Between Greek Thessaloníki and Ottoman Istanbul, 1912–1923 they did not deserve them. Racism, which separated formerly commin-
gled peoples into distinct racial categories, could be used to hinder the
integration of minorities and exclude them from the body politic.
The debate in 1919 between the anonymous author of Dönmeler and
the army veteran Major Sadık, with its ominous linkage of race and mo-
rality, served as a warm-up for the debate about the race, religion, and
nationality of the Dönme that broke out immediately after the Turkish
Republic was founded in 1923 and the rest of the Dönme of Salonika,
the majority of whom had remained in that city after 1912 , were sent en
masse to Turkey. How did Dönme meet the challenges they faced after
the empire fell, and how did the challenges in turn change them? How
did others view them then? If their enemies emphasized their Jewish ori-
gins, who would consider the Dönme to be Muslims? But if, as their sup-
porters argued, Dönme lived as pious Muslims, who would accept them
in a secular state? Marked by unacceptable racial and religious attributes,
how would the Dönme be defended?