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The article provides a critical review of the current situation of minorities in Turkey and analyses the background of the political and social exclusion and discrimination of minority groups. The minority rules in the Treaty of Lausanne from 1923 are examined, thus contributing to understand the characteristics and historical roots of the legal status of minorities in Turkey. The consequences of the specific forms of Turkish nationalism and laicism on the interpretation of the term "minority" are explained. In contrast to the European understanding of minorities which includes religious, ethnic and linguistic groups, the Turkish state only recognizes non- Muslim minorities. In practice - apart from some non-Muslim minorities, such as the Syrian Orthodox Christians - the Turkish state only identifies Greek and Armenian Orthodox Christians and Jews as being "minorities" and grants them a very limited number of rights. As a consequence, members of minority groups in Turkey still face discrimination in many ways even today. After a phase of encouraging reforms when the AKP came to power in 2002, the status of minorities in Turkey still remains extremely unsatisfactory and there are no signs of significant or sustainable improvements of those rights. The present state of affairs is described in detail in form of specific examples and includes a detailed description of those restricted rights at the end of the article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reveals the pathologies of the Turkish republican project of laicism by focusing on the differences between the ideas of Ziya Gökalp and the leading architects of this project. Ziya Gökalp reasoned within the logic of the empire and envisioned a synthesis among Turkism, westernism and Islam. The logic of the republic à la Turca, on the other hand, was shaped by a radical break from Islam. The distaste that the architects of the republican laicist project had developed towards Islam became apparent during the years between 1920 and 1925. Accordingly, the republican project of laicism nurtured a highly visible control of the state over religion rather than a separation between the affairs of the state and religion. This article also discusses the possibilities of reforming the republican project of laicism that is congenial with democratization processes in Turkey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]