Muslimism in Turkey and Beyond ― Religion in the Modern World

In this book, Neslihan Cevik identifies a new Islamic form in Turkey at the turn of the century that she terms Muslimism. Muslimism neither rejects nor submits to modernity but actively engages it through Islamic categories and practices. She conceptualizes "cultural sites of hybridity" in which people use Islam to shape their practice of modernity. These include settings ranging from Islamic fashion to entrepreneurship to civic associations and political formations that reflect a new Islamic liberal political ethos. Through observations and interviews in these sites, Cevik documents Muslimist discourse. This book addresses questions of how religions respond to modernity and globalization, providing a new starting point for discussions of democracy and Islam in the region. Placing Muslimism in comparative perspective, the book draws implications for similar movements (new religious orthodoxies) across religious traditions. Cevik is critical of commonplace binaries of liberal/fundamentalist, political/cultural, modern/religious, calling for cultural and institutional approaches to religion and modern life.

Neslihan Cevik is Associate Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture, University of Virginia, USA. Her work appears in CNN-Arabic, Daily Sabah, OrientXXI, and Political Theology Today and is translated into Arabic, French, and Turkish. An engaged social entrepreneur, Cevik is also a consultant for halal market companies and leads startup projects for Muslim women's economic and public integration.