Uttman Empire

Running head : Influence of Ottoman

The Influence of Ottoman Empire to Secular Government of Turkey

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Abstract

Generally , Turkey was associated with the Ottoman Empire because of its long occupation in the country . The secular government was also held to be a legacy from the Ottoman Empire . However , through analysis of the historical background of Turkey , it can be said that Ottoman Empire did not contribute to the secularism in Turkey

Influence of Ottoman Empire in the Secular Government of Turkey

The history of

Turkey is said to be diverse because it has been influenced by various invaders and rulers , which include the Sea people Byzantine , and Ottoman Empire , among others . It has also shifted from various types of government system and ruled by different leaders with multiply religious attachments . Notably , the Byzantine Empire is founded on Christianity and the Ottoman Empire was an Islamist believer . After those experiences that Turkey had in the hands of different invaders , it did not cling to any form of governance that the invaders had in the past . The Ottoman Empire may have occupied Turkey for almost 600 years under Osman I , but it did not contribute to the present government system of Turkey . The secular government of Turkey came from Mustafa Kemal or Ataturk

The main characteristic of a secular government is the complete separation of the state and the church (MSN Encarta , 2008 ) which was not imposed during the reign of the Ottoman Empire . Under the authority of Sultan Osman I , the people were mandated to be loyal to their sultan and to Islam in to be accepted in the ruling class (Mitchelle , 1996 br

. 328 . In addition , the people were also required to follow the rules of the Ottoman Court (Mitchelle , 1996 ,

. 328 . Islam was propagated by the rulers and the people and has influenced the economic , political and social policy of the Sultan . Moreover , when the Ottomam Empire defeated the Byzantine Empire , the Sultan adopted various policies against the Christians . Furthermore , the reign of the Ottoman Empire was marked with massive corruption and grabbing of the empire 's wealth that eventually led to its downfall during World War I (Mitchelle , 1996 ,

br 328

After the downfall of Ottoman Empire , the Republic of Turkey was promulgated in 1923 and Mustafa Kemal Ataturk became its first president (Geothals et . al , 2004 ,

. 56 . Ataturk once served the Turkish military under the Ottoman Empire but had secretly founded the Young Turks movement which was a critic to the autocratic government of the Ottoman Empire (MSN Encarta , 2008 . It was Ataturk who envisioned Turkey as a modern and secular European state and enforced Kemalism to achieve this ends (MSN Encarta , 2008 . Kemalism of Ataturks involved populism reformism , statism , secularism , republicanism , and nationalism (Mitchelle , 1996 ,

. 328 . Moreover , Ataturk firmly believed in using your head and not religion ' as a guide for the future of Turkey which is different with the belief of the Ottoman (Geothals et . al , 2004 , p...