Kurdish Hizbullah in Turkey - Islamism, Violence and the State

This study analyses Kurdish Hizbullah as a social movement and investigates this biggest Kurdish Islamist group by means of ethnographic fieldwork in their daily lives. As opposed to Hizbullah in Lebanon, whose followers are mainly adherents of the Shiite sect of Islam, Hizbullah in Turkey is populated by Sunnis, more specifically by Shafii Kurds. Mehmet Kurt charts the development of a particularly powerful Islamist social movement - Kurdish Hizbullah - from its origins in violent militancy to a more 'civic' mode of engagement, an engagement which nonetheless provides a rationale for disenchanted young Islamists to engage in political violence. It offers a unique insight into Kurdish Hizbullah, its political rise and the apparent power of Islamism amongst Kurds in the region, particularly in a context in which the leftist Kurdish political movement is the hegemonic political discourse. Through ethnographic field work and extensive interviews with members, leaders and supporters of Hizbullah, Kurt revelsa the manner in which Islamic civil society has taken root in a region where ethnic identity has been the primary organising tool against a repressive and violent state

About the author

Mehmet Kurt is the British Academy Newton Advanced Post-Doctoral Fellow at Queen Mary University of London. His areas of expertise are Kurdish Islamist groups, social movements, radicalisation, the Kurdish issue in Turkey, visual ethnography and oral history. He is the author of Kurdish Hizbullah in Turkey (Pluto, 2017).

Summary

An academic insider's account of the Islamist social movement Kurdish Hizbullah

Product details

• Authors: Mehmet Kurt, Kurt Mehmet
• Assisted by: Argun Cakir (Translation)
• Publisher: Pluto
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 30.04.2017
• EAN: 9780745399348
• ISBN: 978-0-7453-9934-8
• No. of pages: 208
• Series: State Crime
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Education > Social education, social work; Non-fiction book > Politics, society, business; Social sciences, law, business > Sociology > Social structure research; POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Freedom, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Minority Studies, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Process / General, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Ideologies / General, RELIGION / Islam / General, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Anthropology / Cultural & Social, Islamic Studies, Turkey, Terrorism, armed struggle, Violence in society, Violence and abuse in society, Relating to Islamic / Muslim people and groups, Social groups: religious groups and communities, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Cultural & Ethnic Studies / General