1945-1960 Döneminde Türkiye’de İslami Canlanış: Dergiler ve Söylemler

Abstract

The aim of this dissertation was to contribute to the study of Turkish thought in the Republican Era by analyzing the nationalist and spiritualist content produced by a group of journals and prominent figures who sometimes referred to themselves as religious–nationalists or mukaddesatçı, and defined themselves through national and religious values during the Islamic revival seen in Turkey between 1945 and 1960. To do so, arguments regarding the factors that fueled this content were formulated. Among the questions this study sought to answer was how Islamic thought became intertwined with nationalism from 1945–1960, unlike the universal line it gained with the translation movements after 1960. On the other hand, the question of which sub-headings were included under a general title such as "spiritualism" was another problematic to be answered. Accordingly, encyclopedic information about 15 periodicals from the era, their editorial staff, and an analysis of their nationalist–spiritualist orientations determined this study's direction of focus. In addition to an extensive examination of magazine archives, the study also utilized the Republican Archive, minutes of the Turkish Parliament, legal articles, and memoirs. The study followed the document analysis method and a quantitative line of inquiry. Firstly, articles falling within the scope of the subject were identified. The type of nationalism exhibited in the journals was analyzed and general profiles on the main publications and thinkers who expressed these views were drawn. While doing so, the reasons behind the nationalist and spiritualist tone of the journals were questioned. Among the possible factors that fueled nationalism was the fact that the intellectuals of the period regarded a religion-based nationalism as a natural part of their identity and the anti-communist sentiment of the period. Unlike the Islamist thought of the previous period, the fact that the period was one of "saving the individual" rather than "saving the state", together with the philosophical and mystical orientations of the magazines’ publishers, seem to have played a role behind their spiritualist discourse.