Freedom of Religion and Non-Muslim Minorities in Turkey, Winter 2015

Thursday, February 5, 2015 | Download PDF in English

Freedom of religion has been a delicate issue since the founding of the Turkish Republic despite the principle of secularism stated in its constitution. After decades marked by assaults towards non-Muslims in Turkey and confiscation of their properties, several reform packages were adopted by the Turkish government in order better to secure their religious freedoms. This essay focuses on the motives behind and the limitations of the transformation of religious freedoms in Turkey over the last decade. The author argues that the incumbent AKP party’s religious friendly approach, while flexible, is ultimately grounded in Islamic superiority, and therefore remains limiting.

CONTRIBUTOR

Anna Maria Beylunioğlu

Anna Maria Beylunioğlu is a PhD candidate at the Department of Social and Political Sciences of the European University Institute, Florence, Italy.

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