Islam, Secularism, and Nationalism in Modern Turkey

Introduction: Turkish nationalism today

The use of the term Turk in modern Turkey is a puzzling phenomenon. People in the country see all Muslims as Turks, regardless of their ethnicity or language. In view of this, not only ethnic Turks, but also others such as Kurds, Circassians, and Bosnians are regarded as Turks, while the non-Muslims (including Armenians and Jews) are not, even when they speak Turkish. This is not simply a matter of semantics: in Turkey, being a Turk has tangible benefits. Since only Turks are full members of the nation and considered loyal citizens, this perception is key to joining the mainstream society of the country. On the other hand, not being regarded as a Turk leads to the stigma of being an imperfect citizen.

This explains the marginalization of Jews and of Christians, including Armenians and Greeks, from the Turkish nation. Despite the fact that the contemporary Turkish Constitution of 1980 defines all inhabitants of the country as Turks, in real terms non-Muslims, especially Christians, are not viewed as Turks. For instance, they are barred from becoming diplomats or army officers. Furthermore, public antagonism toward Christianity is not uncommon. An example of this was the recent controversy involving Turkish-Protestant churches. News appeared in the press between 1999 and 2001 (and lately in 2004) that small grassroot churches had sprung up in the major cities. There was an immediate nationalist public backlash against this. The fact that these churches were mostly started by Turkish Muslims who had converted to Christianity was ignored. The public blamed Christian proselytizing by foreign missionaries. Christianity was seen as unfit for Muslim Turks, who would not have converted if it were not for Christian missionaries. This illustrates that Christianity is viewed as alien by the larger Turkish society, a painful situation for the country’s small Christian communities.