Secular Law and the Emergence of Unofficial Turkish Islamic Law

Author(s): Ihsan Yilmaz

Source: Middle East Journal, Vol. 56, No. 1 (Winter, 2002), pp. 113-131
Published by: Middle East Institute
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 SecularLawandtheEmergenceof
UnofficialTurkishIslamicLaw
Ihsan Yilmaz

In secular Turkey,traditionalIslamic law has been officiallyreplacedwith a

secularlegal system.Thearticleexaminesthe waysin whichlocal and unofficial
Islamic legal practices have been retainedalongside secular law, despite the
officialposition.

A postmodemlegality is visible in Turkey,wherethe traditionalMuslimlaw was

totallybut only officially abolishedandreplacedby transplanted secularlaws. Local
andunofficialTurkishMuslimlaws haveresistedthe unificationandassimilationpur-
poses of the modemnation-state.1 Peoplehavenot abandonedtheirlocal andreligious
laws and customs,whetherlegal modernityrecognizesthem or not. Today,secular
official andMuslimunofficiallaws co-exist in the Turkishsocio-legalsphere.
Turkeywas one of the very firstMuslimcountriesthatencounteredthe modem
Westandits civilizationandthatattemptedto respondto the challengesposedby the
Westernpowerand civilization.The questionssurroundingthese challenges,how to
respondto them, preventingthe collapse of the OttomanState, modernization,and
transplantation of Westerninstitutionshavealwaysbeen on the agendaof the Turkish
intellectuals.The modernizationattemptsin Turkeyhad alreadybegunin the seven-
teenthcenturywhen the Ottomanrulersbecameawarethatthey were far behindthe
Europeanpowers.Substantialdiscussionsover whetherto importEuropeantechnol-
ogy only,or to takeall of the Westernway of life, culture,laws, andso on preoccupied
the public spherefor manydecades.These endlessdiscussionswere cut shortby the

ProfessorIhsanYilmazis in the Law Department,School of OrientalandAfricanStudies,Universityof

London.

1. The notion "local"is more complex than earliersharpdistinctionsbetween, for instance,the

concept of "great"and "little"(or "folk")traditionsas a means of describinglarge-scalecivilizations
such as Islam. However,it must be emphasizedthat the notion carriesthe misleadingimplicationof
something provincial, or an inferior and imperfectrealizationof a "genuine"or "high"culture of
religiousbelief andpractice,see Dale F. Eickelman,"TheStudy of Islam in Local Contexts,"Richard
C. Martin (ed), Islam in Local Contexts, (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1982), 1-16, p. 2. Although this
misconceptualisationis sometimesthe case, it cannotbe generalized,since the term"local"refersto
the concepts of culture,religion, and law which are not underthe auspices of the state or the leading
elite whetherit might be "genuine,""high,"and "perfect"or not.
MIDDLE EAST JOURNAL * VOLUME 56, NO. 1 WINTER 2002
114 * MIDDLEEASTJOURNAL

Kemalistelite whenthe new republicwas established:to reachthe level of contempo-

raryEuropeancivilization,the Westernway of life had to be espousedandimported
with all kindof its institutionsincludinglaws.
The new Turkishstateassumedthatculturalchangeandmodernization couldbe
imposedfromabovethroughthe forceof law.One of the majorexpectedchangeswas
the secularizationof society.2Whenthe new secularTurkishCivilCodebecameeffec-
tive in 1926, it createdan anomaly.Familylaw had been one of the last bastionsof
Islam, and the legal system the areamost resistantto secularization.Muslimfamily
law officiallybecamesecularfor the firsttime in history,while Islamcontinuedto be
the religionof most Turkishcitizens. The new secularlaw was meantto changethe
core structureof the Turkishdomesticlife to bringit closerto the Westernmodels.
On the otherhand,the empiricalrealityshowsthattheuniformity-focused homog-
enizationexpectationsof the stateandthe plurality-centeredsurvivedunofficialMuslim
familylaw conflict.This articleendeavorsto show thatthe TurkishMuslimshave not
totallyabandonedtheirMuslimslaws in favorof the transplanted 'secular'Westernlaw,
althoughthe Jacobinsocial engineershave long wishedthemto do so. TheseMuslim
Turkshaveactivelyassimilatedto the secularlaw buton theirown terms.By combining
therulesof two differentnormativeorderings,theyhavepragmatically beensuccessfulto
meetthedemandsof boththe secularlaw andreligiouslaw.
This article,firstly,gives a concise theoreticalaccountof legal modernityand
instrumentalist usage of law by modernnation-states.Secondlythe historyof secular-
ization of law and Turkishlegal modernitywill be summarized.Then picture of
postmodernsocio-legal reality vis-a-vis family law issues of MuslimTurksis pre-
sented.

LEGALMODERNITYAND INSTRUMENTALIST
USE
OF LAWBY MODERNNATION-STATES

In legal modernity,the territorialnation-state,ratherthanmankind,is adoptedas

the pointof referencefor law. Unificationof laws is a paramountobjective.Laws are
appliedover widerspatial,ethnic,religiousandclass areas;personallaw is no longer
an issue at stake;territoriallaws replacedpersonallaws; speciallaws arereplacedby
generalones, customaryones by statutelaws. Individualrights and responsibilities

2. Forthe historyof the secularizationof Turkey,see in detailNiyazi Berkes, TheDevelopmentOf

Secularism in Turkey,(Montreal:McGill UP, 1964). A more analyticalaccount could be found in
Binnaz Toprak,Islam and political developmentin Turkey,(Leiden: E. J. Brill: 1981). See also,
Mumtaz'er Turkone, Modernlesme, laiklik ve demokrasi, (Modernism, Laicism and
Democracy)(Ankara: Ark:1994);NiliiferGole, Modem mahrem,(Istanbul:Metis, 1992), SerifMardin,
"ReligionAnd SecularismIn Turkey,"Ali Kazancigiland ErgunOzbudun(eds) Ataturk:FounderOf
A Modem State, (London:Hurstand Co, 1981), pp. 191-219; Mardin,"Turkey:Islam and Western-
ization,"CarloCaldorola(ed) Religions and Societies:Asia and the Middle East, (Berlin et al: Mou-
ton Publishers.,1982), pp. 171-198; JavaidSaeed, IslamAnd Modernization:A ComparativeAnaly-
sis Of Pakistan,Egypt, and Turkey,(Westport,Connecticut.London:Praeger,1994).
 MIDDLEEASTJOURNAL* 115

havetakenthe placeof corporaterightsandresponsibilities.Secularmotivesandtech-

niqueshave supersededreligioussanctionsandinspiration.Law-makingandapplica-
tion have become a professionalarea that operatesin the name of centralnational
power.This centralnationalpowertoleratesno rivalsby meansof law in its sover-
eignty, since uniformlaw is seen as a conditionof progresstowardmodernnation-
hood.
In modernlegal systems,therehas been a strongtendencyto replacetraditional
local laws with one uniformmodernstatelaw. Most governmentsseek to modernize
theirlaws in additionto unification.The modernizingelite rejectsthe inherited,the
old, and searchesfor a new way of life, new structures,and new patternsof social
relations.To them,customarylaw exists when, andto the extentthat,statelaw recog-
nizes thatit exists.
In modernthinking,it is widelybelievedthattraditionallaw does not serveas an
instrumentof change. Traditionallaw is accusedof keepingpeople from acting in
compliancewith the developmentaims of the state.In contrast,modernstate law is
believedto change societies. The ideologicalrole of law is of centralimportancein
legal modernity.Law is used as an instrumentof social control,and as a mode of
organizingbeliefs andvalues.3Accordingto instrumentalist mentality,"alllegal goals
consist of specificend resultsrealizableat some particularmomentin time."4Instru-
mentaliststake the social spacebetweenlegislatorand subjectimplicitlyas a norma-
tive vacuum.In otherwords,they assumethatthe legislatoris more or less autono-
mousfromthe social contextin whichthe ruleis to haveits effects,the subjectsof the
rule are atomisticindividualsand the legislator'scommandis uninfluencedby the
social medium.
At times, any groupaspiringto statepowerattacksthe old social orderand at-
temptsto use its own systemof legal rules andprinciplesfirst.To this end, laws are
sometimestransplanted fromanothercultureor otherculturesby voluntaryreception.
In some othercases, laws aretransplanted by involuntaryimposition.5
A statecan undertakethe processof legal importationas a resultof fundamental

3. David Sugarman,"Law,EconomyAnd The State In England,1750-1914:Some MajorIssues,"

David Sugarman(ed) Legality,ideologyand the state, (Londonet al:AcademicPress, 1983), pp. 233-
235; KalmanKulcsar,ModernizationAnd Law, ThesesAnd Thoughts,(Budapest:HungarianAcad-
emy of Sciences, 1987), p. 64.
4. RobertS. Summers,"NaiveInstrumentalismAnd The Law,"P. M. S. Hackerand J. Raz (eds)
Law,morality,and society, (Oxford:ClarendonPress, 1977), p. 197.
see also in detailRobertL Kidder,ConnectingLawAnd Society,
5. On the issue of transplantation,
(EnglewoodCliffs: PrenticeHall, 1983); Kidder,"TowardsAn IntegratedTheoryOf ImposedLaw",
SandraB. Burmanand BarbaraE. Harrell-Bond(eds) TheImpositionOf Law, (New York:Academic
Press, 1979), pp. 289-306; Alan Watson,Legal Transplants,(Edinburgh:Scottish Academic Press,
1974); Watson,"LegalTransplantsAnd Law Reform,"The Law QuarterlyReview, 1976, pp. 70-85;
Watson,SocietyAndLegal Change,(Edinburgh:ScottishAcademicPress, 1977);Watson,LegalTrans-
plants, 2nd ed, (Edinburgh:Scottish Academic Press, 1993); Watson, "FromLegal TransplantsTo
Legal Formats,"TheAmericanJournalof ComparativeLaw, V. 43 N. 3, 1995, pp. 469-476; Watson,
"AspectsOf Reception Of Law,"TheAmericanJournal of ComparativeLaw, V. 44 N. 2, 1996, pp.
335-351.
 116 * MIDDLEEASTJOURNAL

revolutionand,underthatupheaval,may adamantlyattemptto establisha completely

cleanandblanklegal sheet.The elite of a givencountrymaydecideto transplanta law
or a legal systementirelyto procurethe social transformation of society.To reachthis
goal, the elite canimposeradicallynew patternsof behaviorby optingfor transplanted
law, using law to reconstructsociety andits social relations.
However,some problemsemergeduringmodernization: The lack of powerbe-
hind modernizationprogramscan cause failure;there may be a differencebetween
realityand over-ambitiousaims, insufficientknowledgeof realityor ignoranceof it,
the lack of explorationof the possible consequences,and the neglect of social phe-
nomena,culturalconditions,religiousandcustomarytraditions.Sometimesstatelaw
can be seen as unnecessary,avoidable,andremediableby society.Laws do not work
effectivelyif they arenot congruentwith theirsocial context.It is evidentthatno law
canultimatelycompelaction.All the law cando is "tryto inducesomeone,by orderor
by persuasionor by suggestion,to a certaincourseof action."6
It is also possiblethattheremay be a numberof competingnormsin the coun-
triesthattransplanted theirofficial law fromabroad,usuallyfromWesterncountries.
Shari'a and dharmacan be given as examplesof normscompetingagainstthe state
law. They are deep-rootedtraditionsthathave developedapproving'legal postulates'
amongtheirfollowers.7Althoughtheymay be regardedby orthodoxjurisprudence as
simple customsand practices,these religiouspreceptsand ethicalimperativesinflu-
ence bothofficial andunofficiallaw. To put it differently,transplanted statelaw does
not exist as a separatesystembutco-existswith unofficiallaws peacefullyor conflict-
ingly.As a result,in some cases, a radicalreformattemptin the legal arenamay well
fall far shortof bringingthe assumedcrucialtransformation.
A body of researchshows limits to the capacityof law in transformingsocial
life.8 Moore'ssemi-autonomous modelexplainswhy new laws to directchangedo not
necessarilyproducethe anticipatedconsequences.9To her,the social spacebetween
legislatorand subjectis not a normativevacuum.Althoughthe statehas the powerto
use physicalforce, it does not mean that there are no other agencies and modes of
inducingcompliance.10 In otherwords,even thoughthe formallegal institutionsenjoy
a kindof monopolyin termsof the legitimateuse of power,therearesome otherforms
of effective coercion or effective inducement.Between the individualand political
body thereare variousinterposedsocial fields to whichthe individualbelongs.These

6. AntonyAllott, TheLimitsOf Law, (London:Butterworths,1980),pp. 45-46.

7. Masaji Chiba, Legal Pluralism: TowardA General TheoryThroughJapanese Legal Culture,
(Tokyo:TokaiUP, 1989), 125.
8. See for example,Allott, TheLimitsOf Law, op.cit.
9 Sally FalkMoore, "Lawand social change:The semi-autonomoussocial field as an appropriate
subject of study,"V. 7 N. 4 Law and Society Review, 1973, pp. 719-746; see also Moore, Law As
Process: An AnthropologicalApproach,(Londonet al: Routledgeand KeganPaul, 1978).
10. See also in detail,Leopold Pospisil,AnthropologyOf Law:A ComparativeTheory,(New York
et al: Harperand Row, 1971), pp. 193-232; Pospisil, "The structureof society and its multiple legal
systems,"P. H. Gulliver(ed) Cross-examinations:Essays in memoryof Max Gluckman,(Leiden:E. J.
Brill, 1978), pp. 96-109.
 MIDDLEEASTJOURNAL* 117

social fields have theirown rules andthe meansof coercingor inducingcompliance.

In all culturallyheterogeneouscommunitiesa numberof modesof normativeorderings
co-exist with the official law. Local laws and customsare some of the majorfactors
thatinfluenceandimpedethe effectivenessof law in modernsocieties.These factors
are the sources of incoherence,multiplelegal authoritiesand interpretations,local
interestsandlocal concerns.Thereis usuallya continuouscompetitionbetweenthese
normativesystemsfor the allegianceof thoseto whomtheyareaddressed.Thiscondi-
tion is called 'dynamiclegal pluralism'andexists whereculturalpluralismis a social
reality.I
Dynamiclegal pluralismis an attributeof a social field andnot of "law"or of a
"legalsystem."It is the presencein a social field of more thanone legal order.The
whole pictureof law as it operatesin societyis composedof threelevels: officiallaw,
unofficiallaws, and legal postulatessince law mustbe understoodas a culturalcon-
structandas enduringideas, structures,processes,andpractices(writtenandunwrit-
ten, formalandinformal,legalisticandless legalistic,local andnational).Law exists
at everylevel of society,sometimesas statelaw, sometimesas normsor rulesof con-
duct and it is alwaysinfusedwith culturalandhistoricalmeanings.Law is a process
andis shapedby rulesanda culturallogic. In theconditionof dynamiclegalpluralism,
unofficialand official laws continuouslyand dynamicallyinteract.The socio-legal
sphereis not a normativevacuumandthe operationof law is underthe influenceof
legal postulatesthatalwaysexist in the socio-legalsphere,whateverlegal modernity
asserts.

AND SECULARIZATION
TURKISHLEGALMODERNITY OF TURKISHLAW

Turkeyhas a uniqueexperiencein the wholeMuslimworld,as a countrythathas

completelysecularizedits legal system.The secularizationmovementin modernTur-
key has followed a Jacobinistand militantcourse,very muchlike the Frenchexperi-
ence. Laicismhas been perceivedas an alternativereligion.Foundersof the Republic
believedthattherewas not enoughtime to wait for the slow processof evolution.The

10. See also in detail, Leopold Pospisil, AnthropologyOf Law: A ComparativeTheory,(New

Yorket al: Harperand Row, 1971), pp. 193-232; Pospisil, "The structureof society and its multiple
legal systems,"P. H. Gulliver(ed) Cross-examinations:Essays in memoryof Max Gluckman,(Leiden:
E. J. Brill, 1978), pp. 96-109.
11. I use the term "dynamiclegal pluralism"to denote a conditionof a socio-legal spherewhere
dynamic interactionsbetween official laws, unofficial laws and legal postulatesand continuousre-
constructionand hybridizationprocesses take place, see in detail IhsanYilmaz, DynamicLegal Plu-
ralismAnd The ReconstructionOf UnofficialMuslimLaws In England, TurkeyAnd Pakistan,(Lon-
don: SOAS, 1999), chapter2. For the literatureon legal pluralism,see John Griffiths,"Whatis legal
pluralism?",Journalof Legal Pluralism,V. 24,1986, pp. 1-2, 8; Sally Engle Merry."LegalPluralism,"
Law and Society Review,In: V. 22 N. 5, 1988, pp. 869-896; Masaji Chiba (1986) (ed) Asian Indig-
enous Law In InteractionWithReceived Law. London. New York:Kegan Paul International;Chiba
(1989) Legal Pluralism: TowardA General TheoryThroughJapanese Legal Culture.Tokyo:Tokai
UP; June Starr,Law As Metaphor:FromIslamic CourtsTo The Palace Of Justice, (New York:State
Universityof New YorkPress, 1992), p. 174.
118 * MIDDLEEASTJOURNAL

Kemalistelite had conceivedreligion as a threatto their modernistmovementand

revolutions.Inthispositivistreadingof secularism,religionsshouldstayin consciences
andplaces of worshipand shouldnot be mixedwith materiallife.12
Westernlaw had alreadybeen in the processof beingreceivedinto Turkeyfor a
periodof aboutone hundredyearsbeforethe Republic.The precedentsfor the intro-
ductionof Western-based systemsof law intoTurkeyhavea history,extendingeven to
the Tanzimatof 1839.13Thesewerein additionto, andnot a replacementof, the Mus-
lim law.Therewas a dualistlegal structure.Ottomanbureaucrats engineereda revolu-
tion fromaboveby creatingparallel,secularlegal institutionsat the nationallevel that
existedalongsideIslamicones in the laternineteenthcenturyOttomanstate.
Althoughsecularizationof law had startedsince the Tanzimat,legal provisions
basedon the Muslimlaw were, moreor less, still in effect. In the field of familylaw,
all earlierreforms,howeverextensivethey seemed, had not affectedthe traditional
Muslimlaw, which governedfamily life. The laws of marriage,divorce,inheritance,
andcustodyof childrenfor Muslimscontinuedas before.
On October25, 1917, the OttomanFamilyLaw was enacted.This was an eclec-
tic law, which reflectedand amalgamatedthe views of differentjuristic schools of
Islam. The law tried to give marriagea more official characterby statingthat the
unilateraltalaq (statementof divorce)in the presenceof two witnessesdid not suffice
to terminatea marriage.The presenceof a judge or a deputywas requiredby the law.
Moreover,every marriageand divorcehad to be legally organizedaccordingto state
procedures.The law also granteda wife two new groundsfor divorce.For the first
time age limitsfor marriagewere set. The new law also allowedwomen,at the timeof
betrothal,to writeintothe marriagecontractthatif the husbandtakesanotherwife, her
marriagewouldbe immediatelynull andvoid.
Althoughthe new OttomanFamilyLaw of 1917 markedcertaindifferencesin
the rightsof women,it did notbreakfree of the conceptualrulesof Islamicfamilylaw.
This did not happenuntil 1926.
The Kemalistsmadetheirfirstattemptto changethe legal systemby the appoint-
mentof specialcommitteesof the Ministryof Justiceto preparethe frameworkfor a
new set of secularcodes in 1924.However,the resultsof the reportsshowedthe heavy
influenceof the traditionalMuslim law in the proposedchanges.'4The projectwas
thus droppedand the governmentdecidedto adoptthe Swiss Civil Code, the Italian
CriminalCode, and the GermanCommercialCode. The Europeanmodel was essen-
tial accordingto the Ministerof Justiceof the time, MahmudEs'ad Bozkurt:
. . . we arebadlyin wantof a good scientificcode.Whywasteourtimetryingto
producesomethingnew when quitegood codes are to be foundreadymade?The

12. Mardin,"Turkey:Islam And Westernization," p. 180.

13. See for the origins of the secular law in Turkey,Mardin,"Some ExplanatoryNotes On The
OriginsOf The Mecelle," TheMuslimWorld,V. 51 N. 3, 1961, pp. 274-279.
14. See, for details and comments in the press about the mentionedproposal,Nermin Abadan-
Unat (ed) WomenIn TheDeveloping World:TheEvidenceFromTurkey,(Denver:Universityof Den-
ver, 1986), pp. 130-131.
 MIDDLEEASTJOURNAL* 119

Codeto whichgoodcommentaries
onlythingto do is to takea goodready-made
exist,andto translatethem wholesale.
'5

Concurringwith Bozkurt,Ataturkunderlinedthe pointthat"itis ourpurposeto

createcompletelynew laws and thus to tearup the very foundationsof the old legal
system".16Indeed,"(t)heaim of this wholesaleadoptionwas to use law as an instru-
mentof modernization andwesternization".17 As a result,in attemptingto builda new
nationalidentityfor Turkey,the secularlegal systembecamethe very foundationof
the modernTurkishstate.
As marriageis a basic institutionof society,it is not a coincidencethatfamily
formationwould be the firsttargetof legal penetration.The TurkishConstitutionre-
fers to the family as the basic institutionof the society. It is consideredthat if the
institutionof family is healthy,thenthe society andthe statewill be healthyas well.
Thus,by protectingandregulatingthe family,the stateprotectsandempowersitself.
To that effect, the legal system imposes upon the state certain'duties'towardsthe
family.Article41 of the Constitutionputs that:"Thestateshall take...measuresand
establishthe necessaryorganisationto safeguardthe peaceandwell-beingof the fam-
ily". The protectionof mothersandchildrenandfamilyplanningareespeciallystated
as the dutiesof the stateunderthe TurkishConstitution.
Thus,radicalreformswere introducedin family law matters.The law of Islam
was abolishedfor mattersof personalstatusin 1924. It was replacedby a civil code
takenfrom Swiss models.The adoptionof the Swiss Civil Code and Swiss Code of
Obligationsin 1926representeda profoundattemptof changeby the Kemalistelite in
the social life of Turkey.'8The Civil Code differsfundamentallyfromthe provisions
of the Muslimlaw. Although,it was claimedthatthe potentialitiesand possibilities
inherentin andderivablefromthe Muslimcanonicallaw hadbeentakenintoconsider-
ationbeforeenforcingthe new code, the enactmentof the Civil Codeaimedto achieve
a completeseparationbetweenreligionandlaw.Withthis law,Islamwas completely
disregarded.It was relegatedto a matterof consciencethatwas left solely to the pri-
vate sphere.Citizenscouldbe Muslimsin theirprivatelives, yet they couldnot claim
any roomfor Islamin the publicarena.
Theelite for whomlaw-makingwas theprimarytool of socialchangeratherthan
the productof large-scaledemands"attempted to presentone consistentimageof jus-
tice and one unified legal system. Islam fell underthe controlof the modernstate
throughlaicism,whichintendedthatno Islamiccompetitioncouldagainchallengethe
secularstate's monopolyover law'.'9 One system of nation-statelaw framedby the
Constitutionof the state,entirelysecular,andone systemof statecourtsadministered
by the Ministryof Justiceconstitutethe officiallegal systemin the country.The Civil

15. Quotedin Starr,Law as Metaphor,p. 16.

16. Quoted Starr,Law as Metaphor:
17. M. B. Hooker,Legal Pluralism,(Oxford:ClarendonPress, 1975), p. 364.
18. AdnanGuriz,"Sourcesof Turkishlaw,"TugrulAnsay and Don Wallace,Jr (eds) Introduction
to TurkishLaw, (The Hague et al: KluwerLaw International,1996), p. 9.
19. Introductionto TurkishLaw, p. 170.
 120 * MIDDLEEASTJOURNAL

Codeis appliedin all partsof Turkey,andall Turkishcitizensandresidentsaresubject

to it. The modernTurkishConstitutiontakesit for grantedthatIslamin today'sTurkey
does not offera competinglegal sensibilityto secularlaw.Froma theoreticalperspec-
tive, then,religionas a sourceof law has been abolished,the positivistidiom of state
law has triumphed.

THESOCIO-LEGALCHALLENGETO LEGALMODERNITY
AND THE CONSTRUCTION
OF THETURKISHMUSLIMLAW

The stateunderthe reinsof the Kemalistelite assumedthatculturalchangecould

be imposedfromabovethroughthe force of law. One of the majorexpectedchanges
was the secularizationof society. However,it is now recognizedthat the place and
influenceof Islamin Turkishsocial life have not changeda greatdeal. Even though
Islam has been officially removedfrom public life, which was firmly based on the
theoryand practiceof the OttomanState, it is still deeply rootedin the minds and
heartsof the people.The Kemalistideology,whichhadnational,secular,andmodern
elements, could not fill the gap that Islam was supposedto have left.20The state,
throughits secularpolicies andprogramsof Westernization, has threatenedthe value
system of the Muslimpeople in the countrywithoutproviding,at the same time, a
satisfactoryandall-encompassingideologicalframeworkthatcouldhavemassappeal
andcouldhavereplacedIslam.LocalIslamsurviveddespiteall attemptsof the state.2'
Islam is pervasivein Turkishsociety, and this shows the failureof the Republican
elite's attemptsof makingreligiona privatebelief.22
In the legal field, too, Islam still continuesto influencepeople'slives. Withthe
passageof time, the expectationthatpeople would learnand follow only the official

20. Mardin,"Turkey:IslamAnd Westernization,"pp. 180-181.

21. Mardin,Religion And Social Change In Modern Turkey:The Case Of BediuzzamanSaid
Nursi, (Albany:State Universityof New YorkPress, 1989), p. 229.
22. A quick scan in Turkishdailies will show thattensionsbetween the officials who enthusiasti-
cally aim to secularizethe society from above and some people who retaintheirneo-traditionalTurk-
ish Muslimculturestill continue,showingthatthe two sides have not yet given up, see in detailHakan
Yavuz, "TheAssassinationOf Collective Memory:The Case Of Turkey,"The Muslim World,1999,
89:3-4, p. 195 and Yavuz, "CleansingIslam From The Public Sphere,"Journal of InternationalAf-
fairs, Fall 2000. Head scarf issue at the Turkishuniversities is only one these tensions. A recent
governmentdecree shows the state's social engineeringdesires by means of law has not yet waned.
The decree states that "head-scarvedparentsshall not be allowed to enter school playgroundor pre-
mises anymorewhile the NationalAnthemis chantedby schoolchildren,"which is the usual national
practice at the beginning of the week on Monday mornings and at the end of the week on Friday
evenings, http://www.haberturk.com/look.asp?N Id=16706; Resmi Gazete (Official Gazette), April
6, 2001. Only one week before the announcementof this decree took place, a head-teachergot rid of
a traditionallyhead-scarvedparentfromthe school playground,vigorouslycommentingthat"ifAtaturk
saw you with thatheadscarf,what would he have said?"Nobody was able to denouncehis remarksin
public. Yet it is an irony that more than 80 percent of women wear headscarvesin 2001's Turkey,
where democraticrhetoricis unintermittentlyemployed by everybodyand also it is only ironic that
Atatuirk'smotherand wife both always sporteda headscarf!
 MIDDLEEASTJOURNAL* 121

lex loci by entirelyabandoningthe Muslimlaw turnedout to be untrue.In the late

1990s, therewere still conflictsbetweenthe official legal systemandthe local law.23
In the case of marriage,the attitudeto the Code turnsto one of outrightconflict
betweenthe officiallaw andIslamicrulesor, moreaccurately,whatthe peopleregard
as rulesof Islamiclaw.24Thereexist a numberof fundamental differencesbetweenthe
secularcivil law of Turkeyand the unofficialMuslim local law. These differences
includethe secularizationof the marriageceremony.A legal marriagehadto be regis-
teredwith the civil authoritiesand concludedin theirpresence.Religiousceremony
was madeoptionalandcarriedno legal weight.A religiousmarriagewithoutofficial
registrationwas madea criminaloffence.The adoptionof the principleof monogamy
meantthatpolygamywas underno circumstancesallowedandbecamea criminalof-
fence.The secularizationof divorceproceedingswas anotherkey reform.Thenew law
gave both partiesan equal rightto sue for divorce.Talaq(religiousdivorce)was no
longerrecognized.Divorcecould only be grantedby an officialcourt.
Peoplein Turkey,afterthe receptionandtransplantation of the Swiss Civil Code
have had threealternatives: Avoidingthe officiallaw, followingthe Turkishstatelaw
or following a combinationof the requirementsof the Muslimlaw and Turkishlaw.
Evidencehas shownthatthey preferredthe thirdoption.They have developeda new
hybridTurkishMuslimlaw thatamalgamatesthe rulesof unofficialMuslimlaw and
of the statelaw.25

Solemnization of Marriage and Nikah

Underthe official law, only civil marriagesperformedby authorizedmarriage

officersare allowedandrecognized.26 Article 16 of the Civil Code statesthatthe for-
malitiesof celebrationcommencewiththe submissionof the necessarydocumentsby
the partiesto the marriageoffice at the place wherethey areresidingat the time. The
authoritiesstartinquiriesto check whetherimpedimentsto the marriageexist. Only
afterthe celebrationof the civil marriageis a nikahor religiousmarriagepermitted.
Contraryacts by imamsare punishableoffences.27If a civil ceremonyin a register's

23. Yilmaz,DynamicLegal Pluralism,chapter4; TugrulAnsay, "FamilyLaw",TugrulAnsay and

Don Wallace, Jr. (eds) Introductionto TurkishLaw, (The Hague et al: Kluwer Law International,
1996), p. 110.
24. In orderto emphasizethat point we use the term "local Muslim law,"which covers the rules
that the people consider Islamic, whetherthey are genuinely Islamic or not. See in detail for these
local practices,TurkozErder(ed), Family In TurkishSociety. Sociological And Legal Studies, (An-
kara:TurkishSocial Science Association, 1985); Hicri Fisek, "Introduction", Erder(ed) Family in
TurkishSsociety. 287-298, see alreadyearlierPaulStirling,TurkishVillage,(London:Weidenfeldand
Nicolson, 1965).
25. See in detail Yilmaz, Dynamic Legal Pluralism, chapter 4. In the British context, Muslims
developeda parallelrule system, amalgamatingthe Englishlaw andunofficialMuslimlaws, which is
called Angrezishariat by David Pearl and WernerF. Menski, MuslimFamilyLaw, 3rd ed, (London:
Sweet & Maxwell, 1998).
26. Article 174/4 of the TurkishConstitution.
27. Article 108 of the Civil Code andArticle 237/3 of the CriminalCode.
122 * MIDDLEEASTJOURNAL

office is followed by a religiousone, the religiousceremonydoes not supersedeor

invalidatethe civil ceremonyandis not registeredas a marriagein anymarriageregis-
ter book. The men and women who performa religiousmarriageceremonywithout
havingmadethe legal marriagecontractareconsideredto be punishable.28
Onthe otherhand,"manyTurkishcitizensstill preferthe informalor consensual
marriage,or nikah."29Sometimesthey marrywith nikah only withoutregistration,
which is not recognizedunderthe Civil Code. There are still some marriagesper-
formedby the imamswithoutthe priorofficial celebration.30 In ruralsociety,the reli-
gious ceremonyis still regardedas valid in itself, and a civil marriagealone is not
regardedas validby the Muslimcommunity.3'
An earlierstudyfoundin the 1970s that35.4%of all marriagesin Turkeywere
civil, 49.2%were mixedcivil-religious(concludedin the presenceof civil authorities
andlater,an imam),and 15.0 percentwereonly religiousandhencecarriedno official
legal weight.32Some 70 years afterthe transplantation of the Civil Code, the norms
thatconsidera child bornonly of non-religious(civil) wedlocka 'bastard'are quite
dominant,since legitimacyin the eyes of societystill restssolely on the nikah.33In the
1990s,it is an undeniablefact that"manyunmarriedcouples,andthe societytheylive
in, believe that the religiousceremonyprovidesenoughevidencefor the validityof
theirmarriage."34
StatePlanningOrganization'sdatafromthe 1990s show thatthe importanceof
the religiousmarriagein the eyes of the peoplestill continues:in urbanareas,the ratio
of civil only marriagesto all subsistingmarriagesis 13.59%,the figurefor religious
only marriagesis 3,09%,the ratioof couples who employedboth civil andreligious
marriageceremoniesis 82.70%;in ruralareas, the figures are 5.11%, 6.89%, and
87.38%respectively.35
Accordingto recentresearchconductedby the Directorateof ReligiousAffairs,

28. TugrulAnsay et al (eds) The TurkishCriminalCode, (London:Sweet & Maxwell, 1965), p.

85. For some cases which appearedbefore the court of Cassations,see Y4.C.D. 06/06/1983 E 983/
2664 K 983/3310; Y4.C.D. 09.12.1986 E 986/9510 K 986/ 9813; Y4.C.D 28.04.1992 E. 992/2504 K.
992/
29. Abadan-Unat,WomenIn TheDeveloping World,p. 172;AydinZevkliler,Medenihukuk(Civil
Law), (Istanbul:Savas, 1995), p. 705; Belkis Kumbetoglu,"Aile,evlilik, nikah:Farklilasankavramlar"
(Family,Marriage,Nikah: ChangingConcepts),Toplumve Bilim, N. 73, 1997, p. 121.
30. Kumbetoglu,"Aile, Evlilik,";Ansay, "Familylaw", p. 113.
31. Hooker,Legal Pluralism, p. 365; Nancy Tapper,"ChangingWeddingRituals in a Turkish
town", TurkishStudies,V. 9, 1985, pp. 305-306; NuranElmaci, "Polygamy:fok-esli evlilikler"(Po-
lygamy: Polygamous Marriages),Necla Arat (ed) Turkiye'dekadin olmak (To Be a Womanin Tur-
key) (Istanbul:Say, 1994), p.109.
32. Timur,Tiirkiye'deaile yapisi (Family Structurein Turkey),(Ankara: HacettepeUniversity
Press, 1971).
33. BirsenTalay,TheChangesIn TurkishFamilyStructureBetweenTheYears1923-1935, (Istanbul:
Bogaziqi University,1994), p. 34; see alreadyearlier,Balaman,"Familyformation,"p. 211.
34. Talay,Changes, a womanjournalistin the easternTurkeystates that everybodyin the region
marriesby nikah, and official marriageis also common.Sabah Melodi, March25, 1998.
35. State PlanningOrganizastion(SPO), Turkaile aractirmasi(TurkishFamily Research)(An-
kara:DPT, 1992), p. 42, table 31.
 MIDDLEEASTJOURNAL* 123

54.8%of the universityyouthin Turkeywantnikahin additionto officialregistration.

Thisnumberincreases,as we haveseen fromthe statistics,whenit comesto marriage,
so that most of them performnikahdue to a numberof reasons,such as social and
parentalpressurealthoughsome of them(45.2%in the saidresearch)wouldnot nec-
essarilydesire so.36
It is also clear from these datathatTurkishpeople have learntto combinethe
officialandunofficialmarriages.Evenin the villagelevel, theratioof performingboth
marriagesis 87.38%.Religiousonly marriagesstill occurin substantialnumbers,op-
posing the wishes of the officiallaw. Otherevidenceshowingthatpeople have learnt
to combinethe rulesof the secularandreligiouslaws is the decreasingtime interval
betweenthe religiousand secularmarriages.37 Peoplehaverealizedto a greatextent
thatmarryingreligiouslyonly has disadvantages,whilst havingmarriedsecularlyin
additionto the religiousmarriagehas substantialbenefitsespeciallyfor the women
concerned.38Researchconductedby HacettepeUniversityin years 1988 and 1993
also confirmsthe above-mentionedofficialresearch.39
The state's desire for uniformlegal standardsis opposedto the religiousand
culturaldiversitiesof the people.As a matterof fact, as the empiricalresearchshows,
social realityis not respondingfully to the desiresof the secularlaw. Even the state
acceptsthisphenomenon.In a publicationof the StateInstituteof Statistics,it is stated
thatin spite of the legal prohibition:
... it is assumedthat religiousmarriages(not accompaniedby official mar-
riages)often takeplace,especiallyin the EasternandSoutheastpartsof Anatolia.
Thereforethe numberof marriagesappearsto be lower than they actuallyare,
since religiousmarriagesarenot includedin these statistics.i0
In sum, in accordancewith the unofficialTurkishMuslim law, Muslims will
marrytwice with severalpermutationsto satisfy the competingdemandsof secular
law andreligiousbelief. Therearefive differentpatternsof solemnizationof marriage
in the Turkishcontext:Civil marriage,religious marriage,both civil and religious
marriagesat the sametime, civil firstwithoutsolemnizationfor a periodandthenthe
religiousmarriage,andfinallyreligiousfirstandaftera while civil marriage.

36. See Hurriyet,23 February1998, p. 12.

37. NurettinYildirak,Kay kadinlarininsosyo-ekonomikve kiltiirel konumlari(The Socio-eco-
nomic and CulturalSituationof Village Women)(Istanbul:FriedrichEbertVakfi, 1992), p. 22.
38. See now in detail,Yilmaz,"Non-Recognitionof Post-ModemTurkishSocio-LegalRealityand
Predicamentof Women,"BritishJournalof MiddleEasternStudies,2001 (forthcoming).Similarly,in
the Britishcontext, the state's hesitationto recognize unofficialMuslim socio-legalityhas important
reflectionsin the public sphereat the expense of the Muslim minority,especially the women, see in
detailYilmaz, "MuslimLaw in Britain,Reflectionsin the Socio-Legal Sphereand DifferentialLegal
Treatment,"Journal of MuslimMinorityAffairs,V. 20 N. 2, 2000; IhsanYilmaz, "The QuestionOf
IncorporationOf Muslim PersonalLaw Into The English Law And Law As Chameleon,"Journalof
MuslimMinorityAffairs,V. 21 N. 2, 2001.
39. HacettepeUniversitesiNuifusEtudleriEnstituisui, Tiirkiyeniifusve saflik arastirmasi(Turkish
Populationand HealthResearch),(Ankara:Ministryof Health and HUNEE, 1993).
40. State Instituteof Statistics Prime Ministry Republic of Turkey (DIE), Marriage Statistics,
(Ankara:DIE, 1997), p. ix; see now, www.die.gov.tr.
124 * MIDDLEEAST JOURNAL

Having Polygamy

Withregardsto polygamy,thereis an obviousconflictbetweenclassicalMuslim

law in which a man is permittedto marryup to four wives at any one time and the
official law of Turkey.Thus, a marriagein which eitherpartyis alreadymarriedto
someoneelse will automaticallybe null and void accordingto the official law. The
Civil Code states that no personshall marryagain unless he proves thatthe earlier
marriagehas been dissolvedby deathor by divorceor by a decreeof nullity,andthat
a secondmarriageshall be declaredinvalidby the courton the groundthata person
had a spouse living at the time of marriage.In otherwords,the second marriageis
absolutelyvoid, or void ab initio.i'
Thepartiesknowinglycontractingsucha marriageareconsideredas havingcom-
mitteda criminaloffence underArticle237/5 of the CriminalCode thatstates:If the
manis alreadymarried,he shallbe punishedby imprisonmentfor six monthsto three
years.If the womanknowinglymarriessuch a man, she shallbe given the samepun-
ishment.42
However,polygamousmarriageshave in no sense been eradicatedin Turkey.43
Thepolygamouslocal traditionstill survivesto a certainextent,4 even thoughpolyga-
mousmarriagesareonly exceptionalas Turkishsocietyhas generallybeen a monoga-
mous society.Althoughit variesfrom regionto region,in the historyof Turkey,the
ratioof polygamousmarriageshasalreadybeenminimal.Accordingto recentresearch,
alreadyin 1885,the proportionof polygamousmarriagesto all subsistingmarriagesin
Istanbulwas only 2.51%.In 1907, the figurewas 2.16%.
Social acceptanceof succeedingwives is gainedby performingonly "nikah".
Numerousfirstmarriagesare also religiousonly but not registered.A studybasedon
surveyresearchfoundthatapproximately2%of all marriagesin Turkeywerepolyga-
mous in the early 1970s.46Estimatesof the proportionof polygamousmarriagein
ruralareasduringthe presentcenturyrangebetween10%and2%.In the early 1980s,
Sahinkaya,in EasternAnatolia,foundthe rateof polygamy to be about4.4%.47In the
late 1990s, the numberof males who marrypolygamouslyand defendthat state of

41. Articles93 and 112/1, 114, 115.Y.H.G.K.26/3/1986, E. 2/751- K. 287; Y.2.H.D.27/2/1986, E.

1729- K.2054; Y2.H.D. 03/06/1990 194/2546.
42. Ansay et al, The TurkishCriminalCode, p. 86.
43. Abadan-Unat,Womenin the Developing World, p. 173; Kumbetoglu, "Aile, evlilik, nikah:
Farklilasankavramlar,"p. 121.
44. FatmaMansurCosar,"Womenin Turkishsociety,"Lois Beck and Nikki Keddie(eds) Women
in the MuslimWorld,(Cambridge,MA/ London:HarvardUP, 1978), pp. 124-140; Guriz,"Sourcesof
TurkishLaw," p. 4; Kumbetoglu,"Aile,evlilik, nikah:Farklilasankavramlar,"p. 121.
45. Alan Duben and Cem Behar, IstanbulHouseholds: Marriage, FamilyAnd Fertility,1880-
1940, (Cambridge:CambridgeUP, 1991); and the Turkishtranslationof the same, Duben and Behar,
Istanbulhaneleri: Evlilik,aile ve dogurganlik,1880-1940, (Istanbul:Iletisim, 1996). 161.
46. Timur,Tiirkiye'deaile yapisi, , p. 93; see also Cosar,"Womenin Turkishsociety",, p. 127.
47. Rezan Sahinkaya,Diyarbakirili merkezkoylerindeaile striiktiirii(DiyarbakirCountyVil-
lages Family Structure)(AnkaraUniversitesi:ZiraatFakuiltesiYayinlari,1983), p. 50.
 MIDDLEEAST JOURNAL* 125

affairin publichas been steadilyincreasing.48

Nikahutilizes polygamyin a particularway. Some polygamistsreportedthatif
theyhadto divorcetheirwives to remarry,theycouldnot havemarried,since the issue
of divorceis not perceivedpositivelyin the community.49 Thetwo mostcommonrea-
sons givenfor thesebigamousunionswerethe needfor anotherfemalehelperandthe
suspectedsterilityof the firstwife. In Turkishsociety,the most importantgroundfor
legitimizingdivorceis the infertilityof the wife. In field research,Basaranfoundthat
in ruralareaspeopleapprovepolygamyof a husbandif he has no male childfromhis
firstwife. 97.3 % of womenand 80.4%of men agreethatit is appropriate for a hus-
bandto have a secondwife if he has no male offspring.50In infertilitycases, thus,a
solutionis soughtnot by divorcebutratherby a polygamousmarriageof the husband
to a widow or an unmarriedwoman.A thirdreasonfor polygamyaccordingto some
researchwas the institutionof the levirateor widowinheritanceby marriedkin of the
deceased.In these cases, polygamyis regardedas a social dutyor a pious obligation.
However,it must be emphasizedthatthereare manypolygamistswho had no such
excuses or reasonspriorto theirsecond marriagesotherthansatisfyingtheirwhims
and desires.
Polygamyor moregenerallysurvivalof the local law is not a ruralphenomenon
althoughmost writerstendto see it as such.Evenin big cities andmetropolitanareas,
despitethe smallerfigures,dynamicMuslimlegalpluralismis a reality.Sometimes,it
is easierto continuea polygamouslife freefromGemeinschaft pressuresin a crowded
metropolitancity.5'A quickscanin newspaperswill also show thatpolygamousmar-
riages are not confinedonly to the ruraland easternpartsof Turkey.In thatcontext,
one can see some people who polygamouslymarried,in the urbanareasas well. For
instance,thereare some politicians,businessmen,singers,actors,membersof Parlia-
mentsandeven ministersof the Cabinetwho areknownas polygamists,despitewhat
the legal systemsays.52
In theTurkishMuslimlaw,thereareat leastfourpatternsof polygamy.However
thatfigurecan easily increasedependingon the numberof wives concerned.In the

48. Kumbetoglu,"Aile,evlilik, nikah:Farklilasankavramlar,"pp. 121, 127.

49. Elmaci, "Polygamy,"p. 109.
50. FatmaBasaran, "Birdenfazla kadinlaevlenmeyekarsi vaziyetalislar" ("PositioningAgainst
Polygamy"),Behlul Dikecligil andAhmet 1igdem (eds) Aile yazilari (Writingson Family),(Ankara:
T. C. B. Aile ArastirmaKurumuBaskanligi, 1990), p. 187.
51. See Elmaci, "Polygamy,"pp. 105; 108
52. For a recent case about a ministerof the Cabinet,as he then he was, a memberof the then
rulingWelfareParty,which became a controversialissue between Europeanpoliticiansand the Turk-
ish politicianswith regardto the humanrightsissues in Turkey,see TheIndependent,April 17, 1997,
p. 14. For anothercase, regardinganotherformerministerof the cabinetwho is currentlythe chair-
man of a very popularfootball club, see Hurriyet, November7, 1997, p. 27. In anotherrecentcase,
second wife of a polygamistbusinessmanwith nikahonly claimed in the courtthat afterher husband
died he left only 3 companiesto her,23 to the firstwife, but she claimedthatthatwas injusticeand she
deservedmuch more, applyingfor the annulmentof the contractleft by the husbandregardinginher-
itance. Reportedin Hurriyet,March20, 1998, p. 43.
126 * MIDDLEEASTJOURNAL

firstpattern,the manmarriestwo or morewives with only nikahwithoutanyregistra-

tion. In the secondpattern,only one of the womenis a wife by civil ceremony.If, for
instance,the firstmarriagewas civil, the secondwill be religiousonly. Significantly,
the first wife thenbecomesthe legal motherof the childrenbornto the secondwife.
Birth certificatesand identificationdocumentsare arrangedaccordingly.53 Yet it is
quitepossiblethata second,thirdor fourthwife could be the officialwife if the hus-
banddid not preferto registerthe earliermarriage.In this thirdpattern,the husband
takes his first wife withoutofficial marriage,which is a commonpracticein rural
areas,then he marriesthe second one both officially and unofficially.In the fourth
pattern,the husbanddivorceshis wife officiallybut does not pronouncetalaq so that
she is still his wife in Islam. Then, he marriesanotherwoman both officially and
unofficially(withnikah).S4 Thus,it is madesurethatbothchildrenof the firstwife and
the second wife are legitimatein the eyes of both Muslimlaw and the official legal
system. These scenarioscan be adaptedto the cases of the possible thirdor fourth
wives with differentpermutations.
Prohibitionof polygamywas a radicalstep in the historyof Turkey.Yet, as one
can easily conclude,this was neithera greatrevolutionnor a big change, since the
societywas anywaymoreor less monogamous.Theratioof polygamousmarriages,as
stressedabove,was alreadyminimal.This ratiohas continuedto exist in spite of all
legal actionsagainstit.

Divorce and Talaq

The divorceratein Turkeyhas been relativelylow.55Thus,the case of talaqhas

not been a big issue in termsof numbers.Peoplein Turkeygenerallyreactnegatively
to the idea of divorce.It is conceivedas an unpleasantexperienceand it is usually
condemnedby families and friends.Even thoughin Muslimlaw divorcecan be ob-
tainedin a numberof extra-judicialways like talaq, in secularTurkishlaw thereis
solely one way of divorce,whichis througha decreegrantedby a courtof civil juris-
dictionon the groundthatthe marriagehas irretrievably brokendown.Thejudge can
eitherdeclarethe marriagevoid, if the conditionsfor a validmarriagedo not exist;or

53. Ali Riza Balaman,"FamilyFormationAnd DissolutionIn RuralAreas",Erder(ed) FamilyIn

TurkishSociety,Sociological And Legal Studies,p. 211; Elmaci, "Polygamy,"p. 109.
54. Religious scholarshave been asked by people regardingthis issue. Beser contendsthat if the
husbanddoes not say "I divorcedher"but writesit with no sincereintentionto divorceandthen if the
judge decides to grantdivorce, they are not Islamically divorced.If he pronouncesthe talaq, or "I
divorced you", then he can remarryher under the Muslim law, FarukBeser, Fikih penceresinden
sosyal hayatimiz,V I (OurSocial Life from Fiqh's Perspective).,(Istanbul:Nun, 1993), p. 162.
55. The most detailedresearchon divorce in Turkeyis Zwahlen'5 study which surveysthe issue
from ancientTurksto modem Turkishsociety MaryZwahlen,Le divorceen Turquie:Contributiona
l'etude de la reception du code civil suisse, (Divorce in Turkey:Contributionto the Study of the
Receptionof the Swiss Civil Code), (Geneve:LibrarieDroz, 1981). Anotherdetailedstudy on Turk-
ish law yet to be publishedis H. P. Williams, TheRole OfAdjudicatoryLaw In Divorce Proceedings
In Turkey,(Tufts:Tufts University,1982), (UnpublishedPh.D. dissertation).
 MIDDLEEAST JOURNAL* 127

grantan annulment;or decide to granta divorceor separation.The Code had made

divorceby collusionor mutualconsentdifficultfor manyyears.56However,the new
revisionin the Civil Code makesa divorceby mutualconsentpossible.57
In an earliercase, the Courtof Cassationdid not recognizea talaq, statingthat
there is only one type of dissolutionof the marriageunderthe Civil Code. Muslim
law's prohibitionon the marriageafterthreetalaqsbetweenthe couplewas refusedon
the groundthatthereis no suchrulein the Civil Code.58
Onthe otherhand,sincemarriagesarereligious,divorcesarealso madeby talaq
to terminatethe religious marriage,the nikah.59Althoughstatisticalrecordsdo not
includethe numberof dissolvedinformalmarriages,husbandsstill divorcetheirwives
with talaq anddevoutMuslimwives have to agreeto the officialdivorce.60However,
thistype of easy divorceis not an easy optionin Turkishsocietywheremostmarriages
arestill arranged.6'Effectivityandintensityof therelationshipsbetweenfamiliesmake
it impossiblefor an individualto reacha decisionto divorce,so thatindividualdesires
cannoteasily be put into effect.62Yetit is evidentthatwith the waningof the institu-
tion of the arrangedmarriages,talaqscouldbecomeeasier.Also in urbanareas,due to
the decliningintensityof social pressuresandrisingindividualism,divorcewouldin-
evitablybecomean easieroption.

THEFUTUREOF POSTMODERNTURKISHLEGALITY
AND TURKISH"DEMOCRACY"

Althoughthe Turkishstate tried to abolish Muslim law by transplantingnew

secularand uniformlaws, the resulthas been thatTurkishMuslimshave not aban-
donedtheirlocal Muslimfamilylaws. The socio-legalrealityof Muslimlegal plural-
ism stemmingfromresistanceof local Muslimlaw has,for manyyears,beenseen as a
ruralphenomenonin Turkey.However,it is becomingclearthatMuslimlegal plural-
ism is a realityof urbanareastoo. The state andthe elite expectedthatby meansof
education,membersof society would learnthe rules of the official legal system,and
they believedthatwith the increaseof urbanizationpeople would give up theirlocal
customsandreligiouslaws andwouldfollow only the officiallaw.
Nevertheless,the Turkishempiricaldata have not confirmedthis expectation.
Rather,Turkishpeoplehavereconstructed theirunofficialreligiouslaws in spiteof all
the claims of the secularlegal system, particularlyin the issues of marriage,mani-
festly showingthatstatelaw has limitsto shapethe society.The Turkishexperienceis

56. Article 150 of the Civil Code before revision.

57. Ansay, "FamilyLaw," p. 117.
58. Y. H. G. K. 08. 06. 1968 E. 1966. 2-1487 K. 425 T.
59. N. Serpil Altuntek, Vanyoresinde akraba evliligi (Marriageof Close Kin in the Van Area)
(Ankara:KulturBakanligiYayinlari,1993), p. 77.
60. See in detailYilmaz, TheDynamicLegal Pluralism, Chapter4.
61. Balaman,"Familyformation,"p. 214.
62. Balaman,"FamilyFormation,"p.215.
128 * MIDDLEEAST JOURNAL

instructivein the sense thatit remindsus thepossibilitiesandlimitationsof attempting

to reconstructsocietyby restructuring its law.63By developinga new TurkishMuslim
law, these Turkshave met the demandsof both the secularTurkishlegal systemand
the unofficialMuslimlaw. Since TurkishMuslimshave reconciledthese conflicting
pointsby employingTurkishMuslimlaw rules,only a few cases haveappearedbefore
the courts.Even thoughwe have only dealtwith family law issues in this article,it is
also starklyobservablein the Turkishsociety that in other fields such as business,
finance,banking,' insurance,andin all sortsof spheresof life, Muslimlaw is referred
to andobeyedby manypeople despitethe non-recognitionof the state.65
Even the stateandthe rulingelite are awareof the realitythatTurkeycontinues
to be a Muslimcountry,no matterwhat changes may have takenplace in Turkey's
Islam,whichshowsthe partialfailureof the Kemalistelite's instrumentalist use of law
to makereligiona privatebelief. It is ironicthatnow some lobbyistgroups,a Maoist
party,andsomebusinessmen'sassociationsdemandthatthe state'sDirectorateof Re-
ligious Affairsmust issue a fatwa which would prohibitthe usage of US Dollarsin
daily life andorderimamsto instructthe faithfulduringFridaysermonsto deal with
TurkishLira insteadof US Dollars in theirdaily affairsso that the recentfinancial
seriesof crisescouldbe overcome.66 As a matterof fact,on the 3 lst of August2001, in

63. Starr,Law as Metaphor, p. xli.

64. A recentsurveyhas found that 14.1 of Turkishpeople opened accountsin interest-freeIslamic
finance institutionsdespite the non-existenceof state guaranteefor any losses as opposed to the case
with the mainstreambanks, see, "AnarAnketi March 2001," www.anararastirma.com.tr. Same re-
searchhas also shown that these people are of differentpolitical partyaffiliationalbackground,not
only of so-called "Islamic"VirtueParty.
65. Fatwa books are bestsellersin Turkey.Moreover,many newspapershavefatwa columns. Re-
cently, the numberof Turkishfatwa sites on the inter-nethas increased,see for example, the state's
Directorateof Religious Affairs'fatwa site, http://www.diyanet.gov.tr/dinibilgiler/dinibil.html.
Also,
throughvariouspopularnewsgroupsand e-mail discussionlists, TurkishMuslims solicit information
about what "Islam"says about any particularproblemor issue. Contemporaryand frequentlyasked
issues in Turkey:workingin Europe,madhhabs(legal schools of Islam), using amplifierwhen read-
ing azan (the call to prayer),Friday prayerand work, dar al-Islam, fasting and travelingby train,
stock exchange, tax, halal meat, nikah, marryinga non-Muslim woman, talaq, court divorce, po-
lygamy,nationalism,unemploymentbenefit,inflation,interest,customstax, bribery,depositingmoney
at a bankin non-Muslimcountries,selling alcohol in a non-Muslimcountry,gamblingin dar al-harb
(non-Muslimcountries),sterilization,plastic surgery,using perfumes,abortion,ijtihad(independent
legal reasoning), militaryservice, organtransplantation, prayers(salah) on bus, VAT,mortgage,Eu-
ropeanUnion, golden tooth, alcohol in medication,eau de cologne, life insurance,feminism,fertility
clinics and so on, see FarukBeser,Fetvalar(fatwas),(Izmir:Nil, 1991);AhmetKurucan,Yenibirfikhi
aci (A New Fiqh Perspective),(Izmir:Isik, (1998), TDV, Gunumuzmeselelerinefetvalar(Fatwason
ContemporaryProblems),(Ankara:TDV, 1999), see also Yilmaz, "MuslimLegal Pluralismin Asr Al
Darura, Surferson the Inter-Madhhab-Netand Neo-Ijtihad,"FrankVogel, Peri Bearmanand Ruud
Peters (eds) , The Islamic School of Law: Evolution, Devolution and Progress (Cambridge,MA:
HarvardUniversityPress, 2001), (forthcoming).
66. www.intemethaber.com/detay.php?d=3558: www.medyakronik.com/guncel/28080103.htm;
KursatBumin of YeniSafakcriticallymade fun of the state's move makingreferenceto the article24
of the Turkishconstitutionwhich puts it that "No one shall be allowed to exploit or abuse religion
Continuedon Next Page
 MIDDLEEASTJOURNAL* 129

the 85,000 or so mosquesin all overTurkeywherethe statefeels free to manipulate,if

not abuse,religionand officially non-recognizedreligiouslaws in the name of "the
specialcircumstancesof the country,"imamsreadthe same text discouragingthe us-
age of US Dollars,writtenandsent by the Directorate.
The Turkishcase shows us again that legal pluralismis not only an issue for
traditionalsocieties,butalso a concernfor contemporary ones, as virtuallyeverysoci-
ety is multicultural.Thus,dynamiclegal pluralismshavecome into operationas ubiq-
uitousphenomenaof thepost-modernage.As a consequenceof theinterconnectedness
of socialorders,thereis a mutuallyconstitutiverelationbetweenofficiallaw andunof-
ficial law(s). The socio-legalrealityhas repeatedlyconfirmeda generalprinciplethat
thereis an inseparableanddynamicinterrelationship betweenlaw andculture,as law
is a culturalconstruct.67 The post-modernstageof legal developmentis one of hybrid
pluralityratherthanfacile uniformity.An individualin the post-modernarenais sub-
ject to morethanone law andtheselaws might,in somecases,be diametricallyoppos-
ing. However,these individualsovercomethis challengeby manipulatingand amal-
gamatingdifferenttypes of normativeorderings.
In this postmoderncondition,TurkishMuslims not only have challengedthe
presumptionsof Turkishlegal modernitybut have also shownthatthey can become
citizenswhile at the sametime retainingtheirMuslimidentity.Indeed,advocatesof a
Turkish-Islam or an Anatolian-Sufismput alwaysan emphasison Turkishmodernity
as an alternativeto Saudior Iranianversionsor images,underliningthatthis moderate
discourseof Islamis not in contradiction withthemodernworld.68Theyseek to define
laicism along moreAnglo-Saxonlines andreinterpretIslamictheologyto respondto
modernchallenges,underscoringthatrevelationandreasondo not conflict;the state
shouldbe neutralon beliefs andfaithsprevalentin the society;governanceof the state
cannotbe basedon the dominanceof one religioustradition.69 Indeed,a recentreport
about'politicalIslamin Turkey'commissionedby a respectedthinktank-TESEV,the
Foundationfor EconomicandSocial Studies-showsthatTurkstendto be piousMus-
lims, but are attachedto the secularsystemand tolerantof otherbeliefs. 46% of the

Continuedfrom PreviousPage
or religious feelings, or things held sacredby religion, in any mannerwhatsoever,for the purposeof
personalor political influence, or for even partiallybasing the fundamental,social, economic, politi-
cal, and legal orderof the State on religious tenets",http:Hlwww.mfa.gov.tr/grupc/ca/cag/Part2.htm
www.yenisafak.com.tr/kbumin.htmI on 8/28/2001.
67. Chiba,Asian IndigenousLaw, Op. Cit, Chiba,Legal Pluralism,, CliffordGeertz,Interpreta-
tion Of Cultures,(New York:Basic Books, 1973);Geertz,Local Knowledge:FurtherEssays In Inter-
pretiveAnthropology,(New York:Basic Books, 1983); LawrenceRosen, TheAnthropologyOf Jus-
tice: LawAs CultureIn Islamic Society,Cambridge:CambridgeUP, 1989); Naim Gerber,State,Soci-
ety And Law In Islam: OttomanLaw In ComparativePerspective,(New York:State UniversityOf
New YorkPress, 1994).
68. See, for example, Yavuz, "TowardsAn Islamic Liberalism?:The Nurcu Movement And
FethullahGiilen,"TheMiddle East Journal,Vol. 53, No. 4 (1999), 596-597
69. "JournalistsAnd WritersFoundation:And The ThirdAbant Convention,"Milliyet, July 24,
2000.
130 * MIDDLEEASTJOURNAL

respondentssaytheyprayfivetimesa day,andonly3.7%haveneverfastedon Ramadan.

But over 80% thoughtthat even those who drankand did not pray should still be
consideredas Muslims.There is also little supportfor the so-called "Islamicpenal
laws" as practicedin SaudiArabia.70These MuslimTurks,as we have seen above,
retaineven theirMuslimlaw in secularand modem contextsin a post-modemway
withoutviolatingthe democraticorder.71
TheTurkishpowerelite has conceivedIslamas a threatto theirmodemistmove-
ment,reforms,and progress.Yet in today'sTurkey,the roles have recentlychanged.
MuslimTurkshavemodernizedthemselveson theirown terms.Now, mostpracticing
and activist TurkishMuslims advocateTurkey'saccession to the EuropeanUnion,
once perceivedto be a "Christianclub,"andbelievethat"theCopenhagencriteria"are
amr bil ma'ruf (orderingthe good),72whilst the role of reactionaryconservatismis
now left to the militarist"deepstate"elite.73On democratization, generalpeace and
dialogueamongcivilizations,activistMuslimsnow eithertakethe leadandeven guide
the stateas in the exampleof the FethullahGiulen'smoderatefaith-basedmovement74
or adaptthemselvesto the new Muslimdiscourselike TayyipErdoganandAbdullah
Gul of AKParti,who arefromthe Milli Gorustradition.75 In this regard,postmodern

70. Reportedon April 15, 1999 at http://www.turkeyupdate.com/tesev.htm; see for a summaryof

the reportat the thinktank'swebsite, http://www.tesev.org.tr/projeler/proje_din_saha_ozet.html.
Now,
in Turkey"anincreasingnumberof Turks,especially those of the youngergeneration,see themselves
as Europeanand Muslim at the same time,"Dale F. Eickelman,"TheComingTransformationOf The
Muslim World,"The 1999 TempletonLecture on Religion and WorldAffairs. Foreign Policy Re-
search Institute,www.biu.ac.il/SOC/besa/meria/journal/1999/issue3/jv3n3a8.html.
71. This phenomenon is by no means unique to Turkey;it is global, see Michael King, "The
Muslim IdentityIn A Secular World",King (ed) God's law versus state law: The Constructionof
Islamic identityin WesternEurope,(London:Grey Seal, 1995), pp. 91-114.
72. Ali Bulac, Zaman,June 4,2000.
73. Recent discussions in Turkeyafter the two consecutivefinancialcrises are remarkablein the
sense thatthe Turkishsociety is becomingawareof how the military'ssensitivenesson modemityand
laicism has been abused by corrupt"militarist"politicians, businessmen,media tycoons and some
high-rankingcivil andmilitarybureaucrats.Uncensoredcyberspacemediasuch as www.haberturk.com
plays a substantialrole in this nascent awareness.
74. FethullahGuilen'sdiscourseis based on "the synthesisof Islam and science; an acceptanceof
democracyas the best form of govemance within the rule of law; raising the level of Islamic con-
sciousness by indicatingthe connectionbetween reason and revelation;and, achieving this-worldly
and other-worldlysalvationwithin a free marketand throughqualityeducation",Yavuz, "Cleansing
Islam From The Public Sphere,"see also Yavuz, "Societal Search for a New Contract:Fethullah
Gulen,VirtuePartyand the Kurds,"SAISReview,V. 19, N. 1 (Winter/Spring1999);Yavuz,"Towards
an Islamic liberalism?,"Interviewwith Hulusi Turgut,Sabah, January1997; EbruAltinoglu (1999)
FethullahGiilen'sperception of state and society. Istanbul:BosphorusUniversity,102; see also in
detail,Yilmaz,"ChangingInstitutionalTurkish-MuslimDiscourseson Modemity,WestandDialogue".
Paperpresentedat the Congress of the IntemationalAssociation of Middle East Studies (IAMES).
Freie UniversitatBerlin, Germany,October5-7, 2000.
75. See in detail,Yilmaz, "ChangingInstitutionalTurkish-MuslimDiscourses."
 MIDDLEEASTJOURNAL* 131

TurkishMuslimlegality suggests thatthe Turkishpeople by and largehave harmo-

nizedthe elementsof democracyandIslamandhavealso shownthatthesetwo arenot
necessarilymutuallyexclusive.Now it is the Jacobinrulingelite's turnto come to
termswith socio-legalrealityand to show thatit is possible to amalgamatethe ele-
mentsof democracy,civil society,multiculturalism,humanrightsand "Kemalism,"76
recognizingthatit is now postmoderntimes,andlegal pluralismis hereto stay where
culturalpluralityexists.

coup of
76. Civil society has been suppressedby the militaristelite especially afterthe postmodemn
February28, 1997. Knowing that they have the real power and that theirWesternallies will always
tolerate an undemocratic Turkey, the so-called Kemalist elite is still on their way to "moderize" and
homogenize the society, despite the sociologists' constantwarningsthat simmeringtensionsbetween
the civil society and detachedauthoritarianstate would lead to unhealthysociological consequences.
In this regard,it is worthnoting thatthe most powerfulman of the February28 coup, GeneralCevik
Bir, exhibitedhis "conceptualvision" when makinga "political"speech to the journalists,vigilantly
statingthat "sociology could confuse our minds."