The report says Turkey's problem is in its interpretation of secularism, which has "resulted in violations of religious freedom for many of the country's citizens, including members of majority and especially minority religious communities" (Today's Zaman, May 2). I entirely agree with the report. The authoritarian conception of secularism that permeates the laws of the country and prevails in the minds of military and civilian bureaucratic elites is surely one of the major obstacles to the consolidation of an open and democratic regime in Turkey. Despite being questioned and criticized ever since the transition to multi-party politics in 1950, Turkey's official secularism policies have not been revised, but have instead grown ever more authoritarian with every military intervention that has taken place since then. On the occasion of the USCIRF report and the recent speech given by the chief of general staff of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) in its defense, it may be a good idea to discuss once again why Turkey's official secularism is so problematic.
Turkey is often referred to as a "Muslim secular democracy." Yet each one of the concepts in that description needs qualification. Yes, Turkey can be said to have, in the main, a democratic regime. The political role of the military and restrictions on the freedom of expression, however, render Turkey a defective and unconsolidated democracy. Yes, Turkey is a Muslim-majority country, yet Islam in Turkey displays remarkable plurality. Besides the officially endorsed Sunni Islam represented by the Directorate of Religious Affairs, there is the Volk Islam (or Sufi Islam) of the religious brotherhoods whose origins date back to the ninth and tenth centuries. There are also religious communities and faith-based religious movements that are offshoots of brotherhoods. Besides the Sunni majority, there is the Alevi minority. Some Alevis regard their creed as a sect within Islam, while others regard it as an altogether different religion. Turkey also has a significantly large group of non-practicing Muslims and non-believers, in addition to small non-Muslim minority groups.
It is true that Turkey has a fully secular legal system. Even in Ottoman times secular laws enacted by the sultans prevailed over Shariah law, and secularization of the legal system that started in the early 19th century was completed by the republic. Yes, Turkey's laws are secular, but there is no separation of state and religion. According to the Constitution first adopted in 1876, the Ottoman state did not have an official religion, but the Turkish Republic's official religion until 1928 was Islam. The state in Turkey monopolizes and controls religion through the Directorate of Religious Affairs, established in 1923, and uses official Islam as an instrument of national identity policies. It does not recognize any kind of Islam outside the one represented by the directorate or any minority religion other than the non-Muslim groups mentioned in the Lausanne Treaty of 1924.
The Directorate of Religious Affairs is financed by general taxes paid by all citizens, including non-Muslims. It is forbidden for political parties to question its official status. Since 1982 there have been compulsory religion courses mainly teaching official Islam in public schools. There are various restrictions on the religious rights of the Muslim majority and non-Muslims. The wearing of the Muslim headscarf is banned in an arbitrarily defined "public space." Graduates of publicly operated prayer-leader and preacher schools are discriminated against in university entrance examinations. Children below 15 years of age are not allowed to attend Quran courses. Alevi places of worship, cemevis, are not accorded official status. Non-Muslim minorities are not allowed to operate schools to train clergy, and are excluded from public employment. It is not forbidden by law to proselytize, but missionaries are regarded and treated as a threat to national identity and security.
This authoritarian form of secularism is based on policies adopted during the founding years of the republic under a single-party regime. According to this conception of secularism, inspired by the positivist philosophy that was widespread in the West at the time, a modern society could only be one where scientific thinking replaced religious thinking, and religious belief is confined to individual conscience. It was also based on the conviction that Islam was incompatible with modernization and secularism, and therefore required state control.
Turkey's official secularism policies might have been relevant for the founding period of the republic nearly a century ago. But these policies are totally out of tune with Turkey well into the 21st century. Turkey cannot become an open and fully democratic society without democratizing and liberalizing its official conception of secularism.
