Atatürk and His Secular

State
Political Thought I
Prof. Abdi

Zayyan Yassin Abdul Aziz, 0731169

Introduction

Like all great men in history, Mustafa Kemal

Atatürk can be viewed from a number of different
perspectives as a reformist, founder of a state and a
nation-builder. He is a man with distinctive persona
growing and living at the end of the glorified age of the
Ottoman Empire, the last remaining Caliphate
Government.

To understand how Turkey is what it is today, we

must then dive deep into understanding the precedent
events that led to the acceptance of an ideology of
western secularism to replace of the old empiricist idea of
the Ottoman state. Every civilizations and government
may slowly decay when internal weakness is imminent
just like a sword gone rusty. So as for Turkey, Islam was
not as great as it were preached and indoctrinated as
once compared in beginning of the Caliphate rule.

Therefore, Atatürk’s achievements in the founding of

the modern Turkish state deserve special emphasis, and
has its own meaning and implication to a nation that was
brought to crumble to its feet when the western powers
came into conflict and how he had liberated and instill the
nationalistic ideas towards the Turkish people. There are
several perspectives that contributes to Atatürk’s idea of
the new Turkish State, one being the abolition of traces of
the caliphate and sultanate rule and secondly the
transformation of the Turkish people in all corners of the
land through the act of secularization holistically into
adopting the western embodiment of culture and science
which was considered in par with the concept of a civilized
society.

Turkey was then reformed under these ideas from a

theocratic empire into a modern nation-state, in which the
secular nationalist doctrine replaced Islam as the cultural
foundation and to impose an alien and enforced
secularization upon an Islamic society, an effort which was
bound to fail because it isolated itself from the cultural
heritage of the people, and therefore failed to mobilize its
energy1.

It should be noted though that the modernization and

secularization of the Ottoman Empire did took place long
before in a gradual manner. If not to the majority of the
Turkish people, cities like Istanbul for example where
many ruling elites lived in addition to the many
established settlements of the western foreigners were
already quite modern for its kind. The sultans themselves
1
Hichem Djait, L’Europe et l’Islam , Paris; Seuil, 1978, 56
were pretty much engaged with the western lifestyle and
continually fused the grandeur of European Elite and begin
to live in luxurious palaces like the Dolma Bahçe which in
Islamic context may have well be off the track of modesty.

Many Western laws and practices had been adopted

and a basically secular educational system had been
established by the end of the nineteenth century. Granted
that dualism between the secular laws and the Sharia,
between secular education and religious education
persisted until the reforms of Atatürk; yet the trend
towards modernization and secularization was quite clear.
Atatürk then offered an intensification, radicalization and
culmination of this trend.2

One of the many features that distinguishes Atatürk’s

revolution from other modernizing movements by Islamic
states is the extend to which secularism had been
emphasized . Turkey today remains the only Islamic
country whose Constitution stipulates that secularism is
one of the basic organizational principles of the State
( Constitution of 1961, Art. 2), and where the legal system
which was resistant to secularizing trend became
completely secularized.3

However, despite the radical nature of Kemalist

2
Kazancigil and özbudun, Ataturk : Founder of a Modern State, London; C. Hurst & Company 1981,
3
3
Kazancigil and özbudun, Ataturk : Founder of a Modern State, London; C. Hurst & Company 1981,
Secularism, it should be stressed that it never intended,
explicitly or implicitly, to eradicate Islam in Turkey. He
merely meant to remove the ülema’s influence and the
Islamic authority in social governing of Turkey. Thus, it is
important to analyze how Atatürk intricately dicsept the
two once thought inseparable entity, Islam and the state.

Principles of Kemalism

Mustafa Kemal was born a the second and only child

to a mediocre family of Selanik of the Ottoman Empire.
Having only his mother when he was growing up, he was
sent to a religious school so that he could be an ülema by
his mother. As he grew up, he made his own decision to
join a Military school where he would later pursue his own
education apart from the classical education supplied by
the military school. He learned French and German on his
own efforts, and read the historical and literary works of
the very few Turkish authors active at that time while he
was in military school.4

From young age, he was already inspired to read the

works of western thinkers making him somewhat different
from other Turkish youth who still relied on the religious
teachings of the Medressa. He was particularly interested
in the works of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, August Comte and
Emile Durkheim.4 Thus slowly, from this constant exposure
to the western thinkers did Atatürk form his own ideas and
principle that would later create his plan and strategy for
the new Turkey. His ideas of society and of life as whole
were not diverted to the traditional obligation to prepare
oneself for the afterworld, and for the happiness and joy
expected there – which was a product of medieval
Thought incorporated by Islam. On the contrary, he
believed that satisfaction and happiness would be attained
during the individual’s lifetime. In which he later quoted
for in his speech, ‘ A person should work not for himself,
but for those who will come after him. If he should stop to
think whether those following would appreciate his efforts,
he is considered unsuccessful. The happiest men should
be those who prefer their efforts to remain anonymous to

4
Enver Ziya Karal, Principles of Kemalism, London; C. Hurst & Company 1981, 13
4
the generations that follow”.5

Now given a somewhat utilitarian idea that he

encompassed, was the start of his secularization of
thoughts that would influence his views on the world.
Ottoman empire that Atatürk grew up in had unable to
match the endured military and economic strength of the
industrialized nations such as Britain and France. It was
found to be backward of its time for carrying the burden of
Islamic jurisprudence and rigid ness of Islamic
Bureaucracy implicated to the government. Slowly the
Great Empire’s colonies of the Arab nations started to
dismantle and lost its influence and loyalty to the empire.
Arab revolts were often and commonly seeking their right
of independence from the empire. Turks were no longer
seen as brethren in Islam but rather a creed of oppressive
rulers and this idea was greatly encouraged by the British
who wanted the Empire to disintegrate and to become
weaker.

Atatürk begin in a highly distinguished career as a

soldier after graduating from his military school. During
this time, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire made a fateful
decision which would lead the break up of one of the
world’s last great empire by making an alliance with the
Central Powers, Germany and Austria Hungary at the
break of world war one. Atatürk experienced the horror
first hand as the division Commander in the Galipoli
5
Atatürk’ün Söylev ve Demeçleri, Ankara; 1952, II , 277
Campaign in 1915. It is during this depressing time for
Atatürk that he realizes that the rulers of the Ottoman
Empire could not be counted on for the poor Turkish
nation. Enraged yet being a superb military commander,
fired his anguish and frustration, which radicalize his
thought to transform fully of the rational western idea. His
first attempt to secularize is through military, of which it
was a common practice to send the ülema to the front line
to motivate and regain the spirit as well as morale of the
soldiers. Atatürk hated this idea and strongly disapprove
with the action saying ,”To send a delegation of such
people will show that the war-power of our army is near to
collapse, and will result in speculation about the poor
state of our government. Therefore this attempt should be
6
stopped”.

Despite of this, Atatürk had climbed his first step to

fame and he had done so with the help of the military, a
force he would harness in years to come. When the
Ottoman Empire collapsed, the allied forces was eager to
carve the Empire for them. But when Atatürk returned to
Istanbul when the sultan had ruled from, he found the city
occupied by allied forces. Infuriated, Atatürk was
determined to restore Turkish sovereignty to its people.
He decided to take on the Sultan as well as the European
invaders, which he would, later led to the war of
independence. It was an unprecedented success of the
people, a product of Atatürk’s nationalistic movement. On
6
Ulûg Igdemir, Atatürk’ün Yasami, Ankara; 1980, 32
October the 29th 1923, Atatürk declared the new Republic
of Turkey with Ankara as its capital.

When Atatürk restored the sovereignty of the Turkish

people, he had also manage to instill several principles
that would mold the construction of a new secularized
Turkish nation. He’s dreams had been achieved, he now
sets about to shape the nation in his image, one that looks
west.

Republicanism is the fundamental principle of the

new Turkish state, and took its place in the Constitution
when the Republic was proclaimed on 29, October 1923.
*16. The Turkish republic was a state founded by the
Turkish nation, on its own account and on its own land a
modern concept of national sovereignty. The secular
sentiment came about when it was declared that ‘No
power is superior to the Grand National Assembly’
asserting that highest authority lie best in the hand of the
Grand National Assembly which would protect the interest
of the nation contradictory to its past governance of the
Caliphate where the highest authority is vested in the
hand of Allah S.W.T by following the Islamic syariah and
teachings through governmental dealings. It also implies
that the sovereignty belongs to the nation and not subject
to particular upper class rulers such was the Ottoman
sultanate family. Thus, rejecting the notion that the state
is Islam.

The second principle nationalism, like republicanism

is also a principle in the political, social and cultural life of
the new Turkey. This too was the agent of secularization
of Turkey when the religious internationalism of Islam
promoted by the Ottoman Empire had been diminished so
that the ethnically correct Turkish people would form their
own land and government. If before, the Turkish people
became a minority of a large expanding empire, they
serve equal status with fellow Muslim from other parts of
the empire and being a Turk meant nothing for them, the
principle of nationalism have elevated the Turks to be the
true people of the soil. Although there weren’t any clear
cut racial reference because being a Turk simply means
for someone who speaks Turkish, who are brought up with
Turkish culture, share Turkish ideals and who live on
Turkish soil regardless of religion.

The third aspect that constitutes the idea of

Kemalism is populism, which serve the principle of the
Turkish democracy. This idea was intended to get the
Turkish people to be participative with the Government in
formulating laws and policies as compared to the time of
the Ottomans where majority of the population have little
or no say at all and low political awareness. The Turkish
society was seen as a society consisting of peasants who’s
life revolves around small and religious practices. So how
can a rural peasant internalize a bourgeois notion like
secularism and populism? It had to be imposed on them.

Etatism was also established as a prime principle

forwarded by Atatürk. Etatism in Turkey was seen as vital
to revive the Turkish economy that was declining far
behind its counterparts during the final era of the Ottoman
Empire. The principle simply means an economic
reformation so that the state participates in the economic
affair as well as exposing the Turkish people towards the
modern economy. This subsequently dismissed the Islamic
economics and monetary managements which was found
to have problem to be compatible with the western
capitalistic economy thus the sultanate had to live on
loans.7

The highlight of the principles brought by Atatürk was

his fundamental principle of secularism. It was not enough
to just radicalize the change of the Turkish nations with
the latter principles without applying the outright change
of the culture, education and politics. Although Islam was
introduced as a religion of the mind, excluding everything
that came between God and the believer, it was claimed
that this movement of Turkish revolution had brought
freedom of mind as well as separation of religion from the
state. Just as the abolishment of the caliphate alone was
not sufficient of secularization, Atatürk spoke as follows to
7
Enver Ziya Karal, Principles of Kemalism, London; C. Hurst & Company 1981, 20
those who tried to make a fundamental link between
parliament and religion : ‘ The government of the Turkish
National Assembly is national and it is materialistic ; it
worships reality. It is not a government willing to commit
murder or drag the nation into the swamps in search of
8
useless ideologies.’

Atatürk believed that every individual had the liberty

and believes freely and entitled to his own views and
perspective on the world without being tied to a certain
religious ideology. Thus the development of social
freedom is another fact of Atatürk’s revolution.

Last but not least is the principle that holds the

philosophy, guarantee and source of future hope of the
five principles mentioned earlier, Revolutionism. It is
understood that Atatürk wants his nation and country to
be as dynamic as possible in order to adapt and be
relevant through time. In other words, it stands firmly
against religion because of its rigid ness, hemogenic and
totalitarian principles. He indicated that,’The source of
prosperity and superiority for the nation today, just as it
was yesterday and will be tomorrow, is the reform of
principles.’ He later added that positive sciences would
lead to the development of the country when it should be
seen as remedy for problems of life and solution to
dilemmas of the nation thus does not rely on Religious

8
Dankwart A. Rustow , Atatürk as an institution Builder, London; C. Hurst & Company 1981, 57
influence and spirituality aspects.

These six principles laid down by Kemal Atatürk did

not bluntly spells out secularism but it remained the most
essential aspect to create the secularized nation of
Turkey. Covering almost all practices from the culture to
political dealings, the act of secularism had transformed
completely to the extend that there were no trace of the
latter Islamic Ottoman empire imprints. The product is, a
distinct nation that have its own unique culture infused
with western thoughts yet not any less of Turkish as they
were before.

References :

• Harold Courteny Armstrong, Grey Wolf Mustafa Kemal an Intimate study of a

Dictator. London; Arthur Baker ,LTD. 1932
• Kazancigil and özbudun, Ataturk : Founder of a Modern State, London; C.
Hurst & Company 1981
• Mehmet Yazar , Ataturk and Turkey of Republican Era, Union of Chambers of
Commerce, Industry, Maritime Commerce and Commodity Exchanges of
Turkey, 1981