Faisal Devji on the crisis of 'global Islam' in Turkey and elsewhere

In this episode of Turkey Book Talk, host William Armstrong interviews Faisal Devji, professor of global and imperial history at Balliol College, Oxford, about his book 'Waning Crescent: The Rise and Fall of Global Islam.' Devji traces the transformation of Islam from a primarily religious tradition into a political and ideological force in the late 19th and 20th centuries, driven by the collapse of Muslim political sovereignty and the rise of European imperialism. He argues that the concept of 'global Islam' emerged as a defensive, transnational identity—reminiscent of ideologies like capitalism and communism—enabling ordinary Muslims to speak in its name. However, this ideological project, particularly in the form of Islamism, has now entered a crisis, especially evident in Turkey and Iran, where public disillusionment with Islamist governance and declining religious observance signal a waning of its political appeal. Devji situates this decline not as a unique Muslim phenomenon but as part of a broader global shift away from ideological states following the end of the Cold War. He also explores emerging spiritual trends in both the West and Muslim-majority societies, suggesting a potential return to more personal, esoteric, or theological forms of religiosity that may not center on the term 'Islam' as a political actor. The episode concludes with a call for listener support to sustain the independent podcast. Key takeaways include: 1) The 19th-century reimagining of Islam as a global political subject was a response to imperial decline, not a timeless religious identity; 2) Islamism functioned as a Cold War ideology, modeled on Bolshevik and socialist frameworks, and its decline reflects the broader collapse of ideological states worldwide; 3) The current crisis in Turkey and Iran is not just political but social, driven by changing economic structures and generational shifts; 4) The future may lie in more individualized, spiritual, or theological forms of religiosity rather than ideological mobilization; 5) Turkey’s unique historical trajectory—non-colonized, imperial legacy, and resistance to Kemalist secularism—makes its experience of Islamism distinct from other Muslim-majority nations.