Introduction
Modern Turkey – a member of NATO and a candidate for membership in the
European Union – continues to struggle to find an appropriate balance between religion
and state. Turkey offers an excellent case study for those seeking answers to the following
questions: Can Islam and democracy coexist? Is Turkey a secular state, is religion
separated from the state in Turkey – as it is said in its Constitution: “The Turkish State is a
Republic” and is it “a democratic, secular and social state governed by the rule of law …”
(Article 1-2, Constitution of Turkey). Is everybody equal before the law in terms of access
to education and labor market, as it is said in the Constitution: “All individuals are equal
without any discrimination before the law, irrespective of language, race, color, sex,
political opinion, philosophical belief, religion and sect, or any such considerations?”
(Article 10, Constitution of Turkey).
Since the establishment of the Republic in 1923, one of the most controversial
and debated issues in Turkey has been the question of religious education. The issue is
still topical.
The present paper considers teaching religion in Turkey in 3 chronological
periods: from 1923 up to1982; from 1982 to 1995 and from 1995 to 2009. A historic
survey is also introduced.
Historic Background
Each historical period has the education relevant to it. As a mirror, education
reflects all social changes. No essential changes are possible without deep changes in
education. Traditional education – transmitted through generations – was spread for a
long time in the early Turkish history.
Traditions were preserved and developed in the theocratic Ottoman Empire,
where Sultan was Caliph and united civic and spiritual powers.
The Westernization and secularization processes among Turks started much
earlier than the Republic and Atatürk’s time – it was as early as in the late medieval
Ottoman State. First of all the process was revealed in education which was crucial for
economic and social changes. The secularization of education was set up on agenda;
however the longstanding traditions of religious education were still very strong and
viable. (Ergene, 2006)
According to the order (firman) issued by Sultan Mahmud II (1808-1839) in
1824 primary public (religious) education became obligatory. (Somel, 2001). The
importance of the firman laid in the fact that the need for education and significant of
being literate were articulated for the first time by an Ottoman sultan. All Muslims had to
study their religion and after that the life affairs, – attested the document. By the same
document nobody could study a vocation without passing religious education and
receiving permission from the kadi (judge) of Istanbul.
By the order of Sultan Abdul Medjid (1839-1861), who issued Tanzimat Firman
(1839), some changes were introduced in education:
1. Liquidation of illiteracy;
2. Education of all levels alongside with vocational education;
3. Education according to religion and world demands;
4. Opening of schools over the country.
This firman appears as the first official document, which considered different
levels of education as a whole, while emphasizing the necessity to expand public schools
outside Istanbul (Berker, 1945).
In 1869, according to the Regulation of General Education the school system
was to be graded. The system of education was organized into primary (sibyan schools
and rushdies), secondary (idadis and sultanis), and higher education (darülfünun). Article
27 of the Regulation declared the opening of women’s middle schools (inas rushdies)
while Article 9 made education in the Ottoman Empire compulsory. The document
stressed the promotion of secular knowledge, leaving religion to a secondary position,
and for the first time questioned the function of Sibyan schools as a necessary level of
religious education. This regulation remained in force, with some modifications, until
1913 (Çelenk, 2009).
In 1913 “Tedrisat-i iptidaye kanun-i muvakkat-i” (Provisional law of initial
education) was set up. With different names, that law was in place for a long time.
Primary education became obligatory. Junior (iptidaiyeler) and secondary (ruştyeler)
schools were united. New schools were opened. The duration of education in the new
schools was 6 years.
During the 19th century, since the 40s, there were several attempts to open a
university. The university which was opened in 1874 seemed to be more viable. It had
three graduations. However it was closed in 1880-81 by the Ministry of Education. In
1900, at 25th anniversary of Ascension of Abdul Hamid II Darülfünün Şahane was opened
with three faculties: 1. Literature; 2. Natural sciences; 3. Theology. Admission was
limited: only 25-30 students were accepted. All was under governmental control. After
overthrowing in 1908 the limitation of the student number was removed and education
became free of charge. Later universities became more independent financially and
administratively. There were already 5 faculties in Istanbul University. In 1914-1919
about 20 German professors, associate professors, and assistants were invited, who
brought technical equipment. After 1919 they were forced to leave Turkey. Science was
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Scientific Journal of International Black Sea University
also incorporated into universities. Instead of classes semesters were set up; faculties
were called. The females were accepted to universities starting in 1914. In 1917 females
were accepted to the medical faculties. In 1918 groups at the universities were mixed:
males and females studied together.
Education in the Republic of Turkey
I period: 1923-1982
a) mono-party politics
After the establishing of the Republic in 1923 Turkishness, as a top priority set
up on agenda, was viewed in Westernization, modernization, secularization and
alienation from the Islamic past and the rest of the Islamic world. In 1926 Kemalists
adopted the Gregorian calendar. Sunday was made a weekly holiday. In 1929 the
parliament passed a law introducing the new Turkish (Latin) alphabet. The “National
schools” were opened to teach a new alphabet to adults. One of the first laws was the law
about the unification of education – Tevhid-i Tedrisat, issued in 1924. Duality in the
educational system was suspended. The new law resolved unification of science and
education, subordinated all educational institutions to the Ministry of Education (Maarif
–i vekalet), the whole budget for education was assigned to the Ministry of Education.
According to the law issued on 3 March, 1924 madrasas (the total number 479)
were closed. Religious courses were deleted from the curricula at high schools in 1924, at
middle schools in 1927, and from urban and rural primary schools and teacher training
colleges in 1929 and 1930. Such a situation lasted till 1949. Instead of madrasas –
mektepe “school” became a symbol of Republic. In May 1933 Dar-ül-Fünün in Istanbul
was closed and was converted into the Istanbul University (the Istanbul University was
opened). Attention was paid to the training of teachers; independence in administration
of education and science; increasing of the budget of the university.
When the Law of the Unification of Education was accepted, some people
advocated that the Qur’anic courses had to be transferred to the Ministry of National
Education. However, the first President of Religious Affairs, Rıfat Börekçi, tried to open
new Qur’anic Courses instead of Daru’l Kurra. On 2 April 1925 with the endeavors of Rifat
Börekçi and upon the request of fifty deputies, the Turkish government allocated 50.00
Turkish Liras to the Qur’anic Courses for the aim of Qur’an memorization, “Hafiz-ı
Qur’an”. There were ten Qur’anic Courses between the years of 1925-1931, this number
dropped to nine in 1932-3 Later (1941-42), their numbers increased to 28. Here, the
important thing is not whether their numbers increased or decreased, but whether
Qur’anic Courses existed or not. In the academic year of 1934-1935, records show that
only one Qur’anic Course continued its educational activities. However, when the
democratic process began to appear, the numbers of the Qur’anic Courses began to
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Giuli ALASANIA & Nani GELOVANI
meaningfully increase (Baltacı, 1999).
Thus CHP (Republican Popular Party in times of mono-party politics) allowed
religious education out of schools, but under the state control. In 1928 the provision that
Islam was the religion of the state was deleted from the Constitution.
The six principles or arrows of the party (Republicanism, Nationalism, Populism,
Statism, Secularism, Revolutionism/Reformism) were adopted at the Third Party
Congress (1931) and later (1937) were placed in the Constitution, the amended Article 2
of which read: “The Turkish State is Republican, Nationalist, Populist, Statist, Secularist
and Revolutionary-Reformist.”
The most important – but at the same time vulnerable – was secularism in
general and secularism in education which is still disputable. Some scholars think that the
secularization process is not completed in Turkey. “A country cannot really be called
secular when it pays, every month, the salaries of 60000 imams and dictates the contents
of their weekly sermons at Friday prayers, sometimes down to the last word,” (It is
noteworthy that during the early years of the Republic this figure was around five
hundred) (Pope N., Pope H. 2004) that “Islam is the most controversial issue to divide the
Turkish republic“from 1923. On one side, there were educated people who accepted
secular agenda, and on the other side, there were uneducated people who lived in
villages and were believers.
Multi-party Politics
The Situation changed in times of the multi-party system (Democrat Party in
1946, Nation Party in 1948, Freedom Party in 1955). The winner of 1950, 1954 elections
– DP (Democrat Party) abolished the law prohibiting the use of the Arabic form of the call
to prayer (azan); radio and television broadcasting on religious issues was allowed.
Religious instruction in the public schools was restored upon the written
request of parents. The status of the religion courses in public schools was
constitutionally secured. The title of the course was “The culture of religion and
Knowledge of Ethics”. After a long debate on the political level, religious education in
public schools was introduced not only in primary schools (in 1949), but also in lower
secondary schools (in 1956) on a voluntary basis. President Inönü’s Republican Party also
authorized the creation of a Divinity Faculty (Theology) within Ankara University and the
training of imams (religious officials). The first Divinity Faculty in Turkey was established
within Ankara University on June 4, 1949. The aim of the Faculty was to conduct teaching
and research in the area of Islamic studies and religions in a scholarly way by making use
of the scientific methodologies.
During a parliamentary debate on 10 June 1949, Prime Minister Günaltay, a
former professor of Islamic theology, Republican People’s Party (RPP) chairman, angrily
defended his party’s religious credentials, declaring: “I am head of the government,
which inaugurated the teaching of religion in elementary schools. I am the head of the
government, which inaugurated in this country İmam Hatip courses, which teach
Muslims how to pray and how to wash the dead. I am head of the government, which
opened a Faculty of Theology” (Jenkins, 2008).
On 13, October, 1951 the government decided to open new religious schools.
The first schools known as “Imam-Hatip Schools” started to function in Ankara, Adana,
Istanbul, Isparta, Konya and Kayseri in 1951-52. The total number of students at these
schools was 876. Later, the number of students at these schools increased in parallel with
the increasing number of schools. Imam-Hatip Schools were opened as a four-year
secondary school, following a five-year primary school. Later, a three-year section for
high school was opened (Ocal, 2007). Some five thousand mosques were built between
1950 and 1960, approximately the same figure given by the National Ministry of
Education for the construction of new public schools in the same period. With the coming
of Democratic Party in the year 1949-1950, this number of Qur’anic courses increased.
Religious publications reappeared. Religious associations prohibited in 1938, began to be
founded.
The socialist Mehmed Ali Aybar noted: “This party which has boasted so far
about its revolutionism and secularism has found salvation by embracing religion at the
most critical juncture of its life” (Feroz, 2002). Menderes was even ready to restore
Caliphate, as he said in the Parliament. Nevertheless the country still was secular. The
universities were granted administrative autonomy. The press laws were liberalized.
However when the chief editor of the newspaper “Vatan” (the supporter of
secularism) was wounded, the government decided to forbid the interference of religion
in the state affairs and politics. In 1954 Nation Party was closed down for violating the
principles of secularism.
Military Coups and Education
In 1960, on May 27 military coup was carried out and Menderes government
was overthrown. “Desire to bring an end to the exploitation of religion for political and
private purposes” couldn’t be carried out. The second clause of the Constitution adopted
in 1961 stated that “No person shall be allowed to exploit and abuse religion or religious
feelings or sacred things in any manner whatsoever for the purposes of political or
personal benefit or for gaining power, or even partially basing the fundamental social,
economic, political and legal order of the state on religious ground”. However just from
1961 the spread of Islam among the people started and some scholars consider that as
the time as “Islamic revival”. Religious education was introduced in 1967 for upper
secondary school still on a voluntary basis. Anyway Islamists started to establish parties
only in the 70s.
The Presidency of Religious Affairs was set up in 1925, which was never closed
and controlled religious education in Turkey.
After several changes in the Law (1935, 1939, 1950, 1955) concerning the status
of the Presidency of Religious Affairs, a new law, Article 633, was enacted relating to its
establishment and duties on 22 June 1965. Item 7 of this new law gave the duty of
administration and executive powers of the Qur’anic Courses to the Presidency of
Religious Affairs in cooperation with the Ministry of National Education. In order to
execute its duties, the Presidency of Religious Affairs prepared “Special Instructions for
the Qur’anic Teaching Courses” in 1965. When the Justice Party came to power in 1965,
the number of the Qur’anic Courses began to increase very rapidly and reached 621 in
1966-67, 786 in 1971 when another military coup took place. The number of the Qur’anic
Courses continued to go up from that date. Their count became 1538 in the 1978-1979
academic year (Kilavuz, 2009).
The Faculty of Divinity of Ankara University has progressed several stages since
its establishment. The Faculty provided a four-year program until 1972-73. Between the
years 1972 and 1982, a five-year program was adopted with the last two years for
specialization in majors “Tafsir and Hadith” and “Theology and Philosophy.” In 1971,
Faculty of Islamic Sciences, Istanbul Higher Islamic Institute was established by the
Ministry of National Education. Following it, other similar institutes were established in
Konya, Kayseri, Izmir, Erzurum, Bursa, Samsun, and Yözgat (Yurdagul, 2007).
As a rule Islamic organizations supported center-right parties. In October 1972
the Islamists were allowed to form National Salvation Party (1972-81). The party’s goals
were: compulsory secondary education, including of religion in curricula, restoration of
Caliphate. Their voters were lower-middle class. The party (National Salvation Party) was
against of the Common Market and exhorted for closer relations with Muslim countries.
They believed that the Ottoman Empire was destroyed by Westernization process and
alienation from Islam. Regardless of their anti-secular agenda after the elections in 1973,
during the 70s Islamic parties were frequently in coalition with secularists (Bullent Ejevit,
Suleiman Demirel). As a result Islamists were promoted to the high positions and number
of mosques, or Imam-Hatip schools, courses of Qur’an or related personnel increased.
Two decisions of Education and Training have a positive effect on the future of
the Imam-Hatip Schools. One decision (number 632, November 28, 1975) recognized the
Imam-Hatip Schools’ equivalency to regular high school IHS diplomas since then having
read “Senior High and the Imam-Hatip Schools. Consequently, IHS graduates became
eligible for admission to national universities. The other decision (number 394, August
25, 1974) introduced Qur’an, Arabic language, and religion courses into the junior high
curriculum. Thus, the IHS junior high division was reinstated and IHS education was once
again a seven year program. In 1975, the course was extended to the third (last) grade of
the high schools. Since 1975, the IHS graduates have successfully entered diverse majors
in the national universities: Theology, Education, Economics, and Public Administration,
Engineering, Medicine, Law and Political Sciences.
Once again the military forces intervened in the processes in 1980, September
12. In fall, 1981 all political parties were closed down. In November, the Law on Higher
Education was adopted. Its main aim was purges of the universities from the leftists and
non-loyal elements.
II Period (1982-1995)
Article 24 of the new Constitution (1982) made religious education compulsory
in schools, thus deviated from the article 19 of the 1961 Constitution, according to which
religious instruction was optional. Article 24 of the new Constitution said: “Education and
instruction in religion and ethics (morals) shall be conducted under State supervision and
control. Instruction in religious culture and moral education shall be compulsory in the
curricula of primary and secondary schools. Other religious education and instruction
shall be subject to the individual’s own desire and the in case of minors, at the request of
their legal representatives”. Thus, like other courses, two credit hours from the fourth to
eighth grades and one credit course for high school students per week have become
compulsory. Religion teachers taught most of those courses. The title of the course was,
“The Culture of Religion and Knowledge of Ethics”.
That step was made for de-politicizing of population. It was stuck in
confrontation of left-right movements. The number of theocratic educational
institutions increased. 7 Imam-Hatib schools in 1951 multiplied to 384 in 1989. Natural
sciences were taught in a lyceum. But when lessons in English, History or Geography were
missed, religion was taught instead. Imams and Hatips got a permission to continue
education in universities.
By the Law of Higher Educational Council, in 1982, Is 2, Islamic institutes were made
as parts of the universities, which were located in the same cities, as the respective
Faculties of Divinity. New Divinity Schools continued to be established under the
administration of various universities. In the 1990s new faculties of theologies continued
to be opened and the number of these faculties reached 24.
After the military coup of 12 September 1980, the number of Qur’anic Courses increased regularly and reached 5241 in the academic year of 1996-1997. During this
time, not only did the number of the Qur’anic Courses increase but also the students
attending them. In 1989, according to the University Exam Centre statistics, 22% of IHS
(Imam-Hatip schools) applicants were admitted to Universities. The ratio of admission
was 22 % (21 male and female) compared with regular high school at 23% (excluding
private and special schools).
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