Kemal Ataturk and Secularism in Turkey, Coursework Example

Abstract

This paper elucidates on the extent of Kemal Ataturk’s influence in Turkey’s secularism. Some pointers that were focused on are the contributions of Kemal Ataturk in the direction of the formation of contemporary secular Turkey in reference to his ideology, reforms, army intervention and political structure and how it is being applied in Turkey in the present day. The legacy of Ataturk in the formation of a secular Turkey is likewise tackled to achieve a determination of his influence.

Plan of Action

The agenda of this investigation is to determine the extent in which Kemal Ataturk influenced Turkey’s secularism. The body and summary of evidence will investigate the contribution of Kemal Ataturk in the direction of the formation of contemporary secular Turkey in reference to his ideology, reforms, army intervention and political structure. Several books to be used in this investigation include “Ataturk and the Modernization of Turkey” by Landau; “Turkey Before and After Ataturk: Internal and External Affairs” by Kedourie; “Turkish Islam and the Secular State: The Geulen Movement” by Yaviz and Esposito; and “Islam and Secularism in Turkey: Kemalism, Religion and the Nation State” by Azak. These sources will be evaluated focusing on their value, origin, limitations and purpose without bias and to formulate justified and clear conclusion of the extent in which Kemal Ataturk influenced Turkey’s secularism.

Summary of Evidence

• The Kemalism ideology is comprised of republicanism, nationalism, statism/etatism, laicism/secularism, populism and transformationism (Landau, 1984).
• On May 3^rd, 1960, the Ministry of Defence laid out the necessary steps needed to be accomplished in order to right the political situation in Turkey. One of the major steps indicated that the government must put an end to the corruption of religion for political purposes. Many members of the military rule had a collective view on the matter after the coup on May 27^th, 1960 (Landau, 1984).
• The Kemalism reforms that were implemented included the following events: the Sultanate was abolished in 1922 and Turkey became a Republic in 1923. The abolition of the caliphate and the Ministry of Religious Affairs happened in 1924. The article in the Constitution of Turkey proclaiming that Islam is the main religion of the state was deleted in 1928 while secularism was introduced and was formally included in the Turkish Constitution in 1937 (Kedourie, 1999).
• Other reforms such as the secularization of the nation’s social and cultural life, the suspension of teaching religion in public schools, changing of the demeanour of women in public and the transition of the language of prayers from Arabic to Turkish followed.
• The policies that helped shape the Turkish state and the ideology of the secularist elite has been surrounded by written and verbal debate about secularism (Yavuz & Espolito).
• The foundation of the reforms of the Kemal Ataturk is rooted on the ideology that secularism is required in order to achieve modernity in the nation, power of the state, progress and democracy. It is also stated that Islam cannot be a subject of privatization and secularization. In addition, Ataturk also thinks that modernity can only be attained if Islam is kept under control by the state and restrained to individuals’ conscious. In addition, Muslims were excluded economically and culturally (Azak, 2010).
• The Kemalist efforts for societal transformation have proved to be exclusionary and delegitimizing. In the 1980s and under a different leadership of Turgut Ozal, Turkey has gradually transformed and emerged into innovative and unconventional economic, cultural and social public spaces (Yavuz & Espolito, 2003).
• The coming to power of Ataturk had increased the number of traditionalists that opposes Westernization (Yavuz & Espolito, 2003). Then, the new leadership that followed after the death of Ataturk in 1938 has changed how the society viewed secularism and how religion has been re-incorporated in schools.

Evaluation of Sources

Azak, U. (2010). Islam and Secularism in Turkey: Kemalism, Religion and the Nation State. New York: I.B Tauris & Co Ltd.

This book provides an extensive account of the significant years of the establishment of the modern Turkey’s political, religious and cultural aspects. Azak provided a unique study that highlights the struggle between secularism and religion. He showed how Ataturk strived to attain a Turkish Islam stripped off any obscurity and superstition but is filled with positive philosophy to help attain a modern Turkey. It convincingly analyzed the relationship between the politics in Turkey and religion which is the central point of secularism. Comprehensive description of the certain policies, issues and reforms under the rule of Kemal Ataturk is provided in the book.  Azak used different articulation to make the distinct moments of the secularism in Turkey be understood clearly. The point is to accurately destroy the assertion that religion is what defines the politics in Turkey. Events and reforms, like religion, shape the Turkish politics and to exclusively pinpoint religion as major contributor will prove inaccurate. However, a crisper analytical and academic framework could have helped build the value of the research.

Kedourie, S. (1999). Turkey Before and After Ataturk: Internal and External Affairs. New York: Frank Cass Publishers.

This book provides the readers the chance to understand Turkey in its entirety as it unravels and uses various collections of studies relative to how Ataturk created a modern and secular Turkey. However, one limitation of this book is fact that there is a shortage of first-rate specialists on the history of Turkey. As a matter of fact, only 8 out of the total of 11 contributors are Turkish academics while the other 3 are from Britain and the States. But it did not affect the authenticity of the information contained in the book.  One of the contributors in the book has examined the history of the nation in lieu of the Turkish elites and the separation of the State and the Mosques that provided a concentrated and extensive view on the vicissitudes and continuities that happened in the nation throughout the years.  More importantly, the book analyzed the effect and impact of westernization of the country in the cultural identity and the democratic and revolutionary visions the Ataturk legacy left. Furthermore, since the history of Turkey has been very contradictory and unbalanced, the contributors of this book also analyzed the safety and the effectivity of the secular Turkey and its democracy-based Constitution.

Landau, J. (1984). Ataturk and the Modernization of Turkey. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, Inc.

Landau has discussed Turkey during the regime of Kemal Ataturk. There is a clear description of how the secular Turkey was founded and what factors contributed to its modernization process. Principles, democratic integration and the political history were discussed appropriately. One of the best attributes of the book is its ability to discuss and pinpoint the origin of the Kemalist ideology which is the driving force behind the building of the secular Turkey. The various cultures involving language, identity, religion are discussed in great detail to help further understand how Ataturk and its followers, including the militia, view social, cultural, language and political changes. Also, this book clearly set out the impact that the westernization and secularism had on the country with the focus on how to achieve the complete survival of Turkey through the promotion of human rights, democracy and the liberty for all people- which is the most valuable information needed to determine the extent of the influence of Ataturk to Turkey’s secularism. The limitation in this book is the year it was published. A lot of things have changed since 1984 and these events are crucial in the determination of Ataturk’s influence and the Turkey’s secularism of the present day.

Yavuz, H. & Esposito, J. (2003). Turkish Islam and the Secular State: The Geulen Movement. New York: Syracuse University Press.

Although the focus of the book is the Gulen Movement, this book is a compilation of information that was written by various contributors that have their differing and own perspectives on the secular Turkey. This is a good contradicting article to the proponents of a secular Turkey as Fethullan Gulen focused on the benefits, advantages of nationalism. Yet, a lot of people- scholars and academics- have criticized his support for nationalism and the State as it speaks of universal moral values and Islam- sides of the issues that are mostly neglected and set aside when dealing with secularism in Turkey. The origin and value of this book lie on the successful attempt to understand and see Islam in a different perspective than that of Kemal Ataturk. The limit, on the other hand, is that some of the contributors focused greatly on Gullen’s views and ideas rather than the movement promoting nationalism. In this regard, many academic and scholars take his views with suspicion even though he advocates for tolerance in a pluralistic social environment and co-existence. The book did not lose sight of defining and analyzing the tension between nationalism and secularism, revolution and democracy, and identity and cultural co-existence.

Analysis

It is very clear that Mustafa Kemal Ataturk is one of the most important and prominent figure in the history of Turkey. This is due to his efforts in modernizing the country. His reforms and political ideologies are geared towards achieving and maintaining Turkish independence. From 1919 to 1922, Ataturk did everything he could possibly do to unite the people of Turkey especially communities comprising the majority of the population. He overthrew the ruling government, made and implemented radical changes to secularize Turkey. It was in 1923 when the Republic of Turkey was established. The impacts of his efforts are still felt up to this day. It cannot be denied that the application of secularism a Muslim dominated country is something that is not of character, such as in the case of Turkey. Undeniably, the reforms of Ataturk resulted in the creation of a new country. He reformed the country in such a way that it achieved peace that was not there before. Interestingly, the basis of his foreign policy is not about the expansion of frontiers but rather the opposite. Building a political system that will transform and regenerate the country from all the remnants of the Ottoman Empire was his primary home policy. His vision is big and the impact is equally the same. He believed in the equal rights of men and women which is one of the most controversial issue today and back in the day. Women were allowed to vote. This is an important event not just in Turkey but all over the world. Gone were the days when women are regarded as worth less than men. However, it cannot be denied that Turkey, to this day, still struggle with issues of equality. Feminism is being attacked on a daily basis- some reported and mostly not. This is primarily brought upon the religion of Islam which determined the position of women in the society. It has to be remembered that Ataturk wanted Islam to be limited in a person’s conscious rather be openly practice in a public space. Considering what is happening today in Turkey, Ataturk legacy is not yet forgotten. Feminist movements are on the rise and fighting for equality- just like what Ataturk fought for in his lifetime.  In the same manner, Ataturk also prohibited the exploitation of religion to gain power or to hinder the economic, social, legal and political order in the country.

However, after his death and the leadership of different prominent people the separation of the religion and the state is now clouded with debates. The 1982 Constitution of the country has now opened a pathway for freedom of worship, belief, and dissemination of ideas and religious belief. But the secularism that Ataturk built restricted the aforementioned freedom.

Conclusion

With all the foregoing, it is established that Turkey was the first Muslim country that has transitioned into a secular state. The father of the nation, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, is the one who made such secularization of Turkey possible. His revolution, ideas and reforms he fought for has brought Turkey into a new chapter of expansion and progress. He is the one responsible for the amendment of the Constitution as well as the abolition of the Sultanate and caliphate. The modernization he brought to Turkey opened the floodgates for equality between men and women, although, in doing so he destroyed some of the influences of Islam in the Turkish nation. It is strongly believed, through books, articles, news and other documents, that the aftermath of the reforms and ideologies of Ataturk is still apparent and being felt in the present day all over the Muslim realm, and more specifically in a much differentiated and ideologically divided Turkey despite the fact the political governance and social foundations are shaky at best in the country. Despite of the reform laws, there are still leaders from the country that are capitalizing religion for their own sake especially during election and exploiting it to discriminate people.

Regardless of what other traditionalist and nationalist think about the reforms and the Kemalist movement, the fact still remains that these principles carry with a healthy and dynamic goal of establishing a country that is modern, prosperous and in unity not just with its own cultural identity but with other nations as well. There is a need to live in peace and harmony with each other in order to maintain a sustainable system of co-existing with each other regardless of differences in belief, religion, political affiliations and system and cultural identity. The hallmark of secularism under Ataturk legacy is founded on a unified nation where everybody is treated equally and abuse and exploitation are hopefully diminished if not totally eradicated.

References

Azak, U. (2010). Islam and Secularism in Turkey: Kemalism, Religion and the Nation State. New York: I.B Tauris & Co Ltd.

Kedourie, S. (1999). Turkey Before and After Ataturk: Internal and External Affairs. New York: Frank Cass Publishers.

Landau, J. (1984). Ataturk and the Modernization of Turkey. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, Inc.

Yavuz, H. & Esposito, J. (2003). Turkish Islam and the Secular State: The Geulen Movement. New York: Syracuse University Press.