A tale of two Turkeys: Society torn between religion and secularism

Turkey is torn between the deeply secular heritage of its founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and the state religion now promoted by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The government is trying to impose its views through psychological pressure and a revised educational curriculum, but is meeting strong resistance. Our Istanbul correspondent Shona Bhattacharyya reports.

Subscribe to France 24 now:

FRANCE 24 live news stream: all the latest news 24/7

Visit our website:

Subscribe to our YouTube channel:

Like us on Facebook:

Follow us on Twitter:

[kingbaba]

If this guy is a really historian, you can call me Herodotus.

[rossellinirossicalrossc]

“Can you separate being a Turk from being a Muslim”... I think that was the whole point of Ataturk... 🤔

[loveielts]

Turkish people should visit Pakistan to see what happens when you Islamify your country. Pakistan was making leaps and bounds in the 60's under a secular Ayub Khan, our Mustafa Kemal. Turkey's success has been built on Secularism and should maintain that otherwise Erdogan will drive them back into the Stone Age.

[EEE-tteg]

i was a religious guy and this government made me an atheist

[hakanozaslan]

I am Turkish, I am a Muslim and I think it was wrong to revert the Hagia Sophia/Ayia Sofya back into a mosque! It stands for the history of Greece and Turkey and should remain a place of culture for either peoples memory! I would even go so far to let Greek Orthodox ppl to celebrate their holidays in it and let Muslims do the same in our holidays!

[princeobayemidaniels]

Who else think that historian is not making sense

[berkadsiz]

Turkey is a secular country and nobody has a power to change it. Turkey and its citizens are bigger than a party. West needs to know that Turkish Republic has never been an Islamic country and will not be as long as the youth of Turkey lives. Also, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his ideology are written in our hearts deeply.

[Yorosero]

"Can you separate Turk from muslim?" Err . . . yes you can. These people are fanatics.

[yasoka]

we are secular Turks. We are many but our voices are not heard.

[mikeylejan]

Huge respect to Ataturk father of modern Turkey. A lot of women and men in Turkey today credit him for giving them the chance to think and decide for their lives.

[orikane]

"Can you separate Turk from Muslim?" *me while watching* "YES YOU CAN!"

[chan-yeol]

Muslim in minority - We want secularism ...
Muslim in majority - We want shariya ..

[farouqomaro]

In a secular society, all religions are freely practised and everyone is treated equal. In a religious society, there are curbs on certain religions or sects and people of some religions are treated better than others. Turkey is going down the wrong path.

[statarofortress]

Pretty sure that pothead is not a historian.

[joannevardakis]

That’s not true, I am not muslim and I was in turkey, and lots of foreigners were inside. Some of them even wearing shoes inside. I was surprised that, no one said anything.

[hirakk]

India and Turkey are same, one try to erase the man who modernised Turkey and other is trying hard erase Gandhi . Both ruling party using religion to rule over people.

[samuelbcn]

Secularism is the only way believers and non believers can live in peace. It doesn't have to be extreme secularism, but a state should be broadly secular.

[davidbak]

As a secular, left-leaning liberal Turk, the situation in Turkey makes me anxious.
There are millions of turks who vote for secular parties and I fully support them.
Political and Radical Islam are a global threat, we need to unite and make the population aware that only secularism and liberal democracies can guarantee human rights and equality/freedom for all.

[axb]

Hello Osman,
I prayed as a Christian in there in 2018 and was so happy to see tourists all over. HS is a heritage for everyone

[besimyucel]

turkey, even the strong muslims have had enough of the president. He will most likely lose the next election, and as of now he lost Ankara and Istanbul