THE CASE OF THE RELATION BETWEEN RELIGION AND STATE IN TURKEY

The author discusses the specific relation between religion and state ill Turkey. In the first part of the paper some existing polemics concerning the (m)compatibility of Islam and democracy arc emphasized. The question, whether Islam is compatible with democratic forms of rule has raised a vigorous debate ill the Western academic and political circles. This question is currently gaining relevance as Turkey is approaching full membership ill the European Unroll. The author stresses the fact that democratic institutions have not been forced ill Turkey, but rather voluntarily adopted by the Turks themselves. Turkey, of all the Muslim countries, has had the longest history of close relations with the West. Apart from this, Turkey has adopted the "Western model" ill its political orientation and the Turkish experiment ill parliamentary democracy has lasted for over a century - much longer then in arty other country of the Islamic world. The paper proceeds with a presentation of variability and the peculiar character of Turkish Islam and its relation to the state. The Muslims ill Turkey confess their faith in various ways, some of which are "Orthodox" or standard and do riot vary ill time or among different countries or cultures. Other ways are characteristic of a certain culture. In the case of Turkey the intertwining of orthodox or standard religious practices with folk tradition has giver) rise to a peculiar form of Islam with some specific traits - the so called "Anatolian Islam". Regardless of the rich mosaic of various expressions of Islam ill Turkey including the Shia Islam, Alevism, Sufism etc., it is the Sunni Islam which has been perceived as the "orthodox" form of Islam ever since the Ottoman times. In the paper, special attention is paid to the analysis of Diyanet (Office for Religious Matters), which represents the highest Islamic authority ill the country and is a part of the state mechanism and the bureaucratic system. The largest conflicts between secular and religious standpoints ill Turkey are presented and it is demonstrated, that the problem of Islam in Turkey is not as much a problem of religion influencing the state, as it is a problem of the state influencing religion.