Modernization & Turkey

Statistics-2006

Population-70,413,958

Growth rate-1.1% Infant Mortality rate-

39.7/1000 Literacy rate-87%*

For Females-78.7% For Males- 94.3%

Ethnicity/Race- 80% Turkish, 20% Kurdish

Religion- 99.8% Muslim ( mostly Sunni), Christians and Jews make up remainder of population

Statistics

2004 GDP growth reached 9%, then leveled off at 5% per year

Geography

Strategic location controlling the Turkish Straits (Bosporus, Sea of Marmara, Dardanelles) that link Black and Aegean Seas

Mount Ararat, the legendary landing place of Noah's Ark, is in the far eastern portion of the country

                                                                   

The Old Man of EuropeThe Old Man of Europe

1890’s- Liberals establish the Young Turks 1907- Committee for Union and Progress,

or the Young Turks, unite under General Mustafa Kemal

1908- Young Turks overthrow the sultan 1914- Ottoman Empire in WWI 1919- Collapse of Ottoman Empire

Ethnic/Religious Tensions

Nationalist revolts within the Ottoman Empire led to the independence of Greece, Bulgaria, and Egypt

Christian Armenians seeking independence become targets of Turkish nationalists

Armenian Genocide

1914 and 1918 more than 1.2 million Armenians were killed in Turkey.

The Armenians were an ethnic and religious minority

They were accused of helping the Russians during WWI

This was the first genocide of the 20th Century

Armenian Genocide

Served as encouragement to the Nazis In a speech Hitler gave before invading

Poland, he asked his men: "Who still talks nowadays of the annihilation of the Armenians?"

The Young Turks Overthrew Sultan Abdul Hamid in 1908 Led by Mehmet Talaat, Ismail Enver, and

Ahmed Jemal Attempted to establish an all Turkish, all

Muslim state Declared Armenians an enemy of the

state plundered villages, killed intellectuals, seized their land

Armenian Genocide

Forced entire villages on long marches in blazing heat to “relocate” them

Those who could not keep up were shot Those who made it were beaten, raped,

starved, shot….

WWI WWI led to the collapse of the Ottoman

Empire Modern Turkey was founded in 1923 by

Mustafa KEMAL Ataturk Atatürk’s reform program, which became

known as Kemalism, aimed at establishing a secular, Europe-oriented state (Modernization, Industrialization, Westernization)

Ataturk

Had led the military wing of the Young Turks, but was now trying to separate himself from what had happened.

Mustafa Kemal took the name Ataturk, meaning father of the Turks

He brought stability to the nation

Attempts at Modernization

Civil law system derived from various European continental legal systems

Polygamy was banned

Changes in Turkey

Replaced Ottoman Turkish script with the Latin Alphabet

Closed religious schools and replaced them with state run government schools

Replaced the Muslim calendar with the Gregorian (Christian) calendar

Moved the traditional Muslim Sabbath day from Friday to Sunday

Changes in Turkey, continued…

Women no longer had to veil their faces, were allowed to vote, and could attend college and work as doctors, lawyers, scientists, etc..

He built railroads and factories, and invited Western engineers to Turkey to help industrialize the country

He established a secular country- strictly separating religion and state

1945-2001

Turkey joined the UN in 1945 and in 1952 it became a member of NATO

Under the Truman Doctrine , Turkey received aid from the US

In 1949, Turkey became the first predominantly Muslim nation to recognize the State of Israel

Ally of the US during Cold War, protecting vital western interests in the Middle East

1945-2001

Fought alongside US troops in the Korean War

Was one of the first countries to pledge support to US following 9/11

At a Crossroads Military coups (1960, 1971, 1980) In 2003, US Turkish relations hit a snag

when Turkey refused to let the US use its airbases to invade Iraq

By 2004, Turkey and the US had made amends (Turkey provided peacekeeping forces in Iraq, and the US reinstated its economic aid to Turkey, as well as its endorsement of Turkey to become a member of the EU)

Modern Turkey

Republican parliamentary democracy Attempting to join European Union Fighting terrorism both inside the country

and out Extreme Secularism, or Kemalism, may be

fostering growth of fundamentalism

Modern Turkey

Rising Turkish nationalism Increasing Islamic fundamentalism Turkey may be on a collision course

between the secular politicians, backed up by the military, and Islamic reformers who feel that the current government is too friendly with the West

In July of 2005 the Turkish Supreme Court upheld a six-month prison sentence against Hrant Dink, editor of the newspaper Agos (Furrow), under article 301 for “insulting Turkishness” in an editorial concerning the 1915 massacres of Armenians in Anatolia. The sentence was suspended. The journalist, however, was assassinated by Turkish nationalists

Turkey continues to prosecute and convict individuals who peacefully exercise their right to free expression. In 2006 alone, more than 50 individuals were indicted for statements or speeches that questioned state policy on controversial topics such as religion, ethnicity, and the role of the army.~ Human Rights Watch 2007

Women who wear the headscarf for religious reasons are still denied access to higher education, the civil service, and political life.~Human Rights Watch 2007

Recent Headlines

Three killed in Turkey Bible attack

Thousands mourn Turkish journalist

Turkey works to stop 'honor' killings

The harder the government of Turkey tries to repress the religious expression for fear of catering to the fundamentalists, the harder the fundamentalists will fight back arguing that this is the very reason that the Islamic world should unite against the government of Turkey. It is only adding fuel to the fire.

Review Questions

Why were Armenians targeted for genocide by the Turks?

Define secular. Define Islamic fundamentalism. Compare Mustafa Kemal Ataturk to each of the

following: Peter the Great Napoleon Bonaparte

Why would Islamic fundamentalists be angry over the changes instituted by Kemal Ataturk?

…continued

Has Turkey gone too far with the idea of separation of religion and state? Explain.

What you believe Turkey has to do to correct the problem of honor killings?