In the last decade, many observers of Turkey underlined the division between secular and religious Turks as the main fault line in politics. Accordingly, the more secular, Westernized Turks were represented by the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), while Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) represented the more religious, conservative folks. Some bones of contention between the two sides, such as the longtime ban on the Islamic headscarf in state institutions, were also reflective of this “culture war.”

However, if you look at Turkey now, you can see that politics is not divided between pro-religion and pro-secularism lines anymore. It's divided between the pro-Erdogan and anti-Erdogan ones, with both religious and secular voices on each side.

It's true that Erdogan still has the support of the majority of Turkey’s traditional pious Muslims — those who frequent mosques, avoid alcohol and wear headscarves. Many of the Islamic communities with charismatic leaders (such as Sufi orders) also openly support Erdogan. However, there are important Islamic actors in the anti-Erdogan camp as well. The most notable one is the Fethullah Gulen community, whose members are estimated to constitute a few million people, and who has a global network of media, schools and nongovernmental organizations. Once Erdogan’s best ally, the Gulen community turned into his archenemy since the corruption investigations of last December, which has been condemned by the Erdogan camp as a veiled “coup attempt” cooked up by the Gulen followers within the police and the judiciary.

Yet, the Gulen movement is not the only Islamic actor who is against, or at least critical, of Erdogan. There is also the Yeni Asya community, which is one of the long-established factions in Turkey’s Nur movement, inspired by the works of Islamic scholar Said Nursi (1878-1960). Yeni Asya is also the name of the newspaper of the same community, and it has been a voice of criticism toward Erdogan’s authoritarian policies.