Dialogue
with People of the Book - 2
By Dr Muzaffar K Awan
Michigan, USA
Judeo-Turkic interactions began from the start
of the dark Middle Ages when the Turkish Khazar
Khans converted to Judaism (AD 740) and into modern
times since Muslim-Turks and Jews have enjoyed
long periods of remarkably close ties. These relations
were always in contrast to the experiences of
the Jews in Western Europe.
The Ottoman experience, with the millet system,
has left behind remarkable memories of harmonious
inter-religious relations. The Empire was composed
not only of Muslims, but of many Christian and
Jewish groups, and even some Zoroastrians. Until
the emergence of modern nationalistic ideas, Muslims,
Christians and Jews had lived together peacefully
and productively in Ottoman times that has not
been possible in the recent decades.
The Ottoman Empire always had citizens who professed
Judaism. The Ottoman Empire was a safe haven for
Jews throughout its history until its end at the
beginning of the 20th century. In 1492 the Spanish
Jews (Sephar¬dic), along with Muslims, were
thrown out of Spain of what has been their homeland
for more than seven centuries. On March 31st,
1492 the Spanish King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella
issued the edict of expulsion and ordered conversion
of all Jews and Muslims to Christianity. Some
Jewish refugees found homes in coun¬tries
like Holland, France and Italy but by far the
most important group prefer¬red an Isla¬mic
country as a refuge. Their reason for exercising
this option was that they had lived for centuries
in Isla¬mic Spain (Grena¬da, Andalusia)
where they were treated as equal citizens. The
Jews who settled in the Ottoman lands were by
far the largest of those refugees.
Bernard Lewis records the relation between Jews
and Turks in Ottoman Empire as follows: When the
Turks conquered part of Hungary in the beginning
of the sixteenth century, they brought Jews from
Ottoman lands and invited Hunga¬rian Jews
to go to Turkey. When they left in 1686, the Jews
left with them: there are records of imperial
orders to protect them, ensure their safe departure,
and resettle them in suitable places in the Ottoman
lands after the withdrawal from Hungary. The greatest
centres of Ottoman Sephardic Jewry were Istanbul,
Salonika and Sarajevo. Today only Istanbul is
within the boundaries of Turkey.
Salonika was a Turkish territory until 1912. It
was an economic center of Ottoman Europe and a
cultural centre of Sephardic Judaism. The founder
of modern Turkey (Atatürk) was born there.
After the loss of Salonika in 1912 to Greece,
the Jews of Salonika were exterminated by Nazi
forces and collaborating Greeks. The writings
of Bulent Özdemir and Yitzchak Kerem deal
with Jews of the Ottoman Empire and their lives
in Salonica. Mahir Sauls describes the development
of nationalism and language at the end of the
19th century and the beginning of the 20th century
in Istanbul’s Jewish population. Ali Güler
and Salahi Sonyels talked about the transition
from the Ottoman Empire into the Turkish Republic
and its effects on the Jews of the Empire and
the Republic.
Jewish people who converted to Islam during the
Ottoman times but who have preserved many of their
cultural traditions were called Doenmehs/ Sabateans
or converts and are still very much of interest
both to Turkey and Israel in the field of Jewish/Turkish
studies. There had not been much objective information
about them for some reason but their impact on
modern Turkey and its laicist (secular) nature
may have been historically important due to their
possible influence on young Turks and Atatürk.
A recent writing by Gad Nassi deals with this
particular group and reveals some interesting
information about their daily life. Avrum Ehrlich
also deals with Sabateans and their impact on
Modern Turkish and Israeli relations.The Ottoman
period, espoused ongoing ideas of inter-religious
tolerance, dialogue and cooperation.
With ancient heritage, sprawling land and fascinating
people, today’s Turkey is literally at the
crossroads of East and West. Sitting astride the
Bosporus, Turkey bridges Asia and Europe. It has
historically been the center for the physical
and intellectual struggles between Islamic and
Western civilizations. Today, it maintains an
uneasy balancing act between Western secularism
and traditionalist but modernizing Islam. Modern
Turkey’s experiences may offer some valuable
lessons and suggestions to those seeking a way
out of the international crisis of today.
Turkey is crowned with ideal and balanced interpretations
of democracy, secularism and Islam. I am confident
that Turkey will demonstrably present herself
as a leading candidate for the role of building
bridges between civilizations. The economic and
political changes following the ascent to power
of Turgut Ozal's pro-market economic regime in
1983 had opened up new opportunities — social
and economic networks and vehicles for activism
and the dissemination of meaning, identity, and
cultural codes . These opportunity spaces of print
and electronic media, associations, study circles,
and political parties have produced the Turkish
example of Islamically-oriented political and
social movements committed to playing within a
legal framework of democratic and pluralistic
parameters, thus providing a potential model for
other Muslim countries.
While talking about Turkey, I feel obligated to
provide here a brief account of Fethullah Gülen
(a Turkish scholar, intellectual and prime-mover
of constructive ideas) and his endeavors that
are increasingly drawing the attention of Muslim
intellectuals of the world, and academic scholarship
in the West. With his charismatic personality,
his ever increasing number of admirers in the
world, and his tremendous openness, Gülen
and his movement are bound to make tremendous
contributions to the welfare of the Islamic countries
and development of positive relationships between
Islam and the West. President Musharraf, most
probably, is aware of Gulen’s enlightenment
projects and their ever-growing impact and influence
on the Islamic countries and the world. (To be
continued)
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