A majority of people in Turkey describe themselves as “milliyetci-muhafazakar -- nationalist-conservative.” These two words imply patriotism and possession of spiritual values. When someone says I am muhafazakar in Turkey, no one thinks of conservatism. If we look at the general meaning inferred when the Turkish public uses the word milliyetcilik-nationalist, we can see that it has no connection to racism. In fact, this word has religious and Islamic connotations. Because the word nation is not only used to define a group of people tied together by blood relations. In Turkey, children are taught to say “I am from the nation of Abraham” when asked “What is your nation?” It means they are from the nation of the Prophet Abraham.
The reason the word nationalism does not imply chauvinism is certainly credited to Islam. Islam clearly and strictly prohibits racism. The Qu’ran says: “Oh mankind, we created you from Adam and Eve and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know each other. Verily the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is (one who is) the most righteous of you.” Therefore, honor is associated with being close to God and people are all equal as the children of Adam and Eve.
During the Ottoman period, the very religious and very multinational social structure had collapsed racist ideologies. The wave of nationalism began with the fall of the Ottoman Empire. The fact that different Ottoman societies based their war of independence on nationalism prompted the Turks to develop a feeling of Turkishness. In other words, Turkish nationalism began in response to the growing nationalism and racism in the Balkans. But after the civil wars, Islamic principles brought patriot connotations back to nationalism.
The 1940s experienced a rebirth of nationalism based on racism owing to the fast-spreading fascism in Europe. But once again Islam tackled the “higher race” ideology back to patriotism. It’s quite interesting to note that extreme Turkishness movements in the 1940s eliminated feelings of self-centered nationalism in the average citizen. Racist movements were replaced by nationalist parties.
Today the situation is different. There have been interesting developments in the past few years. Far-right and far-left groups have joined to form a group called Kizilelma. They define themselves as ulusalci, neo-nationalist, and have launched a campaign against the European Union. This group not only uses terms like anti-Western and anti-American but also terms like extreme nationalism and Kemalism. They initially proclaimed that the country was being divided and that the land was being sold. Such claims went beyond propaganda and gave warning signals that the group would seek an armed organization. But Turkey underestimated this at the time.
In 2006, six important crime organizations were discovered. Each was found to have connections with soldiers, the police and PKK informants. Unfortunately, the necessary precautions had not been taken. The murder of the priest in Trabzon and the attacker of the Council of State building were all said to have neo-nationalist or nationalist links. The murder of Hrant Dink also seems to have a connection to the nationalist movement. Now, Turkey is one again debating the meaning of the word nationalism. A foreigner no longer knows what the word nationalist means in Turkey. For example, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) still has the slogan that they will not push teens out into the streets. But now the other nationalists and neo-nationalists are contesting the MHP and are manipulating teenagers to create distress in the country. The worst is this: Officials from the European Union, which had belittled and employed a double standard for Turkey during its negotiation process, is supporting this marginal nationalist group and pushing those who understand nationalism to be patriotism into the hands of these new nationalists. This is a big danger because this stance is the climax of the nightmare of growing nationalism. In Turkey, the inability to decipher code names for nationalism has perplexed minds over the location of the real danger.
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