What this has tended to mean is that when things are going “well,” Europe can count on its liberalism, and when things are going “badly,” the continent can collapse without fear into its native authoritarianism. And thus, during a period when the economic crisis is hitting home and when the immigrant problems still have not been solved, this authoritarian foundation can wind up yielding the fruits of fascism and racism. In order to exclude yourself from the tag of “racist” if you are European, you need to declare that certain immigrants “really are” backwards. The easiest way to do this to condemn their cultural practices, and in this sense, Muslim immigrants in particular are quite useful. To put it another way, if you are able to declare that the essential elements of Islam are troublesome and worrisome, then you are relieved of all responsibilities when it comes to questions of Muslim immigrant integration into society, and you find you have suddenly created a situation where you can simply transfer all of your problems onto their shoulders.
These days, Europe's mental state is imbalanced. The most important lever being used is secularism. It is now widely alleged that Islam is in itself anathema to secularism, and thus open racism toward Muslims in Europe is being nourished. But Europeans should not worry at all. They are not alone. A new study shows that secular circles in cities like İstanbul, Ankara and İzmir are at the same place, mentally speaking. A recent piece of research by Füsun Üstel and Birol Caymaz recorded the views of Turks who had graduated from prestigious schools, were from upper middle class groups and held high-level career positions. One point inferred from this research that seemed to bind all these people was that there is a perception of a strong link between modernity and “being educated.” Clearly, there are direct ties seen between going to a good school, getting a good education, becoming “cultured” and, moving forward from this point, “living a secular life.” And this, in short, is called “modernity.” So, those who are not secular form their own “sub-group” and are excluded from the circles of modernity.
Those who carried out this research asked their target audience questions about Kurds, Muslims, the EU and the ongoing Ergenekon investigation. One of the results seen was that non-Muslims are generally perceived in a quite romantic and nostalgic sense, but that there is much ignorance about the problems experienced by non-Muslims in Turkey. The same results can be seen in responses regarding Kurds in Turkey. In fact, Kurdish problems seem to be perceived as problems that emerged out of the blue, were triggered by “outside forces” and are almost imaginary and made up. Interestingly, if you read the views collected in this research, you also note that Muslims seem to be perceived as factions of Turkish society that legally need to be tolerated. Completing these views is the expressed perception that while the EU is favored for its secular lifestyle, it is viewed with suspicion as a political actor and that the Ergenekon investigation is believed to be an operation aimed at cleansing the nation of anti-AK Party forces.
No doubt the most surprising aspect to this general tableau is the great level of ignorance it displays. These are people who, despite having graduated from the country's top schools and taking up prestigious career positions in society, are still engulfed in unbelievable amounts of shallowness and ignorance when it comes to Turkey's historical and political past and present. This ignorance and shallowness triggers a certain introspection but also a veiled racism when it comes to those left outside the “circles of secularity.” Clearly, political premises and ideas within Turkish secular factions are based upon certain essentialist viewpoints. They express their views of others in terms of generalities, thus homogenizing these “others,” and in situations when they are forced to be unified with these others, turn to put-downs and belittling in response. To wit, headscarved women, with their coverings perceived as symbolic of Islam, face widespread put-downs in Turkey.
Interestingly, those at the helm of the spread of these kinds of ideas see themselves not as racist, but as modern, so that when it comes to politics, they have no problem in defending coups, because this understanding of authoritarian modernism puts cultural differences into action as a “democracy filter.” Put another way, while those who are from a “backwards” sort of culture can be left comfortably outside of democracy, the very hands pushing these “backwards” sorts out of democracy and taking away their rights are not racist, but, rather, modern.
No doubt the tableau we face in this all is strongly tied to an educational system in which nation-state ideology runs strong and deep. And, in truth, the top level schools and accepted education system in Turkey puts great stress on producing axiomatic, unquestioned information. Students are only encouraged to learn certain disciplines, and to advance within the limits of those disciplines. At the same time, there is a purposeful attempt to avoid students with information that would help them understand societal realities outside of themselves. What then emerges is a modern “sect” of people who know certain subjects quite well, but remains amazingly ignorant about general society, history and politics.
The secular factions of today in Turkey live within a world of reality that is still being protected. And actually, ignorance is itself a political tool of assimilation held in the hands of the state. To the extent that modern education in Turkey aims to turn out good citizens, it is also producing a modern sect of people who are disassociated from the very society they live in, who are tied inextricably to the state and who look down on the “others.”
And this general tableau overlaps with the new conservatism rising in Europe, a new conservatism that winks at fascism. The truth is, though, the situation the Europeans are in is more embarrassing. This is because rather than being purposefully left ignorant, they are actually electing to be ignorant. They are closing in on themselves, not for psychological reasons, but out of political worries. The prerequisite to eliminating racism and fascism from the face of the earth is to be embarrassed by them. Turkey is really still getting to know itself, but Europe is doing this on purpose.
