The Turkish Renaissance

The commonest element of all the institutions and norms of Republican Turkey has been this motto worked by Atatürk himself: “The best guide in life is science!”

Introduction

The 100th anniversary of Atatürk’s birth is wholeheartedly celebrated by the Turkish nation and by all the nations forming present day humanity, more particularly by those colonized peoples who have had to fight for their independence and freedom.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk has always been loved by Turks as the dearest personality because they owe their national independence, their identity and honour, their fatherland and its becoming prosperous to the humanistic as well as scientific qualities of his leadership and of the new social structures upon which he founded the modern Turkish Republic.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk is equally loved by those people of the world who have been subject to various forms of colonization because he was the first and the most successful leader to generate in them the hope and to set the example of national liberation, freedom and development. The most successful because his views and actions have proved even up to the present day to be the most inclusive and the most integral from the point of view of democratic national leadership. Because of these very qualities, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk is indeed very highly valued by all the peoples of our world today.

Main Components of Atatürk’s Approach to National Liberation and Development

As it is impossible to summarize in a short article the great deeds of a leader which are real contributions to human culture in the field of the development of national democratic societies, I will contain myself by only emphasizing the following high points:

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, with his great intelligence, boundless patriotism, profound wisdom and great energy:

a) Established a scientific approach to the facts of human life;

b) Came to understand his age and his society in a valid way and could prognose with validity the real factors of backwardness in the Ottoman Turkish society;

c) Saw the necessity of developing national identity and national culture, building a nation-state, and establishing the rule of national will, and

d) Grasped the prime necessity to reach towards a superb level in the art of leadership and government, based on the ideals of love and freedom, to obtain the most efficient realization of such a comprehensive social change and progress.

The lasting relevance of the guidance of Kemalism stems from the above mentioned qualities.

Basic Requirements for a Scientifically Valid Analysis and Action

One of the most outstanding traits of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s guiding personality is his deep grasp of the requirements of scientific validity and his devotion to them both in his thinking and his actions. The commonest element of all the institutions and norms of Republican Turkey has been this motto worked by Atatürk himself: “The best guide in life is science!” This basic element of the political culture of modern Turkish society no doubt involves the following rules of behavior:

1. To know reliably and sufficiently the concrete conditions of one’s own society and of the world at large;

2. To integrate the data obtained through historical and synchronical, micro- and macro-level analysis;

3. To be objective, i.e., to record the facts truly, not to act according to one’s wishes instead of the objective facts;

4. To have a searching, questioning mental behavior, open to the changing facts of life.

Atatürk’s Perceptions on His Age and His Society

1. Atatürk grasped very firmly the necessity of national identity and national independence for a society to be free from exploitation and to develop. When, for instance, all the political elite and the intellectuals were cherishing the ideal of Ottomanism to continue to be the basic axis of social and political unity, Mustafa Kemal, a 24 year-old young officer, saw the necessity for the establishment of a nation-state based on the Turkish people of Anatolia and Thrace.

2. His definition of the concept of “development” emphasized “progress in science, technology and morality” and underlined that without economic development national existence could not be maintained. As to Atatürk’s concept of “development,” the following elements testify for its validity: the increase in the activities in such fields as industry first of all, then commerce, science, education, arts, health and transportation; the balanced distribution of all these activities all over the country and increased productivity in agriculture so as to allow the development of industries and services.

3. Mustafa Kemal also knew very well the anatomy of colonialism and its disintegrating effects in the political, economic, social, cultural and psychological structure of the exploited society. For instance, in one of his secretly held conferences at the military school when he was only 20 years old, he referred with great pain to the fact that all the shop windows in Istanbul were full of English, French, Italian, Greek, Jewish… advertisements and had to ask the question: “Is this country ours or theirs?”

The Concepts of Nationalism and Popular Will in Atatürk

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk always emphasized the necessity of developing into a society with firm national identity on the one hand, and of realizing a grass-roots democracy on the other.

1. On the first necessity he had these to say:

“History, facts, events and observations have all testified that nationality has always dominated the relation among men and among peoples. And despite the actual major attempts against the principle of nationalism, it is seen that the feeling of nationality could not be eliminated and that it is strongly alive. In the education of our children and youth the necessity of fighting against all foreign elements that are inimical to their existence, rights and unity should be taught to them.

“The philosophy of international relations manifesting themselves in the form of continuous and terrible struggles make it necessary for every nation determined to stay independent and happy to meet these qualities.”

But Atatürk’s concept of nationalism is not at all a selfish, chauvinistic one. To the very contrary, with his sincere and consistent devotion to the cause of “peace at home, peace abroad” and with the ideal that he always cherished of “bringing up the citizens of the world in such a way as to stay free from jealousy, avarice and hatred,” his was a humanistic and democratic nationalism. As a matter of fact, this very ideal pronounced by Atatürk himself was the main motive for the foundation of UNESCO. Thus UNESCO has justified her decision to celebrate in all member countries Atatürk’s 100th birth anniversary in the following terms (among others): Atatürk “set an outstanding example in promoting the spirit of mutual understanding between peoples and lasting peace between the nations of the world. .”

2. On the necessity of a grass-roots democracy, that is on the supremacy of popular free will, Atatürk was also very conscious from the very outset. In fact it is thanks to the motto he set forth as soon as he started the national liberation movement (1919), that is, “the right to rule belongs to the people without any conditions whatsoever!” that he could mobilize and then integrate all the national resistance forces against the foreign invaders as well as against the sultan-caliph.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk had also improved ideas on the rules of legitimacy and symbols of authority pertaining to the grass-roots democracy. Here are some examples of what he had to say on this subject:

“When a people does not become interested with all her efforts in her own existence and rights she can not avoid being a toy in the hands of this or that… that is why we accepted the principle that the people’s forces should be the factor and the people’s will should rule. We are starting in our organization (Müdafaa-i Hukuk, i. e., Defense of Rights) from the village and the quarter, from the people of the village and quarter, that is, we are starting from the individual. Unless the individuals become thinkers masses can be directed by anyone towards this or that direction, towards the good or the ill. In order to rescue himself every individual should personally be interested in his own destiny. Such a body erected from the bottom upwards, from the foundations towards the roof will surely be sound. No doubt it is necessary for every enterprise at the beginning to go from the top towards the bottom rather than the reverse. But it is a national, a citizenship duty to work for the goal of a reorganization from the bottom upwards.

“To this effect our national morale should be nourished and strengthened by principles of civilization and free thoughts. This is very important, I must draw your special attention: a morale based on fear is neither a virtue nor a dependable one.”

This ideal of grass-roots democracy was labelled “Republicanism” and “Supremacy of the National Assembly.”

Secularism: The Common Denominator of Atatürk Reforms

Atatürk with his far-reaching wisdom grasped firmly the necessity of a secular system for the realization of all the above mentioned foundations of an independent national democratic society: national identity, national independence, a valid concept of development, scientific mentality and supremacy of popular will all depend absolutely upon the existence of a secular environment; for where the mind is not free, national independence can not even be dreamed of. Thus all the revolutionary changes known as Atatürk Reforms could only be realized thanks to the secularization of the state, politics, law, family, education, and culture.

State, Politics and Law

State, politics and law were secularized: the sultanate and caliphate were abolished. The National Assembly, elected through popular vote, and the President of the Republic together with a cabinet, elected by the National Assembly, have been the ruling institutions of the society. All the legal norms regulating citizen rights, freedom and obligations as well as marital, familial, economic, cultural, educational… relations have been turned into completely secular ones. Among them the new norms providing for women’s emancipation are of particular importance, for they have both had far-reaching implications for democratic as well as economic development in Turkey and gained for Turkey a very respectable reputation all over the world for being one of the leading countries in this respect.

In fact thanks to secularism equality between man and woman has attained its structural and legal foundations in every field of social life. And Turkish woman was one of the first in the world to acquire the rights to vote and to be elected as member of parliament.

Secular Education

The medresses, tekkes, tarikats (religious sects), zaviyes as well as all other religious educational institutions were abolished, and education at all levels was secularized through the establishment of a modern ministry of education and modern schools and universities. This new educational system has exalted the national or scientific way of thinking as the only valid and reliable way of life.

Secularization of Culture

Atatürk Reforms in the fields of language, alphabet, history and arts have gained their full implications only within the context of secularism.

Language Reform

A secular concept of world, society and man implied also the nationalization of the language. Thus the Turkish language could be emancipated from the oppression of Arabic and Persian resulting from the religious character of the Ottoman Empire. This contributed considerably to the elimination of the great distance that existed between the people and the political as well as intellectual elite of the Ottoman period. Because the Turkish people’s own language became now the language of politics, law, education, science and arts. And this development has in turn reinforced the secular conceptions as the elimination of the Koranic language — i.e., Arabic — from the Turkish language meant also the practice of a secular attitude in an indirect way, just as in the case of the daily practice of the secular legal norms.

Alphabet Reform

The reform of alphabet, an important part of the language reform, has had the same implications. The abolition of the Koranic alphabet and the acceptance of the Latin origin new Turkish alphabet has greatly contributed to the people’s liberation from the oppression of fetishism and fanaticism.

As another good result of the language and alphabet reforms the Turkish literature began to take its nourishing sources from Turkish folklore. To encourage this direction Atatürk has founded the Turkish Linguistic Society.

History Reform

The History Reform, too, has both been a result and a reinforcing factor of secularism in Turkey. Until Atatürk, histories of the Turkish people most often started only after her conversion into Islam. Even Ziya Gökalp, the ideologist of the Turkish nationalism in the last decades of the Ottoman Empire, could trace the nation’s historical sources, in the absence of secularism, only to Central Asia. However Atatürk, with his secular world view, i.e., with free thought, could relate his nation to the Hittites, the most ancient dwellers of Anatolia at 8,000 years B. C., who had realized remarkable achievements in various fields of civilization as well as to all the neighbouring nations in the Balkans and Mesopotamia. Thus the proclamation of the non-religious dimensions and denominators of national identity was, in turn, serving to reinforce secularism. With this purpose in mind, Atatürk also founded the Turkish Historical Society.

Fine Arts

Secularism and fine arts: Painting, sculpture, cinema, theater, music and other fine arts could start and develop only within a secular social and cultural environment. It is well known that religious fanaticism has always handicapped artistic creativity. Atatürk greatly encouraged all branches of the fine arts, established conservatories, academies, orchestras, operas, theaters, etc. Again thanks to his secular world view he was the first statesman to emphasize the importance of music in the people’s lives and to declare the poor and stagnant character of monophonic Ottoman music, the essential elements of which are borrowed from Arabic and Byzantine music. He recommended very strongly, instead, that the poliphonic musical technique of Western Europe be applied to the musical sources of the Turkish nation. In Atatürk’s Turkey, for the first time in all the history of the people, superb music composers, orchestra conductors, opera virtuosi, great painters, etc., were formed and they were invited to perform in all the developed countries of the world. Again for the first time in our history all aspects of life in Anatolia were depicted by Turkish painters. All these have both resulted from the secularism and strengthened the latter’s more advanced realization in the society.

Conclusion: Superior Quality of Atatürk’s Leadership

One of the most basic characteristics of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk that gained him universal respect was his superb capacity in the art of leadership and politics. As it is well known, leadership is a social position, a sociological category. Whenever this leadership position is not properly filled, the development of a society slows down greatly if it does not stop completely.

The relevance of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s leadership stemmed from emphasizing love for mankind and reliance on free thought, that is on science.

Love for mankind, that is humanism inherent in Atatürk’s leadership, contributed greatly to the smooth realization of national identity, scientific mentality and social solidarity, that is voluntary popular participation. With the presence of this humanism in his heart and mind, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk could provide the proof of the practicability of seeing the same thing from different points of view under different conditions; he could act with the consciousness that reality is at the same time as hard as a rock and as soft as a rose; he could perceive and show the beauty of arriving at consensus without at the same time giving up his objectives and ideals.

These basic qualities of perfect leadership gained Mustafa Kemal Atatürk the everlasting love and respect of his people and of all humanity.