Journalists and Writers Foundation (JWF) Women’s Platform recently organized a program with a group of students from New York University-Abu Dhabi Campus. Professor Roger Friedland and his students visited Women’s Platform for their field research about “Religion from the perspective of Social Sciences: Religion, Nation-state and Gender Politics” in Istanbul, during their program.
Professor Friedland said that they are studying the changes within religion and nation-state relations, and for their case study they have decided on Turkey. He stated that they concentrated upon specifically politicization of religion in family structure, conservatism and gender politics, and they are very open to meet and listen to “conservative women who are into these types of studies”.

“Process of Secularism Began Before the Foundation of Republic”
In the program hosted by Women’s Platform Semiha Topal, PhD Candidate for Arizona State University, gave a lecture about “the role of gender in the Turkish modernization history” to the guest student group from NYU-Abu Dhabi. Topal started her speech by indicating that the topic covers many fields and while it is a historical period it is not possible to summarize it with strict conceptualizations. She noted that Islam was always the primary source to consult for solutions to problems in Turkey till the Foundation of Republic, but at the same time Ottoman Empire cannot be examined as a theocratic state. While she said “Secularism is a process that begins before the Foundation of Republic in Turkish historicity”, she also stressed that Ottoman Empire had to re-explore his identity under an “inferiority complex” which was certainly extraneous for him in the past and intensively imposed by European orientalism during the period of degrading.
Topal went on her speech as indicating the Ottoman intellectuals’ beliefs about the “backwardness” especially about the role of woman in society. She said that their internalization of this “backwardness” put the gender issue as a modernization tool into the state’s agenda. While she was underlining ‘the identity of woman’ is a symbol to be able to “catch-up” the West and a metaphor for modernization desire, she also said “so to say, when woman is identified, the state is identified”.

According to Topal, with secularization of Republican woman as taking off her hijab, at the same time by suppressing their femininity, found her place in social life, and this can be regarded as a conditional freedom for women. “The vivid images belonged to periods before and after the Foundation of Republic in history books make an illusion over the readers as if the whole process had just happened in one night, but this is not the reality.” said Topal, and Republic uses this image against its past according to her.

“Alternative Modernism”
Working on her PhD thesis, “Formation of Religious Personality in Secular Environment”, Semiha Topal noted with the pursuit of women with hijab about an alternative modernity in Turkey during 1970s and 80s, there can be met a more active conservative woman model in social life. Topal concluded her presentation by adding that; with this progress a woman was created who is conservative but active in modern life, and interprets modernism within its own context.

Influence of Gulen Movement on Modernization
After her speech, Topal was met with great interest of guests about the topic and among the students Alex Wang asked “What is the influence of Gulen Movement on modernization process in Turkey?” She replied as this movement holds such important consideration of education and has a significant role in rapid increase of schooling rate of girls. Through providing trustworthy institutions and safe environments for students, which can be acknowledged by families, especially had the opportunity to have higher education; therefore there has been an increase in the number of students who continue their education abroad Semiha Topal noted that with this level of education women have had more active roles in both movement and social life, and she pointed the activities of JWF Women’s Platform as an example. She said “Religious or not, Muslim or Non-Muslim, women with any kind of perspectives work together on not only women studies, but also the common problems of humanity”. Since they do not ‘read’ the world over the gender roles, she added that they do not put the gender as a center on their identities.

Professor Friedland’s question, whether the movement has Islamic references about the role of woman in working life, is also replied by Topal. She said that this is more like a synthesis and the working conditions of women are needed to be improved. Since the current conditions of working life are mostly shaped by Western modernism, which makes more difficult life of today’s woman as conflicts the motherhood identity, according to Topal the improvement could be actualized through a synthesis of religious and secular sources. She also added that the movement has a structure is inspired by its own “faith”, and refuses imposition on others.

After “questions-and-answers” session, Professor Friedland said that the meeting was very enlightening for them. He also remarked that besides their reading theoretically, especially for his students, visiting Turkey and observing Turkish culture and Islam have had very positive impacts for their study.