The Rise of Islamism in Turkey: From the Beginning until Now

The rise in Islamism following establishment of secular regime in Turkey and its development in an anti-religion system are the main concerns of this article in order to show how structural changes in recent decades had some effects on the growth of Islamism in this country. Using an analytic-descriptive method, the aim of this article is to answer these questions: How did the changes in economic and political structure of Turkey, from establishment of a secular regime to the time Justice and Development Party took power, affect the emergence and development of Islamism? What are the main causes of change in Islamism’s approach from idealism to pragmatism in last decade? The findings indicate that Islamism emerged in Turkey as an idealistic and ideological discourse in contrast to secularism, but gradually its approach changed to pragmatism in convergence with it.