Ziya Gökalp

Lore & Background

Mehmed Ziya Gökalp was born on 23 March 1876 in Diyarbakır, then part of the Ottoman Empire, to Muhammad Tefvik Bey and Zeliha Hanım. His father was an Ottoman bureaucrat, and his maternal family was of Kurdish origin by some accounts, while Gökalp described his paternal line as Syrian Turkmen. After the 1908 Young Turk Revolution, he adopted the pen name Gökalp, meaning "celestial hero," which he used for the rest of his life. He was a sociologist, writer, poet, and politician, and is considered the real founder of Turkish sociology, as he was not merely a translator of foreign ideas. His thought was heavily influenced by Émile Durkheim, and he rejected Ottomanism and Islamism in favor of Turkish nationalism, advocating for the Turkification of the empire by promoting Turkish language and culture. He considered Greeks, Armenians, and Jews an undesirable foreign body in a national Turkish state. His nationalist ideals popularized Pan-Turkism and Turanism, advocating a supra-national Turkish identity oriented toward Turkic peoples to the northeast. Gökalp’s work shaped the reforms of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and the development of Kemalism. He was a member of the Committee of Union and Progress, cofounded the journal *Genç Kalemler*, and after World War I was exiled to Malta for two years. He later served in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and on the Committee for Education, reforming the school system to include Turkism, Modernism, and Islamism. He died on 25 October 1924.

Reader's Guide

Ziya Gökalp’s thought and career were defined by his role as a sociologist, poet, and political activist who rejected Ottomanism, Islamism, and pan-Islamism in favor of Turkish nationalism. Drawing on European sociology, especially the ideas of Émile Durkheim, he became a central figure in the development of Kemalism and influenced the reforms of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Gökalp advocated for the Turkification of the Ottoman Empire by promoting Turkish language and culture to all citizens, and he viewed Greeks, Armenians, and Jews as an undesirable foreign element in a national Turkish state. His nationalist ideology popularized Pan-Turkism and Turanism, calling for a supra-national Turkish identity oriented toward Turkic peoples to the northeast, rather than toward Arab neighbors. As a member of the Committee of Union and Progress, he co-founded the journal *Genç Kalemler* and contributed to political and military magazines. After World War I, he was exiled to Malta, where he drafted his *Principles of Turkism*. Following his return, he taught sociology and psychology, published a weekly newsletter, and served on the Committee for Education in the Grand National Assembly, shaping school curricula to include Turkism, modernism, and Islamism alongside Persian, Arabic, European languages, and sciences. Sociologist Niyazi Berkes later described Gökalp as the real founder of Turkish sociology, not merely a translator of foreign ideas.

Did You Know?

• In 1998, Erdoğan was banned from politics and jailed for reading a religious poem by Ziya Gökalp at a public meeting.
• The poem by Gökalp was read by Erdoğan several years before his 1998 conviction.

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