Ziya Gökalp
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Mehmet Ziya Gökalp (born Mehmed Ziya, 23 March 1876 – 25 October 1924) was a Turkish sociologist, writer, poet, and politician. After the 1908
Young Turk Revolution The Young Turk Revolution (July 1908; ) was a constitutionalist revolution in the Ottoman Empire. Revolutionaries belonging to the Internal Committee of Union and Progress, an organization of the Young Turks movement, forced Sultan Abdul Hamid II ...
that reinstated constitutionalism in the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
, he adopted the pen name Gökalp ("celestial hero"), which he retained for the rest of his life. As a sociologist, Ziya Gökalp was influential in the negation of
Islamism Islamism is a range of religious and political ideological movements that believe that Islam should influence political systems. Its proponents believe Islam is innately political, and that Islam as a political system is superior to communism ...
,
pan-Islamism Pan-Islamism () is a political movement which advocates the unity of Muslims under one Islamic country or state – often a caliphate – or an international organization with Islamic principles. Historically, after Ottomanism, which aimed at ...
, and
Ottomanism Ottomanism or ''Osmanlılık'' (, . ) was a concept which developed prior to the 1876–1878 First Constitutional Era of the Ottoman Empire. Its proponents believed that it could create the Unity of the Peoples, , needed to keep religion-based ...
as ideological, cultural, and sociological identifiers. In a 1936 publication, sociologist Niyazi Berkes described Gökalp as "the real founder of Turkish sociology, since he was not a mere translator or interpreter of foreign sociology". Gökalp's work was particularly influential in shaping the
reforms Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...
of
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish field marshal and revolutionary statesman who was the founding father of the Republic of Turkey, serving as its first President of Turkey, president from 1923 until Death an ...
; his influence figured prominently in the development of Kemalism, and its legacy in the modern
Republic of Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
. Influenced by contemporary European thought, particularly by the sociological view of
Émile Durkheim David Émile Durkheim (; or ; 15 April 1858 – 15 November 1917) was a French Sociology, sociologist. Durkheim formally established the academic discipline of sociology and is commonly cited as one of the principal architects of modern soci ...
, Gökalp rejected both the Ottomanism and
Islamism Islamism is a range of religious and political ideological movements that believe that Islam should influence political systems. Its proponents believe Islam is innately political, and that Islam as a political system is superior to communism ...
in favor of
Turkish nationalism Turkish nationalism () is nationalism among the people of Turkey and individuals whose national identity is Turkish. Turkish nationalism consists of political and social movements and sentiments prompted by a love for Turkish culture, Turkish ...
.Moaddel, Mansoor. (2005). ''Islamic Modernism, Nationalism, and Fundamentalism. Episode and Discourse''. Chicago, Il:
University of Chicago Press The University of Chicago Press is the university press of the University of Chicago, a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is the largest and one of the oldest university presses in the United States. It pu ...
, p. 157, .
He advocated a
Turkification Turkification, Turkization, or Turkicization () describes a shift whereby populations or places receive or adopt Turkic attributes such as culture, language, history, or ethnicity. However, often this term is more narrowly applied to mean specif ...
of the Ottoman Empire, by promoting
Turkish language Turkish ( , , also known as 'Turkish of Turkey') is the most widely spoken of the Turkic languages, a member of Oghuz languages, Oghuz branch with around 90 million speakers. It is the national language of Turkey and one of two official languag ...
and
culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...
to all Ottoman citizenry. He found
Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...
,
Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...
and
Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
to be an undesirable foreign body in the national Turkish state. His thought, which popularized
Pan-Turkism Pan-Turkism () or Turkism () is a political movement that emerged during the 1880s among Turkic intellectuals who lived in the Russian region of Kazan (Tatarstan), Caucasus Viceroyalty (1801–1917), South Caucasus (modern-day Azerbaijan) and th ...
and
Turanism Turanism, also known as Turanianism, pan-Turanism or pan-Turanianism, is a Pan-nationalism, pan-nationalist political movement built around Pseudoscience, pseudoscientific claims of mongoloid, biological and Altaic, linguistic connections betwee ...
, has been described as a "cult of nationalism and modernization". His nationalist ideals espoused a de-identification with Ottoman Turkey's nearby Arab neighbors, instead advocating for a super-national Turkish (or pan- Turkic) identity with "a territorial Northeast-orientation oTurkic peoples".


Early life

Mehmet Ziya was born in
Diyarbakır Diyarbakır is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, it is ...
of the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
on 23 March 1876 to Muhammad Tefvik Bey and Zeliha Hanım. He was the second son of the family. He, specifically his maternal family, was of Kurdish origin by some sources. Ziya described his paternal family as
Syrian Turkmen Syrian Turkmen, also called Syrian Turks or Syrian Turkish people (; ) are Syrian citizens of Turkish origin who mainly trace their roots to Anatolia (i.e. modern Turkey). Turkish-speaking Syrian Turkmen make up the third largest ethnic group ...
. His father was an Ottoman bureaucrat and responsible for publishing the Salname of Diyarbakır. He had a close relationship with his uncle, who would have liked to have seen Ziya marry his daughter. His uncle was religious and opposed Ziya's interactions with Abdullah Cevdet, who was an atheist. Diyarbakır was a "cultural frontier", having been ruled by
Arabs Arabs (,  , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...
and
Persians Persians ( ), or the Persian people (), are an Iranian ethnic group from West Asia that came from an earlier group called the Proto-Iranians, which likely split from the Indo-Iranians in 1800 BCE from either Afghanistan or Central Asia. They ...
until the 16th century, and featuring "conflicting national traditions" among the local populations of Turks,
Kurds Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...
, and
Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...
.Parla, Taha. ''The Social and Political Thought of Ziya Gökalp''. 1980, p10. This cultural environment has often been suggested to have informed his sense of national identity; later in his life, when political detractors suggested that he was of Kurdish extraction, Gökalp responded that while he was certain of
patrilineal Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritanc ...
Turkish racial heritage, this was insignificant: "I learned through my sociological studies that nationality is based solely on upbringing." Gökalp attempted suicide in early 1895 after an existential crisis caused by his discovery of materialism. Cevdet, who was a doctor, rescued him, which he would lament later as Gökalp became a Turkist ideologue. After attending primary and secondary education in Diyarbakır, he settled in Istanbul, in 1895. There, he attended
veterinary school Veterinary education is the tertiary education of veterinarians. To become a veterinarian, one must first complete a degree in veterinary medicine Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM, V.M.D., BVS, BVSc, BVMS, BVM etc.). In the United States and C ...
and became involved in underground revolutionary nationalist politics for which he served ten months in prison.Parla, Taha. ''The Social and Political Thought of Ziya Gokalp''. 1980, page 12. He developed relationships with many figures of the revolutionary underground in this period, abandoned his veterinary studies, and became a member of the underground revolutionary group, the
Committee of Union and Progress The Ottoman Committee of Union and Progress (CUP, also translated as the Society of Union and Progress; , French language, French: ''Union et Progrès'') was a revolutionary group, secret society, and political party, active between 1889 and 1926 ...
(CUP).


Career

The revolutionary currents of
Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
at the time were extremely varied; the unpopularity of the
Abdul Hamid II Abdulhamid II or Abdul Hamid II (; ; 21 September 184210 February 1918) was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1876 to 1909, and the last sultan to exert effective control over the fracturing state. He oversaw a Decline and modernizati ...
regime had by this time awakened diverse revolutionary sentiment in Constantinople. He inaugurated the first CUP office in Diyarbakır in July 1908. In September 1909 he moved to Selanik, where he became a member of the CUP Central Committee in 1910. There he cofounded a literary and cultural journal, ''
Genç Kalemler ''Genç Kalemler'' (Ottoman Turkish: ''Young Pens'') was an Ottoman literary and cultural magazine which was one of the earliest nationalist publications in the Ottoman Empire. Murat Belge describes it as a pan-Turkist publication. It was publi ...
''. While residing in Salonika,
Talaat Pasha Mehmed Talât (1 September 187415 March 1921), commonly known as Talaat Pasha or Talat Pasha, was an Ottoman Young Turk activist, revolutionary, politician, and convicted war criminal who served as the leader of the Ottoman Empire from 191 ...
was often a guest in his house, where they delved into political discussions. It was also during his stay in Selanik that he began using the penname Gökalp and his future role within the CUP was to be determined. In 1912, he moved back to Constantinople, as did the CUP. Gökalp was one of the regular contributors of the political magazine '' İslam Mecmuası'' from 1914 to 1918 and the military journal '' Harp Mecmuası'' between 1915 and 1918. After
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, he was arrested for his involvement in the Committee of Union and ProgressChalk, Frank and Jonassohn, Kurt. ''The History and Sociology of Genocide: Analyses and Case Studies''. page 249. and exiled to Malta for two years between 1919 and 1921. While exiled on Malta, he continued to write and consolidate his ideas and drafted his ''Principles of Turkism'', published in 1923. He returned to
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
in the spring of 1921, but was not given back his chair at the University of Istanbul. He settled in his hometown of Diyarbakır where he taught sociology and psychology at a secondary school and teacher's seminary. He began publishing a small weekly newsletter, ''Küçük Mecmua'', which slowly became influential and led to contributions in the major daily newspapers of Istanbul and Ankara. At the end of 1922, Gökalp was invited to direct the department of publication and translation at the
Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
. He was selected to serve as a member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey until his death in 1924, and he served on the Committee for Education which reformed the school system, curriculum and textbooks according to his guidance. He emphasized that the education provided should include Turkism, Modernism and
Islamism Islamism is a range of religious and political ideological movements that believe that Islam should influence political systems. Its proponents believe Islam is innately political, and that Islam as a political system is superior to communism ...
. Besides Turkish culture and language, he advocated for the inclusion of Persian and Arabic language, the
Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
and mathematics, physics and some European languages in the curriculum. Additionally, he participated in the drafting of the 1924 constitution. Ziya Gökalp was the owner of land which included 5 villages in the northeast of Diyarbakır.


Personal life and death

Ziya Gökalp was married, and his daughter was named
Hürriyet ''Hürriyet'' (, ''Liberty'') is a major List of newspapers in Turkey, Turkish newspaper, founded in 1948. it had the highest circulation of any newspaper in Turkey at around 319,000. ''Hürriyet'' combines entertainment with news coverage and ...
as a reference to the revolution of the Committee of Union and Progress in 1908. He died on 25 October 1924 in
Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
, where he went to rest after a short illness in 1924.


Ideology

Gökalp's work, in the context of the
decline of the Ottoman Empire In the 18th century, the Ottoman Empire faced threats on numerous frontiers from multiple industrialised European powers as well as internal instabilities. Outsider influence, rise of nationalism and internal corruption demanded the Empire to lo ...
, was instrumental in the development of Turkish national identity, which he himself referred to even then as '' Turkishness''. He believed that a nation must have a "shared consciousness" in order to survive, that "the individual becomes a genuine personality only as he becomes a genuine representative of his culture". He believed that a modern state must become homogeneous in terms of culture, religion, and national identity.Akcam, Taner. ''A Shameful Act''. 2006, page 88. This conception of national identity was augmented by his belief in the primacy of Turkishness, as a unifying virtue. In a 1911 article, he suggested that "Turks are the ' supermen' imagined by the German philosopher
Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche became the youngest pro ...
".His major sociological work was interested in differentiating ''Avrupalılık'' ("Europeanism", the mimicking of Western societies) and ''Modernlik'' ("Modernity", taking initiative); he was interested in
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
as a model in this, for what he perceived to be its having modernized without abandoning its innate cultural identity. Gökalp suggested that to subordinate "culture" (non-utilitarianism, altruism, public-spiritedness) to "civilization" (utilitarianism, egoism, individualism) was to doom a state to decline: "civilization destroyed societal solidarity and morality".Parla, Taha. ''The Social and Political Thought of Ziya Gökalp''. 1980, page 31. Informed by his reading of
Émile Durkheim David Émile Durkheim (; or ; 15 April 1858 – 15 November 1917) was a French Sociology, sociologist. Durkheim formally established the academic discipline of sociology and is commonly cited as one of the principal architects of modern soci ...
, Gökalp concluded that Western liberalism, as a social system, was inferior to solidarism, because liberalism encouraged individualism, which in turn diminished the integrity of the state. Durkheim, whose work Gökalp himself translated into Turkish, perceived religion as a means of unifying a population socially, and even "religion as society's worship of itself".Yilmaz, Ihsan. ''Muslim Laws, Politics And Society In Modern Nation States''. 2005, page 101. Durkheim's assertion that the life of the group was more important than the life of the individual, this was a concept readily adopted by Gökalp. A well-known newspaper columnist and political figure, Gökalp was a primary ideologue of the
Committee of Union and Progress The Ottoman Committee of Union and Progress (CUP, also translated as the Society of Union and Progress; , French language, French: ''Union et Progrès'') was a revolutionary group, secret society, and political party, active between 1889 and 1926 ...
. His views of "nation", and the ways in which they have informed the development of the modern Turkish state, have made for a controversial legacy. Many historians and sociologists have suggested that his brand of nationalism contributed to the
Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...
.Hovannisian, Richard G. ''The Armenian Genocide in Perspective''. 1986, page 77. His conception of nation was of a "social solidarity" that necessitated "cultural unity".Parla, Taha. ''The Social and Political Thought of Ziya Gökalp''. 1980, page 36. "Geographic nationalism", in which everyone living under one political system was a part of the nation, was unacceptable to Gökalp, who conceived of a nation as linguistically and culturally unified. Finally, merely to believe one was a part of a nation, this was not enough, either; one cannot choose to belong to the nation, in his view, as membership in the nation is involuntary.


''The Principles of Turkism''

His 1923 ''The Principles of Turkism'', published just a year prior to his death, outlines the expansive nationalist identity he had long popularized in his teachings and poetry. The nationalism he espouses entails "a nation
hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...
is not a racial or ethnic or geographic or political or volitional group but one composed of individuals who share a common language, religion, morality, and aesthetics, that is to say, who have received the same education".Landau, Jacob M. ''Pan-Turkism: From Irredentism to Cooperation''. page 38. He proceeds to lay out the three echelons of pan-Turkist identity that he envisions: * the Turks in the Republic of Turkey, a nation according to cultural and other criteria; * the
Oghuz Turks The Oghuz Turks ( Middle Turkic: , ) were a western Turkic people who spoke the Oghuz branch of the Turkic language family. In the 8th century, they formed a tribal confederation conventionally named the Oghuz Yabgu State in Central Asia ...
, referring also to the Turkmens of
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
,
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
and
Khwarizm Khwarazm (; ; , ''Xwârazm'' or ''Xârazm'') or Chorasmia () is a large oasis region on the Amu Darya river delta in western Central Asia, bordered on the north by the (former) Aral Sea, on the east by the Kyzylkum Desert, on the south by t ...
who... essentially have one common culture which is the same as that of the Turks of Turkey—all these four forming Oghuzistan; * more distant, Turkic-speaking peoples, such as the
Yakuts The Yakuts or Sakha (, ; , ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to North Siberia, primarily the Republic of Sakha in the Russian Federation. They also inhabit some districts of the Krasnoyarsk Krai. They speak Yakut, which belongs to the Si ...
, Kirghiz,
Uzbeks The Uzbeks () are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia, being among the largest Turkic ethnic groups in the area. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, next to Kazakhs, Kazakh and Karakalpaks, Karakalpak ...
,
Kipchaks The Kipchaks, also spelled Qipchaqs, known as Polovtsians (''Polovtsy'') in Russian annals, were Turkic nomads and then a confederation that existed in the Middle Ages inhabiting parts of the Eurasian Steppe. First mentioned in the eighth cent ...
and
Tatars Tatars ( )Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary
are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...
, possessed of a traditional linguistic and ethnic unity, having affinity—but not identity—with the Turkish culture. The second stage was "Oghuzism", and the final stage would be the "
Turanism Turanism, also known as Turanianism, pan-Turanism or pan-Turanianism, is a Pan-nationalism, pan-nationalist political movement built around Pseudoscience, pseudoscientific claims of mongoloid, biological and Altaic, linguistic connections betwee ...
" that he and other nationalist poets had been promoting since before World War I. While this broad conception of "Turkishness", of pan-Turkism, often embraced what Gökalp perceived to be ethnic commonality, he did not disparage other races, as some of his pan-Turkist successors later did.Landau, Jacob M. ''Pan-Turkism: From Irredentism to Cooperation''. page 184. Stating that the
Turkic peoples Turkic peoples are a collection of diverse ethnic groups of West Asia, West, Central Asia, Central, East Asia, East, and North Asia as well as parts of Europe, who speak Turkic languages.. "Turkic peoples, any of various peoples whose members ...
in old ages were both feminists and democrats, he said that the Pan-Turkism movement and
feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...
were born together. He based its origins by referring to
Shamanism Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with the spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritual energies into ...
. He described his
anti-war An anti-war movement is a social movement in opposition to one or more nations' decision to start or carry on an armed conflict. The term ''anti-war'' can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conf ...
attitude on the grounds that the gods of
Turkic mythology Turkic mythology refers to myths and legends told by the Turkic people. It features Tengrism, Tengrist and Shamanism in Central Asia, Shamanist strata of belief along with many other social and cultural constructs related to the nomadic and wa ...
were also the gods of peace and tranquility.


Turkification, Islamization and Westernization

For Gökalp the end of the Ottoman Empire marked the end of Pan-Islamism for Turks, who then should concentrate on nationalism but without rejecting their Islamic heritage, which was an integral part of the Turkish identity, nor Western modernity, which he deemed necessary for Turks to compete with other major geopolitical powers, ultimately for Gökalp Turkification, Islamization and Westernization were all legitimate interconnected phenomena as "these three components of the Turkish nation were both complementary and distinct from each other", as Ahmet Seyhun writes before summarizing Gökalp's position: "By Turkifying their culture, the Turks would return to their ancestral ethnic norms. By Islamization, they declare their loyalty to their religion, Islam. Moreover, the author argues that their nationality and their religion would not prevent the Turks to be a part of the
Western civilization Western culture, also known as Western civilization, European civilization, Occidental culture, Western society, or simply the West, refers to the internally diverse culture of the Western world. The term "Western" encompasses the social no ...
."


Sufism

Alp Eren Topal, a scholar from
Bilkent University Bilkent University () is a private non-profit research university located in Ankara, Turkey. It was founded by İhsan Doğramacı, the first president of the Council of Higher Education and the head of the prominent Doğramacı family, with th ...
, while trying to showcase the originality of Gökalp, and not as someone who only "repeated" European ideas, also talks of the much-neglected influence of
Sufism Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...
on the thinker: being "a big influence throughout his education and growth", he lauded its "military" lexicon and came to admire the solidarity found in the Sufi orders, "particularly the
Naqshbandiyya Naqshbandi (Persian: نقشبندیه) is a major Sufi order within Sunni Islam, named after its 14th-century founder, Baha' al-Din Naqshband. Practitioners, known as Naqshbandis, trace their spiritual lineage (silsila) directly to the Prophe ...
", which not only had spiritual influence, but also a role in the modernization of the Ottoman Empire, while he also appreciated the
metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of ...
of medieval Andalusian thinker
Ibn 'Arabi Ibn Arabi (July 1165–November 1240) was an Andalusian Sunni scholar, Sufi mystic, poet, and philosopher who was extremely influential within Islamic thought. Out of the 850 works attributed to him, some 700 are authentic, while over 400 ar ...
, saying that his
idealism Idealism in philosophy, also known as philosophical realism or metaphysical idealism, is the set of metaphysics, metaphysical perspectives asserting that, most fundamentally, reality is equivalent to mind, Spirit (vital essence), spirit, or ...
, as system of thought, was superior to that of
George Berkeley George Berkeley ( ; 12 March 168514 January 1753), known as Bishop Berkeley (Bishop of Cloyne of the Anglican Church of Ireland), was an Anglo-Irish philosopher, writer, and clergyman who is regarded as the founder of "immaterialism", a philos ...
or
Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (born Emanuel Kant; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German Philosophy, philosopher and one of the central Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works ...
– who, he says, recycled ideas already known to Ibn 'Arabi, but without taking them too far –, and, far from being "
Gnosticism Gnosticism (from Ancient Greek language, Ancient Greek: , Romanization of Ancient Greek, romanized: ''gnōstikós'', Koine Greek: Help:IPA/Greek, nostiˈkos 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems that coalesced ...
-
mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute (philosophy), Absolute, but may refer to any kind of Religious ecstasy, ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or Spirituality, spiritual meani ...
or
pantheism Pantheism can refer to a number of philosophical and religious beliefs, such as the belief that the universe is God, or panentheism, the belief in a non-corporeal divine intelligence or God out of which the universe arisesAnn Thomson; Bodies ...
", his ideas were pretty contemporary, resonating with those of moderns like Alfred Fouillée,
Jean-Marie Guyau Jean-Marie Guyau (28 October 1854 – 31 March 1888) was a French philosopher and poet. Guyau was inspired by the philosophies of Epicurus, Epictetus, Plato, Immanuel Kant, Herbert Spencer, and Alfred Fouillée, and the poetry and literature ...
,
Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche became the youngest pro ...
, and
William James William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher and psychologist. The first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States, he is considered to be one of the leading thinkers of the late 19th c ...
, concluding that "in all its progression idealist philosophy has not surpassed 'Arabî’s absolute and perfect idealism".


Poetic works

In addition to his sociological and political career, Gökalp was also a prolific poet. His poetic work served to complement and popularize his sociological and nationalist views. In style and content, it revived a sense of pre-
Islamic Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
Turkish identity. The protagonist in his ''Kızılelma'', the "ideal woman",Karpat, Kemal H. ''Ottoman Past and Today's Turkey''. 2000, page 235. suggests: "The people is like a garden, / we are supposed to be its gardeners! / First the bad shoots are to be cut / and then the scion is to be grafted." She is the teacher at ''Yeni Hayat'' ("New Life"), where Eastern and Western ideals meet and form a "new Turkish World". His poetry departs from his more serious sociological works, though it too harnesses nationalist sentiment: "Run, take the standard and let it be planted once again in Plevna / Night and day, let the waters of the
Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...
run red with blood...." Perhaps his most famous poem was his 1911 ''Turan'', which was first published in ''
Genç Kalemler ''Genç Kalemler'' (Ottoman Turkish: ''Young Pens'') was an Ottoman literary and cultural magazine which was one of the earliest nationalist publications in the Ottoman Empire. Murat Belge describes it as a pan-Turkist publication. It was publi ...
'' and served to complement his Turanist intellectual output: "For the Turks, Fatherland means neither Turkey, nor
Turkestan Turkestan,; ; ; ; also spelled Turkistan, is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and East Turkestan (Xinjiang). The region is located in the northwest of modern day China and to the northwest of its ...
; Fatherland is a large and eternal country--
Turan Turan (; ; , , ) is a historical region in Central Asia. The term is of Iranian origin and may refer to a particular prehistoric human settlement, a historic geographical region, or a culture. The original Turanians were an Iranian tribe of th ...
!"Landau, Jacob M. ''Pan-Turkism: From Irredentism to Cooperation''. page 37. During the First World War, his ''Kızıl Destan'' ("Red Epic") called for destroying
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
in the interest of pan-Turkism.


Legacy

Ziya Gökalp has been characterized as "the father of Turkish nationalism", Melson, Robert. ''Revolution and Genocide''. 1996, page 164. and even "the Grand Master of Turkism".Kaya, Ibrahim. ''Social Theory and Later Modernities: The Turkish Experience''. 2004, page 61. His thought figured prominently in the political landscape of the
Republic of Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
, which emerged from the ruins of the Ottoman Empire around the time of his death. His influence resonated in diverse ways. For instance, his ''Principles of Turkism'' had contended that
Ottoman classical music Ottoman music () or Turkish classical music (, or more recently ) is the tradition of Art music, classical music originating in the Ottoman Empire. Developed in the palace, major Ottoman cities, and Sufi lodges, it traditionally features a sol ...
was
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
in origin; this led to the state briefly banning Ottoman classical music from the radio in the 1930s, because
Turkish folk music Turkish folk music () is the traditional music of Turkish people living in Turkey influenced by the cultures of Anatolia and former territories in Europe and Asia. Its unique structure includes regional differences under one umbrella. It includ ...
alone "represented the genius of the nation". For popularizing
pan-Turkism Pan-Turkism () or Turkism () is a political movement that emerged during the 1880s among Turkic intellectuals who lived in the Russian region of Kazan (Tatarstan), Caucasus Viceroyalty (1801–1917), South Caucasus (modern-day Azerbaijan) and th ...
and
Turanism Turanism, also known as Turanianism, pan-Turanism or pan-Turanianism, is a Pan-nationalism, pan-nationalist political movement built around Pseudoscience, pseudoscientific claims of mongoloid, biological and Altaic, linguistic connections betwee ...
, Gökalp has been viewed alternately as being racist and expansionist, and anti-racist and anti-expansionist.Parla, Taha. ''The Social and Political Thought of Ziya Gokalp''. 1980, page 126–7. These opposite readings of his legacy are not easily divisible into proponents and detractors, as nationalist elements in Turkey (such as the "
Nationalist Movement Party The Nationalist Movement Party, or alternatively translated as Nationalist Action Party (, MHP), is a Turkish Far-right politics, far-right, ultranationalism, ultranationalist Political parties in Turkey, political party. The group is often de ...
") have appropriated his work to contend that he supported a physical realization of Turanism, rather than a mere ideological pan-Turkist kinship. Some readings of Gökalp contend, to the contrary, that his Turanism and pan-Turkism were linguistic and cultural models, ideals from which a post-Ottoman identity could be derived, rather than a militant call for the physical expansion of the Republic of Turkey. Although he often held quite different ideas, Arab nationalist Sati al-Husri was profoundly influenced by Gökalp. It is claimed that
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish field marshal and revolutionary statesman who was the founding father of the Republic of Turkey, serving as its first President of Turkey, president from 1923 until Death an ...
once said "Father of my meat and bones is Ali Riza Efendi and father of my thought is Ziya Gökalp".
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...
was put in jail for having recited a poem by Gökalp in 1997, the poem being considered to be "Islamist" in nature and thus threatening the country's secularism. Gökalp's opinion of the
Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...
was that "there was no Armenian massacre, there was a Turkish-Armenian arrangement. They stabbed us in the back, we stabbed them back". This view was widely held among the
Young Turks The Young Turks (, also ''Genç Türkler'') formed as a constitutionalist broad opposition-movement in the late Ottoman Empire against the absolutist régime of Sultan Abdul Hamid II (). The most powerful organization of the movement, ...
. The house where he was born has been converted into the Ziya Gökalp Museum in 1956.


Works

* *''History of Turkish Civilization'' * ''Kızılelma'' (poems) * '' Turkism, Islamism and Modernism'' *


References


Further reading

* Taha Parla: ''The social and political thought of Ziya Gökalp : 1876 – 1924''. Leiden 1985 * Mihran Dabag: ''Jungtürkische Visionen und der Völkermord an den Armeniern'', in: Dabag / Platt: ''Genozid und Moderne'' (Band 1), Opladen 1998. * Katy Schröder: ''Die Türkei im Schatten des Nationalismus''. Hamburg, 2003, , S. 50–54 * Alexander Safarian: Ziya Gökalp on National Education, "Iran and the Caucasus", vol.8.2, Brill, Leiden - Boston, 2004, pp. 219–229.


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gokalp, Ziya 1876 births 1924 deaths 20th-century writers from the Ottoman Empire Sociologists from the Ottoman Empire Malta exiles Pan-Turkists Istanbul University alumni Turanists Young Turks Deputies of Diyarbakır Turkish nationalists Turkish magazine founders Deniers of the Armenian genocide Antisemitism in Turkey Turkish people of Kurdish descent Anti-Armenian sentiment Anti-Greek sentiment