The Study of Secularism and Religion in the Constitution and Contemporary Politics of Turkey: The Rise of Interdisciplinarity and the Decline of Methodology? (original) (raw)
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Thqc has be€ri much tdk in recent yeas both in the Turkish press and in popular Funals, about the apparent visibility of Islam in social ana potticaf lfe. Ii otfrer way, one feanne of Ihe Turkish sociay and polity of the l9gft that strikes any keeri ob_ s€rver is Ihe 'levival" of Islam. One of tlre most impofirnt cuxlent socio_poUtt f i"ro_ es in Turkey is secularism. The Islamic movemenihr" b"-m" ru"h " rirsible pheno_ mena that in recent mo[ths valious agencies of tlre state have sttded to colleci infor_ malion and u/rite up official repore on the hcreasing threat of the clandestine activities of various groups seeking to rc-institute the ,'Sheriat".
International Journal of Politics Culture and Society, 2011
This paper discusses the varied perceptions of secularism both in its general meaning and its specific implementation in Turkey-the first Muslim country that has the principle of secularism in its constitution. Initially giving the various understandings of the concept of secularism in Western academia, this paper contrasts those views with the implementation of Turkish secularism-laiklik-specifically in the light of the 2008 case of closure against the conservative ruling party by the staunchly secularist Chief Prosecutor. A close reading of the indictment and the ruling party's defense will be done in order to highlight the differences between each part's perceptions of secularism.
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Turkish politics has had two major fault-lines since 1923. One is the Kurdish Question, while the other is the Islam vs. secularism debate. The clash between Islamists and secularists has its roots in the late Ottoman politics. The Turkish Republic abolished the caliphate and closed madrasas in 1924; it made secularism a constitutional principle in 1937. Since then, there have been various transformations in Turkish state’s secular characteristic. The only stable aspect of secularism in Turkey during the last century is that the Turkish legal system, including the Constitution and all other laws, has been secular. Nonetheless, there has been a confusion about the secular characteristic of the Turkish state, for a long list of other reasons, including the status of the Diyanet, public Islamic education, and, recently, the emergence of populist Islamist Erdoğan regime. This chapter examines the centennial of Turkish secularism by focusing on various periods of the contention between secularists and Islamists, as well as exploring certain complexities of secularism in Turkey, which seem confusing to not only foreign observers but also citizens of Turkey.
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There is a widespread belief among many researchers that Islam and secularization is incompatible. Obviously, in the Eastern world and in Muslim countries in particular, the problematic relationship between religion and democracy is still shows itself intensively. The current lack of democracy in most Muslim countries derives in part from this mindset contending that Islam is incompatible with secularization. So the application of concept "secularization" to studies of the Muslim countries Middle East has often been more problematic than enlightening. The present study continues the discussion of the compatibility of secularization and Islamic religion bringing to the fore the case of modern Turkish politics. By considering the possible ways of how secularization can emerge and survive in a predominantly Muslim society, the study demonstrates the statereligion interaction in Turkey. The thesis examines how the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the rise of Turkish nationalism decreased religious authority which led to the emergence of secularization. It shows that western institutions played a crucial role in survival of secularization. Later it discusses the reasons of revival of religion and survival of secularization in Turkish politics. The main purpose is to present Turkey as a case in support of the argument concerning the coexistence of Islam and secularization.
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