With the "Law No. 671 on Hats" adopted by the parliament on November 25, 1925, the members and officials of the
Grand National Assembly of Turkey were obliged to wear European hats as
headgear, and the Turkish people were prohibited from continuing to wear traditional headgear such as the fez or a turban. The law entered into force after being published in the government-run Official Gazette, dated 28 November 1925. According to Article 174 of the
1982 constitution, the Hat Law is among the "revolutionary laws" of the Turkish nation (laws that cannot be repealed even if it is found to be unconstitutional).
Atatürk's trip to Kastamonu Before the law, citizens of different religions continued to wear different headdresses and clothes, as in the
Ottoman Empire.
Mustafa Kemal Pasha, who wanted to eliminate religious differences in clothing, brought up the issue of wearing a hat during his trip to
İnebolu and
Kastamonu in the summer of 1925. He wore a wide-brimmed white hat in Kastamonu on 24 August. The reason why he wore the hat for the first time in Kastamonu; he explained that he was known in other provinces with a uniform or a fez, and he preferred the hat because they would see him for the first time in Kastamonu.
Hat speech Mustafa Kemal Pasha, who went to İnebolu the next day, made the historical "Hat Speech" in this district. On August 27, 1925, he addressed the people in the "
Turkish Hearths", saying, "They call this headgear a hat," and ensured the abandonment of expressions such as "civilized hat", which were used until that time. In his speech, he said, 'Like a
Redingote, a
bonnet, a
tuxedo, here's your hat! There are those who say that it is not permissible. Let me tell them that they are very heedless and very ignorant, and I would like to ask them: "It is permissible to wear the Greek fez, but it is not to wear the hat? I would like to remind them, the whole nation, that when they wear the robe, which is the guise of Byzantine priests and Jewish rabbis, for what and how did they wear it?'". On 25 November, all the
mukhtars of the city were arrested for hanging posters and leaflets against hats on the walls in
Sivas; those who were found not guilty were acquitted; Imamzade Mehmet Necati Efendi and Abdurrahman Efendi were sentenced to death. Hacı Sabit Civelek, imam of the Merkez Mosque in the
Güneysu region of
Rize, said, "If your father puts a hat on his head, his murder is obligatory! You will shoot him! And if your mother is a widow, you will bring her on your back!". He started the revolt in the region with these words.
Ziya Hurşit telegraphed the situation to Ankara, as the rebels, who wanted to wear traditional
Laz clothes rather than "religious bigotry", marched towards the centre of Rize. Thereupon, the
cruiser Hamidiye sailed to Rize to intimidate. With the cruiser's arrival in the city, most of the rebels surrendered and 143 people were arrested as a result of the events that lasted for about ten days. Since 8 of those arrested were illiterate, they could not defend themselves and were executed. Of the 8 people, 3 were hanged in front of the Tan Hotel, 3 in the municipal park and 2 at the beginning of the pier. Dozens of detainees were decided to be imprisoned in
Adana and
Sinop. In
Marash, those who gathered around the
Kahramanmaraş Grand Mosque shouting "We don't want hats" were arrested, and 5 people were sentenced to death. In Istanbul, especially in
Fatih district, many people accused of inciting the people to revolt with their speeches, and were arrested and subsequently tried in Ankara. == References ==