Assimilation of the Muslim communities in the first decade of the Turkish Republic (1923-1934)

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how immigration-settlement policies were employed by post-Lausanne Turkey to create a homogenous nation-state. Focusing on the incorporation of immigrants in the period of 1923-1934, the paper argues that the state policies of migration and settlement pursued two primary objectives that were closely connected with the nationalizing measures. They were carried out for the assimilation of non-Turkish-speaking Muslims on the one hand, and for the Turkification of Kurdish-populated eastern provinces on the other.