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 other influences, including religious ones.

Contents 1 History of Turkish nationalism 2 Modern Turkish nationalism 3 Anatolianism 4 See also 5 Notes 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External links

[edit] 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^[2] that the nationalistic leanings of the Young Turks, Enver Pasha in particular, is what led the Committee of Union and Progress to oversee mass arrests and deportations against the Armenians, Anatolia's largest non-Muslim Minority.

After the Fall of the Ottoman Empire, the reformer Mustafa Kemal Atatürk came to power. Atatürk spoke positively about the Pan-Turkic and he wanted to forge closer relationships with other Turkish states in Central Asia and the West. Atatürk introduced Hilaire de Barenton'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]

[edit] 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]

[edit] Anatolianism

Anatolianism (Turkish: Anadoluculuk) refers to the political view asserting that the Turkish people are descendents of indigenous population in Anatolia. Anatolianism is based in a historical and racial views celebrating the cultures and civilisations of the local ancestors. It was generated by some Turkish intellectuals in the early part of the 20th century, for whom the idea of a national identity, limited by geographical borders have played a significant role. Anatolianism embraces autochtony and the genealogical link between the modern Turks and the ancient peoples of the region. It became also an element in the process of nation-building in Turkey.^[8]

[edit] See also

• Grey Wolves
• Ergenekon network
• Genetic origins of the Turkish people
• Pan-Turkism
• Turkification

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Arman, Murat Necip. "The Sources Of Banality In Transforming Turkish Nationalism". CEU Political Science Journal, issue: 02 / 2007, pp. 133–151.
• Eissenstat, Howard. "Anatolianism: The History of a Failed Metaphor of Turkish Nationalism". Paper presented at Middle East Studies Association Conference, Washington, D.C., November 2002.
• Tachau, Frank. "The Search for National Identity among the Turks". Die Welt des Islams, New Series, Vol. 8, Issue 3 (1963), pp. 165–176.]

[edit] Further reading

• Çetin, Zafer M. (October 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. 

• Poulton, Hugh (May 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. 

• Uslu, Emrullah (March 2008). "Ulusalcılık: The Neo-nationalist Resurgence in Turkey". Turkish Studies 9 (1): 73–97. doi:10.1080/14683840701814018. 

[edit] External links

• Turanian Community Turanian Community
• Turkcu and Turanist Forum Turkish Nationalist Community