Turkey and Islamic Capitalism

[Julio Pino <jpino@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dear Xxxx: As usual your post is a revelation to me. Reading the NYT and
Robert Kaplan's articles on Ankara's shantytowns in "The Atlantic" I was
under the impression the the Welfare Party (now Virtue)represented an
Islamist backlash against neoliberalism, or else wanted to establish an
Islamic republic a la Iran, but through parliament rather than in the streets.

   In the hope of learning more, Insha Allah, I want to say something that
I hope stirs up debate. Don't you think that labels such as "left"and
"right", "liberal" and "conservative", "modernist" and "anti-modernist" are
useless oversimplifications, or worse yet "Orientalist" when it comes to
discussing Islamist movements in the Third World? I do not say you use such
language, indeed your posts argue for the opposite, seeing the complexity
behind both Kemalism and its Muslim opponents, but I'm distrustful when
even Marxists write in all seriousness that Islam must be anti-modern, or
that Islamic Fundamentalism represents a right-wing or feudal-agrarian
reaction to capitalism.
   In comparison to the region that I know best, Latin America, is the
Catholic church left or right when it criticizes neoliberalism? IMHO, both
and neither. Catholic teaching on wealth and poverty cannot be reduced to
"Feudal Socialism" or political opportunism, ie, the fear of losing its
flock to the left. (If Only!)Instead, What's happened is that the Church
has lost much of its following to Evangelical Protestants, precisely
because it could not come up with answers to everyday  economic problems.
The "Liberation Theology" school taught "Christian Socialism" in a manner
so abstract as to be useless to the members of the Christian Base
Communities (CEBs)that spread like wildfire in the 1970s and
1980s.Meanwhile, the evangelicals taught the poor practical survival skills
on how to land a white-collar job or go into business on one's own. At
least that was my impression studying the shantytowns of Rio de Janeiro
circa 1990, when "leftist" priests were few and far between.Therefore, who
is modern and anti-modern in this context?

   I suspect, you can correct me here, that the same is true of the success
of the WP at the municipal level in turkey. It offered not a program of
left or right economics but a new way of life, call it "Islamic Capitalism"
as you do, it aimed to protect people from the worst ravages of
globalization while not questioning the basic premises of the capitalist
system.
  Please send further clarification.
PS. I'd like to learn more on the intellectual origins of the Muslim
Brotherhood in Egypt and its views on socio-economic questions. Can you
suggest any online resources? Thank you for the references you gave me on
women and Islam in Egypt.
Comradely,
Julio

>the
>political ideology of the Welfare Party is quite different.  It is a
neo-liberal
>Islamist (conservative) party briefly defined. Most of its members have
served
>in the neo-liberal cabinet of Ozal's ANAVATAN party in the 80s, who were then
>arguing introducing liberal political economic reforms to Islam, while still
>emphasizing the necessity of protecting Islamic culture-- capitalism in an
>Islamic framework, in other words. So WP is mainly a mainstream party on the
>liberal right.
>>
>
>--
>
>Xxxx Xxxxx Xxxxxx
>