Kurdish Islamism

Kurdish-Islamic synthesis, or Kurdish-Islamic nationalism (Sorani: ''کوردایەتیی ئیسلامی''; Kurmanji: ''Kurdayetîya Îslamî''), is a form of Kurdish nationalism which is Islamist in nature, unlike mainstream Kurdish nationalism, which is secularist in nature.

History

The ideology emerged after the abolition of the Caliphate and the creation of Turkey, which angered many Kurds, who felt that their culture, religion, language, and people were endangered because of Atatürk's reforms. The ideology was also reactionary to the Turkish–Islamic synthesis which emerged during the late Ottoman Empire, as "the Kurdish religious leaders became aware that the Turks had used Islamic symbols and sentiments in favour of their nationalist aims, so they tried to do the same".

The ideology was mainly associated with Sheikh Said. Another ideologue is Mullah Krekar. In some videos, Mullah Krekar speaks about Kurdish issues and supporting Kurdish independence. He was described as "publishing political and nationalistic statements one day, and Jihadi statements on the next". Mullah Krekar is also a populist, and his popularity in Iraqi Kurdistan rose between 2017 and 2019, mainly among the youth who were against the Kurdish government. Mullah Krekar also added that secularism "has destroyed Kurdish values". He rejected parts of nationalism which conflicted with Islam.

During the Iran–Iraq War, Kurdish Islamists broke ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, accusing them of holding Arab nationalist views and being supportive of Saddam Hussein.

The Shafi'i school was praised for its role in the preservation of Kurdish culture, especially language. The KTTC claimed that if Kurds lost their language, they would lose the Shafi'i school and their ethnicity after.Kurdish Identity, Islamism, and Ottomanism: The Making of a Nation in Kurdish Journalistic Discourse (1898-1914), Deniz Ekici, 2021, pp. 113 Early Kurdish movements during the Ottoman Empire campaigned for official status for both the Kurdish language and the Shafi'i school. The Hanafi school was the official sect of the Ottoman Empire and was publicly encouraged by the government. Kurdistan was a predominantly Shafi'i region surrounded by different sects and religions. Adherence to the Shafi'i school was societally seen as essential to Kurdish identity. When Turkish nationalists realised the role of the Shafi'i school in Kurdish society, they attempted to spread the Hanafi school to Kurds in hopes that it leads them into adopting a Turkish identity as well.

In the 1980s, many Kurdish students at Ä°mam Hatip schools "increasingly emphasised their Kurdish identity in opposition to the Turkish military operations". The relations between secular Kurds and Islamist Kurds quickly went from extremely tense to "quite cordial". Many Islamist Kurds began adopting nationalism, while many secular Kurds, including the PKK, had "given up their earlier arrogant attitude toward Islam" after the newfound unity with the Islamists.

The synthesis grew during the split between Kurdish and Turkish Islamists, as the Kurds accused the Turks continuing the nationalist and assimilationist policies of the state even during Islamist discourse, and using the topic of Islamic fraternity while simultaneously attempting to assimilate Kurds by using religion. Kurdish Islamists increasingly left Turkish Islamist circles.

Kurdish-Islamic nationalism is often hostile to other nationalisms in the region, and is also against Secularism, Kemalism, and Ba'athism.

Criticism

Many of the Kurdistan Islamic Union's politicians, including their leader Salahaddin Bahaaddin, have criticized the ideology, saying that "This is a huge heresy", "Islam can not be nationalized", and that "There is only one Islam, the Islam of Allah."

In 2013, Altan Tan claimed that the "Kurdish-Islamic synthesis" was an excuse made by Turkish–Islamic synthesists to justify them "using Islam to paint their own empire and hegemony."

Organizations

;Iran
*Salvation Force
*Organization of Iranian Kurdistan Struggle (later secularised)
;Iraq
*Ansar al-Islam in Kurdistan
* Rawti Shax
*Kurdistan Islamic Movement
*Kurdistan Justice Group
*White Flags
;Syria
* Kurdish Islamic Front
* Movement of Salah al-Din the Kurd
;Turkey
* Free Cause Party
*Islamic Party of Kurdistan
*Kurdish Hezbollah
*Kurdistan Islamic Movement (Turkey)
*Azadi Party of TADK

Notable figures

* Sheikh Ubeydullah
* Abdulkadir Ubeydullah
* Sheikh Said
* Mahmud Barzanji
* Qazi Muhammad
* Osman Abdulaziz
* Ali Abdulaziz Halabji
* Ali Bapir
* Mullah Krekar
* Adham Barzani
* Hüseyin Velioğlu
* Abdullah BeÄŸik
* Mashouq al-Khaznawi
* Zekeriya Yapıcıoğlu
* Assi al-Qawali
* Khider Kosari
* Ezaddin Husseini (formerly)

See also

*Kurdish Muslims
*Islamism
*Kurdish nationalism
*List of Kurdish organisations
* Turkish-Islamic synthesis
*Arab-Islamic nationalism

References

{{Reflist

Islamic nationalism
Kurdish Islamism
Kurdish nationalism
Kurdistan independence movement
Opposition to Arab nationalism
Syncretic political movements