Muslim Nationalism and the New Turks: Updated Edition

by Jenny White, Jenny White (Afterword)

Overview

Turkey has leapt to international prominence as an economic and political powerhouse under its elected Muslim government, and is looked on by many as a model for other Muslim countries in the wake of the Arab Spring. In this book, Jenny White reveals how Turkish national identity and the meanings of Islam and secularism have undergone radical changes in today's Turkey, and asks whether the Turkish model should be viewed as a success story or a cautionary tale. This provocative book traces how Muslim nationalists blur the line between the secular and the Islamic, supporting globalization and political liberalism, yet remaining mired in authoritarianism, intolerance, and cultural norms hostile to minorities and women.

In a new afterword, White analyzes the latest political developments, particularly the mass protests surrounding Gezi Park, their impact on Turkish political culture, and what they mean for the future.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781400851256
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	04/27/2014
Series:	Princeton Studies in Muslim Politics , #52
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Jenny White is professor of anthropology at Boston University. She is the author of Islamist Mobilization in Turkey and Money Makes Us Relatives: Women's Labor in Urban Turkey.

Table of Contents

Illustrations xi
Abbreviations xiii
Acknowledgments xv
Chapter 1 Introduction 1
Chapter 2 Islam and the Nation 24
Chapter 3 The Republic of Fear 54
Chapter 4 The Missionary and the Headscarf 80
Chapter 5 No Mixing 102
Chapter 6 Sex and the Nation: Veiled Identity 136
Chapter 7 Choice and Community: The Girl with Blue Hair 163
Chapter 8 Conclusion 181
Afterword to the new paperback edition 197
Notes 215
References 237
Index 249

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Few questions are more urgent, especially since the eruption of the Arab Spring, than whether there is a 'Turkish model' for combining Islam with democracy. White's book, the culmination of many years of research, provides a magisterial guide to the complex reality behind this question. The book is must reading for scholars, members of the policy community, and educated citizens concerned with the interplay of religion and politics in the contemporary world."—Peter L. Berger, Boston University

"White's book is a bold and flawless analysis of the new Turkey's collective unconscious. This exceptional work must be read not only by Western observers but also by the Turks themselves."—Moris Farhi, author of Young Turk

"Innovative and original, this is a very important and insightful analysis of contemporary Turkish discourses on what it means to be Turkish and a member of the Turkish nation. White makes the significant argument that the divide in Turkey is not between secularism and religion, but rather is a struggle over what is sacred to the nation and where the boundaries of national identity should be drawn."—Marc Baer, author of The Dönme: Jewish Converts, Muslim Revolutionaries, and Secular Turks

"Turkey is a country of contradictions, and very few authors have managed to paint so complex a picture of it as White. It is a nation where the secular elite has dogmatically made war on all things Islamic, yet this same elite embraces a Turkish nationalism rooted in the Islamic religion. This is a well-written, engaging, and smart book about contemporary Turkey, one that will be widely read and discussed."—Henri J. Barkey, Lehigh University

Editorial Reviews

"In this multilayered, theoretically sophisticated, and analytically rich examination of the contradictions and convergences found in contemporary expressions of 'Turkishness,' especially with respect to Muslim and secular forms of nationalisms, White offers an interpretation that reinforces Barth's emphasis on pluralism, choice, and negotiation, while also demonstrating greater understanding and synthesis of the constraints of gender, class, ethnicity, and religion."

Choice

"[T]his is a good book worth reading by those concerned with Turkey and broader issues of democratic transitions in the Muslim world."

Hurriyet Daily News

One of ForeignAffairs.com's Best International Relations Books in the Best Books on the Middle East category for 2012

From the Publisher

"[P]iercing and original analysis."

Economist

"[P]iercing and original analysis."

Economist

It's a reviewer's job both to critique the book at hand and to detail and summarize its most salient points. It's a tribute to Boston University anthropologist Jenny White's excellent Muslim Nationalism and the New Turks that it makes the latter extremely difficult to do, simply by doing justice to the enormous complexity of Turkish society.

Hurriyet Daily News - William Armstrong

Jenny White has provided readers with insightful and nuanced access to the complexities of Turkish society and a first look at a newly emerging class of individualist Muslim nationalists.

Muftah - Zeynep Kosereisoglu

This anthropological work is grounded in a deep knowledge of Turkey, nourished by White's successive long stays and periods of fieldwork in the country; yet it is also a judicious compilation of key secondary sources.

Times Higher Education - Clemence Scalbert-Yucel

Even for those already familiar with contemporary Turkey, this sometimes disturbing book will be an eye opener

Foreign Affairs - .John Waterbury

[A]deeply insightful book. . . . [T]he writing is . . . clear and straightforward, and the book is chock-full of rich tidbits from Turkish society. . . . Filled with insight, Muslim Nationalism and the New Turks is sure to become a leading text for those looking to read the Turkish tea leaves . . .

National - David Lepeska

Even for those already familiar with contemporary Turkey, this sometimes disturbing book will be an eye opener

Foreign Affairs - John Waterbury