The rise of the secular Turkish Republic under Ataturk

Rise of the Secular Turkish Republic

It was in 1923 that the Republic of Turkey appeared on the face of the globe. The Turks consider the preceding years i.e. 1919-1922 as the years of their struggle for independence. The Turkish state that was formed as a consequence of this struggle was a completely new republic despite the fact that various partition schemes were proposed by the triumphant Allies during and after The Great War I (Alaranta 115). This paper will discuss the rise of the Secular Turkish Republic. It will elaborate the state of the empire when Sultan Abdul Hamid II came into power. It will also tackle the actions taken under his leadership to restrain European authority and involvement which eventually led to Sultan's demise. However, the rise of the secular Turkish Republic is mainly due to the countless efforts of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Therefore, this paper would extensively discuss the construction of Turkish history and identity in the years during the establishment of Ataturk's republic.

Sultan Abdul Hamid II: Leadership

Sultan Abdul Hamid II, the son of Sultan Abdul Majid and the thirty-fourth Sultan of the Ottoman Empire inherited a penniless and ruined empire. The Ottoman debt increased progressively with the beginning of the Crimean War (1853-1856). As the ruler of the empire, Sultan was weighed down with challenges of maintaining a large standing army and renovating it in the face of continuous threats from the foreign powers. Thus, the need of the time was to borrow continuously. The intense burden of debt affected all the aspects of the Sultan's period of influence. Not only did the debt burden cast a long shadow on the international relations and political reorganization but also impacted the educational and agricultural facets of the empire (Ahmed).

The weakened condition of the military and economy of the Ottoman Empire made it a prospected prey of the European imperial ambitions. During this period of history, Russia, France, Italy and Great Britain in particular, were all set to conquer the weak and unstable states. The nineteenth century Europe demonstrated an assortment of nationalists. At the same time, it was the Ottoman Empire only that supported to maintain a multi-religious, multi-ethnic and multi-national state. Unluckily, the fractures in the weakened empire were all too plain as the nose on one's face. These fissures were a tempting invitation for the foreign powers to meddle and interfere in the affairs of the empire. The European powers were firm to gobble up the bankrupt Ottoman Empire. They wanted to use the religious and racial divisions as political opportunities to conquer the Turkish homeland. The broke Ottoman state was not strong enough to support and protect and was persistently trying to find allies who would assure the empire's territorial integrity. This situation left two choices for Sultan Abdul Hamid II; either wage a gallant struggle to release the empire or rescue its central Islamic components in case he would have to lose the Christian provinces. Following this quest, he chose diplomacy instead of war. He wanted to challenge the purposes of one European power against the other European power. However, he negotiated where required and sometimes also bought time to restructure and improve the institutions holding the empire as one. The Sultan was successful to a great extent. However, his high-handed, oppressive and tyrannical manner of dictating won him the disapproval of his subjects. His successful reforms turned out to be so powerful that the forces behind then eventually curbed his power and directed the empire to its downfall (Ahmed).

The supreme mark of respect for Sultan Abdul Hamid II lies in the fact that still in the present day, a lot of Muslims around the world call up his name with reminiscence for a long-gone period. They remember and long for the time when the acclaimed Sultan provided full focus for the Islamic community worldwide and presented it the wisdom of universal brotherhood. During his reign, even the Muslims as distant as India and Nigeria were dependent on him for supervision and leadership. His office branched out to help the Muslims religiously, politically, culturally and socially; not only to those residing in Turkey but all around the world. The Ottoman fez turned out to be not just a cap for the Turkish people but for the whole Islamic world. Regrettably, he collapsed due to his pursuing of the modernization program through an exceedingly innermost, personal approach. This mannerism made people disappointed in him who charged him of authoritarianism and repression. As already discussed, he got the kingdom at a point it was completely broke and ruined and had no strength to defend itself against the foreign powers. He was challenged with forces of nationalism and internal terrorism at the same time. Though his efforts made the preservation of the Islamic core of the mighty empire possible for 40 years Islamic but his dictatorial style didn't prove to be fruitful for him. He managed to curb the European influence in the empire for some time but his methods eventually failed and he was overthrown at the end (Ahmed). The "Sick Man of Europe," as Europeans referred to the Turkish Empire, finally got rid of the Sultan who tried his best to save the kingdom but was not completely successful in doing so.

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was an Ottoman and Turkish military officer, avant-garde statesman, author, and is most renowned as the founder of the Republic of Turkey. He was an army officer during the Great War I. He escorted the Turkish national movement in the Turkish War of Independence after the Ottoman Empire got defeated in World War I. He was also successful in defeating the forces sent by the Allies after establishing an interim government in Ankara. It was due to his excellently-led military campaigns that the Republic of Turkey came into being as an independent country. Ataturk then went on board to launch a series of programs to revolutionize the politics, economy and culture of the country. He had an unwavering aim of transforming the ex-Ottoman Empire into a contemporary, westernized and secular nation-state. The philosophy and ethics behind the reforms of Ataturk established a modern Turkey and are popularly recognized as Kemalism ("Mustafa Kemal Ataturk").

Turkey was officially announced a republic in October 1923. Mustafa Kemal was elected as the state's first president. He was later reelected for the same position in the years 1927, 1931, and 1935. Just after one year of coming into the office, Ataturk abolished the caliphate in 1924. He also gave orders of the promulgation of a new constitution in the same year. This constitution "provided for a parliament elected by universal manhood suffrage (extended to women in 1934), and for a cabinet responsible to parliament" ("Turkey, Country, Asia and Europe"). On the other hand, Ataturk presided over the government as an implicit totalitarian. He solitary allowed his Republican People's party to be the only legal party in the country. He ruled Turkey for about fourteen years during which the country experienced a great transformation. The revolutions and reforms done by Ataturk not only modified the religious, societal, and civilizing foundations of Turkish society but also altered the political and economic structure of the former Ottoman Empire ("Turkey, Country, Asia and Europe").

Nutuk

Ataturk was of the belief that "writing history is as important as making history. If the writer does not remain true to the maker, then truths become questionable" (as qtd. In Morin, and Lee 491). Therefore, he wrote Nutuk as a response and reply to his opponents. The composition of Nutuk was inspired by his personal memories of the Turkish War of Independence. In the concluding paragraphs of this self-narrative, Ataturk has asked the future Turkish generations to remember their duty. He says, "Turkish Youth! Your first duty is forever to preserve and to defend the Turkish Independence and the Turkish Republic. This is the very foundation of your existence and your future. This foundation is your most precious treasure. In the future, too, there may be malevolent people at home and abroad who will wish to deprive you of this treasure. If some day you are compelled to defend your independence and your Republic, you must not tarry to weigh the possibilities and circumstances of the situation before taking up your duty" (as qtd. In Morin, and Lee 491).

Modernization

When Kemal was elected as the first Turkish president of the new Turkish republic, he embarked on a program of Westernization with enormous vigor. It took him fifteen years to change all the essential as well as minutest features of the Turkish society ("AtatUrk, Kemal"). Ataturk frequently referred to the highest level of civilization which meant that he was so inspired by the European modernity and considered it to be the best option for Turkey to adopt. He wanted Turkey to get modernized in technology and positive sciences just like the European nations. However, his intentions were not only to revolutionize Turkey in the field of positive sciences. He introduced the western dress code, Latin alphabet, Gregorian calendar, and the metric system. He secularized Turkish education, culture, rules and regulations along with the system of judiciary. This modernization and secularization directed Turkey towards the West. His modern reforms not only condensed the domination of Islam in the republic but also changed the thought process, life styles and conversational manners of the Turkish people (Morin, and Lee 502).

Secular Reforms

As already discussed, Ataturk abolished the caliphate in 1924. This break with Islam clearly reflects his belief that the progression and advancement in Turkey is hindered greatly by the religious conservatives. This abolishment also demonstrated that the dictator did not encourage the amalgamation of religious and non-religious affairs. He thus set out to get rid of the influences of Arab on the Turkish society and people. In this process, he prohibited the use of Arabic language in ceremonies. In order to put a stop to the authority of education by the old-fashioned Muslim clergy, Kemal placed all public education under a secular Ministry of Public Instruction (Pojer).

Later, he also eradicated the privileges enjoyed by the Ministry of Religious Affairs. With this action, he brought the official status of Islam as a state religion to an end. Not only this, he ordered the closing of Sharia courts and legalized Western codes to carry out the jurisdiction in the secular courts. The religious orders of Muslims were forbidden and made illegal. He was also too adamant to undermine the Turkish bonding and connection to traditional practices. Therefore, he forbade Turkish men to wear the fez hat in 1925. He declared, "We are going to adopt the civilized international mode of dress, including a headdress with a brim; this I wish to say openly. The name of this headdress is a 'hat" (as qtd. In Pojer). A good number of villagers openly objected to this law and claimed that the Western-style hats do not allow them to perform their religious duties. They were not able to perform sajda during prayers. Ataturk did not forget to attack on the veiling of women, an Islamic tradition. However, he did not actually ban its use (Pojer).

Social Reforms

Of all the social reforms implemented by Ataturk, one that deserves special consideration is related to that of replacement of alphabets. Since the Turkish people had accepted Islam during 800 AD, they had been using the Arabic alphabet in their literature. The most important aspect of using it was that it is the language used in the holy book of Muslims, the Quran. Language has always proved to play a pivotal role in Islamic and Arab nationalisms. However, Ataturk swapped the usage of Arabic alphabet with the Latin alphabet that influenced the whole nation by making it illiterate in an overnight. His next step was the initiation of determined and motivated literacy programs. Astonishingly, during his rule, the literacy rate increased to 42% from 9%. At the same time, the new Turkish generations did not possess the ability to read the Arabic script in any form (Pojer).

Political Reforms

Without a doubt, the most important political reforms introduced by Ataturk were the abolishment of the Sultanate and Caliphate. According to him, it was important for the Turkish people to get rid of the past traditions and become modernized if they wanted to live their life as an independent and secular nation (Morin, and Lee 501). This mind set of Ataturk makes him quite different when compared with his contemporaries like Hitler and Mussolini. The colonial powers wanted to dominate the world assuming superiority in politics and culture. In the same way, Arab nationalists did their best to bring Arabs, Islamists and Muslim World to a single platform. Conversely, Ataturk was that modest nationalist leader who refused the "idea of assuming power over others and calls for an end to the catastrophe" (Morin, and Lee 502). He declared it openly that Turkish people should not involve themselves in matters of imperialism. According to him, the future carries rewards for the nation-states who mind their own business.

Conclusion

The far-reaching changes Turkey experienced under Ataturk's leadership necessitated comprehensive and extensive reforms and realignments. Ataturk built up political myths that helped me the facilitation of realignments. He offered new-fangled and up-to-the-minute ways to understand, ponder over and reflect Turkish history and identity. Kemal himself observes the Revolution in Turkey as "A ruined land on the edge of a precipice & #8230;bloody battles with various enemies & #8230; years of struggle and then, respected at home and abroad, a new country, a new society, a new state, and to achieve these, ceaseless reforms -- this is, in a word, the Turkish Revolution" (as qtd. In Byrne 20).

Only a few men have changed the fate and condition of their country and their society as absolutely as did Mustapha Kemal Ataturk. This dictatorial leader revolutionized the Turkish society in just 19 years. No one other than Ataturk deserves to be credited for the transformation of the Western image of the Turkish. He changed the status of the country from "the terrible Turk to the Noble Ally" (Blumberg 7).

Still today, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk is regarded as a national hero and a great leader. Even after the passage of several decades since his death, the statues of this hero are seen in each Turkish town centre. One can also see the framed portraits of the influential leader are hung in every government building. His death anniversary is still commemorated on November 10th of every year and the "Turkish newspapers still border their front pages with black, and at 9:05 AM (the time of his death) the whole country still shows its respect for this immortal leader with one minute of silence" (Byrne 20).

To cut a long story short, Mustafa Kemal did everything to transform the dying Ottoman Empire to a new nation. In making Turkey a secularized nation, Kemal has carved his name in the history of the Turkish nation (Byrne 25).