(Post-)Kemalist Secularism in Turkey

Abstract

The relationship between the state and religion established by the founding Republican regime has often had discriminatory consequences for religious plurality in Turkey. From its foundation in 1923, the state maintained a model of secularism in which religious activities and facilities were brought under state control. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has challenged the so-called Kemalist secularism and claimed to offer a liberal alternative. However, the AKP's policies have also remained controversial. This article focuses on how and in what direction the AKP has transformed Kemalist secularism by examining institutional transformations in the military, the Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) and the national education system. It is argued that the AKP has maintained the same authoritarian practices and institutions in relation to religious plurality. In particular, the Diyanet and compulsory religious education have been appropriated by the AKP for the purpose of executing a conservative-Islamic political and social transformation that aims to eradicate plurality and create a monolithic society through indoctrination and a strict state monopoly over religious matters.

Secular risk governance and the Turkish military’s battle with political Islam, 1980s–2000s

“…After the military coup in 1980, which was justified primarily as a way of ending violent clashes between right-wing and leftist factions within society, the military shifted its attention towards the risk of political Islam and tried actively to suppress its representation in politics and public space (Kaplan, 2002;Sakallioglu, 1996Sakallioglu, , 1997Uzgel, 2003). Ironically, it was the post-coup military administration that promoted religious vocational schools (the Imam-Hatips) to counter-balance leftist ideologies and ethno-religious factions in society (Tombuş and Aygenç, 2017). These schools later became key to the institutionalization of political Islam in Turkey, as well as targets in the military's securitization of Islam (Tombuş and Aygenç, 2017;Yavuz, 2005).…”

“…Ironically, it was the post-coup military administration that promoted religious vocational schools (the Imam-Hatips) to counter-balance leftist ideologies and ethno-religious factions in society (Tombuş and Aygenç, 2017). These schools later became key to the institutionalization of political Islam in Turkey, as well as targets in the military’s securitization of Islam (Tombuş and Aygenç, 2017; Yavuz, 2005). 1…”

“… 2. Concepts of martyrdom and military service as a religious duty have always been key to militarist nationalism in Turkey (Gürbey, 2009), yet they have been exclusively defined through the Sunni Islam that excluded other sects and non-Muslims (Tombuş and Aygenç, 2017). …”

Emotional and corporeal formations of secularism: a case study of military bases in Turkey, 1980s-2000s

“…The concept of martyrdom has been central to Turkish militarism and the construction of compulsory military service as a religious and patriotic duty (Gürbey, 2009). Likewise, the military supported the proliferation of Imam-Hatip schools in the aftermath of a military coup in 1980 to consolidate national unity through Sunni Islam and to counterbalance growing leftist and ethnic movements (Tombuş & Aygenç, 2017). 7.…”

Governing Islam in Plural Societies: Religious Freedom, State Neutrality and Traditional Heritage

“…Actual reforms undertaken by the AKP-majority government since 2002, however, have only expanded the rights of Sunni sectors of the population, often at the expense of other religious or non-religious sections of plural Turkish society. 59 The cases under analysis also highlight the difficulties and dilemmas that come with the installation of global democratic freedoms in post-authoritarian contexts. Some of these dilemmas hint at the ongoing clashes between new democratic values and less egalitarian practices and/or majoritarian 'biases' of nation-state traditions.…”