A comparison of attempts at state Islamization in Egypt and Turkey is not only about concept, but is rather a study of the conversion of Islamization from a mono conceptual seed, into two different realities. This mono concept did not emerge from reading, or following certain texts, but came about on the assumption that Turkey is simply a branch from the main tree trunk, the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood group. A student of engineering at Munich University, Erbakan, was also an apprentice to Said Ramadan, the founder of the International Islamic centre there. Ramadan was also son-in-law to Hassan Al Banna, the founder of the Brotherhood. Erbakan, it has been said, very much admired the book, "Maalem Fi Al Tareek" (Milestones), written by Sayed Kotb. It is known to propose a more violent formula for political Islamization. He also translated the book into Turkish, and taught it, after his return to Istanbul, to a small group of youths at the Askandar Sada Mosque. When discovered by security, he started discretely forming cells. The cells eventually evolved to form a political party that took him all the way to state authority. Fallouts from this led to the emergence of a new party, with a deeper understanding of the Turkish reality and this, eventually, lead to the party known as the Justice and Development Party ( JDP) and its president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. A Comparison The Turkish army is secular in essence. It installed itself as a protector of secularism, a role it has played for decades. Democratic trends, however, stirred a dispute within the military. Turkish secularism is closely linked to an extremely awesome leader and all-time hero, Kemal Ataturk. The development enjoyed by generations in Turkey gave Ataturk the glory he deserved for his secularism. Turkey's dream has been to belong to Europe and the European Union, though perhaps the current economic revival has diminished the urge to fulfill that dream. The public and secret American role among the Turkish Islamic elite achieved a growing influence for the veteran U.S diplomat Abramowitz. He was asking The U.S. to place its bets on a Sunni Turkey, with a moderate Islamic government, an American air base at Incirlik and with a strong relationship with Israel. The Turkish Islamic elite, however, were given a severe lesson in a clash between the military and Erbakan. They then felt an urgent need to bend the meanings of some Islamic texts to suit the strong Turkish desire for secularism and democracy, without compromising their original concept. In so doing they were trying to offer a different template for government, in a field of transparency and economic development . The Egyptian reality, however, differs from the Turkish. The military in Egypt is not secular. Military people, like the majority of Egyptians, think that the secular ideology is that of nonbelievers. In addition Egypt does not dream of joining the European Common Market. The Egyptian preference is for an Arab or African union. The Brotherhood, from its outset, has constantly attacked westernization, and yearned for a revival of the Caliphate. Secular liberal activity has been weak and its impact limited as the liberals, Rifa'a Al Tahtawi, among them, tried to gain acceptance for this ideology by passing through the narrow portal of declaring their commitment to religion. At the beginning of the last century some thinkers from Greater Syria, Shibley Shamil, Farah Antun and Nicola Haddad, adopted a liberal methodology that regarded religion as a block to mental creativity. This idea isolated them from the public, especially those who were religious. As Christians, persecuted by the Ottoman Caliphate, they opposed the establishment and this eventually made them travel to Egypt. The fierce attack by Sheikh Rashid Reda (a dissident from Mohamed Abdou's ideology) joined by Al Banna and some other religious men, lead to a new approach by a new liberal generation. These were pure Egyptians seeking to couple religious with liberal ideologies, in a bid to edify both. Thinkers of this generation wrote purely religious books with a liberal twist. Among them were, Abbas Al Akkad, Taha Husssein, Ahmed Amine and Hussein Heikal. The liberal movement again started to stumble, however, after simulating what Rifa'a al-Tahtawi had tried a whole century earlier. Erdoğan may be yearning for Europe, and sometimes may feel haughty towards all else. As for the Brotherhood, they are now looking to Hamas and their backyard and controlling the Gaza strip as an antagonistic reaction. The ultimate companion for the Freedom and Justice Party (the political arm of the Brotherhood) is the Salfi Al Nour Party. This party is known to have a purely Wahabi trend. This suggests to the Brotherhood to practice some strictness in order to gain ground from its competitors, the Al Nour Party. This situation is identical to what left wing parties face. They find themselves placed next to strict factions, which emphasize that strictness as a balance to public demand for logic and objectivity.
