Modern Turkey Research Paper

Religion in Modern Turkey and Iran I will compare and contrast the role of religion in modern Turkey and Iran, beginning from the First World War to the present. WWI was a turning point for religion in both countries, but in extremely different ways. Anatolia was an area that was home to many civilizations throughout history. Each time a group settled they imposed their own ideals, language and Islam to the area. It also was an area under the powerful, Ottoman Empire that reigned for over 600 years. The First World War (1914-1918) resulted in the extinction of the Ottoman Empire, which was the regime that controlled the territory of modern day Turkey. Many reforms and new ideals began to take shape during the decline of the Ottoman Empire.

As Kemal’s rose in power he had a great influence on many non-traditional ideals. Kemalism was composed of six pillars. Revolutionism, populism and statism (estatism), were three pillars inspired by the Russians. Republicanism, nationalism and secularism (laicism) were three pillars of Kemalism that were inspired by the French revolution. This concept of laicism became a core belief in Kemal’s leadership over Turkey. It was a term that described a state in which would not uphold or support any one religious denomination. Those who supported Kemal’s lacist reforms were called Kemalists. They upheld beliefs that kept the role of religion in its rightful place and “generally speaking, the Kemalist position combines a kind of authoritarian democracy with a westernized secular

This was an incredible feat in Islamic history, because by attaining secularization, a part of the state that held religious power had to be completely removed. Kemal’s driving force in implementing secularism was his strive to decrease the need and significance of values and to extinguish institutions that were stamped with Islam. He used the concept of a Grand National Assembly to gain political legitimization and because he used Islam in his favor he also gained the sultan-caliph leadership. The concept millet, which was once used to describe religious subdivisions, was reconstructed to give attribute to a ‘nation’. This shows the blurred lines and slowly widening the gap between an Islamic state and a secular nation that was taking place. (mahalle MARDIN pg.