The Clarifier
FULL MEMBER
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2010
- Messages
- 561
- Reaction score
- 0
This article is very interesting. I would like to know what Turkish members think of it.
The recent visit by the German president to Turkey was a major event in more ways than one. Apart from underlining Turkeys growing economic and political clout, the visit was the first time the countrys first lady, Hayrunissa Gul, welcomed foreign guests at a state function.
Ever since Abdullah Gul was elected as president in 2007, his conservative wife has stayed in the background. Her adherence to the traditional headscarf has caused a furore among the fiercely secular general staff. On state functions, the Guls have entertained separately, with Mr Gul dealing with the prickly generals.
Thus, when the German president Christian Wulff and his wife arrived to be greeted at the airport by the Guls, the media went wild. Photos of the Turkish first lady walking with Mrs Wulff on the official red carpet with her head covered were splashed across the front page as though she was walking on water.
Even though I have been coming to Turkey for many years, I was unaware of how deeply divided this society really is on the issue of a small bit of cloth. As I wrote in this newspaper a few days ago, universities are now permitting girls to attend in headscarves for the first time in many years. A girl is suing a lecturer for insulting her and marking her absent because she wore a hat over her hijab to class.
The intensity of the debate was evident during a recent evening in Istanbul when we were invited to the home of a Jewish couple. Their family had been in Turkey for many generations, and Ralph and Nadia were gracious and charming hosts. When the conversation turned (inevitably) to the question of the headscarf, Nadia said: I dont think these covered women love Turkey as I do.
A bit puzzled, I asked her what she meant. My Turkey was modern, while these women want to drag it back, she replied. Mildly, I pointed out that perhaps her vision differed with that of more traditional Turks. I also said that since I had begun visiting the country nearly 50 years ago, it had made tremendous strides, so it could hardly be said to be less modern.
These tensions go to the heart of what it means to be modern and secular. To many urban, sophisticated Turks, the use of the headscarf is an often unwelcome reminder that their country has a strong Islamic identity that is now beginning to reassert itself after decades of being pushed into the mosques and the boondocks of Anatolia.
Ever since Mustafa Kemal Pashas reforms following Ottoman Turkeys defeat in the First World War, and its emergence as a republic, the military has made sure that the values of Kemalist secularism remained sacrosanct. But with the emergence of the conservative AK Party as the dominant political force in the country, the militarys hold on power has been steadily eroded.
For decades, the country was governed by secularists in partnership with the military. Every once in a while, the generals intervened directly. But the breaking of the Ergenekon scandal that exposed the extent of the militarys meddling has weakened the powerful general staff.
In this crusade to send the soldiers back to the barracks, the role of the daily Taraf has been pivotal. In a stream of leaks, the newspaper has stripped the veil off the countrys notorious Deep State. And as the ultra-nationalists run for cover, and a court case against those behind a series of anti-democracy moves grinds on, the leaders of the AK Party have seized their opportunity to bring Islam to the foreground.
Many modern, educated Turks understand that the issue is not the headscarf. Indeed, banning its use on university campuses simply denied higher education to conservative women when the state should have been making learning among precisely this section of the population a priority. Nevertheless, 500 members of the association of university professors have recently signed a letter to the Higher Education Board, demanding that the ban on headscarves be retained.
Many have confused modernism and secularism with removing the outward symbols of religion. For them, the debate begins and ends with the headscarf. They consider that those who wear them are oppressed prisoners of gender and faith.
For me, this is too narrow a framework: surely, women who choose to cover their heads can be equal and productive members of society, and as committed to democratic norms as anybody else. Nevertheless, having tried on the full burka, I can say with confidence that this all-enveloping garment seriously restricts movement and field of vision. Fortunately, nobody in Turkey wears the burka, so its not an issue there.
Given the fractured state of the opposition, it seems that the AK Party is going to be in power for the foreseeable future. Indeed, its main opponent, the Republican Peoples Party (CHP), is a prisoner of the past, unable or unwilling to come to terms with todays political realities. Its leadership is old and tired, and it offers little to attract voters. Currently, there is no sign of unity among the countrys smaller parties.
With a strong, successful government as his power base, Recip Erdogan, the Turkish prime minister, can be a secular interlocutor to the West, while presenting a modern Muslim face to the Middle East and beyond in the Islamic world. Currently, he has credibility in both camps.
Nevertheless, secular Turks fret about the future. Some, like Nadia, are concerned that their countrys modern, western identity is being lost. Others fear that the armys role of umpire between faith-based and secular forces has been severely reduced, and that political Islam has put down roots in their country. Recently, the newly elected leader of the CHP asked: What is AKPs hidden agenda?
Thus far, the partys agenda seems to be limited to strengthening the countrys economy, and gaining entry to the European Union. In fact, it has used entry requirements to strengthen the rule of law and improve human rights. But there remains a nagging concern about Turkeys opening to Iran, and its increasingly independent foreign policy that has often put it at odds with the United States.
In some ways, Turkey is delicately poised between East and West. Its general elections next year will probably give the ruling party another term. What it does over the next five years with this power will probably mark the direction the country will take for many years to come.
irfanhusain
DAWN.COM | Columnists | Turkey?s Muslim identity
The recent visit by the German president to Turkey was a major event in more ways than one. Apart from underlining Turkeys growing economic and political clout, the visit was the first time the countrys first lady, Hayrunissa Gul, welcomed foreign guests at a state function.
Ever since Abdullah Gul was elected as president in 2007, his conservative wife has stayed in the background. Her adherence to the traditional headscarf has caused a furore among the fiercely secular general staff. On state functions, the Guls have entertained separately, with Mr Gul dealing with the prickly generals.
Thus, when the German president Christian Wulff and his wife arrived to be greeted at the airport by the Guls, the media went wild. Photos of the Turkish first lady walking with Mrs Wulff on the official red carpet with her head covered were splashed across the front page as though she was walking on water.
Even though I have been coming to Turkey for many years, I was unaware of how deeply divided this society really is on the issue of a small bit of cloth. As I wrote in this newspaper a few days ago, universities are now permitting girls to attend in headscarves for the first time in many years. A girl is suing a lecturer for insulting her and marking her absent because she wore a hat over her hijab to class.
The intensity of the debate was evident during a recent evening in Istanbul when we were invited to the home of a Jewish couple. Their family had been in Turkey for many generations, and Ralph and Nadia were gracious and charming hosts. When the conversation turned (inevitably) to the question of the headscarf, Nadia said: I dont think these covered women love Turkey as I do.
A bit puzzled, I asked her what she meant. My Turkey was modern, while these women want to drag it back, she replied. Mildly, I pointed out that perhaps her vision differed with that of more traditional Turks. I also said that since I had begun visiting the country nearly 50 years ago, it had made tremendous strides, so it could hardly be said to be less modern.
These tensions go to the heart of what it means to be modern and secular. To many urban, sophisticated Turks, the use of the headscarf is an often unwelcome reminder that their country has a strong Islamic identity that is now beginning to reassert itself after decades of being pushed into the mosques and the boondocks of Anatolia.
Ever since Mustafa Kemal Pashas reforms following Ottoman Turkeys defeat in the First World War, and its emergence as a republic, the military has made sure that the values of Kemalist secularism remained sacrosanct. But with the emergence of the conservative AK Party as the dominant political force in the country, the militarys hold on power has been steadily eroded.
For decades, the country was governed by secularists in partnership with the military. Every once in a while, the generals intervened directly. But the breaking of the Ergenekon scandal that exposed the extent of the militarys meddling has weakened the powerful general staff.
In this crusade to send the soldiers back to the barracks, the role of the daily Taraf has been pivotal. In a stream of leaks, the newspaper has stripped the veil off the countrys notorious Deep State. And as the ultra-nationalists run for cover, and a court case against those behind a series of anti-democracy moves grinds on, the leaders of the AK Party have seized their opportunity to bring Islam to the foreground.
Many modern, educated Turks understand that the issue is not the headscarf. Indeed, banning its use on university campuses simply denied higher education to conservative women when the state should have been making learning among precisely this section of the population a priority. Nevertheless, 500 members of the association of university professors have recently signed a letter to the Higher Education Board, demanding that the ban on headscarves be retained.
Many have confused modernism and secularism with removing the outward symbols of religion. For them, the debate begins and ends with the headscarf. They consider that those who wear them are oppressed prisoners of gender and faith.
For me, this is too narrow a framework: surely, women who choose to cover their heads can be equal and productive members of society, and as committed to democratic norms as anybody else. Nevertheless, having tried on the full burka, I can say with confidence that this all-enveloping garment seriously restricts movement and field of vision. Fortunately, nobody in Turkey wears the burka, so its not an issue there.
Given the fractured state of the opposition, it seems that the AK Party is going to be in power for the foreseeable future. Indeed, its main opponent, the Republican Peoples Party (CHP), is a prisoner of the past, unable or unwilling to come to terms with todays political realities. Its leadership is old and tired, and it offers little to attract voters. Currently, there is no sign of unity among the countrys smaller parties.
With a strong, successful government as his power base, Recip Erdogan, the Turkish prime minister, can be a secular interlocutor to the West, while presenting a modern Muslim face to the Middle East and beyond in the Islamic world. Currently, he has credibility in both camps.
Nevertheless, secular Turks fret about the future. Some, like Nadia, are concerned that their countrys modern, western identity is being lost. Others fear that the armys role of umpire between faith-based and secular forces has been severely reduced, and that political Islam has put down roots in their country. Recently, the newly elected leader of the CHP asked: What is AKPs hidden agenda?
Thus far, the partys agenda seems to be limited to strengthening the countrys economy, and gaining entry to the European Union. In fact, it has used entry requirements to strengthen the rule of law and improve human rights. But there remains a nagging concern about Turkeys opening to Iran, and its increasingly independent foreign policy that has often put it at odds with the United States.
In some ways, Turkey is delicately poised between East and West. Its general elections next year will probably give the ruling party another term. What it does over the next five years with this power will probably mark the direction the country will take for many years to come.
irfanhusain
DAWN.COM | Columnists | Turkey?s Muslim identity
