研究ノート

The Place and Importance of the“Views of
Ummah”Movement in Turkish Democracy
With The Sample of‘Welfare Party’
Ahmet Yasir EREN

Introduction
This paper aims to understand the “Milli Gorus Hareketi” 1 (Views of Ummah,
hereinafter referred to as VOU )'s positive effects of democratization in Turkey.
With respect to this issue, Caglar Keyder (2013) and Mehmet Turhan (2002)
provide information. Emre Kongar (2010) pursues this study and explains theevents with actual and true-life examples. On the other hand, we can say thatthey have failed to reveal a permanent diagnosis due to unconformity with theacademic criteria, emotional and partly prejudiced approach to the subject.
Moreover, they mostly focused on negative aspects of VOU; however, I thinkthat positive effects need to be examined. So, the question posed for thisresearch is: what are the positive effects of VOU on democratization in Turkey?
In this context, I analyzed the “Refah Parti”(Welfare Party, hereinafter referred
to as WP)'s election bulletins and interviewed with some parliamentarians.
Understanding the history of democracy of Anatolia will also give a chance foranalysis and interpret the current situation of Turkey. Therefore, the firstchapter, covers a brief overview on democratization in Turkey until VOU. In thesecond chapter, through examples and interviews, I will analyze new discourses
introduced by the WP into Turkish politics, Party's identity, Just Order rhetoric,
and the acquisitions of Turkish democracy by its election strategy andpropaganda, respectively. In addition to these, there are introduction andconclusion chapters.
VO U i s t h e m o v e m e nt s t a r t e d w i t h t h e f o u n d i n g o f “ M i l l i N i z a m
Partisi”(National Order Party, hereinafter referred to as NOP) under theleadership of Necmettin Erbakan in the beginning of 1970s. In the competitive
party systems, under the name of “Milli Selamet Partisi”(National Salvation
1

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研究ノートParty, hereinafter referred to as NSP), the VOU built coalition partnerships infour different periods between 1974-1978. After that, it enjoyed great successes
in local and general elections under the name of WP in the 1990s. Hence, allthese successes provide decisive coalition partnerships and crowned its
popularity in the political history of Turkey. 2

1. A Brief Overview on Democratization in Turkey until VOU
Turkey started to discuss the democracy in the last period of Ottoman
Empire especially, the Tanzimat (literally meaning reorganization of the
Ottoman Empire, was a period of reformation that began in 1839 and ended
with the first Constitutional Era in 1876) and Constitutional Era. Between theseeras, a large amount of reforms had been enacted such as: guaranteeing theright of life and property to all of the empire's subjects, the abolition of slavery,
legalization of homosexuality and so on.
Between 1923 (formal establishment of the Republic of Turkey) and 1945,
Turkey was controlled by the single-party regime. The “Cumhuriyet Halk
Partisi”(Republican People's Party, hereinafter referred to as RPP) was the only
party during that period. Single party regime was not desired and targeted
continuously; it was seen as a temporary regime because of the politicalsituation in Turkey. Moreover, the multi-party system was an ideal system to beachieved.
In May 1950, a general election was held in the Turkish Republic that resulted
in a big victory for the opposition. Democrat Party (DP) became the first party.
Bernard Lewis, puts forth the following insight describing the event:“This wa s a ver y impor t ant event for a countr y like Turkey. For agovernment to lose an election and be replaced by the opposition is nothing
extraordinary in the political life of established democratic societies. In
Turkey, however, such a peaceful transition was a novelty – not only inthe history of the country, but of the entire region, and indeed of others
that shared a comparable history and tradition. This was an epoch-making
event, seen by many at the time as the dawn of a new era. Some indeed
went so far as to assert that the defeat and supersession of Ataturk's RPP
was the last and greatest of all its achievements in the building of the2

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The Place and Importance of the“Views of Ummah”Movement in Turkish Democracy With The Sample of‘Welfare Party’

Turkish Republic”. 3
With the multi-party system, DP was the most important outstanding party.
Very popular at first, the government, eased the restrictions on Islam and led abooming economy. As seen from this view, this period was the period of change
and development in Turkey. However, at the same time, it further alienated the
opposition by imposing restrictive laws on the media and occasionally banned
critical newspapers from publishing. Growing tensions caused the government
to impose martial law in early 1960. The army stepped in and toppled thegovernment on May 27; the president, prime minister and several cabinet
members were arrested and quickly trailed for treason. Adnan Menderes(Prime Minister) was executed.4

2. Welfare Party
2.1 The Foundation of WP
1980 coup d 'etat caused a great crisis in Turkey. The democracy wassuspended, and all the political parties were closed. Since 1983, the closed
parties begin to open one by one, and instead of the NSP, the WP was foundedas the new representative of VOU in Turkish diplomacy.
The successful leadership of Necmettin Erbakan was the main factor forachieving the election and the rise of WP. In fact, after the general elections in
1987, the WP had its highest vote at rate of 7,14% on November 29, 1987 generalelection.
According to Yasar Yakis, the ambassador of Egypt at that period and thenone of the founders of Justice and Development Party, the reasons for the WP's
success was as follows:“For Turkish society, the state had been considered as a destroyer for his
people, a source just to enlist our children to the army and a source fortax. As a result, the parties benefiting the dissatisfaction of society andturning it into a voting opportunity always succeeded. This was one of thesuccesses of the VOU. Secondly, in the aspect of the method they used,
VOU wa s impre ssed b y Mu slim Broth erhood in Eg y pt. It drew th e
attention of a regime serving the suburban and the countryside people.
3

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研究ノートWP accepted Muslim Brotherhood's methods, and it served humanitarian
aids to those who have financial problems in slums and countryside suchas food items and medical service. As a matter of course, it managed toget mass support.” 5
Likewise, Ersonmez Yarbay, the former parliament member of the WP,
commented about the reasons for the WP's successes:“At that time, the other parties had instability in politics and they werevery detached from the public. However, the WP had a rapid rise by
benefiting this situation via integrating with public and having stability inpolitics. Moreover, people who had Islamic sensitiveness were under anever-growing pressure, and other parties were deaf to this. The WP tried
to stand up for their rights unlike other parties, and this contributed to therise of WP.” 6
2.2 The Identity of WP
With its discourse and action, the WP has the characteristics of a party
which is in line with the NOP and reflects the same discourse, policy, andworld-views, the first political party of VOU. As stated previously, the WP
carries political Islamist tradition in its staff and discourse without any change.
Hence, it is observed that the WP rarely changes the discourse of VOU, but has
some strategic changes and updatings in methods of spreading the discourse todifferent populaces. Defining its world-view as VOU, the WP is both a nationalist
and an Islamist party. According to Hakan Yavuz:“The supporters of the party argued that the WP was different from otherparties in Turkey because it emphasizes historic Ottoman and Islamicbonds, not Turkish ethnicity, and thus helps to bring the Kurds into thesystem. The forces that motivate supporters of the WP to become involvedin politics are not solely religious, but rather include the search forcommunity and redistribution of resources.” 7
In WP's party program, the title of ‘Foreign Policy’ mentions that the WP
establishes good relations with all Muslim and neighboring countries of Turkey.
4

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The Place and Importance of the“Views of Ummah”Movement in Turkish Democracy With The Sample of‘Welfare Party’Also, according to WP's party program it is possible to improve existing
relations with the countries which Turkey has historical and cultural bonds, andthis provides material and nonmaterial benefits for our country according to theprogram. 8 Unlike other parties it aims to make a strong union among the
undeveloped Islamic countries. In particular, the Middle Eastern, central Asianand Muslim countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia in the far East who havegreat importance for the WP.
The program which includes just a few sentences about secularism andfreedom of thought and faith emphasized that it finds all repressions primitiveand contrary to freedom of thought and faith. According to it, secularism is not
anti-religious, instead, it must be improved and activated as a principle to save
all those freedoms from any violation.9
The element which never change from the beginning in the discourse of VOU
is the pan-Islamist World-view fed with strong anti-Zionism. At this point, the
WP's discourse about Nationalism is considered from a Pan-Islamist perspective.
Erbakan, the master of the discourse, represents the nationalism of ‘Islamic
great eastern civilization’ in the maturity stage of Islamic discourse. In thecontext of functional solidarity, it can be mentioned about a Pan-Islamist
mindset in Turkey or worldwide. In its discourse, the WP uses the emphasis of
Turkishness as a ‘Muslim nation aiming to carry Islamic standards further’. In
such a Nationalist instrumentalisation, the WP dreams D8 as the union ofMuslim nations, and Turkey is in the role of ‘Big Brother’ for underdeveloped
countries in Islamic geography. 10 According to this, the guns and items
produced in intended heavy industrialization thrust are sent to these countries
so as to use against West and Zionists. In one of his speeches, Erbakan mentions
about a Turkey-centred Islamic Union in these words:“Turkey is at the center of World. The right of leadership in forming ajust World naturally belongs to Turkey which has a unique history
representing justice. I hope Turkey will surely be the leader in forming ajust world with its geography, history, people and all its resources.” 11
2.3 The Rhetoric of‘JUST ORDER’The discourse of VOU is rarely updated from the beginning but changed its
focal point according to the conjuncture, and associates functionality with a5

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研究ノートpragmatist balance in Islamic discourse. The focal point of the WP's discourse
is concerned with social policies differently from the NOP and the NSP. This isbecause of the socio-economical destruction that resulted from the neo-liberaloriented structural transformation in the Turkish Economy during the Ozal
period after 1980 coup d'etat. The conjuncture between 1985-1995, in which themass immigration from the countryside to cities is the biggest factor for socialchange, which is accepted by VOU as the predominant factor for the discourse.
Hence, the focus on the suburban population was greater than urban population
which was affected negatively by structural economic transformation.
The scope of the WP's discourse is constituted with all social science subjects
and a method whose content is filled with a complex justice myth and reference
comes from compulsory rules of Islam. The rhetoric which the party usuallyconstructs with this method and updates is ‘Just Order’. The two publications of
the party which are written by Necmettin Erbakan in 1991 describes thegeneral theme of the ‘Just Order’, and this rhetoric is knitted around thisgeneral theme.
The first discourse that was intended to include in the ‘Just Order’ was thebrochure of the WP which criticized interest rate lobby with anti-zionist powereclectically. Repetidly, the basic reference here is again the compulsory rules ofIslam.12 In ‘Just Order’ brochure, the existing world order is emphasized withthis determination:“The zionists take the world imperialism under their control. They exploit
the humanity via usurious capitalist order. They keep their politicaldominance on earth via the imperialist states.” 13
The literature and presentation model of ‘Just Order’, which is enriched withmetaphors, simple logic sampling, and Islamic patterns, besides of being
doctrinaire, is at such a level that it is easily understood and accepted by thepeople who have lower or mid-level intelligence and perception threshold. The
following statemant is an example from ‘Just Order’:“In the order of VOU, there won't be interest, and all the unfair taxes will
be removed. Everybody will get the opportunity to buy three loaves ofbread with the same money that he buys just one formerly. With the same6

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The Place and Importance of the“Views of Ummah”Movement in Turkish Democracy With The Sample of‘Welfare Party’f un d, h e will p rodu ce thre e t im e s more th an t od ay. Th e ch e a p e st
production will belong to Turkey, and exportation will increase. The
needs of Muslim countries will be met in Turkey by establishing thecommon market, and so Turkey will become one of the strongest countries
in the World!” 14
Differently from former VOU parties, the WP which has the rhetoric of ‘Just
Order’ rejects the statist and protective policies, and tends to market economy
model. Mostly the small-sized enterprises benefit from economical improvement
resulted from free market policy in Ozal Period, and they establish ‘The
Independent Industrialists and Businessmen's Association (MUSIAD) in order toprotect their benefits against a big business world which aim to merge with
Europan markets. The demands of this new bourgeoisie grown in Anatolia
cause the W P to follow the ma rket economy model. 15 By this way, W P
encouraged the compatibility between justice for the poor and the growing gap
between the rich and the poor caused by the expansion of the market economy.
Ersonmez Yarbay gives the following information about ‘Just Order’:“‘Just Order’ was a system proposed by Erbakan against monopolization.
It aimed to remove unfair income distribution and form the noninterest
economy. This system aimed to decrease the sentimental value of moneyin c are of p ubli c an d remo ve int ere st. A s m emb er s of th e W P, we
represented the poor in society. These poor demanded the removal ofinterest, however, just their demand was not enough to manage it entirely.
Thus, there was not much improvement about interest problem and ‘Just
Order’. Yet, this is a worth-stressing issue. Another destructive problem ofWorld is absolutely monopolization and unfair income distribution. ‘Just
Order’ can be a solution to these problems if it is improved.” 16
2.4 The Electoral Strategy and Propaganda of The WPThe organization model of the WP is defined as ‘Rosary Model’ that is theprovincial organizational committee has thirty-three members modeled as thethirty-three beads of the traditional Muslim rosary. According to this model,
the WP places a party member to each province, and this member places otherparty agents to each district, street, and even apartment. By this way,7

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研究ノートinspectors check other organizations local party activities.17 Moreover, if a local
needs financial aid, those local party organizations never hesitate to help. For
the WP, the policy not only offers services and helps needy people, but also
defines the symbols of Turkish society, and shapes Muslim political views andsocial life. By establishing hegemony over the symbolic structure of Turkishsociety, the WP seeks to become the hegemonic political force.18
One of the most important features of the WP which separate it from otherparties is the strong bonds between voters and the party members. Ersonmez
Yarbay emphasizes that one of the most important factors for his party's
success is ‘Rosary Model’. He states:“The WP had to be everywhere that human beings lived. For this reason,
we h ad part y agents in ever y cit y, count y, district, street and evenapartment, and we always checked their activities. Everyone worked toreach the best rate by dealing the people one to one. For instance, there
were ballot boxes in elections. Let's say that each box has 200 voters.
During the election, we began sending a party representative to each box
in order to keep in touch with the voters. Let's think that there are one
hundred thousand boxes, and in this case, we aimed to reach two hundred
thousand representatives with one extra helper party members for eachbox. As the WP, we put up candidates everywhere in every election. Thiswas one of the most important reasons for success. We had candidates inevery city and district even if we knew we would fail. In the regions where
we could not f ind any candidate, we h ad a ssigned-candidates. For
instance, if we don't have any candidate in Tunceli (a city of Turkey), we
assign one of our members there as a candidate. We defended that if wewere at the right side, then our thoughts would be everywhere. It was notimportant to win or lose. The important point was to emphasize our rightthoughts.” 19In the interview with Alaattin Sahin, who graduated from Faculty of Political
Science at Ankara University and was the member of Board of Overseers in
Sifa University, 20 he tells how he is impressed by the WP's election propaganda
in these statements:

8

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The Place and Importance of the“Views of Ummah”Movement in Turkish Democracy With The Sample of‘Welfare Party’“After Ozal's death, I voted for the WP in 1994-1995 because center-rightparties didn't have promising future to society. It had a different sound in
Turkish policy. One of the factors for my vote was that the people who
were bound up with the WP were possibly more honest. In 1994-1995, the
WP's propaganda made the public participate in politics. Istanbul was an
example for that situation. The WP representatives had strong bonds withpeople. Women first took place in politics in a religious-based platform. As
is known to all, women are shy in conservative societies, and they don't
easily take part in public sphere or politics. However, women had a chance
to be involved in politics thanks to the WP's women's branch.” 21
2.5 February 28 Process and Closure of The WP
February 28 process is the general name for the sequence of events which
ended the coalition leadership of the WP and prognosticates the breaking in
1980 coup d'etat perception of military elites about the legitimacy of civil
authority. Today, it is still discussed whether February 28 process is a postmodern coup, a military memorandum or a high-dose intervention to democratic
civil authority.
One of the most effective events for February 2 8 process in WP-TPP
government is the ‘D8’ project which is included in the electoral declaration of
the WP in 1995 elections. It is considered as an alternative to G-8 and planned
to establish with Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria,
Pakistan, and Turkey. The former governments in Turkey generally declaretheir dependance to the Western block as a first step and have their official
visits to Western countries. However, Erbakan first visits Eastern countries
such as Iran, Pakistan, Singapore and Malaysia, caused severe criticisms anddiscussions in Turkey. The external media organs aren't unresponsive to thisevent, and especially the USA criticizes the Iran visit and the treaties that areplanned to conclude with Iran. 22
The internal policy had a hand in the process initiating February 2 8.
Sometimes, the notable members of the WP use over-ambitious statements intheir speeches, and this causes harshness in the political discourse of WP. Thus,
the WP becomes a focus of anti-secular actions. In this context, the speech of
Sukru Karatepe, the mayor of Kayseri, on November 10, 1996 is an obvious
example for radical Islamic discourse, and this speech is cited as evidence for9

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研究ノートclosure case of the WP. In a province basis meeting of the WP, Karatepe claims
that Turkey isn't ruled by real democracy, and the dark dominant forces
manipulate the public. From his speech:“Never think I am secular by judging my clothing style. I took part in a
ceremony today –implying the commemoration of Ataturk- just because it's
my official duty. Of course, the prime minister, other ministers, anddeputies have some obligations, but you have none. As a member of the
WP, I must try to change this order even if I am on my own on Earth.
Muslims! Never leave this belief, passion, and hatred. Changing this order
is a binding duty for us…” 23
When the pressures on the WP increase, it has the fear of entrapment by the
secular front and has its first contra operations on the press which criticizes the
WP all along. The WP took urgent measurements, and it plans to publish athree-point decree about press which is to come into force in one month.
According to this decree, it is stated that the government no longer gives loans
to press, the payment date of former loans will no more be delayed, andpromotion ban is placed. This decree is considered as a “blow to freedom of thepress”, and it causes severe reactions of press. Moreover, the WP interrupts theadvertising and promotion because it assumes that the press does unjustice,terminates with extreme prejudice, and snitches via falsified news all along. 24
It is very helpful to understand the comments of Yasar Yakis. He states:“Erbakan offended and perhaps threatened the secular part of the public
while presenting his plans and religious aims. However, the army was very
powerful at that time, and naturally, the army was very brave to takeactions against Erbakan. This was an important reason for February 28.
At the time when the female students with head-scarf weren't allowed touniversities, he threatened the chancellors and the teachers by saying ‘One
day you will salute these girls’. Since the army was very powerful at thattime when Erbakan was prime minister, the military elites purposively
developed the relations and had cooperations with Israel. In Egypt, somea sk ed me th e re a son why Turk ey became a strat eg ic ally to Isra el
10

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The Place and Importance of the“Views of Ummah”Movement in Turkish Democracy With The Sample of‘Welfare Party’suddenly. In fact, this situation inf luenced the relations with Egypt
negatively, and I always struggled to improve the relations. This was justone of the reasons. Another one is that the army was the protector of
secularism in Turkey all along.” 25
The statement of Alaattin Sahin is a summative assessment for us tounderstand the fall of the WP. He states:“Obviously, the wrong discourses of the WP provoked February 28. The
WP did politics on ‘head-scarf’ and ‘Imam-Hatip’ high schools which thesecular front was strictly against. For instance, in a caucus, Erbakan usedsome harsh statements such as ‘the WP will be in power and form ‘Just
Order’’, ‘ Let's wait and see whether the transition period will be rough orsmooth. We will come into power whether bloody or bloodless’. In anothercaucus, he told that the Imam-Hatip schools were their base courts. These
discourses are among those which provoked the process.” 26
All these factors draged Turkey to February 28 process and also prepared
for the end of the WP. Turkish Armed Forces use the National Security Council(NSC) and increase the attempts of imposing its policy to the government withthe help of President Suleyman Demirel. Finally, a new period started in thehistory of Turkish policy with the official declaration of NSC on February 28,
19 9 7. With this decla ration, the a rmy enforced a n ‘action pla n aga inst
reactionary forces’ to the government. Under these conditions, Necmettin
Erbakan has to resign the prime ministry. 27 On 16 January 1998, WP was
dissolved and its leaders were banned from political life for five years by theTurkish Court. The remaining 153 party members continued as elected
representatives to the Grand National Assembly in their individual capacities.
Only two members of the Constitutional Court dissented from the judgment( Judges Hasim Kilic and Sacit Adali). Their reasoning was based on theEuropean Convention on Human Rights. 28
The Europan Court of Human Rights concludes the decision about the closureof the WP on July 31, 2001. The court accepts that a shariah-based state, violent
and jihadist discourses of executives and multilateral judicial system proposals
are against the Europan Convention of Human Rights. The court also reminds
11

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研究ノートthat the interpretation on the Secularism Principle of the Constitutional Court
is made by considering the history of Turkish law, and the Turkish society tries
the theocratical regime in Ottoman period, but then ends the theocratical orderby founding the Turkish Republic. Moreover, the court concluded that thetheocratical threat in Turkey is in its early stages, which indicates that thisthreat may rise again in the close future by considering the reality that most of
the Turkish population is Muslim. 29

Conclusion
It is clearly seen that mistakes made by the WP in February 28 Process
negatively affected the development of democracy. Needless to say that theseissues should also be studied comprehensively in the future. As statedprev iously, t he resea rch quest ion wa s t he posit ive ef fect s of VOU on
democratization in Turkey. For this reason, I want to summarize and analyze
the positive effects of VOU on democratization.
VOU contributed a lot to the Turkish democracy. It must be considered as agreat success that the WP behaved as a spokesperson for the people who were
under pressure due to their Islamic beliefs and conservative behavours, andtook it as a duty upon themselves to lend a hand to them when other parties
were not adressing their needs. VOU managed to reach the needy who live inslums and in the countryside, and so receives a great political support.
As seen in this study, the electoral strategy and propaganda of the WP havealso a positive role for the Turkish democracy. The WP manages to deal withthe society by reaching its ‘capillaries’ via the ‘Rosary Model’. Moreover, the
WP introduced and nominated candidates in every province or district despite
certain failure, and thus it is the first party in the history of Turkish democracy
to do so.
Finally, women, for the first time had a chance to take part in policy on areligiously-based platform. Credit of this achivement goes to the women's
branches of the W P. As stated above, women are in the background inconservative societies. However, they participate in politics in a conservative
base with the encouragement of the WP. This was one of the most importantachivements of the WP and VOU to the Turkish democracy.

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The Place and Importance of the“Views of Ummah”Movement in Turkish Democracy With The Sample of‘Welfare Party’

References
Adil Duzen, Refah Partisi Yay., Ankara, 1991.
Basbakan Prof. Dr. Necmettin Erbakan'in TBMM Grup Toplantisinda Yaptigi Konusmalar,
Basbakanlik Basimevi, Ankara, 1997.
Boyle, Kevin, “Human Rights, Religion and Democracy: The Refah Party Case”, Essex
Human Rights Review, Vol. 1, No. 1.
Bulac, Ali, Gocun ve Kentin Siyaseti (MNP'den SP'ye Milli Gorus Partileri), Cira Yayinlari,
Istanbul, 2009.
Cevizoglu, Hulki, 28 Subat Bir Hukumet Nasil Devrildi, Ceviz Kabugu Yayinlari, Ankara,
2003.
Kucukyilmaz, Mucahit, Turkiye'de Siyasal Katilim Tek Partiden Ak Parti'ye Siyasal Islamve Demokrasi Tartismalari, Iklim Basim Yayin Dagitim, Ankara, 2010.
Lewis, Bernard, “Democracy in Turkey”, The Making and Unmaking of Democracy, Edit.
Theodore K. Rabb and Ezra N. Suleiman, Routledge, New York, 2003.
Milliyet Gazetesi, Rusen Cakir, 10.04.1994.
Ozdemir, Hakan, “28 Subat arifesinde ve Ertesinde Iki Milli Gorus Partisi: Refah PartisiFa z i let Pa r t i s i ”, S u ley m a n D em i rel Un iver s it y Fa c u lt y of E c o nom ic s a ndAdministrative Journal, V. 20, i. 2, Isparta, 2015.
Refah Partisi Programi, Eser matbaasi, Samsun, 1986.
Turhan, Mehmet, “Avrupa Insan Haklari Sozlesmesi ve Siyasi Parti Kapatma Davalari”,
Ankara University Faculty of Political Sciences Journal, 57-3.
Yavuz, M. Hakan, “Political Islam and the Welfare (Refah) Party in Turkey”, Comparative
Politics, October 1997.

Interviews
The interview with Alaattin Sahin, Izmir, 05.04.2016.
The interview with Ersonmez Yarbay, Ankara, 10.06.2016.
The interview with Yasar Yakis, Ankara, 11.06.2016.

Websites
T i me l i ne : A H i st or y of Tu rk i s h C o u p s”, ht t p : //w w w. a lj a z e e r a . c o m /new s /eu r ope/2012/04/20124472814687973.html, (September 22, 2016)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xE7dJ17psXQ, (July 18, 2016)13

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研究ノート注
1	The translating of “Milli Gorus Hareketi”is National Vision Movement. Because of this,we can see that generally people are translating as this way. However; according to
Necmettin Erbakan, what is meant by “milli”was not national but ummah. This is why,in this study, I prefer to translate as “Views of Ummah”.
2	Hakan Ozdemir, “28 Subat arifesinde ve Ertesinde Iki Milli Gorus Partisi: Refah PartisiFa z i l et P a r t i s i ”, S u l e y m a n D e m i r e l U n i v e r s i t y Fa c u l t y o f E c o n o m i c s a n d
Administrative Journal, V. 20, i. 2, Isparta, 2015, p. 166.
3	Bernard Lewis, “Democracy in Turkey”, The Making and Unmaking of Democracy,
Edit. Theodore K. Rabb and Ezra N. Suleiman, Routledge, New York, 2003, p. 225.
4	“Timeline: A History of Turkish Coups”, Aljazeera's Official website, http://www.
aljazeera.com/news/europe/2012/04/20124472814687973.html, (September 22, 2016)
5	The interview with Yasar Yakis, Ankara, 11.06.2016.
6	The interview with Ersonmez Yarbay, Ankara, 10.06.2016.
7	M . H a k a n Yav u z , “ Pol it ic a l I sla m a nd t he Wel f a re ( Ref a h) Pa r t y i n Tu rkey”,
Comparative Politics, October 1997, s. 74.
8	Refah Partisi Programi, Eser matbaasi, Samsun, 1986, p. 31.
9	Mucahit Kucukyilmaz, Turkiye'de Siyasal Katilim Tek Partiden Ak Parti'ye Siyasal
Islam ve Demokrasi Tartismalari, Iklim Basim Yayin Dagitim, Ankara, 2010, p. 106.
10	For more information see M. Hakan Yavuz, ibid.,
11	Basba ka n Prof . Dr. Necmett in Erba ka n' in TBM M Gr up Topla nt isinda Yapt ig i
Konusmalar, Basbakanlik Basimevi, Ankara, 1997, p. 142.
12	For more information see M. Hakan Yavuz, ibid.,
13	Adil Duzen, Refah Partisi Yay., Ankara, 1991, p. 3
14	Adil Duzen, p. 10.
15	Hakan Ozdemir, ibid., p. 172.
16	The interview with Ersonmez Yarbay, Ankara, 10.06.2016.
17	Rusen Cakir, Milliyet Gazetesi, 10.04.1994.
18	M. Hakan Yavuz, ibid., p. 77.
19	The interview with Ersonmez Yarbay, Ankara, 10.06.2016.
20	Sifa University is one of the fifteen universities which were closed by the government inTurkey after the coup attempt in July 2016.
21	The interview with Alaattin Sahin, Izmir, 05.04.2016
22	Ali Bulac, Gocun ve Kentin Siyaseti (MNP'den SP'ye Milli Gorus Partileri) , Cira
Yayinlarıi, İstanbul, 2009, p. 275.
23	Date of Access 18.07.2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xE7dJ17psXQ
24	Hakan Özdemir, ibid., p. 177.
25	The interview with Yasar Yakis, Ankara, 11.06.2016.
26	The interview with Alaattin Sahin, İzmir, 05.04.201627	Hulki Cevizoglu, 28 Subat Bir Hukumet Nasil Devrildi, Ceviz Kabugu Yayinlari, Ankara,
2003. s. 15.
28	Kevin Boyle, “Human Rights, Religion, and Democracy: The Refah Party Case”, Essex
Human Rights Review, Vol. 1, No. 1, p. 6.
29	Mehmet Turhan, “Avrupa İnsan Haklari Sozlesmesi ve Siyasi Parti Kapatma Davalari”,
Ankara University Faculty of Political Sciences Journal, 57-3, p. 142.

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The Place and Importance of the“Views of Ummah”Movement in Turkish Democracy With The Sample of‘Welfare Party’

Abstract

The Place and Importance of the“Views of
Ummah”Movement in Turkish Democracy
With The Sample of‘Welfare Party’
Ahmet Yasir EREN

The view of Views of Ummah is a movement having started through theestablishment of National Order Party (MNP) with the leadership of Necmettin
Erbakan (died in 2011) in the beginning of 1970. Under the roof of forming aparty, National Order Party became power partner four times between 1974
and 1978. With the name of Welfare Party (RP), it boosted its popularity
through several local and general elections in nineties and consequently
appeared in governments as a great power partner.
Having been established in 1983, The Welfare Party is known to haveobtained successful results within a very short time. Principally in Local
Elections held in 1994, it received 19.14% of the votes with a huge leap andgained mayoralties of 28 cities, metropolitan mayoralties of İstanbul and Ankara
in particular. Consecutively, in General Elections of 1995, it managed to be in
the first rank in the parliament with the vote proportion of 21.38%. It is
undoubtedly obvious that unprecedentedly outstanding election works anddiscourses in Turkey prevailed in those achievements.
The Views of Ummah movement, as a view to have formed this politicalorganisation, claimed its place in Turkish Political History but encountered theresistance of military and judicial bureaucracy all the way, and it was hindered
and forced to depoliticisation.
In my study I initially mentioned about historical development of Views of
Ummah Movement. And then, through examples and the interviews, I explained
new discourses introduced by the Welfare Party into Turkish politics, Party’s
identity, Just Order rhetoric, and the acquisitions of Turkish democracy by its
election strategy and propaganda, respectively.

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