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| Milli Görüş | |
|---|---|
| Name | Milli Görüş |
| Founding date | 1969 |
| Founder | Necmettin Erbakan |
| Ideology | Political Islam, Conservatism, Turkish nationalism |
| Headquarters | Istanbul |
Milli Görüş Milli Görüş is a transnational political and social movement founded in Turkey in 1969. It originated with Islamist and conservative figures such as Necmettin Erbakan and developed networks across Europe in cities like Amsterdam, Cologne, London, Paris and Rotterdam. The movement influenced political parties including the Refah Partisi (Welfare Party), Fazilet Partisi (Virtue Party), and indirectly the Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (AKP) as well as organizations linked to Turkish communities in Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, and Austria.
Milli Görüş traces its origins to the activities of Necmettin Erbakan and the foundation of the National Order Party in 1970 and the later National Salvation Party in the 1970s. After the 1980 Turkish coup d'état and subsequent political bans, adherents regrouped with new formations such as the Welfare Party in the 1980s and 1990s, leading to municipal successes in cities like Istanbul and interactions with figures including Tansu Çiller and Süleyman Demirel. The 1997 postmodern coup pressured the movement, resulting in legal challenges and the dissolution of the Welfare Party by the Constitutional Court of Turkey. Successor parties such as the Virtue Party faced splits that produced politicians associated with the AKP including Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Abdullah Gül, while other branches continued traditional Milli Görüş networks in the European diaspora, cooperating with institutions like the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB) and mosques connected to communities in Frankfurt, Brussels, and The Hague.
The movement combines strands associated with figures such as Necmettin Erbakan, blending Islamic revivalism with elements of Turkish conservatism and references to thinkers like Said Nursi and debates around Kemalism in Turkey. Its positions intersect with policy debates involving leaders like Turgut Özal and institutions such as the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, emphasizing social morality, economic models favoring small enterprises similar to arguments by Adnan Menderes, and critiques of secular elites associated with the Kemalist establishment. Internationally, adherents have engaged with discussions involving Organisation of Islamic Cooperation agendas, relationships with states such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Qatar, and comparative movements including Muslim Brotherhood activists and European Islamist currents in cities like Marseille and Milan.
Formal leadership originated with Necmettin Erbakan and evolved into party figures like Mehmet Ağar-era contemporaries and later cadres who led the Welfare Party, Virtue Party, and related associations. European chapters developed semi-autonomous organizations in networks based in Germany, Netherlands, and Belgium, cooperating with community leaders, imams, and institutions such as the Turkish Red Crescent and local municipal councils in places like Rotterdam and Antwerp. Prominent organizational actors have included youth wings, students' associations linked to universities such as Boğaziçi University and Istanbul University, and transnational clerical links involving officials from the Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet).
Milli Görüş affiliates have operated extensive social services: running mosques and cultural centers in metropolitan areas like Berlin, London, Amsterdam, and Paris; organizing charity drives with partners like IHH (Humanitarian Relief Foundation); and providing education and language classes connected to community schools and associations in cities including Hamburg and Antwerp. They have engaged in welfare provision during crises such as the 1999 İzmit earthquake and the 2011 Van earthquake through volunteer networks, and coordinated cultural festivals, youth programs, and sports clubs in diaspora hubs such as Düsseldorf and Utrecht.
The movement exerted electoral influence through parties such as the Welfare Party and successor formations that contested municipal and national elections, interacting with political actors like Tansu Çiller, Süleyman Demirel, Bülent Ecevit, and later Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Abdullah Gül. In Europe, Milli Görüş organizations engaged with municipal authorities, law enforcement agencies in Germany and France, and diplomatic missions including the Embassy of Turkey in Berlin and consulates in Rotterdam to lobby for immigrant rights, religious accommodation, and participation in local politics. The movement’s networks intersected with trade associations, chambers of commerce in cities such as Cologne and Istanbul, and international bodies like UNHCR and European Commission frameworks on migration.
Critics including journalists, academics, and rival political groups have accused elements within the movement of promoting sectarian agendas, opaque funding ties to governments such as those in Turkey or states like Qatar, and of fostering parallel authority structures within diaspora communities. Legal scrutiny by courts in Germany and the Netherlands targeted allegations of political Islamism and organizational transparency, while Turkish secularist institutions and parties including CHP and judiciary bodies like the Constitutional Court of Turkey investigated party successors. Debates invoked media outlets such as Hürriyet and Radikal, and research by scholars linked to universities such as Oxford University and University of Amsterdam examined alleged connections to movements like the Muslim Brotherhood and to transnational funding sources.
Milli Görüş built extensive diaspora networks across Europe and beyond, establishing chapters in Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, France, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, United States, and Canada. These networks coordinated with municipal councils in Rotterdam and Istanbul, religious institutions such as DITIB and Council of European Turks and Allies, and community media outlets in cities like Antwerp and Marseille. The transnational footprint included student organizations at universities including Leiden University, University of London, and Technical University of Berlin, enabling diaspora political mobilization and cultural preservation in partnership with charities like Türk Kızılayı and civic forums organized in capitals such as Brussels and Stockholm.
Category:Political movements