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Theocratic democracy (I)
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Some Islamist pundits have started a rather strange propaganda by assuming that the entire world is composed of some naïve people who can be easily deceived with some glaring words or through some obscure and obsessive impositions devoid of reason, logic and reality.
At the heart of the matter lies a search for an answer to the question: if there can be democracy based on theocratic principles or, to put it more boldly, a theocratic democracy. This is of course an attempt to dilute the "obsession" in some important sections of the Turkish society and the establishment that the sine qua non of democracy in a country with a predominantly Muslim population is the principle of secularism.
Does secularism mean a clear-cut separation of religion and state affairs in the French sense of "laicité," or do we have a secularist understanding that enables our state to "regulate" religious affairs through a special agency that enjoys almost absolute power over all mosques and imams and that can even dictate the topic of Friday sermons?
Sui generis secularism
We have to be clear: If the system in Turkey could be described as "secularist" it must be a sui generis form of secularism because it is neither like French laicism nor like American secularism, under which church and state are totally separate and where there is full religious freedom - to an extent envied by fundamentalists all over the world - and it is up to the discretion of the individual to let religion guide one's life, or not.
In Turkey, we have a Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet) that, in a way, represents the "dominance of state over religion" or the "state Islam" which enjoys - at least in theory - almost a full monopoly as the legitimate form of the Muslim faith practiced in the country. Of course, the practice of "state Islam" regulated by the Religious Affairs Directorate has been a contentious subject because it fails to include schools of Islam other than the Sunni Hanefi sect. In particular, it does not include the country's Alawite community, which constitutes an estimated one-fifth of the overall population of over 70 million, and it totally neglects the non-Muslim religions. Still, the Religious Affairs Directorate, which is affiliated with the Prime Ministry via a state minister in the Cabinet, is the sole authority to regulate religious affairs in the country. By law, it coordinates the building of mosques as well as the training and appointment of imams, although imams are selected either from graduates of university theological faculties or are educated by the directorate through cooperation with the Education Ministry.
Though the Religious Affairs Directorate is a republican establishment, this peculiar situation in Turkey, as a philosophy and as a tradition, predates the establishment of the republic, and it is perhaps one of Turkey's important sui generis assets that helped it to become the first and only secular democracy among Muslim nations. Of course, a reform of the Religious Affairs Directorate that will make it "all inclusive" will further expand the crucial role it has played in blocking - ever since its establishment - a possible Islamist fundamentalist threat. The Turkish case must be taken as an example for reforming the Muslim world, particularly in light of the fact that in other Muslim states the government finances, certifies and supervises mosques but cannot stop underground radical Islamist movements.
Still, it is obvious that there is indeed no secularism application in Turkey in the sense that exists in the Christian world. Indeed, what exists in Turkey is a sui-generis secularism concept that more or less could best be described as, "rather than Islam impose itself on the state let the state control the religion." While this concept should indeed be replaced with a universal description of secularism inclusive of all religions and beliefs, an examination of democracy, religion and secularism in a Muslim culture would clearly demonstrate that none of these terms could be applied "copy and paste" into the established perceptions of the Christian culture.
The main fundamental difference between Islam and Christianity in this regard was the more than three centuries long, painful enlightenment process the Christian societies went through. As a result, Christianity managed to develop some sort of a secular understanding within itself. Islamic culture was not allowed to accomplish that transformation.
I will continue on this subject tomorrow also.
Does secularism mean a clear-cut separation of religion and state affairs in the French sense of "laicité," or do we have a secularist understanding that enables our state to "regulate" religious affairs through a special agency that enjoys almost absolute power over all mosques and imams and that can even dictate the topic of Friday sermons?
Sui generis secularism
We have to be clear: If the system in Turkey could be described as "secularist" it must be a sui generis form of secularism because it is neither like French laicism nor like American secularism, under which church and state are totally separate and where there is full religious freedom - to an extent envied by fundamentalists all over the world - and it is up to the discretion of the individual to let religion guide one's life, or not.
In Turkey, we have a Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet) that, in a way, represents the "dominance of state over religion" or the "state Islam" which enjoys - at least in theory - almost a full monopoly as the legitimate form of the Muslim faith practiced in the country. Of course, the practice of "state Islam" regulated by the Religious Affairs Directorate has been a contentious subject because it fails to include schools of Islam other than the Sunni Hanefi sect. In particular, it does not include the country's Alawite community, which constitutes an estimated one-fifth of the overall population of over 70 million, and it totally neglects the non-Muslim religions. Still, the Religious Affairs Directorate, which is affiliated with the Prime Ministry via a state minister in the Cabinet, is the sole authority to regulate religious affairs in the country. By law, it coordinates the building of mosques as well as the training and appointment of imams, although imams are selected either from graduates of university theological faculties or are educated by the directorate through cooperation with the Education Ministry.
Though the Religious Affairs Directorate is a republican establishment, this peculiar situation in Turkey, as a philosophy and as a tradition, predates the establishment of the republic, and it is perhaps one of Turkey's important sui generis assets that helped it to become the first and only secular democracy among Muslim nations. Of course, a reform of the Religious Affairs Directorate that will make it "all inclusive" will further expand the crucial role it has played in blocking - ever since its establishment - a possible Islamist fundamentalist threat. The Turkish case must be taken as an example for reforming the Muslim world, particularly in light of the fact that in other Muslim states the government finances, certifies and supervises mosques but cannot stop underground radical Islamist movements.
Still, it is obvious that there is indeed no secularism application in Turkey in the sense that exists in the Christian world. Indeed, what exists in Turkey is a sui-generis secularism concept that more or less could best be described as, "rather than Islam impose itself on the state let the state control the religion." While this concept should indeed be replaced with a universal description of secularism inclusive of all religions and beliefs, an examination of democracy, religion and secularism in a Muslim culture would clearly demonstrate that none of these terms could be applied "copy and paste" into the established perceptions of the Christian culture.
The main fundamental difference between Islam and Christianity in this regard was the more than three centuries long, painful enlightenment process the Christian societies went through. As a result, Christianity managed to develop some sort of a secular understanding within itself. Islamic culture was not allowed to accomplish that transformation.
I will continue on this subject tomorrow also.
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