SOME NOTES ON THE POSSIBILITY OF AN"ISLAMI C ECONOMY"

A CASESTUDY

ŞENNUR ÖZDEMİR

ABSTRACT

This artiele is composed of a short discussion on the possibility of anlslamic Economy. In do ing so, it addresses not only conceptual/theoreticalaspects (on the base of Weberian Protestant Ethic thesis) related to this fieldbut also its socio-economic historical dimensions that contrasts with theincompatibility thesis referring to the radical changes experienced with theend of colonization period in Islamic countries (and Asiatic non-Westernones as well) as well as slow changes appearing simultaneously in the natureof the so-called lslamic Economy. In this context, some data about MüsİADis specifically be depended on. In conelusion, in contrast to the conventionalunderstanding, the study shows that the idea of an lslamic Economy -in itscompatibility with modern conditions and system s- has a base to e1aim fornot only in theory but alsa in reality.

KEYWORDS

Protestant Ethic Thesis, Muslim entrepreneurship, MÜSİAD, IslamicEconomy

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An Introductory Discussion

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The general radical crisis of the international system, and thecrisis of capitalist modes of produetion in partieular, leads us to thinkabout the possibility and/or presence of multipleıplural modernitiesI -implying even a possibiIity of a new eivilizational synthesis:2

Huntington's theory of the clash of civilizations3 serves this argumentin many respects. It impIies that we are passing through a transitoryprocess that will probably result in a civilizational turn.

The diehotomie EastIWest distinction does not only depend onIslam as a eulture and eivilisation, but on the Eastem world as awhole. The unique development that East Asian countries haveexperieneed is also relevant here. The question whether capitalismon the base of strong communal rules and weak individuality in thesen se of seeking rationally one's own self-interest is possible hasgained importance due to the suecess of these alternatiye socio-eultural settings in the economic realm in competition with Westemmarkets. Creating alternative and successful socio-economicorganisations played a positive role in legitimising some peeuliaritiesof the eastem eulture that was attributed as an obstacle for aculturally and economieally developed society. For instance, the ideathat "a high degree of state intervention" is necessarily "ineompatiblewith sueeessful capitalist development" has been falsified.4 Althougha deep investigation on this specific issue cannot be included in thisstudy, it can be said that the idea of multiple modemizations alsoworks for East Asian cases as welL.

(See, Nilüfer Göle, İslam ve Modernlik Üzerine Melez Desenler. İstanbul:Metis, 2000 and Mike Featherstone, Global Culture: An Intraduction.Global Culture, M. Featherstone, (ed.) Sage. 1990.

2şennur Özdemir, "Uluslararasılıkta Kaos, Bir Medeniyet Dönüşümü veİslami (F)aktör: Türkiye'de MüsİAD Örneği," Uluslararası İlişkiler, 1/3,(Spring 2004).

3See, Samuel P. Huntington, "The Clash of Civilizations?" ForeignAffairs, (Summer 1993).

4Stil1, what was observed for these cases was "The values of individualautonomy are undermining East Asian communalism and are likely tocontinue doing so" Peter L. Berger, The Capitalist Revolution, New York:Basic Books, 1986, pp. 158, 170.

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According to this idea, different cultural settings will beexperiencing modernization differently in terms of their own culturalspecifisities although the homogenizing effects of modernization _such as individualization, rationalization and therefore,internalization and (re)institutionalization of ethical codes- will alsobe at work, as will be demonstrated in this study for the case ofMüsİAD. Changing conditions and mechanisms of the world'seconomic system with its flexible and network-centred forms are thefactors creating an alternative Islamic agenda possible as part of theworld economic community. Surely, this was also due to the growingdiversification and liberalization in the markets of Muslim countriesthemselves.

Islamic religion and culture, being declared as the opposite ofWestern civilization, has a distinct place in this regard: Islamiccivilization, depending on a large Muslim population worldwide,which was excluded from the world economic system as such anddeclared as the opposite 'other' of the West once,5 will at least beexpected to be an equal actor in this transitory process -if not even asan advantageous one.6 In this context, this study will focus on religio-cultural differences of lslamic economy over a fieldwork onMüsİAD (a businessmen organization with an Islamic emphasis) inTurkey.7

51n his 'Orientalism' Edward Said deeoded throughoutly this negatively'orientalizing' nature of western seienee. And it can be aeeepted as a turningpoint in studying Eastern world in speeifie and the 'others' of the West ingeneral more objeetively. Orientalism, New York: Random House, 1975.

6See, Özdemir, Uluslararasılıkla Kaos, for a diseussion supporting Islam'sadvantageous positioning in this process.

7See, Şennur Özdemir, Religious and Socio-Economic Transformation ofTurkey: The Case of the MÜSiAD. Unpublished Doetoral Thesis. Ankara:METU, 2001. Indeed, it is known that beyond eultural/religious differeneesmore fırms develop network alternatives to eonventional markets andhierareies in the Western world under eonditions of the global restrueturingof the world: See, Paul DiMaggio, "Culture and Eeonomy," The Handbookof Economic Sociology, N. 1. Smelser and R. Swedberg, (eds) Prineeton,New lersey, New York: Princeton University Press, Russel SageFoundation, 1994, p. 39.

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i argue in this study that the Islamic case is not an exception tothis generalization -on the contrary to the conventional perspectivethat IslamiclEastem world cannot even be imagined as a dynamic andhistorically changing socio-economic and cuItural whole. As known,until very recently the famous thesis that Islam and modemdemocratic forms of Westem civilisation incIuding rationalcapitalism are incompatible was given direction to studies on Islam.Can we accept such causality as a fact? This study argues that theanswer wiII be a fırın "yes", only if one takes this determination as ahistorically and socio-economically defıned formula, yet at the sametime taking this formula as a timeless absolute determination theanswer of this question will certainly be negative. To support thisidea we can even refer to the neo-Weberian literature which rejectsthe idea that Islamic culture is inherently in opposition to thecapitalist culture. For example, Gellner8 tried to show that Islamcould be compatible in its offical version and can perfectly bereformed. Swedberg9 emphasized some points, such as Islamiccommercial law that was considered by Weber as "secular andinnovative and played a progressive role in the legal development ofcapitalism ... several of which were taken over by the wesı. Whatstopped this innovative spirit from further developing andspreading ... is that it lacked official protection." Another pointSwedberg10 emphasized is that there was a dimension of asceticisimin Islam in terms of some regular religious practices such as prayingfıve times a day, according to Weber.11

8Ernest Geliner, Muslim Society. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,1981.

9Riehard Swedberg, Max Weber and the Idea of Economic Sociology,Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. 1998, p. 93.

IOIbid., p. 143.IIBernard Lewis, too, argued that the problem of the baekwardness of

Islamic societies should be investigated as a part of larger socio-economicphenomenon rather than as merely a religious one. "The charge that theIslamic religion is innately hostile to economic development is diffieult tosustain; the social and eultura! eauses of economic baekwardness inMuslim countries must be sought in a complex of factors, of which historicIslam is a part and, to some extent, an expression. Thcre is nothing inIslamie doctrine to oppose economic progress." Islam in History: ldeas,People, and Events in the Middle East, Chicago: Open Co urt. 1993, p.347.

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Therefore, it was largely accepted that the fundamentalproblem with Eastem Islamic cultures was patrimonialism as thedominant cu ltura i characteristic of the East which was considered asan obstacle both by Weber and Marx for a stratified hierarchicalorganizaiton of modern capitalism. Indeed, it was patrimonialism12 inthe last analysis, rather than Islam as areligian, that was declared asthe main obstacle for the capitalist development of these countries byboth Weberian and Marxist analysis as Turnerl3 underlines. The mosttypical form of traditional authority in Weber'sl4 analysis ispatrimonialism, and that is alsa the reason why he related what hecalled "traditional" in its ideal typical sense to eastem societies. Thetypical characteristics of patrimonial order, Weber noted, was anabsolute submission to the authority -of the King, father, elderlypeople, religious leader,ls master, husband and so on, on the contraryto the autonomous individuals of the hierarchical organisatian ofWestern societies.

Indeed, Islamic thinkers were alsa agreed with this idea bypointing out the central place political processes and state itself took.ÜIgener may be considered as the only example, who searchedsincerely what was lacked in Islam accoding to the emergence ofmodern capitalism within the Weberian formula. Classical andcontemporary social scientists all put an emphasis on the determinant

12See, for instance, Sami Zubaida, "Economic and Political Activism inIslam," Economy and Society, 1972, p. 326; Metin Heper, BürokratikYönetim Geleneği, Ankara: ODTÜ İdari Ilimler Fak.1974; Halil İnalcık,Studies iıı Ottoman Social and Economic History. London: VariorumReprints. i985; Çağlar Keyder, State and Class in Turkey, London&NewYork: Verso. 1987; Şerif Mardin, Türk Modernleşmesi, İstanbul:iletişim.199 i; and Ayşe Buğra, Devlet ve İşadamları, İstanbul: İletişim.1995.

13See, Bryan Turner, Weber aııd Islam: A Critical Study, London, Boston:Routledge, 1974, p. 15.

14See, Max Weber, Sosyoloji Yazıları, İstanbul: Hurriyet Vakfı Yayınları,1987, p. 253.

ISSabri F. Ülgener have examined how this submission has become a massphenomenon in Islamic history through tarikat and tassavvuf organizationsof Anatolian Islam. 198 ı. Dünü ve Bugünü ile Zihniyet ve Dili: İslam,Tasavvufve Çözülme Devri İktisat Ahlakı, İstanbul: Der Yayınları.

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role the patrimonial, centralized state played historically andcurrently as welL. Islamic history, with its origin accompanied by astrong state tradition -especially in the Turkish case- or with its smailcommunities, has been considered as a case far away from being aprerequisite for the emergence of an individual-base free marketsociety. As discussed Iater, Weber provided us with a long repertoireof reasons explaining this connection. However, what Weber andothers said was historically bound explanations, and, as all of theC1assical thinkers underlined, we at least have the duty to refer toactual historical facts by updating what they mean and imply underthe current circumstances. The issue refers to the actual developmentsin the Islamic world, liberal policies in both political and economicspheres experienced in many of the Islamic countries brought aboutnew conceptions such as Islamic economy and Islamic banking sincethe 1980s. The development, called 'Islamic economy' has become acentral issue for academic and political circles and for the media.Even if Islam, at least indirectly, was aıready a part of thefundamental circies, it has become an issue as an integral part of thecontemporary developments in Islamic countries rather than as areactionary political opposition. That is how a newagenda for Islamhas emerged since then, and the present study is a production derivingfrom this newagenda. Under these changing conditions it considersthat economic activities necessarily embedded not only in socio-political but also in the cultural realm, including religious institutionsand values.

In this context, the importance of MüsİAD is threefold. First isthe role it plays in the process of "inventing" a renewed/rationalisedIslamic ethic; second is the specific role it plays to transform thetraditional economic mentality that is compatible with rationalcapitalism and supports the needs of the capitalist organisation ofTurkish society; and thirdly, it plays a crucial role as simply a rolemodel by being a relativeiyelite section of the Islamic communitytrying the new forms and principles of the renewed ethical andaesthetic Islamic conduct.

What made such an ethical-aesthetic transformation possible,even if the re are important socio-cultural differences derived fromreligious doctrines, namely Islam and protestantism as a transformed

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form of Christianity that is accepted as an irrational base forcapitalism,16 are issues of historical change, though it is very slowdue to their in-depth historicaIlcuItural quaIity. An increase inhorizontal international relations between the capitalist world (mainlyChristian) and the non-western ones, including Islamic countries atthe end of the colonization period, has largely helped to emergeradical changes in terms of the above mentioned transformation. Suchchange is responsible to create a proactive agenda for those countrieswhich were reactive and passively colonized since capitalism hasbegan a hegomonic power on a .worldwide leveI. In the way towardsthe articulation and/or compatibility of Islam and democratic-rationalcapitalism there are intellectual and socio-economic changes in bothcultural settings. Although resistance within a cultural context to anextent is natural in front of a sudden influence of anather cultureand/or civilisation, long-term interaction will always result in achange even in the most resisting areas of this culture. Yet, to addhere that an interaction will never result in a one-sided influence fromone cuItural context to anather in a way that the dominant onedetermines the other entirely without being affected by the other.Indeed, this is a story of the transformatian of other cultures and theprocess of being transformed as a resuIt of this interaction. This ideawill originate from our framework to understand the relationshipbetween modem capitaIism and Islam. In my study on MüsiAO, therelationship between capitalism and Protestant ethic have beenoverviewed again for the specific purpose of the Turkish case, tounderstand such deeply rooted changes: MÜSiAO, as a case is a veryoperational one scientifically, exemplifying what the dynamics of thearticulation of cultural and material aspects of modem capitalism inhistorically and culturally different contexts are in the first place. Inthis study, MüsİAO represents an organizational and managerial'model' based on cooperation, solidarity and partnership as a newstructure- a synthesis emerging as a result of blending of rationalprocesses by "autonomous entrepreneurs" in their relatian to thetraditionaIlinformal forms and values of solidarity.

16See, Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and Spirit of Capitalism, London,New York: Routledge. 1992.

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There are not so many studies focused specifically on therelationship between Islam and economy in Turkey, mainly becauseof the fact that Islam, as part of the traditional cuIture, is notconsidered as crucial in its effects on socio-economic development ofthe country by mainstream social scientific understanding. Accordingto this, Islam would only serve to playand strenghten traditional rolesin all aspects of socio-economic and cuItural-ideological fields.Therefore, it could only be a negative agent in the Turkish socialscience studies, if one considered it as a sociological factor to acertain degree. The theoretical problem with the most recent studiesthat focus on specifically the issue of lslamic economy in the Turkishcontext is either their reduction of "the rational" as a muIti-dimensional concept to the strategic aspects of the term as framingthe assumptions of rational economy in their absolute and idealmeanings17.

it is mainly because of the fact that they considered Islamicreligion in the economic sphere as a part of a mere rational reasoningby making religion as simply a "tool" for the economic success.Therefore, what is meaningful in terms of its Islamic quality is itsbeing a powerful Islamic subeconomy, and the Islamic dimension ofits identity is nothing, but a myth in Kuran's analysis: The connectionbetween Islamic reIigion and Islamic banking is, therefore,"imaginary" in his understandingls.The significance of what is calledas Islamic economy, according to Kuran, caused by its functionalimportance in the contemporary economic conditions as an"economie instrument" only, one is psychological - "guilt relief'- and

17See, Timur Kuran, "Islam and Underdevelopment: An Old PuzzleRevisited," Journal of lnstitutional and Theoretical Economics 153.(1997); and Timur Kuran, "The Genesis of Islamic Economics: A Chapterin the Politics of Muslim Identity," Social Research 64/2, 1997; or to amere strategic effects as a form within the political economy approach, seeAyşe Buğra, "Class, Culture, and State: An Analysis of InterestRepresentation By Two Turkish Business Association," InternationalJournal of Middle East Studies 30, (1998) and Ayşe Buğra, Islam inEconol1lic Organizatiom, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, İstanbul, 1999.

lSSee, Islam and Underdevelopment p.73; and see his The Genesis, 1997.

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the other one is structural -"creating networks" _i 9 rather than itsIslamic quality. Note here that the meaning of Islamic economy as anattempt has also been reducing to its political implications bypointing out that the idea of an Islamic economy as an alternativeeconomic framework to the western capitalism is illusory:2o

What is more interesting in this context that Kuran consideredthe diffrences and conflicts between Islamic thinkers about thefundamental issues of modern economy as an evidence proving whythe idea of İslamic economy is not realistic. As for Buğra's21analysis, there emerged a group of successful Muslim businessmen inIslamic countries because of their "strategical fit" to the globaleconomy in the very same manner with those East Asian economies.This does not mean that these approaches are not analytically useful,the problem lies in their perception of religion as merely an"instrument" for its socio-economic functions.

On the contrary to this conventional positivistic paradigm, thisstudy rejects the idea that Islam was the main obstacle for thecapitalist development of the Turkish economy by depending ondetailed historical data. To give an example, it was long before thefoundation of the new republic that there was a flexible religiousattitude regarding practices of interest that were forbidden by theQuran, the sacred book of Islamic religion: as early as 1850, a lawwas passed without any religious resistance, providing freedom forthe practice of interest.22 There are other historians pointing out thesupport that religious men, the ulema, had given to the reformmovement of the time. Instead, the traditional Ottoman socio-economic organization and the economic mind in general was heldresponsible for the resistance.23

19See Kuran, Islam and Underdevelopment, p. 80.20ibid, pp. 56-9.21See, Bugra, Class, Culture, 1998.22See, Mehmet Genç, "Osmanlı İmparatorlugu'nda Devlet ve Ekonomi", V.Milletlerarası Türkiye Sosyal ve iktisat Tarih Kongresi-Tebliğler, editedby İstanbul: M.Ü. Türkiyat Araştırma ve Uygulama Merkezi. 1989; andZafer Toprak, Türkiye'de Ekonomi ve Toplum (1908-1950): Milli İktisat-Milli Burjuvazi, İstanbul: Tarih Vakfı Yurt Yayınları, 1995.

23See, İnalcık in Kuran, Islam and Underdevelopment, p. 54; see also

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Ülgener is the onlyone who studied this issue within theinteractian of Islamic religion and other spheres in the OttomanEmpire, by focusing on the Islamic economic ethics, includingquestions, such as why and how Islamic religion affected thetraditional Ottoman socio-economic organization and mind. Ülgenersearched for an answer to the question of how Islam could beconsidered an obstacle to the development of modem rationalcapitalism. That is why his study can alsa be considered a piece ofeconomic philosophy, like Weber's study of The Spirit of Capitalismand the Protestantism Ethic. 24 His theoretical guidance wasapparently the Weberian framework. Agreeing the Weberian analysisof average ethic, large masses were considered "naturally" unmusicalin terms of ethical and religious concerns;25 Ülgener alsa declaredfaik versions of Islam as morally nihi1istic.26 Following Weber,religious principles will be turned into a mystical tradition losing thereal-original meanings of these doctrinal principles. Therefore, thefaik interpretation of Islam -sufi, alevi, bektaşi and rafizi versions ofIslam- was responsible for its histarical development in the directianof "seeing virtue in what is lacking" according to Ülgener.27 TheWeberian idea that capitalism will undermine religious values in thelong mn alsa determined the theoretical orientation of Ülgener' sstudy. Yet even taday, the question of whether or not "an Islamiceconomy is passible," have direct political implications, has no clearanswer.

In What Sense an lslamic Economy Can be Talked About?

To refer to the Weberian thesis, the cultural dimension ofcapitalism was basicallyan emancipation process from traditionalreligious communal ties, but putting its origin in the irrational originof a religious belief, Protestantism as a reformed version of

Mardin, Türk Modernleşmesi, p.68; and Niyazi Berkes, Türkiye'deÇağdaşlaşma, İstanbul: Dogu-Batı Yayınları, 1978.

24See, Weber, Protestant Ethic, 1992.25See, Ülgener, Dünü ve Bugünü, pp. 25, 38-9, 107.26lbid, pp. I ı2-4.27lbid, pp. 25, 38-9, 80,107.

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"traditional" Christianity, the religio/cultural aspect is stili relevant inhis analysis on the trasition from feudalism to the rationalcapitalism.28 Therefore, it can be inferred that other traditionalcultures too, should have been reformed in thcir process ofdeveloping a rationally organised and urbanised capitalist society byending the dominance of state and "the rural" in the socio-economicprocesses in general. To transIate this idea into the Turkish case inthe context of MüsİAD, the significance of this Association is itsmiddle-c1ass avanguard nature as a role model for the newlyurbanised larger population of the society. And, following Weberianformula, this thesis argues that a socio-economic system cannot trulybe named as "capitalist" before the simultaneous reshaping of thecultural-moral conduct of the ordinary people in the direction of thesystematization and rationalization.

Sami Zubaida29, an important follower of Weber from theMuslim world, underlined that "Economic rationality is not merely anaUitute of mind, but a complex of actions which only becomepossible under certain social conditions." Also, he determined thatIslamic religion was in peace with its relationship with the economicrealm, as considering this activity as desirable and virtuous, in termsof both the doctrinal level and the historical developments of Islamicpractices: According to him, there was nothing in Islam opposing toProtestantism, on the contrary they were compatible in his analysis.

Yet, this does not mean that an idea of an Islamic economy inour contemporary world can either be talked about as a readyideaUtypical formula or as a homogeneous set of Islamic practicesvalid all over the Muslim world. It is only in this limited andconstructory framework that Nomani and Rahnema30 talk about theneed to built a framework for a well-functioning Islamic economy. Indoing this, preparing an "homo-Islamicus" in its ideal typical sen seon the base of a new reformed Islamic ethic has crucial importance,as explored in this study in detai\. Nasr31 emphasized this person "as

28See, Weber, Sosyoloji Yazıları, p. 228.29See, Zubaida, Economic and Political, pp. 322-3, 325.30See, Farhad Nomani and A. Rahnema, Islamic Economic Systems, London,New Jersey: Zed. 1994, p. 46.

3ISee, Seyyed Vali Reza, "Islamie Eeonomies: Novel Perspeetives," Middle

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a conscious representative of Allah" as a necessary component of anIslamic society functioning on the principles of equality and justice.This is one of the reasons why there is no homogeneous theoreticaland practical model that could easily be followed by the Islamists ofthe world as a whole. They seem completely aware that there is noready formula or model of Islamic economy, and this is also whatmakes their search difficult in its socio-economic, cultural, as weıı aspolitical dimensions:

Faced with the dilernma of solving modern economic problem s byrelying solely on the Shari'a, a prominent group of Iranian Shi'iteclerics has also tried to shift the focus away from a rigidly Shari'a-based economic system to one in which human discretion can beafforded greater scope. ( ... ) lt is finally concluded that 'there is nosuch thing as a well co-ordinated policy (theory) called Islamiceconomics that could be applied to all times and places.32

Stiıı, some theoretical and methodological tendencies can bedetermined in the writings of Islamic scholars on this topic: First ofaıı, theyare conscious that Islamİc economy is an ongoing process.And second, what is important in their search for an Islamic economyis not a unique, alternative economİc framewark, but rather thedevelopment of a suitable economic framework functioningharmonously in an Islamic society. In ıhis sense they originated theirpositions from ıhe idea that there would be no economy that wascompletely value-free33. The exelusion of religious and ethicalconcerns from the economic realm has therefore been considered as aresult of a reductionist view. This is the self-interested constructionof homo-economicus of neoelassical economİcs. And, this formulaled to a commonly shared idea that ethical and religious dimensions,taken as traditional in their very nature, are in opposition torationality and modernity. This is the reason why they cannot talkabout an Islamic economy on the same base of the neoelassical

Eastem Studies 25/4, (1989).32See, Nomani and Rahnema, lslamic Economic Systems, p. 46.33See, Syed Nawab Haider Naqvi, Islam, Economics, And Society. London,

New York: Kegan Paul InternationaL. 1994; and Khurshid Ahmad,"Introduction," Studies in lslamic Economics, K. Ahmad. (ed.) Delhi:Amarprakashan. ı983.

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economics. However, Naqvi emphasized34 that considering Weberianinterpretation that a normative dimension along with formal, value-free pure economics is legitimate, it can be considered that anormative-ethical dimension has aıready included in all socio-cuIturalsystems including Islam.

An equally two-sided interaction can be determined betweenwestem and eastemllslamic worlds in this context. A strong andspecifıc effect of the westem world on MüsİAD can be summarizedin the following context:

The interaction wİth the West has created its impact on theMüsİAD businessmen conceming such areas as leaming andadopting the typically ideal westem qualities such as rationaVformalprocesses and mechanisms, technical and informational avanguard,work dicipline, work ethics and systematization. Since a great numberof the se businessmen have experiences abroad in one way or another,they have made comparatiye evaluations by giying concrete examplesfrom Westem countries in their description of the ideal workenvironment. In this framework, the work ethics and dicipline of theWest form the common aspect of admiration they have verbalized.Some of the businessmen have related the subject to the religion ofIslam by saying such things as, "unfortunately, it is actually theWestemers who live as our religion demands and requires in theserespects. In this way, contrary to the interpretation of the Islamİcreligion serving the rationale of being content with the smail and thelimited, values and assets like the "hard" and "diciplined work" areexpressed as inherent values of Islam. While the relation between thecharacteristics of being contestant or combatant and independent inone's thinking as required by entrepreneurship, and religiosity is thusestablished, some have stated that the real meaning of the "HolyWar" concept lies in the understanding of piety as a continuousstruggle and contest both at the individual and the societal levels.Thus, the existence of diffıculties is perceived as an opportunity forthe continuous and regular testing of belief and faith in the goals.

An example conceming the functioning of a house for the agedin Germany given by an enterpreneur who has previously lived in this

34See Naqvi, Islam, Economics, pp. ı9-2 ı, ı30.

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country displays how the mechanisms of traditional support andsolidarity can easily be abandoned: He has stated that there, a personis taken better care of than the care that is given by his very ownchild.35 Another example can be given by the words of one otherbusinessman:

The milieu in Turkey does not promote or motivate work. We met aTurkish youth while dining in a Turkish restaurant in Germany. Thisyoung man was attending a professional course during the day,working at another place in the evenings and working in thatrestaurant during the Iate evening and night, and was, thus, earning hispocket money. He also asked us to hire him as our translator duringthe weekend. If he were in Turkey, this youth would be idly sitting in acoffee house.

In this framework, besides the ones who speak of adevelopment in the quality of the product they produce after they hada trip abroad, there are a great number of businessmen who mentionthat they have gained a brand new perspective conceming productionand organization, especially conceming the significance of utilizingtechnology. What is expressed under The Second AdvancementPeriod Working Programıne indicates that the weight given to theseactivities by the Association is not coincidental:

MÜSİAD, as the leader and the voice of "Anatolian Tigers" who haveadopted the principle of "High Morality-Advanced Technology," hasaimed at assisting the reinforcement of entrepreneurship and economicdevelopment in our country, based on free market economy, and atproviding the economic growth of our industria!ists and businessmenbased on exports by opening out to international competition.

35See, Richard Antoun, "Sojourners Abroad: Migration for Higher Educationin a Post-Peasant Muslim Society," Islam, Globalization andPostmodernity, S. A. Akbar and H. Donan, (ed.) London, New York:Routledge. 1994, p. 165: He also underlined the same points in one of hisstudies on the Muslim population living in Germany.

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Conclusive Remarks

215

The sum effect of all these is the transition from a formalizedtraditional Islamic framework to a dynamic and rationalized one. Thefirst one is characterized by a closed and static relational seuing whilethe second one identified with what we call modern dynamicentrepreneural atmosphere with a lot of uncertainity, risk, intellectualdiscussions and so on. And one interpretation of such a process willbe a transition from particularistic/local ties towards a newanduniversally inclusive and relational and rational/meaningful synthesis.The process called "globalization" is maybe truly related to this studyin this context as a "weak tie"36 creating factor in MüsiAO'scontext37

It is observed that MüsiAO serves the benefits of its membersnot only by forming a network that reaches out to all parts of Turkeybut by producing "weak ties" in the international field also. Thenumber of the members of MüsiAO has reached to 3.000 by the year2000. The higher rate of member numbers itself reflects this: anevidence can be included from the data from Gaziantep: there is anews that management of the Gaziantep branch put a wall albumincluding the pictures of all Gazintep members. MüsiAO encourageshis members to do international businesses -especially in terms oftechnological perfection and quality.

In this framework, it is worth mentioning that the case studybased on the fieldwork i conducted in ı99838 demonstrates an idealtypical business person in MüsiAO, the man of the smail town, whoused to live strictly under the community control and solve hisproblems largely through clientelistic ties, now tries to solve hisproblems through newand innovative ways -by depending on hisdouble edged economic and cultural capital of the periphery and thecenter. In his new life in the city, because all his problems are noteconomic in nature, he has to consume his cultural capital he brought

36See, Mark Granovetter, 'The Strength of Weak Ties," American Journal ofSociology 78/6 (1973).

37See MüsiAD's 1995 activities Report, 1996, p. 83.38See, Özdemir, Religious and Socio-Economic, 2001.

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from the periphery -but, of course, he has to use this cultural capitalin newand very strategic innovative ways.

The process of integration of the Turkish economy into theworld capitalism is pursued in connection with the strategiesdeveloped by the businessmen of MüsİAO. Economic and socio-cultural factors mutually construct each other in that beyond justaffecting each other to some degree: that retlects a specific kind ofentrepreneural activity model as a historically constructed dynamicprocess nourished by cultural-ideological as well as socio-economicfactors. Since such "traditional-informal" dimension of culturalmatters is associated with tradition as Islamic identity, groupcooperation and solidarity are moved to the foreground, the rathercontent of this process can easily be neglected. MüsiAO' sbusinessmen, who are conventionally seen as a part of traditionalIslamic organization and/or associated with anti-modemgoals/aspirations, are in fact the subject of formal and informalrelations that simultaneously contain the traditional and the modem ina complex manner, like Weber's Protestant businessmen.39 Therefore,in this process we witness the re-molding of socio-cultural behaviorpatterns within which the business world is embedded, as a result ofthe pressure of new conditions.

39As known, dichotomic understandings of informallcultural andformal/contrat-based economic relational base has recently been leftrecently. Beyand traditional-modern dichatamy, a simultaneous precenceof them is conceptualized in both modern and traditional societies: For asource in this context, see Mark Oranovetter, "Economic Action andSocial Structure: The Problem of Embeddedness," American Journal ofSociology 91/3, 1985.