Another Good Article by Mustafa Akyol

January 19, 2008
The Trouble With Self-Hating Turks
[Originally published in Turkish Daily News]

Yesterday's Turkish Daily News had an interesting interview with Marcus Graf, a German cultural scientist and curator. Speaking to our reporter Yasemin Sim Esmen, Graf noted a peculiar problem in the Turkish art community. “They have a problem with their identity,” he said about Turkish artists. “If they use the symbols and forms of Anatolia, they are called ‘orientalists,' ‘kitsch,' or even ‘fascists'.” The culture expert added that Turkish artists hesitate using “Islamic symbols, such as calligraphy,” because they fear being labeled as “religious.”


The consequence, as Dr. Graf noted, is that most Turkish artists are dull imitators of the West. “There are very few artists,” he noted, “that you can distinguish as ‘Turkish'.”

Dr. Graf is right, and the problem he points out is just one implication of a deep trouble with Turkish society: Most elites in this country are Western wannabes, who are either out of touch, or, far worse, at war with their own tradition.


Getting the headscarf right

To see a little display of what I mean, come visit me one day at my office. The fancy building that I work at has an impressive entrance, whose walls and walkways present numerous pieces of fine art. Yet none of these artworks give the slightest evidence that this building is located in a predominantly Muslim country and the heir of the great Ottoman Empire. In fact, with at least a dozen statues of ancient pagan idols, the place looks like a pre-Islamic pantheon.

Such things are totally fine – people have the right for cultural choice – if they are not combined with contempt for, and discrimination against, traditional people. Yet that is precisely what one finds among the Turkish elite. In their cultural universe, anything that represents traditional Islam is depicted as idiotic, dark and threatening. They enthusiastically support the oppression of religious people by the state – and even ask for more of it.

Even otherwise sensible people can become irrational while defending the secular fundamentalism of our official ideology. Take my fellow columnist Mr. Bekdil, for example. In his piece yesterday, he said that the Islamic headscarf could be free in campuses only if “Zionist/Christian/Buddhist/atheist symbols” were allowed, too. At first glance, he is absolutely right: If one symbol is free, others should be, too. What Mr. Bekdil has missed is that the “Zionist/Christian/Buddhist/atheist symbols” are already free. There is no law or legal decision in Turkey saying that these cannot be worn in campuses. But there is a decision by the Constitutional Court that univocally bans the Islamic headscarf. Whenever the Parliament speaks of doing something to abolish this ban – which is opposed by nearly 80 percent of society – the sinister guardians of our juristocracy make threatening remarks. And the power of the military stands behind them as the last resort.

If Mr. Bekdil were speaking of a social intolerance against “Zionist/Christian/Buddhist/atheist symbols,” he would be pointing to a real problem. There are ultra-conservative or ultra-nationalists circles in society who might look at, or even act against, those “alien” symbols intolerantly. (The same social intolerance, in different circles, is shown toward the headscarf.) But there is a huge difference between intolerance in society and discrimination by the state. It is like the difference between having some neo-Nazi groups in a democratic system and living under the Nazi regime.

To miss the difference, you have to be a self-hating Turk. You have to hate your tradition with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. Only then you will be illiberal enough to stand for its persecution.


A personal problem

Besides their fierce opposition to religious freedom, self-hating Turks have created two serious problems in Turkish society. The first one is that they have impeded the modernization of religious conservatives. For a long time, the latter regarded their secularist oppressors as the natural products of modernity, and hence they resisted it. They shut their doors to the West and hoped for a revival of the Islamic golden age. This has been changing since the 1980s, as the conservatives realize that our secularist tyranny is closer to North Korea than to the European Union, and that the Western democracies can give them all the religious freedom they have been hoping for. Hence comes the ruling AKP (Justice and Development Party) and its pro-EU policies.

Some wrong steps taken by the Europeans, such as the stupid decision by the European Court of Human Rights that blessed the headscarf ban in Turkey, have been disappointing. Yet still, conservatives realize that the Copenhagen Criteria are much better than those of Kemalist Ankara.

The second problem that self-hating Turks create is an ironic one. Their mindset is so rigid, shallow and arrogant that they themselves have become a reason for disliking Turkey. I must confess that I personally have been suffering from that feeling for a long time. If I become a truly self-hating Turk soon, please tolerate me. The original self-hating Turks will be responsible for my trauma.

Allow us to assess whether it's good or not!

May Allah s.w.t. show the right path

Marcus Graf most probably refers to high state of Islamic art in other Islamic countries, where artists have been writing ALLAH in beautiful calligraphy - for the last 6 centuries.

One can not help wishing they wrote something else, for a change.

I would agree with most of what is written by Mustafa Akyol (He is clever, I would recommend his blogs http://www.thewhitepath.com english one, the turkish one is http://www.mustafaakyol.org)
However:

if they are not combined with contempt for, and discrimination against, traditional people. Yet that is precisely what one finds among the Turkish elite. In their cultural universe, anything that represents traditional Islam is depicted as idiotic, dark and threatening. They enthusiastically support the oppression of religious people by the state and even ask for more of it.

Although I never considered myself as a Turkish Elite, I have different understanding of what traditional Islam is in Turkey. The version of Islam practiced in Anatolia has always been different than what he thinks traditional Islam is. Traditional Islam in Turkey has always been much more softened version of Islam. And that is the reason Ataturk easily got rid of sheria. People did not insist on it. And I dont believe majority of Turkish Muslims think that there is opression on them because of their religion. However, people feeling oppressed 'in this issue' are , possibly, the extremists ones. (Of course, there is a generic lack of freedom in the democratic values in Turkey).
And I, personally, find Sheria dark, dogmatic and threatening.

When you you start claiming your freedom by saying that 'I want my head scarf because my qouran dictates it' (and 'also, I have to live my life according to sheria because my qouran says it too'. Now, of course the second part, is never mentioned in public.). Then, people are wondering why you are not saying the second part. Then people get suspicious!! Those people know what qouran says too.

I think the real problem is laying in Islam/Qouran itself.
It requires REFORMING.
You cant go around and say the things like:
-kill all kaffirs
-Men are more privileged than women
-Cihad is 'farz'
-hand chopping for stealing..
..
Well..Not in this century.

As I said before, islamists should clear themselves from Sheria first. Otherwise people will always be suspicious and they will always think of them the grandma in Little Red Riding Hood.

you are welcome..
I think he spent sometimes in the USA and has been working for this 'Intelligent Design (ID) theory'.

Handsom....nice to see a Turkish man who is proud of his country but not blind to the realities of it. You are quite wise for a little hairball!

Every nation has a big ideal, for the Greeks it is Megali Idea. They want parts of the Balkans and Asia Minor and move the capital to Istanbul. When this is done, they will reach the heaven on Earth. Romanians, Bulgarians and Serbs all have their own big ideals. Britain has its colonial dreams which were spoiled a short while ago after losing which they took up the role of being Devil's advocate.

Many a Turk describes himself/herself as the descendant of the Ottomans. Germans once thought they were the übermensh (sometimes I think they still do), the beloved sons of God, their language being the first language and their culture bestowed unto them by God.


As is seen nations are like small babies, they are very selfish. Everyone of them wants to identify themselves as the best, biggest and so on. When this is not the case they begin crying. All these megali ideas are like toys for them.

I think we Turks question ourselves so much because we have not been able to become a wealthy society and there are lots of mistakes waiting to be corrected. For example, one such rough spot was the patriarchal family model which once seemed to be an inseperable part of our culture. People of my age has observed enermous developments in this and other similar problems.

Being poor is not always a bad thing. For example, Saudis will probably never realize that they have problems in their society. Because nobody criticizes rich people, nor do they themselves. For countries like Turkey changing is a necessity. What I have said about Saudi Arabia is partly true for affluent Western societies too. Futurologist predict a very gloomy future for both Europe and America.

If you claim you are in the center of the Earth, the Earth gradually slips away under your feet and you will collapse.