Kemal Ataturk's secularism:

(i)Kemal Ataturk's secularism was not about principled distance from organised religion, instead it involved, active intervention in and suppression of, religion.

(ii)Mustafa Kemal Ataturk came to power after the first war. He was determined to put an end to the institution of Khalifa in the public life of Turkey.

(iii)Ataturk was convinced that only a clear break with traditional thinking and expressions could elevate Turkey from the sorry state it was in.

(iv)He set out in an aggressive manner to modernise and secularise Turkey. Ataturk changed his own name from Mustafa Kemal Pasha to Kemal Ataturk (Ataturk translates as Father of the Turks).

(v)The Fez, a traditional cap worn by Muslims, was banned by the Hat Law. Western clothing was encouraged for men and women.

(vi)The Western (Gregorian) calendar replaced the traditional Turkish calendar. In 1928, the new Turkish alphabet (in a modified Latin form) was adopted.