Secularist Islam in Turkey
...efore, any religion can not have an impact on governmental issues (Arat, 2000). Similarly, the perspective of secularism is the same in developed countries. That is, the church and the state have totally independent domains and do not interfere in each other’s work. Many anti secularist people complain about human rights, especially about the headscarf issue. The headscarf issue is an important issue because the political debate continued long in Turkey. Islamists argue that female students should be allowed into universities with their headscarves. For instance, students in universities can not attend their lectures because they wear a scarf. The students have to show their identification card to register for classes and the university staff removes their scarves when the photographs are taken and this violates their religious principles. As in the example, Islamists put forward the personal choices issue together with the human rights issue. People who are secularist never want to violate human rights of people because of secularism. Although most people in Turkey are Muslim, Turkey has chosen to be a secular country since Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s revolution in 1924. Consequently, many people agree with secularism in Turkey. Secularist people think that secularism and religion can go together in balance. If people perceive religion with very conservative traditions, it may be difficult for it to go along with secularism. On the other hand, if secularism is interpreted too rigidly i.e. if it is equated with atheism, as many rationalist do, then also the two will find it difficult to go together. According to secularists, secularism does not mean atheism. Because the citizens of Turkey are free to believe what they want, no adaptation can be brought by the government to daily life according to one religion. In addition, secularist people support the prohibition of the headscarves in universities and in governmental places. Many secularist people know that the complain for the headscarf issue is not just human rights. The issue is not just related to everybody can enter everywhere how they want. There are some symbols that directly affect the democratic regime of Turkey. Because anti-secularist people are aware of the attitudes...