The Approach of the Islamist Press in Turkey to the Murder of Samuel Paty: A Qualitative Content Analysis

Modernization And Islam In Turkey: A Contextual Brief History

The first of the most important breaks in the rise of Islam through politics in Turkey is the developments after The Rescript of Gulhane (1839). Reforms to save the crumbling Ottoman Empire brought some Western-style developments. Three elements stood out especially in the institutional and therefore historical sense: Religion, bureaucracy, and the army (Berkes, 2003, pp. 169-171). Starting from the end, the army was at the center of the idea of saving the empire, along with the lands lost as a result of the Serbian and Greek uprisings. It was thought that if a strong army was formed, the empire would return to its old days (Kahraman, 2008, p. 4-5). Bureaucracy, on the other hand, has made the civil servant class compulsory based on education as an extension of the modern state understanding. A natural consequence of this was the law. In addition, with The Rescript of Gulhane (Tanzimat), the sultan's powers were limited, tax and judicial regulations were made, and perhaps most importantly, the existence of private property was accepted. In other words, the law was emphasized as an intangible value. Later, when the emphasis on equal citizenship was added to this with the Reform Edict (Islahat) (1856), unrest emerged among the masses who had been living under a traditional religious state for centuries (Avcıoğlu, 1996, p. 229-231).

On the other hand, it should be noted that all these modernization attempts are “necessary” and “raw” ideas. Because all these initiatives were seen as a means of saving the state rather than being a project aiming directly at modernization (Ortaylı, 2009, p. 38). Moreover, in both Tanzimat and Islahat thought, the prevention of nationalist thought is at the forefront. The reason behind this is that the nationalist movement that spread all over Europe after the French Revolution was perceived as the cause of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire (Berkes, 2003, pp. 436-437). Therefore, this situation, which constitutes one of the main lines of the historical and political tension between Turkey and France, has been further reinforced by the spread of thoughts on the nation-state and human rights. One of the best examples of this from the field of the press is the publication of the first newspaper published in the Ottoman Empire by the French. The main purpose of publishing this newspaper called Bulletin des Novalles (1795) in Istanbul was to promote the French Revolution and spread its ideals. Similarly, the newspapers Gazette Française de Constantinople (1796) in Istanbul, Le Spectateur Oriental (1821), Le Smyrnéen (1824) and Le Moniteur Ottoman (1831) were published in Izmir by the French. In addition, the Journal de Constantinople (1846), La Turquie (1866), Impartial (1841), La Réforme (1869), Le Phare du Bosphore (1870), Levant-Herald (1867), Stamboul (1875) are other newspapers published (Topuz, 2003, pp. 34-39). Therefore, it is possible to say that there was an important intellectual exchange with the French after the French Revolution in Turkey.