Introduction

This chapter undertakes to introduce the research. It begins by explaining the competitive relationship between the irrevocable principles of the Turkish constitutional system: secularism and democracy (in the meaning of the rule of majority). The problematics of secularism-democracy tandem has been existed since the formation of the secular Turkish Republic in the 1920s whose majority population has always been Muslim. Following this explanation, the Chapter constructs four main research questions which the thesis devotes itself to answer. Then the research methodology is explained. As a final step, the Chapter outlines the whole research, describing the subject and structure of each chapter.