Congregational Dynamics in Muslim Societies

It will be easier to understand the structure of today's groups/communities if we analyze how the efforts for the protection of individual rights and the realization of justice, put forth by our Master the Prophet, turned into an ignorant system (tribal-parental-patrimonial system) with the counter-revolution after a short time.

For this purpose, we have made an “introduction” to the analysis of the political and metaphysical and epistemological dimensions of political philosophy, and shared it with the public, on the intellectual and political tensions that emerged from three major internal conflicts in the first century of Islam. That text ended with "A counter-revolution was made that reverted to the ignorant (parental/tribal/patrimonial) structure that our Prophet destroyed with his farewell sermon". Let us now analyze this determination in terms of the metaphysical and epistemological dimensions of political philosophy.

Metaphysical and Epistemological Dimensions of Political Philosophy:
What we mean by the metaphysical dimension is individual and group (sect / community / cult) centered readings. In the time of our Prophet, an administration based on the individual and his abilities was determined, that is, while the individual who really exists in terms of politics; With his death, there are discussions that the ruler will be from a certain family (Ehl-i Bayt) and a certain tribe (Quraysh). Especially Hz. Priority of family, tribe (group,/congregation) in the period of Osman, Hz. Ali's election and then Muawiya's bringing his tribe to the fore again, on the other hand, Hz. When we examine the claims of Ali and his followers (Shia) to be rulers from the Ahl al-Bayt, it is important to discuss the metaphysical dimension of Islamic political philosophy. Because to put the individual in the center means to want the injustice done to him to be done against all humanity, regardless of his religious language, race, gender, to join the social contract so that what he does not want done to himself, to be done to others, to take the individual as the most basic reality and the highest value in terms of ethics and politics. In Western philosophy, this is referred to as liberalism.

The second form of the metaphysical dimension of Political Philosophy is giving to the highest valued group or community, those who see the individual as a member of a group, community or community. From the point of view of today's political philosophy, this point of view, which has started to emerge since 1980, has two dimensions. Negative cosmotarianism or communalism is essentially determined by opposition to individualism or liberalism. The community, which manifests itself with the bonds of friendship, loyalty and duty, refers to the community of people in a certain place in the most general sense. This can be seen not only in the congregations, but also in the socialists' claims of fraternity and cooperation, the Marxists' need for a communist society, the conservatism that sees the society as a whole held by mutually responsible persons, and even in the fascism's emphasis on the indivisibility of the national community. (Cevizci, Philosophy, 2012, 150-152)

Groupism and Communityism in Turkey
In terms of Turkey, since the 1970s, the communities and sects that have been living in the form of self-contained communities, as of 1980 "integrated with global capitalism and constituted Community capitalism; If we consider that he turned into a terrorist organization and attempted a coup on July 15, 2016, we can see that the metaphysical dimension of political philosophy maintains its importance.

We say that, as a requirement of the cedel/dialectical method, it is possible to seek the burhani, that is to say, close knowledge of the philosophers, from a "mind delusion" such as saying that what they do is right despite everything and that their opponents are wrong, and that it is possible with political rationalism that subjects all the information brought about the truth to critical analysis (in epistemological terms). . Political rationalism asserts that in the establishment of social order and establishment of political life, rational inferences should be prioritized and that individuals and the groups or communities they use should be subject to the universal logic of reason rather than subjective or cultural prejudices. On the contrary, there is commutarianism, that is, communalism/groupism, which is called political irrationalism.

Characteristics of Groupism
While they say that the communal good comes before social values ​​and individual rights, they argue that justice can only be legitimated in the tradition and in relation to a good that is shared by everyone. In the context of the epistemological dimension of political philosophy, the opposite of political rationalism is political irrationalism, also known as conservatism. It is emphasized here that solutions that seem rational and justifiable to one group or culture will not be accepted as a valid or correct solution for another group (or culture). In this sense, the fact that conservatism does not rely on abstract, a priori reasoning and revolutions in human social and political field or political philosophy, and that it bases on tradition and the experiences and regulations of human beings that have been tested on various occasions over the years, can be a criterion for understanding and interpreting what happened in the first period.

individual of a group Those who see themselves as members of a community or community place the highest value on the group or community. Rather than basing liberalism on individual rights and seeing it as the ultimate source and foundation of value, the value of public and communal (community/group) goodness is emphasized. He argues that values ​​are rooted in community life or practices of the community. At this point, there are two different theses that reveal communitarianism with its positive aspect. According to the first of these, which is evaluative or normative, it should be forgotten that when human life is built and guided by the values ​​of the community, collective and public values, there will definitely be a better, stronger and more qualified life.

These points are important because “Where did we go wrong?” or at least “Where could we have gone wrong?” It should not be overlooked that this commanding mentality lies behind the fact that they threaten or target people even from places where they unknowingly fled. Otherwise, can someone who fled abroad for "attempting to overthrow the order stipulated by the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey by using force and violence" continue to target people from where he is? Moreover, despite the statement of the High Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK), “As part of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) investigations, 4,238 judges and prosecutors have been dismissed from the profession since the July 15 coup attempt” (Milliyet:11.05.2017), this person in all fields His statement that he will return to effective and authoritative days and that he will hold accountable can only be explained with a commanding mentality.

Groupist-Tribal Mentality in the Early Period of Islam
This attitude is seen in the Umayyad attitude, which made the revolution against the new order that our prophet revealed with his religious and political reforms. It is obvious that Umayyad tribalism is based on tradition, history and experience. On the other hand, in the first libertarian and protest text of Islamic political philosophy, "The Risale of Destiny", Hasan Basri is responsible for human actions and has individual and civil resistance. Basri's thesis that it makes no sense for a person who decides, acts and takes responsibility to base his actions on a divine destiny, with political rationalism; We can read the point of view of the Umayyads, who defended the determinist-coercive doctrine, and their skepticism about the role of reason in the political world, as political irrationalism.

The Umayyads, who took over the administration (Caliphate), tried to provide their legitimacy with the teaching of Jabriyya, which did not accept the freedom of will and argued that everything was predestined by Allah and that man did not have the will and power of choice. The Umayyads supported determinism because they feared that insisting on human freedom and initiative would displace them.

We said that the counter-revolution was completed with Muaviye's forcible seizure of power, his son, Yazidi appointing the caliph, transforming the form of government from caliphate to sultanate, and Yazid's campaigns to the cities of Mecca and Medina. Here, the basis of human action consists of conventions, preconceptions (judgments) and habits, that is, what he saw from the ancestors. Moreover, it is emphasized here that presuppositions are not an irrational type of behavior, but express wisdom filtered through generations of experience. Because prejudice identifies with tradition, so to act with prejudice means, of course, to act as one's ancestors did.

As it is seen, the conflicts centered on the administration/caliphate, which emerged as a political and religious issue in the early periods of Islam, are actually about the source of authority. If it is remembered that the Shiite-External line is tried to be reconciled with Murism, it becomes clear that the creed dimensions of political discourses should not be neglected. If we examine the historical dimension of these issues, it will be possible to determine where we stand today and the criterion of our own rationality.

For this, it is necessary to negotiate the possibility of seeing the differences between our currents that have emerged since the first period, not as a manifestation of a religious category and status, but as a reflection of the diversity in their political attitudes and axiological criteria. Because history is a battleground of an unlimited number of interests to which people or groups depend for their own existence.

Conclusion:

Based on this information about the metaphysical and epistemological dimensions of the first period political developments, we can say that the tribal-parental order is dominant in today's Arab world, and groupism-communitarianism (comutaryanism) is dominant in Turkey. It still means that if you leave the group or congregation, you will be slapped with compassion; they are trying to ensure loyalty to the group or tribal values ​​they believe in despite everything.