ANKARA: Tear down these walls of fear and bigotry

Turkish Daily News, Turkey
April 21 2007

Tear down these walls of fear and bigotry

Saturday, April 21, 2007

Barcýn Yinanc

After having worked in Ankara for 15 years as a diplomatic reporter,
I decided to move to Istanbul three years ago. One of the things that
struck me in this city was the "timid" existence of the churches
and synagogues. It took me some time to realize that they existed,
even the ones next door, in my own neighborhood. Some are behind high
walls. Ugly buildings surround others; you can hardly see them. Without
doubt, one of the reasons for this situation is unplanned urbanization,
in this rapidly growing city. Some of the most beautiful architectural
legacies of the Ottoman rule, namely the fountains suffer the same
faith. But as far as the non-Muslim sacred places go, I have always
felt as if they were trying to hide themselves.

Whenever, I see a church or synagogue, behind high walls or behind
buildings that have no historical or architectural value, I dream of
demolishing everything that surrounds it just so that they can stand
there proudly. Then this city could really become another Jerusalem
in the region. Unfortunately, I realize that as the Turkish society,
we have not yet matured enough. How can we tell them to stop hiding,
without guaranteeing that they will not be targets of hostile attacks?

A country of contradiction:

Turkey is a country of contradiction. Some believe that the biggest
threat Turkey is facing today is Islamic fundamentalism. Recently,
Turkish President Sezer voiced his concerns, stating a few days ago
that the threat Islamic fundamentalism poses to the country’s secular
establishment has reached its highest level. It is no secret that
some among the security authorities share this view.

Isn’t it odd that, these same circles also see Christian missionaries
as a big threat? The National Security Council as well as the Interior
Ministry devotes a considerable amount of time to the activities of
missionaries in Turkey. Their archives are full of reports on the
dangerous increase in the activities of Christian minorities and the
measures that need to be taken to curb these activities. It usually
falls on the shoulders of the Foreign Ministry to answer criticism
on the international stage about the harassment to the missionaries
in Turkey, triggered by those reports.

How can a country be under the threat of both Islamic fundamentalism
and Christian missionaries at the same time? How can one imagine that
Christianity can easily take root in a society that is believed to
be sliding toward Muslim fundamentalism?

The hegemony of fear:

Actually the answer to these questions is a simple one: fear. There is
a group within the state mechanism that sees non-Muslims as a threat;
be it the minorities that have lived on this land for centuries or
those who recently arrived to propagate their religion.

This fear is based on what some Turks call the "Sevres syndrome." A
post World War I pact between the victorious Allied powers and the
Ottomans, the Sevres Treaty, abolished the Ottoman Empire and provided
for an independent Armenia, for an autonomous Kurdish region, and for
a Greek presence in eastern Thrace. The cooperation of non-Muslim
minorities with the Allied powers, as well as certain activities
by Christian minorities in the dying days of the Ottoman Empire,
laid the necessary ground for the Sevres Treaty. Hence the fear of
"foreign powers trying to divide Turkish land with the help of
non-Muslim minorities keeps haunting Turks even today.

An American diplomat once told me he kept a map of the Sevres Treaty in
his house to show the sensitivity of Turks to his non-Turkish guests.

I can understand the Sevres paranoia by the older generation. I feel
but sad and frightened when I see younger generations fed by this
same paranoia. What Turkey needs is to get rid of this fear of the
past and gain a little bit of self-confidence.

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