The mobilization of political Islam in Turkey /

Eligur's book is a must read for those who are wondering about the rise of political Islam in Turkey. Eligur combines social movement theory and political process models to analyze how Islamists survived during the Kemalist era, manipulated political parties to expand their networks since 1960, and used domestic and foreign allies to win national elections in 2002. She shows how during the military coup of 1980, the generals' desire to make the Turkish-Islamic synthesis a national ideology and the US Green Belt strategy served as catalysts for the Islamists. During the next 30 years, such Islamist leaders as Turgut Ozal, Necmettin Erbakan, and Tayyip Erdogan manipulated these opportunities to lead the Islamists into mainstream politics and eventually win the 2002 elections. The analysis is primarily about the MillI Gorus (National Vision) Islamists. This is quite appropriate because members of this group primarily belong to the Naksibendi religious brotherhood whose opposition to Western-style reforms goes back to the Tanzimat period. One oversight is the slight reference to the Fethullah Gulen Islamists, who also have become a force to be reckoned with in Turkey. Summing Up: Recommended. All readership levels. B. A. Yesilada Portland State University