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Secularism in Turkey
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Over the last century, there has been a strong tradition of secularism in Turkey. The Republic of Turkey is a secular state since its establishment in 1923 under the Kemalist ideology and Atatürk's Reforms. Although an overwhelming majority of the population, at least nominally, adheres to Islam, the state neither has an official religion nor promotes any, and it actively monitors ("active neutrality") the area between the religions. The practice of Turkish Laïcité, established around the concept of "public reason", claims that activities falling outside of the private sphere should be secular.
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From a philosophical point of view, Turkey practices "laïcité" (Turkish: laiklik) which is a prevailing conception of secularism and the absence of religious interference in government affairs, and vice-versa. However Kemalist ideology which is the establishing ideology states that the Turkish state has an "active neutrality" (as opposed to absence of state in religious affairs). This means that actions of the state related with religion should be carefully analyzed/evaluated by the government through the Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı). The Ministry must then take initiative (plan/coordinate/implement) to balance this responsibility. It represents the highest, Islamic religious authority in the country. The duty of this institution is to execute the works concerning the beliefs, worship, and ethics of Islam, enlighten the public about their religion, and administer the sacred worshiping places [1].
The precursors for the secular reforms can be found in the measures and the proposals of the Ottoman Empire (Tanzimat, first constitutional and second constitutional era).
- See also: Ottoman Caliphate and State and Religion (Ottoman Empire)
The establishing structure (Ruling institution of the Ottoman Empire) of the Ottoman empire (13th century) was an Islamic State in which the head of the Ottoman state was the Sultan. The social system was organized around millet. Millet structure allowed a great degree of religious, cultural and ethnic continuity to non-Muslim populations across the subdivisions of the Ottoman Empire and at the same time it permitted their incorporation into the Ottoman administrative, economic and political system[2]. The Ottoman-appointed governor collected taxes and provided security, while the local religious or cultural matters were left to the regional communities to decide. On the other hand, the sultans were Muslims and the laws that bound them were based on the Sharia, the body of Islamic law, as well as various cultural customs. The Sultan, beginning in 1516, was also a Caliph, the leader of all the Sunni Muslims in the world. By the turn of the 19th century the Ottoman ruling elite recognized the need to restructure the legislative, military and judiciary systems to cope with their new political rivals in Europe. When the millet system started to lose its efficiency due to the rise of nationalism within its borders, the Ottoman Empire explored new ways of governing its territory composed of diverse populations.
Sultan Selim III founded the first secular military schools by establishing the new military unit, Nizam-ı Cedid, as early as 1792. However the last century (19th century) of the Ottoman Empire had many far reaching reforms. These reforms peaked with the tanzimat which was the initial reform era of the Ottoman empire. After the tanzimat, rules, such as those relating to the equalized status of non-Muslim citizens, the establishment of a parliament, as well as the codification of the constitution of the empire and the rights of ottoman subjects were established. The First World War brought about the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the subsequent partitioning of the Ottoman Empire by the victorious Allies. Therefore, the Republic of Turkey was actually a nation-state built as a result of an empire lost.
During the establishment of Republic, there were two sections of the elite group at the helm of the discussions for the future; which they had the firsthand experience of Ottoman Reforms which were implemented beginning from the last quarter of the 19th century. These were the Islamist reformists and Westerners[2]. They shared a similar goal, the modernization of the new state. There were many basic goals which were common to both the groups. The founder of the modern Turkish Republic Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's achievement was to amplify this common ground and put the country on a fast track of reforms which is now known as Atatürk's Reforms.
The first act was to give by will to the Turkish nation the right to exercise popular sovereignty via representative democracy. Prior to declaring the new Republic, the Turkish Grand National Assembly abolished the constitutional monarchy on November 1, 1922. The Turkish Grand National Assembly then moved to replace the extant Islamic law structure with the laws it had passed during the Turkish War of Independence, beginning in 1919. The modernization of the Law had already begun at the point that the project was undertaken in earnest. A milestone in this process was the passage of the Turkish Constitution of 1921. Upon the establishment of the Republic on October 29, 1923, the institution of the Caliphate remained, but the passage of a new constitution in 1924 effectively abolished this title held by the Ottman Sultanate since 1517. With the negation of the Caliphate the final vestiges of Islamic Law are regarded as having disappeared from the Turkish landscape.[3]. The Caliphate's powers within Turkey were transferred to the National Assembly and the title has since been inactive. While very unlikely, the Turkish Republic does in theory still retain the right to reinstate the Caliphate, should it ever elect to do so. Following quickly upon these developments, many social reforms were undertaken. Atatürk aimed to ensure a lasting respect for the Turkish separation between religion and state. Many of these reforms affected every aspect of Turkish life, moving to erase the legacy of dominance long held by religion and tradition. These reforms included the extension to women of voting rights (in 1931) and the right to elected office (in 1934), the installation of a secular education system, and the closure of many religious orders. The inclusion of the principle of laïcité into the constitution on February 5, 1937, is seen as the final act in the project of instituting complete separation between governmental and religious affairs in Turkey.
The Constitution asserts that Turkey is a secular and democratic republic, deriving its sovereignty from the people. The sovereignty rests with the Turkish Nation, who delegates its exercise to an elected unicameral parliament, the Turkish Grand National Assembly. Moreover, Article 4: declares the immovability the founding principles of the Republic defined in the first three Articles:
- "laïcité, social equality, equality before law"
- "the Republican form of government"
- "the indivisibility of the Republic and of the Turkish Nation",
Constitution bans any proposals for the modification of these articles. Each of these concepts which were distributed in the three articles of the constitution can not be achieved without the other two concepts. The constitution requires a central administration which would lose its meaning (effectiveness, coverage, etc) if the system is not based on laïcité, social equality, and equality before law. Vice versa, if the Republic differentiate itself based on social, religious differences, administration can not be equal to the population when the administration is central. The system which tried to be established in the constitution sets out to found a unitary nation-state based on the principles of secular democracy.
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This short section requires expansion. |
- See also: Politics of Turkey, Constitutional Court of Turkey, and List of political parties in Turkey
The Turkish Constitution recognizes freedom of religion for individuals whereas the religious communities are placed under the protection of state, but the constitution explicitly states that they cannot become involved in the political process (by forming a religious party for instance) and no party can claim that it represents a form of religious belief. Nevertheless, religious sensibilities are generally represented through conservative parties.
In recent history, two parties have been ordered to close (Welfare Party (Turkish: Refah Partisi) in 1998 and Virtue Party (Turkish: Fazilet Partisi) in 2001) by the Constitutional Court for Islamist activities and attempts to "redefine the secular nature of the republic". The first party to be closed for suspected fundamentalist activities was the Progressive Republican Party on June 3, 1925.
The actual governing party in Turkey, the conservative Justice and Development Party (Turkish: Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi or AKP) has often been accused of following an Islamist agenda.
Issues relating to Turkey's secularism were discussed in the lead up to the 2007 presidential elections, in which the ruling party chose a candidate with Islamic connections, Abdullah Gül, for the first time in its secular republic. While some in Turkey have expressed concern that the nomination could represent a move away from Turkey's secularist traditions, including particularly Turkey's priority on equality between the sexes, others have suggested that the conservative party has effectively promoted modernization while reaching out to more traditional and religious elements in Turkish society.[4][5] On July 22, 2007 it was reported that the more religiously conservative ruling party won a larger than expected electoral victory in the parliamentary elections.[6]
- See also: Secular state
The constitutional rule that prohibits discrimination on religious grounds is taken very seriously. Turkey, as a secular country, prohibits by law the wearing of religious headcover and theo-political symbolic garments for both genders in government buildings, schools, and universities;[7] a law upheld by the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights as "legitimate" on November 10, 2005 in Leyla Şahin v. Turkey.[8]
The strict application of secularism in Turkey has been credited for enabling women to have access to greater opportunities, compared to countries with a greater influence of religion in public affairs, in matters of education, employment, wealth as well as political, social and cultural freedoms.[9]
Also paradoxical with the Turkish secularism is the fact that Identity document cards of Turkish citizens include the specification of the card holder's religion[10]. This declaration was perceived for some as representing a form of the state's surveillance over its citizens' religious choices. However, in the application there is no case brought forward involving the identity document being a part in any discussions.
- See also: Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı
The mainstream Hanafite school of Sunni Islam is largely organized by the state, through the Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı (Religious Affairs Directorate), which supervises all mosques and imams who work in them. Groups which have expressed dissatisfaction with this situation include a variety of extra-governmental Sunni / Hanafi groups (such as the Nurci movement), whose interpretation of Islam tends to be more activist; and the non-Sunni Alevilik, whose members tend to resent supporting the Sunni establishment with their tax monies (the Turkish state does not subsidize Alevi religious activities).
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This short section requires expansion. |
- Atatürk's Reforms
- Islam in Turkey
- Caliphate
- Laïcité
- Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
- Ottoman Empire
- Six Arrows
- Republic Protests
- ^ http://www.diyanet.gov.tr/english/tanitim.asp?id=13
- ^ a b “Secularism: The Turkish Experience" http://www.secularisminturkey.net/docs/Secular-Transcript.pdf
- ^ Ottoman_Caliphate#Abolishment
- ^ In Turkey, a Sign of a Rising Islamic Middle Class Sabrina Tavernise. New York Times, April 25, 2007.
- ^ "Turkey 'must have secular leader'", BBC News, April 24, 2007.
- ^ Ruling Party in Turkey Wins Broad Victory Sabrina Tavernise. New York Times, July 23, 2007.
- ^ British Broadcasting Corporation (2006-11-17). The Islamic veil across Europe. BBC News. Retrieved on 2006-12-13.
- ^ European Court of Human Rights (2005-11-10). Leyla Şahin v. Turkey. ECHR. Retrieved on 2006-11-30.
- ^ Çarkoǧlu, Ali (2004). Religion and Politics in Turkey. Routledge (UK). ISBN 0-4153-4831-5.
- ^ See the official website of the Turkish Interior Ministry, General Directorate of Population and Citizenship Matters website on State ID cards
- Çarkoǧlu, Ali (2004). Religion and Politics in Turkey. Routledge (UK). ISBN 0-4153-4831-5.
- Karakas, Cemal (2007): Turkey. Islam and Laicism Between the Interests of State, Politics and Society. Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF), Germany, PRIF-Report No. 78/2007.