Description
This paper explores how the public opinion in Turkey perceives the strategic instrumentalization of religion by Saudi Arabia and Iran in their respective foreign policies. While Saudi Arabia promotes Wahhabism, a puritanical sectarian movement, Iran adopts Shiism in its foreign policy, albeit to varying degrees. On the other hand, the dominant approach to Islam among the Turkish population differs significantly from Wahhabism and Shiism. This paper presents an analysis of the critiques in the Turkish public opinion levelled against the ab/use of Wahhabism and Shiism in the foreign policies of Saudi Arabia and Iran, respectively. Accordingly, for analytical purposes, it categorizes the Turkish public opinion into two main groups, i.e. conservatives and secularists, and focuses on the last two decades under the rule of the Justice and Development Party (AKP in Turkish acronym). First, this paper investigates how and why the conservatives and the secularists in Turkey have criticized the use of Wahhabism in the Saudi foreign policy. Second, it investigates how and why the conservatives and the secularists in Turkey have criticized the use of Shiism in the Iranian foreign policy. Third, it presents a comparative analysis of the critiques in these two cases. To this end, this study draws upon both primary and secondary sources including statements of political figures, coverage of media outlets, and reports and journals issued by both the conservative and the secularist circles.
