European Journal of Scientific Research - EuroJournals

374 Nazenin Ruso
cultures for Turkish people. The first is a secular Western elite culture and the second one is a mass
culture emphasizing traditional values. Moreover, it is observed that there are mainly two major
communities living in the TRNC which are Turkish people from Turkey and Turkish Cypriots who are
all Muslims. Although both communities embraced the values of secularity, the mainly religious
observant mass in TRNC are Turkish people who come from Turkey. Turkish Cypriots are seen as
more modernized whereas Turkish people are seen as more traditional. The conflict here arises as it is
pointed out in The Society website as :“The cultural difference between the educated and the
uneducated, the urban and the rural, the modernist and the traditionalist, has continued to affect
Turkish society in multiple, intertwined ways”. Another important research question arises from this
quotation:
“Who are the people who go to mosques to fulfill their religious requirements? Turkish
nationals/ Turkish Cypriots /Literate/ Illiterate/Old/ Young/Poor/ Rich?”
If there is a decrease in the number of Turkish Cypriots visiting to mosques, can it be because
of the lack in religious education? Elder people on the island state that religious education was
different in past. “How was religious education in past?” is a potential question at this point. A check
on relevant sources reveals that in past, there were Muslim schools run by Evkaf. A Cypriot
Information resource state that “Whereas the Vakif operated Muslim schools in the past, in recent
decades it has simply provided funds for the salary of mufti, the highest religious figure, and for the
construction, repair and maintenance of the mosques”. Different websites on TRNC and religion
speculate that religion is a free, personal choice on the island. For example, the same Cyprus
Information Resource reports that religion is a personal matter among Turkish Cypriots, and they never
attempt to impose their religious beliefs on others. Likewise, another website source on Cyprus quotes
“In the northern part of the island, the Turkish Cypriot basic law refers specifically to a ‘secular
republic’ and provides for religious freedom; no specific religion is recognized in the basic law.”
After finding about religious education in past, one needs to ask “How do children get their
religious education now?” to be able to see if there is a difference between the education methods
applied in past and present. Nowadays, there is religion instruction in primary school system in TRNC,
but it is only a passive instruction without actually showing religious practices in detail to children.
Ataturk initiated a secularized and modernized education system. The article on “The roles of state and
religious instutions in the Turkish education system” by Adam Keyes illustrates the extent of this
interest by giving the aims of the Turkish educational system from Ataturk’s perspective. Keyes states
that “The aim of the Turkish educational system was now to create productive citizens with
contemporary educational standards. His ideal was to move away from tradition and move towards
modernization and globalization.”
On the other hand, especially some old people complain about the new education system which
is quiet modern and doesn’t emphasize religious values. They say that considering past, nowadays, all
discos and bars are full of young people who do not spend time for their religious activities. Some
religious authorities like Seyh Nazim complain about the new modern education establishments
predicting that modern education establishments are guiding students not to believe in anything (Atay,
1996, p.189). For them what prepares a person for a virtuous life is not science but morality. So, before
knowledge morality should be valued (Atay, 1996, p.186). On 8 th of April, 1992 during one of his
speeches in Dergah, London, Seyh is addressing parents and asking them “Why don’t you prepare your
children for a moral life. Do you think that bars can teach your children anything about moral life?
This is why God’s blessings came to an end” (cited in Atay, 1996, p.190). Similarly, Berkes (1998)
speculates that the destruction of traditional children’s schools caused the destruction of the
foundations of Islamic education which in turn caused a moral collapse. So, there is a big conflict
between the beliefs of the religious people and modern people concerning their expectations from the
educational system. At this point, several questions arise: “How should children get their religious
education outside of the school? What can be done by the families? What can be done by the
government?”