The Secular Leadership of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk: A Critical Review from a Sufi Perspective
Keywords:
Sufism, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Secularism, Leadership, Political IslamAbstract
The leadership of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk marked a major change in the political history of the Islamic world, particularly through the implementation of radical secularism in post-Ottoman Caliphate Turkey. This research aims to examine the form of Ataturk's secular leadership and its impact on the spiritual dimension of society, using the Sufism approach as an ethical and philosophical analysis knife. The research method used is descriptive qualitative with literature study techniques to analyze Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's secular leadership with a review of Sufism perspective. The primary sources are historical documents, political policies, and archives related to Atatürk's secular reforms. Secondary sources include Islamic political literature, studies on secularism, and academic works on Sufism from both classical thinkers such as Al-Ghazali, Al-Qusyairi, and Ibn Arabi. The results of the study show that Ataturk's policies such as the prohibition of Sufi orders, the removal of religious symbols from public spaces, and the westernization of the legal system have severed the relationship between political leadership and the spiritual dimension of society. A Sufistic analysis of this leadership reveals the absence of values such as tazkiyatun nafs (purification of the soul), ikhlas (sincerity), and adl (justice), which are central to the prophetic leadership model. This study concludes that the Sufism approach can be a constructive critique of secular leadership models, while offering an alternative to leadership rooted in moral and spiritual transformation.
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