Religion–politics relations in the period of Turgut Özal (1983-1993)

The relationship between religion and politics has manifested itself through out the history of humanity. Since its emergence, religion has caused radical changes in the structure of politics, and politics has had affects on the changes and transformations of religion. The relationship between religion and politics has concerned humanity very closely, individually, denominationally and socially, and has deeply affected their lives. It can be considered that the way for better understanding Turgut Özal and the religion-politics relations in his period depends on better understanding modernization and modernism. It seems that modernization has been presented to humanity as the only way of life in recent centuries. It can be determined that the emergence of modernity is a political and social movement that emerged as a result of the political experiences of the Western world with the church in the Middle Ages. At the same time, it can be said that it is the out come of a thought created by removing tradition and religion from political will. The source of modernism should be traced back in the phases of the medieval Christian church in terms of religion and politics. Therefore, it can be seen that Muslim politics and Islamic tradition are not the basis of modernization. For this reason, it can be concluded that there will be no Muslim politics in the political history that humanity has experienced from the 16th century to the present day and in any religious-political events that it may experience after the modernization processes. The real reason for the problem in religion-politics relations in Muslim societies should be sought in the situations that occur as a result of applying modernization processes to their own societies, an understanding that is not taken as a reference and does not constitute a source of origin. The concepts of modernization theory, religion and tradition have been tried to be revealed by using sources that are thought to provide new contributions. It has been tried to convey the late Ottoman modernization and the modernization of the Republican period until the Turgut Özal period. It has been tried to reveal in all its dimensions what Turgut Özal tried to correct and what he tried to balance in the context of religion-politics relations. Key Words: Modernization, Religion, Politics, Secularism, Turgut Özal