‘Infidel teacher:’ education as an arena of the Kulturkampf in Cold War Turkey (1946–1980)

This study examines the kulturkampf shaping relations between cultural and political circles in Cold War Turkey, focusing on educational institutions, policies, and networks. It analyses competing discourses on curricula, textbooks, schools, and teachers between 1946 and 1980, when this conflict was sharpened by anti-communism, left-right polarization, and intensified anti-Kemalism among Islamist circles. Theoretically, Kulturkampf is conceptualised as conflictual relations arising from competing attempts to shape and transform the public sphere. Initially tasked with preserving Islamic authenticity, Imam-Hatip schools became effective instruments of anti-systemic social mobilization and opposition to secular pedagogy. The Village Institutes were portrayed as a Marxist social engineering project threatening the traditional conservative habitus of rural areas. Leftist circles, in turn, interpreted the closure of the Village Institutes, the growing influence of Imam-Hatip schools, and curricular changes as manifestations of ‘counter-revolution’ or submission to imperialism. These dynamics are examined through critical discourse analysis of primary sources, including journals, newspapers, and books published by different cultural and ideological circles, using selected discourse-analytical categories from van Dijk’s approach.