Kemalist secularism
Also called: Ataturk's secularism · Topic: Secularism: Western and Indian Models · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 8 "Secularism"
Meaning
Kemalist secularism is the forced secularisation of Turkey that Mustafa Kemal Ataturk carried out after World War I. Instead of keeping a distance from religion, the state actively suppressed it and pushed Western ways of life. NCERT (Class 11, Secularism) asks whether a secularism that controls your name, dress and script can respect freedom. It is an example of secularism working against individual liberty.
Example
The Caliphate was abolished in 1924. The Hat Law of 1925 banned the fez (a traditional cap), and Western dress was encouraged. The Gregorian calendar came in 1926, and a Latin-based alphabet in 1928. Turkey later reversed course: it eased the headscarf ban in 2013 and made Hagia Sophia a mosque again in 2020.
Don't confuse with
- Nehru's idea of secularism: Nehru was not religious, but unlike Ataturk he was not hostile to religion. He wanted equal protection for all religions, not suppression.
- Laïcité: France's firm separation of religion and state, based on its 1905 law. It keeps religion out of public institutions but did not abolish religious institutions or force changes to the script and calendar.