PDF Dosyası - Ankara Üniversitesi Kitaplar Veritabanı

THE ESSENCE OF SECULARISM-LAND SHALLBY LA W BE BUILTErik CORNELL*IWhen the Ottoman Empire some 200 years ago commenced itspolicy of modernization the decision was taken against a background ofrepeated military defeats. It was obvious that somtehing had to be done toregain strength and ability equitable with the Central and West Europeanpowers. Not only military technology but also military training -i.e. notonly technical capacity but also psychological aspects- had to be broughtback to international standards. This second aspect met with resistancefrom conservative circles who believed that technical capacity could beimported in isolation. A growing realization that modernization requirednot only modern weapons but must be accompanied by psychological andintellectual aspects led, after some half century to the introduction of'Tanzimat', the Ottoman policy of Reorganization of the 1830's, whichcan be compared to the Soviet Union's 'perestrojka' of the 1980's. Whenreorganizing a key issue consists of the introduction of new laws and thereformation of the entire legal system. Consequently Tanzimat broughtwith it the importation of Western laws and the establishment of lawcourts which coexisted with but, however, were not allowed to contradictSharia. This meant that the constitution of 1876 consequently establisheda Parliament which was no legislative body as this power stayed with theSultan/Caliph as the representative of God.IIA characteristic feature of the Western legal system is that its rootsgo back to pre-Christian times-Roman law and the various laws of theGermanic peoples. In Sweden for instance the provincial laws were keptalive through oral tradition and the oldest manuscripts date back to the13th century. On that basis a unified body of laws for the whole countryreplaced them in the 1350's and remained valid untill they were in turnFormer Ambassador of Sweden to Turkey; Bromma.205