The proportion of Turks who never attend a mosque, do not pray to Allah or practise Islam in any other way has increased from 13 to 34 per cent in the 25 years since Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in 2001.
The figures come from the independent analysis institute Konda and are published by the Turkish news portal T24.com.tr.
Islam is struggling in the Arab world
Konda’s report shows a clear trend towards secularisation, especially among young and urban Turks. Despite Erdoğan’s Islamist agenda with increased construction of mosques, permission for the hijab in public institutions and the emphasis on Islamic values – religiosity has fallen dramatically.
Konda believes this may be a reaction to the government’s politicisation of Islam in combination with economic dissatisfaction and social changes.
In Turkey, according to a statistical study, the % of people who say they do not perform any religious worship (prayer, fasting, or otherwise) has increased during the 25 years of Erdogan’s AKP Party’s rule from 13% to 34%.
The trust in religious figures has also fallen to only… pic.twitter.com/4D6Z3hj6bU
— Nervana Mahmoud (@Nervana_1) February 24, 2026
The Erdoğan regime has not commented directly on the report, but the Republican People’s Party founded by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk calls it “proof that the AKP’s attempt to Islamise society has failed”.
The Middle East is secularising
Several surveys in recent years show a clear secularisation across most of the Middle East. The changes in Iran are highlighted as among the most dramatic. According to the Gamaan Institute (2025), only 35–40 per cent identify themselves as practising Muslims. In the group under 30 years of age, the proportion of “non-religious” is as high as 60–70 per cent – and that before the expected fall of the mullah regime.
Similar tendencies are reported from countries such as Saudi Arabia, Tunisia (which is regarded as the most secular country in the Arab world), Lebanon, Algeria and Morocco. Also in Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim country, religiosity among the young, especially in the cities, is declining.