The first translations of the Qur'an in modern Turkey (1924-38)

The debut of Turkish-language translations of the Qur'an in the newly founded Republic of Turkey sparked lively debates over whether Qur'an translation was possible or desirable, who should engage in interpretation of the text, and what characteristics a Turkish-language rendering of the Qur'an should have. Whereas the abolition of the Islamic caliphate, closure of the medrese s, and prohibition of the Sufi orders have received considerable attention in histories of early republican Turkey, the state-sponsored translation of the Qur'an into Turkish remains both neglected and misunderstood. Muhammad Rashid Rida, who was highly influential in shaping opinion in the Muslim world, portrayed the state-sponsored project as a long-term plot to displace the Arabic Qur'an. Other accounts misrepresent the involvement of President Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk) in the promotion of Qur'an translation by anachronistically suggesting that he sparked the initiative and led a "campaign" in support of it. Mustafa Kemal had no hand in the composition of Turkish Qur'an translations published in 1924, other than helping create the political context in which they could be published. Their composition began well before the foundation of the Turkish republic, and their inspiration emerged from the intellectual milieu of the late Ottoman public sphere.