Ziya Gökalp facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mehmet Ziya Gökalp
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| Born |
Muhammad Ziya
23 March 1876 |
| Died | 25 October 1924 (aged 48) Istanbul, Turkey
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| Resting place | Çemberlitaş, Fatih, Istanbul |
| Education | Veterinary school |
| Scientific career | |
| Influences | Ibn 'Arabi, Émile Durkheim, Namık Kemal |
| Influenced | Branko Merxhani, Sati' al-Husri, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk |
Mehmet Ziya Gökalp (born March 23, 1876 – died October 25, 1924) was an important Turkish sociologist, writer, poet, and politician. He lived during a time of big changes in the Ottoman Empire. After a major event called the Young Turk Revolution in 1908, he started using the pen name Gökalp, which means "celestial hero." He kept this name for the rest of his life.
As a sociologist, Ziya Gökalp had a huge impact. He helped people move away from older ideas like Islamism (focus on Islamic identity) and Ottomanism (focus on the Ottoman Empire's identity). Instead, he promoted Turkish nationalism, which focused on a shared Turkish culture and language. A sociologist named Niyazi Berkes said in 1936 that Gökalp was "the real founder of Turkish sociology." This means he didn't just copy ideas from other countries.
Gökalp's ideas were very important for the reforms led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who founded the modern Republic of Turkey. Gökalp was inspired by thinkers like Émile Durkheim from Europe. He believed that the Ottoman Empire should become more Turkish. He wanted to promote the Turkish language and culture among all its citizens. His ideas helped create a strong sense of Turkish identity.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Mehmet Ziya was born in Diyarbakır, a city in the Ottoman Empire, on March 23, 1876. His father, Muhammad Tefvik Bey, was an Ottoman official. Ziya was the second son in his family. Some sources say his mother's family was of Kurdish origin. Ziya himself said his father's family was Syrian Turkmen.
Diyarbakır was a place where many cultures met. It had been ruled by Arabs and Persians before the 16th century. This mix of cultures, including Turks, Kurds, and Armenians, might have shaped his ideas about national identity. He later said that nationality comes from how you are raised, not just your family background.
After finishing school in Diyarbakır, Gökalp moved to Istanbul in 1895. He started studying at a veterinary school. While there, he became involved in secret political groups that wanted changes in the government. He even spent ten months in prison for his activities. He stopped his veterinary studies and joined a secret group called the Society of Union and Progress (CUP).
Career and Influence
The city of Constantinople (now Istanbul) was full of revolutionary ideas at that time. Many people wanted to change the government of Abdul Hamid II. In July 1908, Gökalp opened the first CUP office in Diyarbakır. He then moved to Selanik in September 1909. There, he became a member of the CUP's main committee in 1910.
In Selanik, he helped start a literary and cultural magazine called Genç Kalemler. He also began using his famous pen name, Gökalp. In 1912, he moved back to Constantinople with the CUP. He wrote for a military magazine called Harp Mecmuası between 1915 and 1918.
After World War I, Gökalp was arrested because of his involvement with the Committee of Union and Progress. He was sent away to Malta for two years, from 1919 to 1921.
Developing His Ideas
Even while in Malta, Gökalp kept writing and developing his ideas. He wrote his important book, Principles of Turkism, which was published in 1923. He returned to Turkey in the spring of 1921. He couldn't get his old job back at the University of Istanbul. So, he went back to his hometown of Diyarbakır. There, he taught sociology and psychology at a high school and a teacher's college.
He started a small weekly newsletter called Küçük Mecmua. This newsletter slowly became popular and led to him writing for major newspapers in Istanbul and Ankara. At the end of 1922, Gökalp was asked to lead the publication and translation department at the Ministry of Education.
He was also chosen to be a member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. He served there until his death in 1924. He was part of the Education Committee, which changed the school system, what was taught, and textbooks. He believed education should include Turkism, modern ideas, and some Islamism. He also helped write the 1924 constitution.
Ideology and Beliefs
Gökalp's work was very important in creating a Turkish national identity. He called this identity Turkishness. He believed that a nation needs a "shared consciousness" to survive. He thought that people truly become themselves when they represent their culture. He also believed that a modern country should have a similar culture, religion, and national identity.
He saw Turkishness as a way to unite people. In a 1911 article, he even suggested that "Turks are the 'supermen' imagined by the German philosopher Nietzsche."
His main sociological work looked at the difference between Avrupalılık ("Europeanism," which meant just copying Western societies) and Modernlik ("Modernity," which meant taking initiative). He saw Japan as a good example of a country that modernized without losing its own culture. Gökalp believed that if a country put "civilization" (things like being useful and individualistic) above "culture" (things like being selfless and caring about the community), it would decline.
Inspired by Émile Durkheim, Gökalp thought that Western liberalism, which focused on individuals, was not as good as "solidarism." Solidarism emphasized the group's importance over the individual. Durkheim believed religion could unite people, and Gökalp agreed. Gökalp was a key thinker for the Committee of Union and Progress. His ideas about what makes a "nation" have greatly shaped the modern Turkish state.
The Principles of Turkism
His 1923 book, The Principles of Turkism, explained his ideas about a broad nationalist identity. He wrote that a nation is not just about race, ethnicity, or where people live. Instead, it's about people who share a common language, religion, morals, and art. In other words, they have received the same education.
He described three levels of pan-Turkist identity:
- Turks in Turkey: This is the nation based on shared culture.
- Oghuz Turks: This group includes Turks in Turkey, plus Turkmen people in Azerbaijan, Iran, and Khwarizm. He believed they shared a common culture.
- Distant Turkic-speaking peoples: This includes groups like the Yakuts, Kirghiz, Uzbeks, Kipchaks, and Tatars. He saw them as having a shared language and history, but not exactly the same culture as Turks in Turkey.
The second stage was called "Oghuzism," and the final stage was "Turanism." Gökalp and other poets had been promoting Turanism even before World War I. While his idea of "Turkishness" often included shared ethnic roots, he did not look down on other races.
Sufism's Influence
Some scholars, like Alp Eren Topal, point out that Sufism also greatly influenced Gökalp. Sufism is a mystical branch of Islam. Gökalp admired the strong sense of community found in Sufi orders, especially the Naqshbandiyya. He also appreciated the deep philosophical ideas of the medieval thinker Ibn 'Arabi. Gökalp believed Ibn 'Arabi's ideas were very advanced and even ahead of some modern philosophers.
Poetic Works
Besides his work in sociology and politics, Gökalp was also a talented poet. His poems helped spread his sociological and nationalist ideas. His poetry often brought back a sense of Turkish identity from before Islam.
In his poem Kızılelma, an "ideal woman" character says that people are like a garden, and we are the gardeners. She suggests that bad parts should be removed, and new, better parts should be added. She teaches at a place called Yeni Hayat ("New Life"), where Eastern and Western ideas come together to form a "new Turkish World."
His poetry, though different from his serious sociological writings, also used strong nationalist feelings. One of his most famous poems was Turan, written in 1911. It said: "For the Turks, Fatherland means neither Turkey, nor Turkestan; Fatherland is a large and eternal country--Turan!" During World War I, his poem Kızıl Destan ("Red Epic") called for pan-Turkism.
Legacy and Impact
Ziya Gökalp is often called "the father of Turkish nationalism." His ideas were very important in shaping the Republic of Turkey, which was formed after the Ottoman Empire ended.
His influence was seen in many ways. For example, his book Principles of Turkism suggested that Ottoman classical music came from the Byzantine Empire. Because of this, the state briefly banned Ottoman classical music from the radio in the 1930s. They believed that only Turkish folk music truly represented the nation's spirit.
Gökalp's ideas about pan-Turkism and Turanism have been viewed differently by people. Some see him as promoting racist or expansionist ideas. Others see him as anti-racist and not wanting to expand borders. This is because nationalist groups in Turkey have used his work to argue that he wanted a physical "Turan" country. However, other interpretations say his Turanism and pan-Turkism were more about shared language and culture, not a call for military expansion.
Even though they had different ideas, the Arab nationalist Sati al-Husri was deeply influenced by Gökalp.
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey, once said, "Father of my meat and bones is Ali Riza Efendi and father of my thought is Ziya Gökalp." This shows how much Atatürk valued Gökalp's ideas.
The house where Ziya Gökalp was born was turned into the Ziya Gökalp Museum in 1956.
Works
- The Principles of Turkism
- History of Turkish Civilization
- Kızılelma (poems)
- Turkism, Islamism and Modernism
- Sociological Investigations of Kurdish Tribes
Images for kids
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The grave of Gökalp in Istanbul
See also
In Spanish: Ziya Gökalp para niños
