|
||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
Ataturk Declared Islam Was the Enemy of Turkey. Today Islam Is the Enemy of the World.Reader comment on item: A Critical Moment For Turkey Submitted by Domenic Pepe (United States), May 16, 2007 at 05:22 As Dr. Pipes stated, Ataturk "imposed a dizzying array of changes" upon Turkey. I suggest everyone click on the link Dr. Pipes provided to read what those changes were. I list here some of those radical and revolutionary changes that relate to prohibitions of islamic traditions, practices, and religious activities. Ataturk forcibly removed all islamic power and influence from turkish political and social spheres. He enforced the separation of islam from the secular law and state going as far as abolishing islamic sharia law. Ataturk understood something about the evils of islam that President Bush, our political leaders, and other islamic apologists refuse to admit. Ataturk understood that islam was Turkey's enemy. Islam today must again be declared the enemy in order to win this "war on islamic terrorism." 1922 Sultanate abolished. On assuming office, Atatürk initiated a series of radical reforms in the country's political, social, and economic life that aimed at rapidly transforming Turkey into a modern state. For him, modernization meant Westernization. On one level, a secular legal code, modeled along European lines, was introduced that completely altered laws affecting women, marriage, and family relations. On another level, Atatürk urged his countrymen to look and act like Europeans. Turks were encouraged to wear European-style clothing. Atatürk personally promoted ballroom dancing at official functions. Surnames were adopted: Mustafa Kemal, for example, became Kemal Atatürk, and Ismet Pasha took Inönü as his surname to commemorate his victories there during the War of Independence. Likewise, Atatürk insisted on cutting links with the past that he considered anachronistic. Titles of honor were abolished. The wearing of the fez, which had been introduced a century earlier as a modernizing reform to replace the turban, was outlawed because it had become for the nationalists a symbol of the reactionary Ottoman regime. The abolition of the caliphate ended any connection between the state and religion. The religious orders were suppressed, religious schools closed and public education secularized, and the Sheriat (Islamic rule) revoked, requiring readjustment of the entire social framework of the Turkish people. Despite the protest that these measures provoked, however, Atatürk conceded nothing to the traditionalists. Submitting....
Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments". |
Latest Articles |
|||||||||||
All materials by Daniel Pipes on this site: © 1968-2024 Daniel Pipes. daniel.pipes@gmail.com and @DanielPipes Support Daniel Pipes' work with a tax-deductible donation to the Middle East Forum.Daniel J. Pipes (The MEF is a publicly supported, nonprofit organization under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law. Tax-ID 23-774-9796, approved Apr. 27, 1998. For more information, view our IRS letter of determination.) |