Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) and the Modernization of Turkey

Mustafa Kemal was a war hero from the Ottoman Empire. After WWI he became the first president of  Turkey. Mustafa wanted a complete overhaul of the social culture in his new country. He wanted it to be completely secular and more western. Secular means being completely irrelevant from religion. Mustafa didn't want to be a completely Islamic government. He also made several cultural changes such as making the fez illegal, as well as making the veil women wore illegal. Mustafa thought it made the country look backwards and ignorant. He also didn't mind other religions in his country such as Jews and Christians.

Film Lesson: "Gandhi"

Gandhi was an Indian man who was tired of British persecution. He spent many years trying to help India gain its independence and to make a unified India. Gandhi practiced non-violent protesting. He knew that if Indian's tried to use violence they would most certainly have lost to England's more powerful and organized military. Gandhi also knew that if violence was used the Indians would look like the bad guys. Some of the protest he led was refusing to buy English cloths and making their own. Because of Gandhi's efforts India would eventually gain its independence after many years of fighting.