Brett Wilson on the myth and reality of modern Turkey's religious reforms

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/

People in this episode

Host: William Armstrong

Guest: Brett Wilson

Topics covered

• religious reforms
• secularism
• Turkish history
• Sufism
• intelligentsia
• elite society

Keywords

• Turkey
• religious reforms
• secularism
• Sufism
• Turkish Republic
• Brett Wilson
• history
• public policy

Sponsors

Bloomsbury Academic

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Central European University, New Perspectives on Turkey

Books & works: Sufi Leaders in the early Turkish Republic: Profession, Privilege, and Persecution (1925-1950)

Places: Turkey, Turkish Republic

More episodes of Turkey Book Talk

• Doruk Erhan on the limits of Turkey's shift to autocracy · June 9, 2026 · 36 min
• Jennifer Hattam on writing the Lonely Planet guide to Turkey · May 26, 2026 · 34 min
• Suzy Hansen on Turkey and an Istanbul neighborhood in the age of Erdoğan · April 28, 2026 · 49 min
• Faisal Devji on the crisis of 'global Islam' in Turkey and elsewhere · April 14, 2026 · 34 min
• Ryan Gingeras on organised crime in Turkey's modern history · March 31, 2026 · 39 min
• Mustafa Aksakal on World War I and the end of the Ottoman Empire · March 17, 2026 · 39 min