Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and Kemalism

Kemalist Ideology, "Kemalism" or also known as the "Six Arrows" is the principle that defines the basic characteristics of the Republic of Turkey. It was developed by the Turkish national movement and its leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Atatürk's conception of realism and pragmatism have been the foundation of Kemalism. There are six fundamental pillars of the ideology. Secularism and reformism principles were accepted and entered into the constitution following the first four. The principles came to be recognized as unchangeable and sacrosanct. These principles were formulated and applied but not defined as an ideology during the life of Atatürk. The history of the concept of Kemalism can be traced back to the Second Constitutional Era of the Ottoman Empire. The political experience of the Ottoman Empire, through Tanzimat, and the First Constitutional Era of the Ottoman Empire were synthesized into Kemalism. The Republican People's Party was established by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk on September 9, 1923, not long before the declaration of the Republic of Turkey on October 29. The party uses the ideology to symbolize itself. Jung and Piccoli state that "the Kemalists incorporated certain elements of cultural Pan-Turkism in order to construct a new, and cohesive nationalist ideology". On the other hand, according to Don Peretz, Turkish nationalism has been free from racism. Tocci asserts that "Religion was viewed as a potential threat to the Kemalist nation-state", and therefore "the state actively attempted to reduce the role played by religion in private lives." In constructing an identity based on the Western model, the new Turkish state provided laïcité on its citizens