Verified Document

Turkey According To The CIA World Factbook, Essay

Turkey According to the CIA World Factbook, 99.8% of Turkey's population is Muslim, the overwhelming majority of those being Sunni. The minorities include ancient communities of Christians and Jews, some from ethnic minorities. Beneath this veneer of homogeneity, however, Turkey does face some religious conflict. Much of this conflict arises from divisions within Islam, but there is also a significant conflict between the country's secular Muslims and its religious ones.

Turkish Sunni Muslims typically belong to the Hanafi school, while Kurdish Sunnis follow the Shafil school. As many as one-third of Kurds in Turkey actually belong to the Alevi school of Shia Islam, despite statistics that indicate this group is Sunni. There are many Sufi brotherhoods that are active in Turkey as well. The Turkish city of Konya -- one of the most conservative cities in the country -- is the home of Sufism, as this is where Mevlana Rumi lived and gained influence in the 13th century (No author, 2012). There are also minority Kurdish religions that blend a variety...

Kemal Ataturk made secularism a core part of his vision of a modern Turkey. In part, this was a reaction to the Ottoman rulers, who were caliphs, or God's representatives on Earth. Thus, the authority of the Ottomans was derived from Islam, but the Ottomans lost Turkey to foreign powers in the First World War. Ataturk therefore mandated that secularism would be a guiding principle in Turkey. In recent years, however, this stance has come under attack from more strongly religious elements of Turkish society (Garda, 2007). Unwilling to adopt the more Western-style reforms of Turkey, they soon became economically marginalized, as tends to happen when one sits on the sidelines of economic growth.
These religious elements, in an…

Sources used in this document:
Works Cited:

CIA World Factbook. (2012). Turkey. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved March 19, 2012 from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/tu.html

Garda, I. (2007). Ataturk's secularist legacy. Al-Jazeera. Retrieved March 19, 2012 from http://www.aljazeera.com/focus/turkey/2007/07/2008525185649513144.html

Jones, E. (2010). The conflicts of secularization and Islam in Turkey. Salve Regina University. Retrieved March 19, 2012 from http://escholar.salve.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1046&context=pell_theses

No author. (2012). Shrine of Rumi, Konya. SacredSites.com. Retrieved March 19, 2012 from http://sacredsites.com/middle_east/turkey/shrine_of_rumi_konya.html
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Turkey's Economy the Republic of
Words: 3934 Length: 15 Document Type: Term Paper

6 billion cu m in 2005; natural gas export - 0 cu m in 2004; natural gas imports - 21.73 billion cu m in 2004; natural gas proved reserves - 8.495 billion cu m in 2005; current account balance - -$25.99 billion in 2006; exports - $85.21 billion f.o.b. In 2006; exports commodities - apparel, foodstuffs, textiles, metal manufactures, transport equipment; imports partners - Germany 11.7%, Russia 11%, Italy 6.5%,

Innovative Marketing Strategies for Starbucks Turkey
Words: 1156 Length: 4 Document Type: Case Study

Marketing Strategies Used by Starbucks in TurkeyDrinking coffee in Turkey has long been a way of life, and the Turkish people in general and men in particular savor the social time they spend with their friends in coffee shops across the country. It is not surprising, then, that Turkey appeared on Starbucks� marketing radar nearly 20 years ago, and this company has experienced sustained success in growing this market since

Traditional Se Asian Bamboo Flutes:
Words: 28549 Length: 95 Document Type: Dissertation

Some Chinese researchers assert that Chinese flutes may have evolved from of Indian provenance. In fact, the kind of side-blown, or transverse, flutes musicians play in Southeast Asia have also been discovered in Africa, India, Saudi Arabia, and Central Asia, as well as throughout the Europe of the Roman Empire. This suggests that rather than originating in China or even in India, the transverse flute might have been adopted through the

Voss Water
Words: 7740 Length: 29 Document Type: Term Paper

" As will be shown below, the bottled water market is increasingly competitive and consumers have a dazzling array of choices available to them. It is clear that Voss has taken this into account when developing its sophisticated packaging, some samples of which are shown in Figure ____ below. Figure ____. Representative Sampling of Voss Packaging Techniques. Source: noisedfisk.com/illustrations/vosswater.jpg, www.uncrate.com/men/images/voss-water.jpg, http://www.urbanfare.com/featuredfare/images/weeklyad/voss_water.jpg In fact, one new admirer of the Voss brand unashamedly proclaimed that even

Foreign Exchange Risk Management in
Words: 5032 Length: 15 Document Type: Research Paper

In addition, a series of joint ventures in which West German steel firms joined with East German firms and Krupp, Klockner, and Thyssen of Germany was pursuing other developmental initiatives in eastern Europe as well. Likewise, Arbed of Luxemburg was involved in steelmaking facilities in the former East Germany. According to Mangum et al., "The rising market for improved galvanizing for automobiles, appliances, canning, and other uses is producing

Al-Assad Family Has Ruled Syria
Words: 6564 Length: 20 Document Type: Research Paper

" These events have been repeated time and again across the country where ordinary Syrian citizens have been forced to take to the streets to make their demands known, while Assad remained cloistered away. For instance, Corbin (2011) reports that, "The recent wave of domestic revolts moving east from the Maghreb to engulf the Levant and the Arab peninsula in the past few months is sparing few Arab states. The long-standing

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now