Abstract

This study analyses Kurdish Hizbullah as a social movement, charting Hizbullah's development from its origins in violent militancy to its move towards a more ambiguous 'civic' mode of engagement.

Mehmet Kurt explores Hizbullah in Turkey's many paradoxes: notably its political rise and the apparent power of Islamism in a region in which leftist Kurdish political movements dominate political discourse; and its composition, which in its Sunni and Kurdish makeup, differs from the Shiite Hizbullah in Lebanon.

Through his unique position as an anthropologist, theorist and former Imam, Kurt produces a work of extraordinary insight: an ethnography comprised of extensive interviews with leaders, members and supporters of Hizbullah, revealing 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.
'An excellent ethnographic analysis of the impact of Islamism within the Kurdish movement in Turkey, a must read for those especially interested in the interaction of religion and ethnic identity in the Middle East'
Fatma Müge Göçek, Professor of Sociology and Women's Studies, The University of Michigan
'A valuable contribution to the growing literature on religious nationalism in Turkey ... It will remain a point of reference for scholars of Kurdish and Islamist politics in Turkey'
Review of Middle East Studies
'The first major anthropological study of Turkey's Hizbullah, the most important Kurdish Islamist movement'
Martin van Bruinessen, Professor of the Comparative Study of Contemporary Muslim Societies, Utrecht University
'With deep personal knowledge, Mehmet Kurt offers us an unrivalled insight into the world view of those involved in this important Kurdish Islamic movement. He shows how deeply and broadly embedded Hizbullah is, and how it may well help shape the future'
David McDowall, author of A Modern History of the Kurds