TRICKY TRANSITION IN KURDISH TURKEY
By Dorian Jones in Diyarbakir, Turkey for ISN Security Watch

ISN, Switzerland
57
Sept 24 2007

Image: Charles Roffey, Flickr

The predominantly Kurdish southeast is going through a crucial
transition. Kurdish secular nationalism, while remaining a powerful
force, is now being challenged by a resurgence in Islam.

In an unprecedented move, newly elected Turkish President Abdullah
Gul made his first trip as head of state to the predominantly Kurdish
southeast section of the country. The reaction of the people was
equally unprecedented, with thousands cheering and throwing roses –
Gul means "rose" in Turkish – wherever he went.

The visit came only weeks after Gul’s Islamic-rooted Justice and
Development Party (AKP) secured a surprise election victory in the
region, winning 53 percent of the vote in the July general election.

The Kurdish nationalist Democratic Society Party (DTP) was pushed
into second place.

For more than two decades, southeast Turkey has been devastated by a
vicious and bloody war between the separatist Kurdistan Worker’s Party
(PKK) and the Turkish government. The conflict has claimed over 30,000
lives and displaced over a million people. Until now, the region was
widely considered a bastion of secular Kurdish nationalism.

The pro-Marxist PKK and the DTP – both of which have dominated the
region’s politics – are overtly secular. But the capture of PKK
leader Abdullah Ocalan in 1999, along with the withdrawal of most
of its forces to neighboring Iraq, have weakened the party. Now,
a resurgence in Islam is filling the gap.

Rising anger brings more adherents Last year, around 100,000
demonstrators protested in the regional capital Diyarbakir against the
cartoon depictions of the prophet Muhammad published in the Danish
daily Jllyands-Posten in September 2005. While there were similar
protests across Turkey, they were dwarfed by those in Diyarbakir. Even
the organizers of the demonstrations seemed taken aback by the level
of anger among the protesters.

"During the cartoon crisis, we wanted to show our anger so we organized
a meeting. We thought only a few people would turn up. But to our
shock thousands came, so we decided to organize a protest and over
100,000 people attended," Serdar Bulent Yilmaz, one of the organizers,
told ISN Security Watch.

Yilmaz, who also heads the Islamic human rights group Ozgur Der,
said the protest was part of a wider trend in the region influenced
by national and international factors.

"There is a growing anger towards the West, especially with Israel
[and] the US and what’s happening in the Middle East. It’s fueling
the rise in religion, which is becoming stronger in response to a
societal need to fill a gap here.

"This gap has been created by the backwardness of our society, the mass
migration into the cities caused by the fighting between the state
and Kurdish separatists that has resulted in a moral degeneration,"
Yilmaz said. "People are looking for answers which religion can only
give. […]"

Islamic sects re-establishing influence among Kurds While DTP
candidates were pro-secular during last July’s general election as in
previous polls, they courted the religious vote during the campaign. In
a traditional meeting with Diyarbakir’s religious leaders, it was
expected to be a forgone conclusion that they would offer their support
to the DTP. Traditionally, Kurdish nationalism trumps religion. But
to the party’s surprise, for the first time in recent elections,
the religious leaders said they would not support any party.

That decision was seen by DTP officials as a sign that the leaders were
switching allegiance to the Islamic-rooted AKP. Many of Diyarbakir’s
religious leaders, as in the rest of the region, belong to ancient
Islamic sects or tariqats.

A centuries-old and intrinsic part of Kurdish cultural life, tariqats
have re-asserted their influence over the region by offering free
education and housing to the poor – moves that are welcomed in a
highly underdeveloped region.

The groups have been banned in Turkey since the 1920s, and their
members do not admit to their involvement in the sects. Mohammed Akar,
who says he is closely linked with the sects, tells ISN Security
Watch that the tariqats are seeking to build bridges.

"The main religious sects have entered a positive phase. They have
learned more about democracy and how to voice their concerns using
democratic tools," Akar said.

"Especially with the democratic reforms introduced under pressure
from the European Union [they have] created a space of freedom. […]
[T]hese religious societies are reaching an understanding of living
together with the West and in particular being very supportive of
the EU membership process."

Radical Islam also taking root But while these moderate Islamic
groups may well be seeking dialogue with the West, the region is also
witnessing a resurgence of radical Islamic groups.

On the main street of the Ofis district of Diyarbakir, Islamic music
blasts from a former clothing shop. On the windows are pictures of
dead Palestinian children. Now the venue, run by a radical Islamic
association, offers cheap food and anti-Western religious propaganda
to the city’s poor.

In the last few years, numerous such organizations have sprung up,
running publishing houses, charities and foundations. Many are
suspected to be linked to the illegal Hizbollah group.

This Hizbollah is not believed to be connected with the similarly
named group in Lebanon, but according to the Turkish police, it does
have ties with Iran.

In the 1990s, the group was responsible for hundreds of deaths in the
region. Most victims are believed to have ties with the PKK, referred
to by Hizbollah as the "party of the infidel." Liberal intellectuals
and moderate Islamists were also targeted. Many of the victims were
filmed and recorded being tortured before execution.

There were numerous allegations of the Turkish state’s tacit, if not
direct, support of Hizbollah because of its anti-PKK stance. But when
it spread its operations to the rest of Turkey, and was blamed for
the assassination of the head of Diyarbakir’s police Gaffar Okkan,
within in a year the Turkish state had arrested or killed most of
the group’s leadership in 2001.

But in the last few years, it is believed that Hizbollah followers
have re-invented themselves, adopting a non-violent approach. Akar,
who has closely followed their activities, says the group’s true
nature remains unclear.

"They have buried their guns, shaved off their Muslim beards and dress
in a western way. But the guns still remain, I just hope their guns
stay buried."

Even if their guns remain buried their vehement anti-Western message
remains. They are engaged in a war for the hearts and minds of the
Kurdish people.

The outcome of that battle remains undecided among local Islamic
intellectuals, who spoke to ISN Security Watch on the condition
of anonymity.

"Kurdish people are religious people, but they don’t like radical
Islam. […]Kurdish people like and respect other religions, like
Armenians, Assyrians or other Christians and Jewish cultures. That’s
because for a thousand years we have lived with them here."

But others are not so sure.

"Kurdish people are religious people. They don’t want their religion
to be alienated or destroyed by the complete secular values of the
west. If the radical movements increase, that will be because of
[the policies of the West]."

The Iraq factor The future of Iraq is widely seen as a key factor
to dictating the politics of the region. But the presence of US
forces in Iraq is still popular among many Turkish Kurds because
of the protection they offer to the neighboring Iraqi Kurdish
population. Since the end of the first Gulf War, US forces have
protected the Iraqi Kurdish enclave on the Turkish border.

At Diyarbakir’s main mosque, the Olu Cami, widespread support for
the US can still be found.

"The US is protecting the Kurds in Iraqi Kurdistan. They are friends
of the Kurdish people. Without the Americans and the West, Kurds can
never be free. Leave the Americans alone, they protect our rights,"
Erkan Dogan, a 45-year-old shopkeeper, told ISN Security Watch

But dissenting voices can also be heard.

"The US gives charity with one had but attacks with the other. They
are oppressing the Islamic world, the poor, women, children," Mehmet
Guney said.

"Israel and the US are faithless, and enemies of Islam. Islam will
rule the world; it is the only true faith."

Such dissent could to grow as radical Islamic groups continue to take
advantage of the on-going carnage in Iraq and the deepening conflict
in the Palestinian Territories. But Akar fears for a premature US
withdrawal from Iraq.

"If the European Union process ends, and US abandons Kurds living in
Iraq, then everything can change, there can be chaos and you could
see a radicalization of Muslims; people could even look to Iran like
Hamas in Palestine."

The predominantly Kurdish southeast is going through a crucial
transition. Kurdish secular nationalism, while remaining a powerful
force, is now being challenged by a resurgence in Islam. But what
direction that resurgence will take is a battle that is being waged
between moderates and radicals. With the region bordering Iran,
Iraq and Syria, the outcome of that struggle could be far-reaching.

Dorian L Jones is an Istanbul-based correspondent reporting for ISN
Security Watch. He has covered events in Northern Iraq, Turkey and
Cyprus. He is also a radio documentary producer.