Turkish nationalism
Encyclopedia
Turkish nationalism is a political ideology that promotes and glorifies the Turkish people
, as either a nation
al, ethnic
or linguistic group and puts the interests of the state over other influences, including religious ones.
founded in 1839, followed in 1908 with the Turkish Society, which later expanded into the Turkish Hearth and eventually expanded to include ideologies such as Pan-Turanism and Pan-Turkism
.
The Young Turk revolution which overthrew Sultan Abdul Hamid II
, allowed Turkish nationalism into power, eventually leading to the Three Pashas
control of the late Ottoman government.
During the Turkish War of Independence
, Mustafa Kemal
(Atatürk) rejected the political Pan Turkism and said in BMM on December 1, 1921 as follows:
... We never established Pan-Islamism. Perhaps we said "We are establishing it and we shall complete it." Our enemies said "Let us kill them before they complete it." We never established Pan-Turanism. Perhaps we said "We are establishing it and we shall complete it." Our enemies said, "Let us kill them before they complete it." That is the whole problem, instead of bringing pressure and resentment upon ourselves from our enemies... Let us know our places!'
After the Fall of the Ottoman Empire
, Mustafa Kemal came to power. Atatürk spoke positively about the Pan-Turkic and he wanted to forge closer relationships with other Turkish states in Central Asia and the West. Atatürk introduced Hilaire de Barenton
's Sun Language Theory
into Turkish political and educational circles in 1935, at the high point of attempts to "cleanse" the Turkish language of foreign influence. Turkish researchers at the time also came up with the idea that Early Sumer
ians were proto-Turks.
(Anadolu), and the main base of this thought is that the Turkish people
had built a quite new civilization in Anatolia after 1071 when they won at the Battle of Manzikert
. In the early republic era, some intellectuals proposed that the origins of the Turkish nationalism should be sought in Anatolia, not in Turan
. Anatolianism became a major element of the process of nation-building in Turkey.
of the Turkish penal code, which is perceived as being contrary to notion of freedom of speech
, states "The person who publicly denigrates the Turkish Nation, the Republic of Turkey, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, the Government of the Republic of Turkey and the judicial organs of the State, shall be punished with imprisonment of six months to two years. but also it can be only with permission of the minister of justice" However, it also states that "Expressions of thought intended to criticize shall not constitute a crime."
There have been recent indications that Turkey may abandon or modify Article 301, after the embarrassment suffered by some high profile cases. Nationalists within the judicial system, intent on derailing Turkey's full admission into the European Union
, have used Article 301 to initiate trials against people like Nobel-prize-winning Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk
, the Turkish novelist Elif Şafak
, and the late Hrant Dink
for acknowledging The Armenian Genocide
.
In May 2007, a law was put into effect allowing Turkey to block Web sites that are deemed insulting to Atatürk.
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
, as either a nation
Nation
A nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, and/or history. In this definition, a nation has no physical borders. However, it can also refer to people who share a common territory and government irrespective of their ethnic make-up...
al, ethnic
Ethnic group
An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...
or linguistic group and puts the interests of the state over other influences, including religious ones.
Pan-Turkism
Turkish nationalism began with the Turanian SocietyTuranian Society
Turanian Society , a society founded in 1839 by Tatars, aiming at uniting the various Turkic peoples of the Russian Empire.The name is derived from Turan, an ancient Persian name for the land to the East of Iran where many Turkic peoples live, and Turan, the goal of an all Turks uniting state.The...
founded in 1839, followed in 1908 with the Turkish Society, which later expanded into the Turkish Hearth and eventually expanded to include ideologies such as Pan-Turanism and Pan-Turkism
Pan-Turkism
Pan-Turkism is a nationalist movement that emerged in 1880s among the Turkic intellectuals of the Russian Empire, with the aim of cultural and political unification of all Turkic peoples.-Name:...
.
The Young Turk revolution which overthrew Sultan Abdul Hamid II
Abdul Hamid II
His Imperial Majesty, The Sultan Abdülhamid II, Emperor of the Ottomans, Caliph of the Faithful was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire...
, allowed Turkish nationalism into power, eventually leading to the Three Pashas
Three Pashas
"The Three Pashas", also known as the "dictatorial triumvirate", of the Ottoman Empire included the Ottoman minister of the interior, Mehmed Talaat , the minister of war, Ismail Enver, and the minister of the Navy, Ahmed Djemal,...
control of the late Ottoman government.
During the Turkish War of Independence
Turkish War of Independence
The Turkish War of Independence was a war of independence waged by Turkish nationalists against the Allies, after the country was partitioned by the Allies following the Ottoman Empire's defeat in World War I...
, Mustafa Kemal
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey....
(Atatürk) rejected the political Pan Turkism and said in BMM on December 1, 1921 as follows:
... We never established Pan-Islamism. Perhaps we said "We are establishing it and we shall complete it." Our enemies said "Let us kill them before they complete it." We never established Pan-Turanism. Perhaps we said "We are establishing it and we shall complete it." Our enemies said, "Let us kill them before they complete it." That is the whole problem, instead of bringing pressure and resentment upon ourselves from our enemies... Let us know our places!'
After the Fall of the Ottoman Empire
Fall of the Ottoman Empire
Some scholars argue the power of the Caliphate began waning by 1683, and without the acquisition of significant new wealth the Ottoman Empire went into a fast decline...
, Mustafa Kemal came to power. Atatürk spoke positively about the Pan-Turkic and he wanted to forge closer relationships with other Turkish states in Central Asia and the West. Atatürk introduced Hilaire de Barenton
Hilaire de Barenton
Hilaire de Barenton , with real name Étienne Boulé, was a friar, historian of the languages of the Middle East. His name is often misspelled as de Baranton.-Biography:...
's Sun Language Theory
Sun Language Theory
The Sun Language Theory was a pseudoscientific linguistic hypothesis proposing that all human languages are descendants of one Central Asian primal language. The theory further proposed that the only language remaining more or less the same as this primal language was Turkic...
into Turkish political and educational circles in 1935, at the high point of attempts to "cleanse" the Turkish language of foreign influence. Turkish researchers at the time also came up with the idea that Early Sumer
Sumer
Sumer was a civilization and historical region in southern Mesopotamia, modern Iraq during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age....
ians were proto-Turks.
Anatolianism
Anatolianism (Turkish: Anadoluculuk) is a kind of Turkish nationalist thought. The starting point of this thought is that the main source of Turkish culture and civilization should be AnatoliaAnatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
(Anadolu), and the main base of this thought is that the Turkish people
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
had built a quite new civilization in Anatolia after 1071 when they won at the Battle of Manzikert
Battle of Manzikert
The Battle of Manzikert , was fought between the Byzantine Empire and Seljuq Turks led by Alp Arslan on August 26, 1071 near Manzikert...
. In the early republic era, some intellectuals proposed that the origins of the Turkish nationalism should be sought in Anatolia, not in Turan
Turan
Tūrān is the Persian name for Central Asia, literally meaning "the land of the Tur". As described below, the original Turanians are an Iranian tribe of the Avestan age. As a people the "Turanian" are one of the two Iranian peoples both descending from the Persian Fereydun but with different...
. Anatolianism became a major element of the process of nation-building in Turkey.
History of Anatolianism
Hilmi Ziya Ülken, one of the founders of Anatolianism, was against the Ottomanism, Islamism and Turanism. Between 1918 and 1919 he published the periodical Anadolu with Reşat Kayı. In 1919 Ülken wote a book titled Anadolunun Bugünki Vazifeleri (Present duties of Anatolia), but it was not published. In 1923, Ülken and his friends published the periodical Anadolu. They worked to form an alternative thought to Ottomanism, Islamism and Turanism, and they opposed the specificity of Turkish history traced origins outside of Anatolia. Their conclusion was Memleketçilik. "Memleket" means "Homeland" or "Fatherland" (or even simply "home town"), so roughly, the translation would be "Homelandism".Modern Turkish nationalism
Article 301Article 301 (Turkish penal code)
Article 301 is a controversial article of the Turkish Penal Code making it illegal to insult Turkey, the Turkish ethnicity, or Turkish government institutions...
of the Turkish penal code, which is perceived as being contrary to notion of freedom of speech
Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
, states "The person who publicly denigrates the Turkish Nation, the Republic of Turkey, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, the Government of the Republic of Turkey and the judicial organs of the State, shall be punished with imprisonment of six months to two years. but also it can be only with permission of the minister of justice" However, it also states that "Expressions of thought intended to criticize shall not constitute a crime."
There have been recent indications that Turkey may abandon or modify Article 301, after the embarrassment suffered by some high profile cases. Nationalists within the judicial system, intent on derailing Turkey's full admission into the European Union
Accession of Turkey to the European Union
Turkey's application to accede to the European Union was made on 14 April 1987. Turkey has been an associate member of the European Union and its predecessors since 1963...
, have used Article 301 to initiate trials against people like Nobel-prize-winning Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk
Orhan Pamuk
Ferit Orhan Pamuk , generally known simply as Orhan Pamuk, is a Turkish novelist. He is also the Robert Yik-Fong Tam Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University, where he teaches comparative literature and writing....
, the Turkish novelist Elif Şafak
Elif Safak
Elif Şafak , is a Turkish writer who writes in both Turkish and English. Her books have been translated into more than thirty languages.-Fiction:...
, and the late Hrant Dink
Hrant Dink
Hrant Dink or Հրանտ Դինք ) was a Turkish citizen of Armenian descent editor, journalist and columnist....
for acknowledging The Armenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide can refer to:*The general topic of the Armenian Genocide*The 2006 PBS documentary titled The Armenian Genocide...
.
In May 2007, a law was put into effect allowing Turkey to block Web sites that are deemed insulting to Atatürk.
See also
- Pan-TurkismPan-TurkismPan-Turkism is a nationalist movement that emerged in 1880s among the Turkic intellectuals of the Russian Empire, with the aim of cultural and political unification of all Turkic peoples.-Name:...
- TuranismTuranismTuranism, or Pan-Turanism, is a political movement for the union of all Turanian peoples. It implies not merely the unity of all Turkic peoples , but also the unification of a wider Turanid "race", also known as the controversial Uralo-Altaic "race," believed to include all peoples speaking...
- TurkificationTurkificationTurkification is a term used to describe a process of cultural or political change in which something or someone who is not a Turk becomes one, voluntarily or involuntarily...
- Nationalist Movement PartyNationalist Movement PartyThe Nationalist Movement Party , is a far-right political party in Turkey.In the 2002 general elections, the party had lost its 129 seats as it had won only 8.34% of the national vote...
- Grey WolvesGrey WolvesThe Idealist Youth , commonly known as Grey Wolves , is an ultra-nationalist neo-fascist youth organization. It is accused of terrorism. According to Turkish authorities, the organization carried out 694 murders between 1974–1980.-Name:...
- Great Union PartyGreat Union PartyThe Great Union Party is a nationalist political party in Turkey, created on January 29, 1993. It is considered to be close to the Grey Wolves organization, and is related to the "Alperen Ocakları" tendency, which operated a synthesis between Islamism and Turkish Nationalism, and separated itself...
- Ülkücülük