About this episode

Brett Wilson discusses the impact of Turkey's 1925 outlawing of Islamic religious orders and challenges the traditional narrative of secularist persecution.

Brett Wilson, associate professor of history and public policy at Central European University, on his article ”Sufi Leaders in the early Turkish Republic: Profession, Privilege, and Persecution (1925-1950)”, published in the latest edition of New Perspectives on Turkey. The piece studies the impact of Turkey’s 1925 outlawing of Islamic religious orders, challenging the traditional idea of harsh secularist persecution in the early republic. By examining the post-1925 lives of over 100 religious leaders, it shows how the vast majority “remained a part of the intelligentsia and elite echelons of society as they were absorbed into the educational, cultural and political institutions of the new nation-state”. Please support Turkey Book Talk on Patreon or Substack. Supporters get a 35% discount on all Turkey/Ottoman History books published by Bloomsbury Academic, transcripts of every interview, and links to articles related to each episode. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=2998854&fan_landing=true Substack: https://turkeybooktalk.substack.com/

Sponsors

Bloomsbury Academic

More episodes of Turkey Book Talk

• Doruk Erhan on the limits of Turkey's shift to autocracy · June 8, 2026 · 36 min
• Jennifer Hattam on writing the Lonely Planet guide to Turkey · May 25, 2026 · 34 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Turkey Book Talk podcast page.