The nationalist-conservative criticism of Turkish Westernism: The Erol Güngör example

Abstract

Strengthening the frail state was the fundamental issue for the Turkish intellectuals entering the scene in the post-Tanzimat era. In time, the ideas suggested by Turkish intellectuals on state systems and public issues in order to halt the state's decline gained an ideological content. From the final period of the Ottoman era onwards, the Turkish intellectuals, who were influenced by positivist and materialist views originating from the West, became an influential force in reshaping the state and social order from the Tanzimat to the foundation of the Republic. This study reviews the nationalist-conservative intellectual and scholar, Erol Güngör's criticism of the Turkish Westernizationist-reformist intellectuals' approach to public issues and matters of national culture, primarily religion, from the post- Tanzimat era to his own time.