Turkey
Turkey is a Muslim-majority country with a secular state and a rich religious history. Islam arrived with the Seljuk Turks in the 11th century, and its influence deepened under the Ottoman Empire (1299-1923), whose sultans combined a claim to Islamic legitimacy with pragmatic policies aimed at managing their religiously diverse subjects. Following the collapse of the Empire in the First World War (1914-18) and a bitterly fought war of independence (1918-23), modern Turkey emerged under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1923-38). The country embarked on a process of accelerated secularization, which included the abolishment of the Caliphate in 1924. Since then, Turkey has embraced democratic politics but has struggled to balance its secular and religious heritages. The Turkish Constitution guarantees freedom of worship but bans the use of religion for political purposes. In 1997, the Turkish military forced the abdication of the Welfare Party government, claiming its policies undermined Turkish secularism. However, Welfare’s moderate successor, the Justice and Development Party (AKP), has held power since 2002.
ESSAYS ON TURKEY
The Ottoman Empire
The Ottomans began as one of several Turkish groups operating in the contested Anatolian frontier between Islam and Orthodox Christianity during the fourteenth century, but they proved by far the most successful. At its height, the Ottoman Empire stretched from Iraq to Algeria and Hungary to Yemen. Its heterogeneous population, which for much of its history included a plurality of Christian subjects, was organized into a "millet" or "nation" system that endowed confessional groups with relative autonomy to govern their internal affairs. The Ottoman political system was headed by the sultan, who was the supreme authority on all military and judicial matters. The office of the Caliphate, the highest religious position in Sunni Islam, was claimed by Ottoman leaders from 1517 until 1922. Although the Ottoman Empire ultimately stood for over five centuries, by the 1700s it had entered a period of decline. Rising European powers wielded increasing influence and extracted significant concessions. Among these was the right to intervene to protect religious minorities, a power that was broadly abused and generated growing animosity and mistrust among Muslims. When the Ottoman Empire entered the First World War on the side of the Central Powers, Armenian collaboration with Russia led to what is known outside of Turkey as the Armenian Genocide (1915-1917), during which Ottoman forces caused the deaths of over a million Armenians. The event, and Turkey’s staunch disagreement over its being labeled genocide, continues to be a strain on Turkey’s relations with the international community.
Atatürk and the Secular State
The Republic of Turkey was proclaimed in 1923, in the wake of the Ottoman Empire’s collapse and following a successful war against occupying powers. Its first president, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, was regarded as a military hero and savior of the nation, giving him enormous influence. Once in power, Atatürk embarked upon an ambitious policy of top-down secularization, the legacy of which continues to shape Turkish society and politics. The reforms were rapid and far-reaching: within a decade, the new government had restricted the use of religious garb, banned influential Sufi orders, secularized education, nationalized religious foundations, and developed a new alphabet based on the Latin script. Atatürk also abolished the Caliphate and turned its roles and responsibilities over to the Directorate of Religious Affairs. During this period, Turkey was governed as a single-party state, led by the Republican People’s Party. Facing mounting domestic and international pressure, Atatürk’s successor, Ismet Inönü, began a transition to multi-party competition in 1946, which was completed by the victory of the opposition Democrat Party in 1950. However, over the next five decades, democracy was interrupted by periodic military coups. The easing of authoritarian restrictions spurred a resurgence of religious practices in Turkish society, although the state has remained secular. Starting in the early 1970s, governing elites began to promote semi-religious doctrines such as the Turkish-Islamic Synthesis- a political ideology that fused pre-Islamic Turkish culture with Islamic tradition and religious belief- as a means of combating perceived threats from the Left. Political groups like Milli Görüş (National View) made inroads into electoral politics. Slowly religion was reintegrated into some levels of Turkish public discourse in response to growing public demand.
Religious Politics and Secularist Reaction
The period following the 1980 military coup was marked by the rapid expansion of religious influence in politics. Initially, this process was encouraged by the military, which in 1982 went as far as to make religious education compulsory for all primary and secondary school children. Upon the return to civilian rule, Primer Minister Turgut Özal embarked on a policy of economic and social liberalization, which facilitated the expansion of religious groups and organizations. In the early 1990s, the electoral successes of Milli Görüş and its Welfare Party (WP) prompted the military to reconsider its position and resume its hostility toward religious mobilization. The coalition government led by Welfare’s Necmettin Erbakan (1996-1997), Turkey’s first Islamist prime minister, was forced by the military to step down in 1997, and the WP was dissolved the following year. An attempt to revive the party under a different label failed in 2001. Yet the following year, the conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP), whose leaders had been Erbakan protégées, succeeded in winning a plurality of votes and an overwhelming majority in parliament. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (2003-present) sought to change the AKP’s image as an “Islamist” party, emphasizing its commitment to liberal secularism and democracy. Under the his leadership, Turkey has adopted wide-ranging human rights legislation, strengthened ties with Europe and Armenia, and challenged the longstanding supremacy of the military. Yet, in 2008, an attempt to overturn the ban on wearing headscarves in universities led to massive protests against the government and a stern rebuke from the courts, showing the continued power of Atatürk’s assertive secular vision.
Contemporary Affairs
Although the Justice and Development Party (AKP) secured convincing electoral victories in 2007 and 2011, struggles over the role of religion and secularism continue to shape the political arena. In March 2008, Turkey’s chief prosecutor filed a suit to close down the AKP, on the grounds that it had become a center for anti-secularist activity. Although the case was dismissed in 2009, the close vote (5-4) and the sanctions against the AKP demonstrated the seriousness of the threat. Beginning in July 2008, the courts initiated a series of trials against members of the military on charges of plotting a coup and forming part of the “Ergenekon” terrorist network, which planned to attack mosques and other civilian targets in order to provoke anti-government sentiment. Prosecutors have arrested dozens of officers for their involvement but have proven slow to secure convictions. In 2011, the heads of Turkey’s armed forces issued their collective resignation in protest against the ongoing prosecutions. In September 2010, the AKP sponsored a national referendum aimed at amending the Constitution so as to reform the judiciary and decrease the power of the military establishment. Opponents viewed it as a power grab that would allow the AKP to weaken its secular opponents in the courts and the military. However, the AKP argued that the reforms would prevent unelected elites from obstructing the popular will, and the referendum passed with a comfortable margin.
Religious Freedom in Turkey
The Turkish Constitutions declares Turkey a secular state, drawing on the principles of national hero Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. The government exercises substantial control over Islamic institutions through the Directorate of Religious Affairs, which regulates all registered mosques and employs all official imams. Although nearly 98 percent of the population is Muslim, Islamic religious garb is banned in government offices and buildings and the Turkish government has historically disenfranchised political movements with conservative religious agendas. The National Security Agency actively campaigns against Islamic organizations that advocate Sharia law. Sufi orders have been formally banned since 1925, but enforcement of this ban has long lapsed. Alevis, who combine Sunni and Shi’a beliefs and may constitute as much as a quarter of Turkey’s population, are not recognized as a distinct religious group. They are consequently subject to discrimination, since their children are required to attend religion classes tailored for Sunni students. Generally, non-Muslims are allowed to practice without interference from the state, although Christian churches often struggle to obtain building permits and the official recognition required to operate their religious institutions. The ongoing political struggle between the conservative ruling AK party and the secularist military has had negative effects on religious freedom, with mutual accusations of discriminatory hiring and firing based on religious beliefs.
Religion in the Turkish Constitution
The Turkish Constitution of 1982 maintains Turkey's firm commitment to the principle of secularism, known as laiklik. The document guarantees religious non-discrimination and makes no reference to any particular creed. Rather, it repeatedly emphasizes the inviolability of the Republic's secular status. This is manifest from the Preamble, which calls for the non-interference of religion in affairs of state – but not vice-versa – to Article 136, which establishes the Directorate of Religious Affairs and calls upon it to operate in accordance with the principle of secularism. In addition, it specifies that the exercise of fundamental rights, including freedom of worship, is not protected if it endangers the secular nature of the state. Moreover, political parties that challenge the principle of secularism are constitutionally banned, and members of the assembly as well as the president are required to swear an oath of loyalty to the secular Republic. Finally, Article 174 prohibits the modification of Atatürk's Reform Laws, which "safeguard the secular character of the Republic".
Article 10: Equality Before the Law
All individuals are equal without any discrimination before the law, irrespective of language, race, colour, sex, political opinion, philosophical belief, religion and sect, or any such considerations.
Article 14: Prohibition of Abuse of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms
None of the rights and freedoms embodied in the Constitution shall be exercised with the aim of violating the indivisible integrity of the state with its territory and nation, and endangering the existence of the democratic and secular order of the Turkish Republic based upon human rights.
Article 15: Suspension of the Exercise of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms
In times of war, mobilization, martial law, or state of emergency, the exercise of fundamental rights and freedoms can be partially or entirely suspended, or measures may be taken, to the extent required by the exigencies of the situation, which derogate the guarantees embodied in the Constitution, provided that obligations under international law are not violated.
Even under the circumstances indicated in the first paragraph, the individual’s right to life, and the integrity of his or her material and spiritual entity shall be inviolable except where death occurs through lawful act of warfare; no one may be compelled to reveal his or her religion, conscience, thought or opinion, nor be accused on account of them; offences and penalties may not be made retroactive, nor may anyone be held guilty until so proven by a court judgment.
Article 24: Religious Freedom, Religious Education, and the Misuse of Religion
Everyone has the right to freedom of conscience, religious belief and conviction.
Acts of worship, religious services, and ceremonies shall be conducted freely, provided that they do not violate the provisions of Article 14.
No one shall be compelled to worship, or to participate in religious ceremonies and rites, to reveal religious beliefs and convictions, or be blamed or accused because of his religious beliefs and convictions.
Education and instruction in religion and ethics shall be conducted under state supervision and control. Instruction in religious culture and moral education shall be compulsory in the curricula of primary and secondary schools. Other religious education and instruction shall be subject to the individual’s own desire, and in the case of minors, to the request of their legal representatives.
No one shall be allowed to exploit or abuse religion or religious feelings, or things held sacred by religion, in any manner whatsoever, for the purpose of personal or political influence, or for even partially basing the fundamental, social, economic, political, and legal order of the state on religious tenets.
Article 2: Characteristics of the Republic
The Republic of Turkey is a democratic, secular and social state governed by the rule of law; bearing in mind the concepts of public peace, national solidarity and justice; respecting human rights; loyal to the nationalism of Atatürk, and based on the fundamental tenets set forth in the Preamble.
Preamble
In line with the concept of nationalism and the reforms and principles introduced by the founder of the Republic of Turkey, Atatürk, the immortal leader and the unrivalled hero, this Constitution, which affirms the eternal existence of the Turkish nation and motherland and the indivisible unity of the Turkish state, embodies: ...
The recognition that no protection shall be accorded to an activity contrary to Turkish national interests, the principle of the indivisibility of the existence of Turkey with its state and territory, Turkish historical and moral values or the nationalism, principles, reforms and modernism of Atatürk and that, as required by the principle of secularism, there shall be no interference whatsoever by sacred religious feelings in state affairs and politics; the acknowledgment that it is the birthright of every Turkish citizen to lead an honourable life and to develop his or her material and spiritual assets under the aegis of national culture, civilization and the rule of law, through the exercise of the fundamental rights and freedoms set forth in this Constitution in conformity with the requirements of equality and social justice; ...
Article 68: Forming Parties, Membership and Withdrawal From Membership in a Party
The statutes and programmes, as well as the activities of political parties shall not be in conflict with the independence of the state, its indivisible integrity with its territory and nation, human rights, the principles of equality and rule of law, sovereignty of the nation, the principles of the democratic and secular republic; they shall not aim to protect or establish class or group dictatorship or dictatorship of any kind, nor shall they incite citizens to crime.
Article 81: Oath-Taking
Members of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, on assuming office, shall take the following oath:
"I swear upon my honour and integrity, before the great Turkish Nation, to safeguard the existence and independence of the state, the indivisible integrity of the Country and the Nation, and the absolute sovereignty of the Nation; to remain loyal to the supremacy of law, to the democratic and secular Republic, and to Atatürk’s principles and reforms; not to deviate from the ideal according to which everyone is entitled to enjoy human rights and fundamental freedoms under peace and prosperity in society, national solidarity and justice, and loyalty to the Constitution."
Article 103: Taking the Oath
On assuming office, the President of the Republic shall take the following oath before the Turkish Grand National Assembly:
"In my capacity as President of the Republic I swear upon my honour and integrity before the Turkish Grand National Assembly and before history to safeguard the existence and independence of the state, the indivisible integrity of the Country and the Nation and the absolute sovereignty of the Nation, to abide by the Constitution, the rule of law, democracy, the principles of the secular Republic, not to deviate from the ideal according to which everyone is entitled to enjoy human rights and fundamental freedoms under conditions of national peace and prosperity and in a spirit of national solidarity and justice, and do my utmost to preserve and exalt the glory and honour of the Republic of Turkey and perform without bias the functions that I have assumed."
Article 136: Department of Religious Affairs
The Department of Religious Affairs, which is within the general administration, shall exercise its duties prescribed in its particular law, in accordance with the principles of secularism, removed from all political views and ideas, and aiming at national solidarity and integrity.
Article 174: Preservation of Reform Laws
No provision of the Constitution shall be construed or interpreted as rendering unconstitutional the Reform Laws indicated below, which aim to raise Turkish society above the level of contemporary civilisation and to safeguard the secular character of the Republic, and which were in force on the date of the adoption by referendum of the Constitution of Turkey.
1. Act No. 430 of 3 March 1340 (1924) on the Unification of the Educational System;
2. Act No. 671 of 25 November 1341 (1925) on the Wearing of Hats;
3. Act No. 677 of 30 November 1341 (1925) on the Closure of Dervish Monasteries and Tombs, the Abolition of the Office of Keeper of Tombs and the Abolition and Prohibition of Certain Titles;
4. The principle of civil marriage according to which the marriage act shall be concluded in the presence of the competent official, adopted with the Turkish Civil Code No. 743 of 17 February 1926, and Article 110 of the Code;
5. Act No. 1288 of 20 May 1928 on the Adoption of International Numerals:
6. Act No. 1353 of 1 November 1928 on the Adoption and Application of the Turkish Alphabet;
7. Act No 2590 of 26 November 1934 on the Abolition of Titles and Appellations such as Efendi, Bey or Pasa;
8. Act No. 2596 of 3 December 1934 on the Prohibition of the Wearing of Certain Garments.
