Post-revolutionary Arab migration to Turkey has led to a re-politization of Turkish nationality policy. Independent Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (MÜSİAD), an faith-based businessmen organization, is advocating the naturalization of these migrants through entrepreneurship. This article, based on the ethnography of an international business forum, reveals that MÜSİAD has the resources to intervene in the public policy of integrating these Arab or Muslim businessmen today because it has spent decades coordinating an elite club of Islamic business groups. This study shows how, if the development of transnational business networks is a continuation of the process of businessmen’s politicization on a national scale, the coordination of this network hinges on the de-politicization of these connections through the universalizing effects of economic and religious beliefs.
Keywords
- Arab migrations
- Islamic businessmen
- Turkey
- transnational elite clubs
- politization
Publisher keywords: politization, transnational elite clubs, Turkey, Islamic businessmen, Arab migrations
Uploaded: 06/13/2024