October
26, 2007
Turmoil
over Turkey
Turkey
has, in effect, done everything sought
by the West:
• It is a key NATO ally;
• Its Incirlik airbase provides
70 percent of the logistic support under-girding
the US presence in Iraq, and is a key
component of US re-supply routes for
the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan;
• It is a friend of Israel and
has a vigorous air force agreement with
it, whereby the Israeli Air Force conducts
its air exercises over Turkish airspace;
• It has cracked down on leftist
movements;
• It dispatched a brigade to fight
along side the US-led UN force during
the Korean War of 1950-53, during which
its entire military contingent was nearly
wiped out; and
• It is a devoutly secular state
with restrictions on wearing of the
hijab, to the extent that a
hijab-wearing female Turkish
legislator had her parliamentary seat
confiscated.
Yet, all of the above did not deter
the House Foreign Affairs Committee
– chaired by Congressman Tom Lantos
– of the US Congress to approve
a resolution on October 10, 2007, condemning
Turkey for committing “genocide”
against Armenians during World War I.
In effect, present-day Turkey is being
tarred for killings that occurred in
Ottoman Turkey a century ago. Significantly,
in September 2000, during the Clinton
Presidency, the same Tom Lantos had
warned that any such resolution would
“humiliate and insult” Turkey
and that the “unintended results
would be devastating.”
One likely result would be to aggravate
US policy failures in the Middle East.
This resolution may have increased the
chances of a Turkish military incursion
into northern Iraq against Kurdish insurgents,
adding more to the Mideast chaos.
This most Europeanized of Muslim nations
has not escaped spite from Western quarters.
Also earlier, the Parliament of France
had passed a law criminalizing those
who would dispute the killing of Armenians
during the World War I era. This reveals
how slim are Turkey’s chances
for getting into the European Union.
Despite having done everything to fit
the bill of “moderation”,
the subtext of Turkey being a Muslim
nation looms large. The turmoil over
Turkey has come at a time when, in an
unprecedented initiative, 138 prominent
Muslims from across the spectrum and
around the world, including key leaders
of the Muslim Brotherhood, have sent
an open letter to Pope Benedict XVI
and heads of all Christian Churches
stressing that “the future of
the world depends on peace between Muslims
and Christians.” According to
Professor John Esposito, Director of
the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding
at Georgetown University: “This
historical document is a crystal-clear
message of peace and tolerance.”
But, again, it takes two hands to clap.
At a time when Turkish nationalism is
on the rise, the resolution passed by
the US House of Representatives could
lead to repercussions damaging to Western
interests. General Yashar Buyukanit,
Turkey’s military chief, has warned
that US-Turkey military ties could be
severely damaged.
The mercenary mentality of the upper
strata in the Muslim world -- being
submissive abroad while being aggressive
at home -- has made Muslim nations vulnerable
both to outside machinations and also
to internal de-stabilization and subversion.
The incapacity of Muslim elites to put
up a coherent defense of their faith
and to refute constant attacks on it
emboldens foes and validates those who
seek to pin Muslims as irrational medievalists
beyond the pale of the so-called “Judeo-Christian”
civilization. As a corrective measure,
it may be useful to occasionally remind
what happened to the indigenous Indian
populace in the Western hemisphere,
the Aborigines in Australia, and the
rape of Nanking by Imperial Japan.
The upshot to all of this is that one
may try to forget and hide one’s
identity, but the foes won’t forget
it. They may act tactically nice but,
strategically, they remain embedded
in hostility.
The lesson of Turkey is that silence
is no longer an option.
Underlying the many issues of the Muslim
world is the core moral problem of timid
elites. The solution to this moral problem
is moral leadership. Its most essential
element is courage.
Fourteen centuries ago, Hazrat Ali warned:
“Do not heed the counsel of a
coward, for he will rob you of your
resolve.”
