Transforming Everyday Life, Islamism And Social Movement Theory

Transforming everyday life: Islamism and social

movement theory

Cihan Tuğal

Published online: 3 June 2009

# The Author(s) 2009. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com

Abstract The Islamist movement in Turkey bases its mobilization strategy on

transforming everyday practices. Public challenges against the state do not form a

central part of its repertoire. New Social Movement theory provides some tools for

analyzing such an unconventional strategic choice. However, as Islamist mobilization

also seeks to reshape the state in the long run, New Social Movement theory

(with its focus on culture and society and its relative neglect of the state) needs to be

complemented by more institutional analyses. A hegemonic account of mobilization,

which incorporates tools from theories of everyday life and identity-formation, as

well as from state-centered approaches, is offered as a way to grasp the complexity

of Islamism.

How do movements generate power? Can we talk about a social movement in

the absence of contentious politics? How can a movement win the hearts and

minds of a population even when it avoids challenging authorities? When we

think of social movements, we tend to invoke images of rallies, demonstrations,

strikes, and street action that challenge the state (McAdam 1988; Piven and

Cloward 1977; Tilly 1978). Here, I draw attention to another kind of movement

activity.

In Turkey, the Islamist movement generally shies away from challenging the state

directly and usually avoids noisy protest. Why don’t Islamists in Turkey directly

attack secular authorities? How do they sustain mobilization under unfavorable

circumstances?

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