It Ain’t Thanksgiving in Turkey

At one time or another, the Ottoman Empire (1299-1922) ruled the lands in the Middle East and most of the countries on the eastern and central Mediterranean and north into the Balkan region from their capital city of Constantinople (now modern Istanbul, Turkey). As Sunnis, these Caliphs were the “protectors” of Islam and their power stretched into the 20^th century. Corrupt and decadent in the last century of their rule, Ottomans watched helplessly as Western powers took over effective command of their territories allowing the Ottomans to rule in name only. Having erred by having German officers train their dragging armed forces in the early years of the 20^th century, the Ottomans found themselves on the losing side during World War I, and they were finally stripped of their holdings everywhere as a result.

A legendary Ottoman military commander, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk [pictured above], was the only undefeated leader in the Ottoman armed forces. “Following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, he led the Turkish national movement in the Turkish War of Independence. Having established a provisional government in Ankara, he defeated the forces sent by the Allies. His successful military campaigns led to the liberation of the country and to the establishment of Turkey. During his presidency, Atatürk embarked upon a program of political, economic, and cultural reforms. An admirer of the Age of Enlightenment, he sought to transform the former Ottoman Empire into a modern, democratic, and secular nation-state. The principles of Atatürk's reforms, upon which modern Turkey was established, are referred to as Kemalism…

“Mustafa Kemal's private journal entries dated before the establishment of the republic in 1923 show that he believed in the importance of the sovereignty of the people. In forging the new republic, the Turkish revolutionaries turned their back on the perceived corruption and decadence of cosmopolitan Constantinople and its Ottoman heritage. For instance, they made Ankara the country's new capital. A provincial town deep in Anatolia, it was turned into the center of the independence movement. Ataturk wanted a ‘direct government by the Assembly’ and visualized a representative democracy, parliamentary sovereignty, where the National Parliament would be the ultimate source of power.” Wikipedia. In short, democracy replaced the corrupt Ottomans, and religion and state were separated; the Caliphate was abolished, and Turkey entered the modern age.

Why is any of this remotely relevant in today’s world? Because Turkey actually sits on the border of Europe (3% of its land mass) and Asia (the balance), but straddles many other “borders” as well. As primarily Sunni Muslim nation, it has maintained its secular government where the separation of mosque and state was perpetually enforced by a very powerful military… with aspirations of becoming a member of the European Union (after several years as an associate member, Turkey was recognized as qualifying to apply for full membership in 1999). However, powerful forces within and without Turkey have voiced skepticism at an Islamic country that is only slightly in Europe fitting into the EU. The battle rages, even as there has been a distinct growth of Islamic power into the elected government. There is even fear that the current leaders hip of Turkey, led by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is secretly harboring a desire to turn the country into an Islamic republic.

The military has lost its traditional control over the ability of religion to creep backing into the political infrastructure: “But now, battered by allegations of corruption and scandal, the authority of the once-unchallenged military is being whittled away by an increasingly assertive and confident public. The critics are a diverse array of democracy advocates, head-scarf-wearing Muslim women, journalists and others who complain that the military's grip on power has largely benefited wealthy and secular elites.” April 11^th Washington Post. After putting down a potential military coup, the government is now moving strongly to contain and isolate military power in the country. Plots and conspiracy theories abound.

Turkey, a member of N.A.T.O., has been a key ally to the United States in the containment of Muslim radicalism. Its border with Iraq provides key strategic value to the U.S., although they have problems with a Kurdish population that seeks independence from Turkey and possible alliance with the Kurds in northern Iraq. Control of access between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean via the Bosporus is also of profound importance. In a world of shifting identities, where religion and politics have never been more dangerously blended in the modern world, the changes in Turkey may be harbingers of continued erosion between the Western world and Islam, as a powerful and once clearly secular nation moves slowly towards a religious bent that might just make American policies that much more difficult to implement in the years to come.

I’m Peter Dekom, and it’s often the little movements that eventually change the earth the most.