ABSTRACT
Although the wide majority of its population is Muslim, Turkey is not an Islamic state. With the foundation of the Republic in 1923, the basis of a secular state was established. The formation of a secular society with secular laws was an important ideal for the young republic, which also aimed to ‘catch up’ with Western civilization and modernity. This focus on modernization was seen to be incompatible with Islam. On the contrary, Islam was held responsible for the backwardness of the Ottoman Empire and various other problems. Islam was seen as an obstacle to modernization, while the natural environment was imagined to be an inexhaustible source of economic development wholly subservient to ‘development’. However, in the following decades, ‘Islam’ and ‘the environment’ were redefined and revalued by various social circles. Thus, rather than having deep roots in politics in Turkey, we might observe that Islamic eco-politics are a new phenomenon. This chapter will analyze Islam and the environment in Turkey and demonstrate how these concepts have been redefined over time.
