally change the social and political order, is conceptualized as “cultural monopolism” and evaluated as an ethnocentric discourse and code of behavior in this study. Monopolism may be “religious” as well as “secularist”. In both, a radical thought or group believes that only they themselves represent the truth, and that their own thought is good, right or in the right direction; while other’s is bad, wrong and heretical. Religious or secularist radicalism creates the dualism of “we-others”, “good-bad”, “believer-infidel” and “progressive-reactionary” by blessing and dogmatizing certain values that it choosed in accordance with its own philosophy.In radicalism, dualism which emerges as a result of see itself as the representative of absolute truth, is clearly seen in “secularist” or “religious” congregations. The congregation that emerged within the framework of the Gulen Movement’s belief system, is one of the most striking examples of radicalism in Turkey which we point out in this study in Turkey. This study analyzes the theological philosophy, the world of mentality and the style of movement that have enabled the “religious” monopolization of the Gulenist movement. Religious radicalism is analyzed with a focus on its uniforming and dogmatic aspects through the Gulen movement. In this context, we try to reveal the background elements of how this movement can “marginalize” external thoughts, and currents, and, produce a monopolistic radicalism through “its esence”.

Özet

Literatürde toplumsal ve siyasal düzeni temelden değiştirmeyi hedefleyen, “köktencilik” anlamına gelen radikalizm, bu çalışmada kültürel tekelcilik ya da tekçilik olarak kavramlaştırılmış ve etnosentrik bir söylem ve davranış kodu olarak değerlendirilmiştir. Tekelcilik, “dinci” ya da “sekülerist” olabilir. İkisinde de radikal bir düşünce veya grup, hakikati yalnızca kendisinin temsil ettiği, kendi düşüncesinin iyi, doğru ve istikamet üzere olduğu kanaatindeyken; ötekilerinin kötü, yanlış ve heretik olduğu iddiasındadır. Dinci veya sekülerist radikalizm; kendi felsefesine uygun olarak seçtiği birtakım değerleri kutsayıp dogmalaştırarak “biz-ötekiler”, “iyi-kötü”, “mü’min-kafir”, “ilerici-gerici” düalizmi oluşturur.