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| 1924–28 |
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| SECULARIZATION CAMPAIGN. The abolition (Mar. 3, 1924) of the caliphate, the office of the supreme spiritual leader for Sunni Muslims worldwide, represented the first move in the government's campaign to secularize Turkish society. At the same time, the position of Sheik ul-Islam (the highest ranking religious official in the Ottoman Empire) was dissolved, religious schools were closed, and the administration of all vakifs (religious and charitable endowments) was placed in the hands of the prime minister. In addition, the Islamic law courts were dismantled by a decree of April 8, 1924. Other secularizing measures followed: all Sufi orders and lodges were shut down (1925); a civil code of law, based on Swiss civil law, superseded Islamic law in personal matters (1926); and a constitutional amendment dropped Islam as the state religion (1928). | 1 |
| The policy of secularization was most successful in the cities, particularly among the well-educated elites. The people of the countryside remained rooted in older attitudes that favored a wide and public role for religion in society. | 2 |
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| 1924 |
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Founding of the I Bank, funded by private investors and operated by the state, to promote industry. The following year, the government created the State Bank for Industry and Mining. | 3 |
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| April |
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| Electoral reform. All male Turkish citizens over 21 became eligible to vote. Property qualifications were permanently abolished. | 4 |
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| April 20 |
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| Proclamation of the Republican Constitution. One of the most notable features of the new constitution was its commitment to separating religion from political life. | 5 |
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| Oct. 25 |
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| Death of Ziya Gökalp (b. 1875), author famed for his work as a sociologist, philosopher, and folklorist. The guiding principle of his thought was nationalism: Ottomanism in his early writings and Turkish nationalism in his later years. He advocated selective modernization on the Western model, but wished to preserve the Turkish cultural heritage. | 6 |
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