May 24, 2011

Worldly Asceticism in Islamic Casting: Fethullah Gulen's Inspired Piety and Activism

M. Elisabeth Özdalga

The road democracy is long and conflict-ridden. Although crises are inevitable in this process, nations differ with and find paths out of political deadlock. Since modern democracy is built on urban mass society, the problems of democracy often are closely connected to those of integrating an increasingly complex and diversified society. An essential part of the democratic process is the growth of a public sphere. Recently in Turkey, a Muslim country with a long tradition of democratic rule, a question that has become especially focused: Who rules over the public sphere?