In Turkey, an İmam Hatip school (, 'hatip' coming from Arabic khatib) is a secondary education institution. As the name suggests, they were founded in lieu of a vocational school to train government employed imams; after madrasas in Turkey were abolished by the Unification of Education Act ().
History
During the Ottoman Empire, a key objective of education was to raise 'good Muslims'. Thus there was a need for Islamic scholars, which was sustained through Islamic Theology Schools, called Madrasa. In 1913, the Medresetü-l Eimmeti vel Hutaba (School of ministers and preachers, ) and Medresetü-l Vaazin (Schools for Preachers, ) were combined to form the tangible origins of today's Imam Hatip high schools.
In 1924, the Tevhid-i Tedrisat (Law of Unification of Educational Instruction, ) was passed, replacing the existing, mostly sectarian educational system with a secular, centralist and nationalist education one. The new law brought all educational institutions under the control of the Ministry of National Education. A Faculty of Theology at the Darülfünun (Istanbul University), special schools for training imams and hatips (ministers and preachers) were opened by the new Ministry of National Education.
In 1949, there was the establishment of a Faculty of Theology at the University of Ankara. First steps for the establishment of special Imam Hatip schools began in 1951 under the Democrat Party government, which set up seven special secondary schools (Imam Hatip Okulları). In addition, in 1959 Islamic Institutes were opened for graduates of Imam Hatip schools.
Following the coup d'etat in 1960, Imam Hatip schools encountered the threat of closure. Following the return to civilian politics and the introduction of the new constitution in 1961, graduates of Imam Hatip schools could only enrol in university programmes if they had passed courses offered at secular schools. During the premiership of Süleyman Demirel however, graduates of Imam Hatip schools were given access to university without such requirements. The 1971 Turkish coup d'état introduced two key reforms: firstly junior high Imam Hatip schools were abolished, and in 1973 Imam Hatip schools were renamed as Imam Hatip high schools. Under the subsequent National Education Basic Law, Imam Hatip schools were defined as vocational schools, where students were to be trained as preachers and ministers or prepared for higher education.
Imam Hatip schools grew slowly at first, but their numbers expanded rapidly to 334 during the 1970s. The coalition government of 1974, established by the CHP and the MSP (National Salvation Party), committed to reopen junior high schools and giving the right of entry to university through examination. 230 new Imam Hatip high schools were opened in a period of nearly four years. During the 1974-75 school year the number of students attending to the Imam Hatip high schools grew to 48,895. This number subsequently grew to 200,300 by 1980-81. In addition, females gained the right of entry to Imam Hatip high schools in 1976. The proliferation of Imam Hatip high schools is often cited as the effect of the National Salvation Party's membership of a number of coalitions with Nationalist Front governments.
Situation since 1980
The coup d'etat of September 12, 1980 is a critical turning point in the history of Turkey and also for the history of İmam-Hatip high schools. Under military governance, graduates of Imam Hatip high schools gained the right of entry to all university departments. In 1985, two new Imam Hatip high schools opened, one in Tunceli, despite of the so-called ethno-sectarian structure of the region, and the other in Beykoz as an Anatolian Imam Hatip High School, with the aim of contributing to the education of children of families who work abroad. Although the number of Imam Hatip high schools had not increased since, the number of students attending Imam Hatip high schools has increased by 45%. This is partly due to the improvement in the quality of Imam Hatip high schools and the education offered at such schools.
During the education year of 1973-74, the total number of Imam Hatip students was 34,570; in 1997 this number had sharply increased to reach 511,502. Alongside this massive increase in popularity, the number of schools also increased. The number of Imam Hatip junior high schools reached 601 and senior high schools 402. The increase in both student and school numbers can be attributed to factors including the commitment of people to religion, dormitory facilities, scholarships, the admittance of females and an increase in demand for religious education.