Reform in Islamic Education and the AKP’s Pious Youth in Turkey

Abstract The Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (AKP) government supports the Sunniticization of society, which has its roots in the late Ottoman period. The contents of haram and halal in religious education are not open for critique, nor do they consider other Islamic groups as an example, the Alevis. Jihad is described as a pillar of Turkish civilization and as the sixth pillar of Islam. This paper aims to show that the AKP uses social engineering and religious majoritarianism in Islamic religious education at schools to create a pious youth compliant to the Sunni Islamic religion and Turkish fatherland.