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Turkish nationalism

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Turkish nationalism is a political ideology that promotes and glorifies the Turkish people, as either a national, ethnic or linguistic group and puts the interests of the state over all others influences, including religious ones.

History of Turkish nationalism

Turkish nationalism began with the Turanian Society founded in 1839, followed in 1908 with the Turkish Society, which later expanded into the Turkish Hearth[1] and eventually expanded to include ideologies such as Pan-Turanism and Pan-Turkism.

The Young Turk revolution which overthrew Sultan Abdul Hamid II, allowed Turkish nationalism into power, eventually leading to the Three Pashas control of the late Ottoman government. It is believed that the nationalistic leanings of the Young Turks, Enver Pasha in particular, is what led the Committee of Union and Progress to oversee a series of massacres, mass arrests, and deportations against Anatolia's largest non-Muslim Minority in what is known as the Armenian Genocide during World War I.[2]

After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the reformer Mustafa Kemal Atatürk came to power. Atatürk discouraged the Pan-Turkic ambitions of his predecessors.[citation needed] Atatürk introduced Hilaire de Baranton's Sun Language Theory into Turkish political and educational circles in 1935, at the high point of attempts to "cleanse" the Turkish language of foreign influence. Turkish researchers at the time also came up with the idea that Early Sumerians were proto-Turks.[3]

Modern Turkish nationalism

Article 301 of the Turkish penal code, which is perceived as being contrary to notion of freedom of speech, states "A person who explicitly insults being a Turk, the Republic or Turkish Grand National Assembly, the penalty to be imposed shall be imprisonment for a term of six months to three years."[4] It also states that "Expressions of thought intended to criticize shall not constitute a crime."

There have been recent indications that Turkey may abandon or modify Article 301, after the embarrassment suffered by some high profile cases.[5] Nationalists within the judicial system, intent on derailing Turkey's full admission into the European Union, have used Article 301 to initiate trials against people like Nobel-prize-winning Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk, the Turkish novelist Elif Şafak, and the late Hrant Dink.[6]

In May 2007, a law was put into effect allowing Turkey to block Web sites that are deemed insulting to Atatürk.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Turkish Society". Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
  2. ^ Adalian, Rouben Paul. Young Turks and the Armenian Genocide
  3. ^ Shay, Anthony (2002). Choreographic Politics: State Folk Dance Companies, Representation, and Power. Wesleyan University Press. p. 210. ISBN 0819565210.
  4. ^ "Kanun No. 5759" (in Turkish). Turkish Grand National Assembly, official Web site. 2008-04-30. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
  5. ^ "Turkey insult law 'may be dumped'". BBC News. 2005-12-28. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
  6. ^ Schleifer, Yigal (2005-12-16). "Freedom-of-Expression Court Cases in Turkey Could Hamper Ankara's EU Membership Bid". Retrieved 2007-04-13.
  7. ^ "Turkey adopts law to block 'insulting' websites". AFP. Turkish Daily News. 2007-05-07. Retrieved 2008-07-01.

Further reading

  • Çetin, Zafer M. (2004). "Tales of past, present, and future: mythmaking and nationalist discourse in Turkish politics". Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs. 24 (2): 347–365. doi:10.1080/1360200042000296708. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |quotes= and |coauthors= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  • Poulton, Hugh (1999). "The struggle for hegemony in Turkey: Turkish nationalism as a contemporary force". Journal of Southern Europe and the Balkans. 1 (1): 15–31. doi:10.1080/14613199908413984. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |quotes= and |coauthors= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  • Uslu, Emrullah (2008). "Ulusalcılık: The Neo-nationalist Resurgence in Turkey". Turkish Studies. 9 (1): 73–97. doi:10.1080/14683840701814018. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |quotes= and |coauthors= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
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