Among the various groups that joined the Gezi Park protests that shook Turkey in June, probably none was as unconventional as “Anti-Capitalist Muslims.” In the midst of avowedly secular Turks — ranging from liberals to communists, Kemalists to gay activists — they raised an “Islamic” voice against a government that is often perceived to be too Islamic. More recently, they even organized a mass iftar (fast-breaking dinner) which blurred all the classical Turkish distinctions between the religious and the secular, as described nicely in Fehim Taştekin’s Al-Monitor piece, “Turkey’s Gezi Park Protesters Regroup for Ramadan.” Hence they deserve a closer look.
The Anti-Capitalist Muslims are actually a very small group, whose frequenters are probably not more than a couple of hundred. As explained in their website, they see capitalism as “the enemy of God, the enemy of humanity, nature, the poor, the starving and the needy.” They had made their first public appearance in the May Day celebrations in Istanbul in 2011, by joining a large left-wing, mostly Marxist crowd with Quranic verses in hand. Since then, they have attracted the attention of the media with demonstrations and TV appearances.