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White Turks (Turkish:Beyaz Türkler) is a term used inTurkey for theurban population that embraced or directly benefited from Turkey’s modernization. They are often generalized as embracing values such assecularism,Western enlightenment,positivism andrepublicanism. White Turks are in contrast to the so-calledBlack Turks (Turkish:Kara Türkler orSiyah Türkler), a name for the conservative, Islamic, and typically less privileged among the originallyruralAnatolian population.[1] The two terms are related to the emergence of a middle class since the end of the 20th century, and is an expression of elite consciousness and also a contempt for a section of the population which is seen as backwards.[citation needed] Civilizing efforts had been part of the imagination of all Turkish elites since theTanzimat reforms.[1]
Anand Giridharadas describes the dichotomy between white and black Turks as "an extraordinaryculture war over what it means to be a Turk":
The battle — waged innational politics but also in life’s daily minutiae — has become, literally, black and white. In one corner are “white Turks,” who revere the republic’s founder,Kemal Atatürk, and his mission to remake Turkey in Europe’s image —secular,republican, purged of itsOttoman legacies. In the other corner are “black Turks,” conservative Muslims who, in a mostlyMuslim nation, were marginalized for decades, excluded from the Turkish elite — until, in 2003,one of their own became a populistprime minister and began what many black Turks consider a healthy rebalancing and many white Turks, thepolitics of resentment or, worse, revenge.[2]
Tayyip Erdoğan often describes himself as a black Turk.[1][3] The term was also used by 2018 presidential candidateMuharrem İnce to describe himself, claiming that Erdoğan was no longer a black Turk.[4]
In anironic approach to the conceptual pair,Mümin Sekman wrote in his book "Türk Usulü Başarı" that, among other things, black Turks listen toArabesque andfolk music, while white Turks prefer Western music andTurkish pop; black Turks havearranged marriages, while white Turks choose their own partners; white Turks meet at airports, while black Turks use bus terminals.[5]
Ertuğrul Özkök ofHürriyet considers himself a white Turk and generalizes the group as follows:
They live mainly in coastal regions, are sensitive when it comes tosecularism, they drink alcohol, have a high purchasing power, a Western lifestyle and the women do not wearhijabs.[citation needed]
He also stated in 2014 that under the current rule of theAKP, white Turks have become the new oppressed group in Turkey afterKurds andAlevis, and that the increasingly marginalized white Turks must "learn to fight by defending their lifestyles".[6]
These terms are believed to have originally been coined by the late journalistUfuk Güldemir [tr] in his 1992 book "TeksasMalatya". The term "white Turks" was meant to be analogous to the AmericanWASP,[citation needed] and was used to describe an old elite who opposed the then-Prime MinisterTurgut Özal because of his Kurdish origin, religiousness and lack ofmilitary service. The term was subsequently taken up by sociologistNilüfer Göle and popularized by Turkish columnists, journalists and political scientists who used it to refer to various social groups in Turkey.
Some observers, such asAyşe Sözen andNilüfer Narlı, also note the emergence of a third group of "Grey Turks", who are urbanized, well-educated and enjoy Western music and films, but are pious Muslims. Some use the term to refer to the aspiring black Turks that climbed the socio-economic ladder during theTurgut Özal era and gained momentum during theAKP's current rule.[7]