The Question of Women in Islamic Revivalism in Turkey: A Review of the Islamic Press

Abstract

The article first presents a comparative theoretical background with regard to social conservatism and the religious right, and their historical development. Then, a review of the study's selected Turkish Islamic publications is given. The analysis includes three Islamic magazines (Kadin ve Aile [Woman and Family], Mektup [Letter] and Tevhid [Unity]) and an Islamic newspaper (Zaman [Time]). The four publications are reviewed in terms of their approach to the role of women in public and private life, westernization and secularism. The study also specifically aims at examining how the Islamic press sees the role of women in the Islamic movement. Our analysis reveals that the Islamic press in Turkey promotes a return to the essence of Islam even though the Islamic publications selected do not necessarily agree on the components of an Islamic social order and norms. The Islamic press also attempts to provide a theoretical or ideological base for the Islamic movement, to increase Turkish women's consciousness of Islam and expand the number of propagators of Islam. Moreover, the results of this study suggest that the Islamic press seems to be united in resisting modernist and secular values and institutions as well as western cultural influence on Turkish society. In this attempt, the selected Islamic publications place woman at the centre of their arguments to symbolize their opposition to the Kemalist view of women. Yet, this accordance weakens somewhat when it comes to the `question of women'. In particular, some female columnists seem to tolerate more freedom for women in public and private life, and argue against paternalistic practices.