The creation of a Turkey national idendity and the implications for relationships with non Turkish minorities, with a special focus on the possitions of the Kurds.

Running Head : Turkey : National Identity

TURKISH NATIONAL IDENTITY AND KURDS : THE PROBLEM CONTINUES

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TURKISH NATIONAL IDENTITY AND KURDS : THE PROBLEM CONTINUES

The modern Turkey is a representation of dynamism and modernism that was achieved in a very small time despite the situation of ruins that governed the new nation . This nation , Turkey , has become shining example of a nation that was born from the ashes of an Empire plagued with multiple internal and external attacks . Turkey therefore , became an epitome for the ethnic minorities

as well as the modern face of Islam However , very soon , Turkey was not able to keep up with the image that it had posed in front of the world , and tensions started to develop While Ataturk 's plan for unity under one language was well intended , he did not understand the richness and the variety of ethnic differences that were part of his nation and that were integrated into his country The loss of cultural heritage and ethnic expression suddenly gripped those who were the minority . The Turks became more aggressive in containing their country and establishing their culture as the set of values . The introduction of secularism suddenly replaced centuries of Sharia that marked the Ottoman Empire . Where as in the Ottoman Empire the minorities were the subjects , in the new state , they were suddenly a reprehensible existence that must be erased or beaten to silence . Many chose the later , and decided to integrate themselves into the new Turkish governance . This in many ways protected them or at least prevented any persecution . However , some did not like the turn of events and therefore started to raise voices against the secular trends as well as the stifling of the religious as well as ethnic expression that was the central part of the Turkish emp9ire . The result is that many of the minorities of the region are now starved of identity of their own . While still accepting the laws and ethnic values of the Turks , they remain fish out of water . Current ethnic minorities in Turkey still look for a national identity that is not Turk by nature , and that encompasses their beliefs and their individuality as well

Among these minorities , perhaps the most harmed and hurt of all is the Kurd minority , a nation which to this day exists with out a state of its own . The Kurd minority suffered a great deal during the transition from the Ottoman Empire to the Turkey Republic formation , and then through the consecutive years of the Turkish government . The struggle for autonomy and national identity remains for these people till today and many Kurds are now beginning to express their views about how they should be treated in the Turkish republic

The aim of this piece is to highlight the key historical events that have influenced the creation of the identity gap that is so prominent in the Turkish nation these days especially in the minorities The thesis will look into the...