Interdisciplinary Social Research

This article analyzes political and ideological strains between Turkism and Sunni Islam in Turkey between 1950 and 1970, which was a time of transition through the establishment of multiparty democracy and Cold War politics. The Democratic Party (DP) challenged the secularist tradition of the Republican People’s Party (RPP) by reinstating Islamic values into public affairs and thereby instigating a partial revival of Sunni Islam. At the same time, Turkism rooted in the principles of Kemalism sought to preserve secularism and an integrated national identity. The study discusses the interplay between nationalism, politics, religion, and secularism and examines how the two supreme powers—Turkism and Sunni Islam—competed and co-habited in the evolving Turkish state. Drawing from a critique of political occurrences, religious movements, and personalities like Said Nursi, the essay puts at center stage the tension and potential for reconciliation between the two extremes of ideology. The paper concludes by laying out ways to improve social cohesion in the form of interfaith dialogue, education to encompass, and political pluralism.