Globalization and ''Ilımlı'' İslam The Victory of The Turkish Orange Revolutionaries
The result of the 22nd July 2007 general elections brought back AKP to the governing power with more MP’s. This result was a complete shock to the elite-secular population of Turkey. According to those secularists, this result implied that the regime of secular republic is destined to turn into a regime of an Islamic Republic; so the system of secular regime which has been established during 20’s by the founding father, Mustafa Kemal ATATÜRK will be eliminated as the prevailing system. The foundations of the republic was going to crumble with the Islamic spirit which will be embedded in the every articles of the new Constitutional Act; thus a new cornerstone is to become Islamic laws, verses, deeds and words, etc.. In due course of time runs, these religious regulations understandings will be main ruler in the life of Turks and in the main cells of the social structure of the country of Turkey.
Western countries especially European Union countries has acclaimed this new happenings as “the democracy prevailed in Turkey,” “stability is preserved” and coined the new Turkey as a country of “ILIMLI” (middle of the road; moderate; calm; gentle;) Islam. In other words, according to Europeans the election victory of “ILIMLI” Islamic party, AKP, has to be saluted with joy. Now Turkey was not an extreme, but an “ILIMLI” Islamic country.
The politicians, writers and lots of high level administrators of Western countries were no doubt hundred percent right in labeling Turkey as an Islamic country but were completely out of rational thinking in defining as “ILIMLI”. How could any man who has not lost his mind nor has had devious intentions can claim any religion per se be defined as moderate religion or extreme religion without altering the real meaning of religion (religious beliefs).
All religions are in the sphere of belief, they are neither in the domain of “rational thought” nor in the scientific working (logic)realm of human mind. Religion is a “given” bulk of assertions and rules reigning, if I may say, in the spirit and in the soul of human beings.
How can one make a Christian or a Muslim man ILIMLI religious person? Say, by reducing or diminishing the irrational assertions of religious teachings or by altering those “given, handed down” sacred scriptures of Muslim’s sacred book of Kuran or sacred scriptures of Christians’ Bible? Say by burning men and women tied to a fire pillar as it is done in old Christian world or whipping or stoning to death, as it is done nowadays in Arab Countries, on the main square of a city if they do believe new “reduced-diminished-altered” scriptures?
Let us assume that a man claims that Jesus Christ has walked on a lake. Any listener who hear this claim can easily states that this man is out of his mind or just a liar who wishes to get some attention.; but nevertheless in the Bible (Mark 6/48-52) this is clearly mentioned as one of the miracles of Christ. If we convince him that Jesus’ walk on the lake cannot be true then we had done him a great harm: he became an unbeliever of Jesus so we had made him an atheist instead of making him ILIMLI Christian.
In that case what was the reason that Westerners called the victory of AKP as an ILIMLI Islam’s victory and expressed almost a divine bliss and joy? What was the reason of native writers and/or media owners and columnists and money barons sharing the joy of those Westerners? First, all of them were aware that none of any religion can be as ILIMLI or not ILIMLI. They knew that to label the victory of AKP as ILIMLI was absurd and a nonsensical assertion and a big lie; but they aimed to show their support to AKP indirectly. AKP was going to rule Turkey for more 5 years to come and themselves as developed countries were going to have real economical troubles in the foreseeable future, they were in need a Turkish Government who was pro –EU.
The world economy is in deep crisis since the beginning of the 21st century. The developed countries’ productions have met real marketing problems. In order to keep their rate of profit as high as possible, they began to take over each others corporations and/or merging their units just for the survival of their existence, thus the process of creating more and more monopolies in the world have been witnessed. In the process of increase in the numbers of monopolies became life buoys for not only profit seekers but also for the survival of developed countries. The social Darwinism has to be kept intact and those poor underdeveloped countries must be exploited in full swing as it was done by the Imperialist British . These developed countries are and will continue to be in the need of enormous energy resources in the future and these resources are in the Middle East area. Globalization scheme is designed as a device to exploit the natural resources of these less developed Middle East countries and the mechanism of exploitation is to put into effect under the tag of “bringing democracy” to these lands. The trouble with this tag however was that all of these countries, with the exception of Turkey, were under the rules of self made dictators, tribal chieftains, Sheiks--or lots of kings who were appointed as kings by the British Government after the collapse of Ottoman Empire.
The victory of Islamist Party, AKP, then become a justification of war in Iraq. Let us not forget that the main plans of Iraq’s occupation was prepared at the kitchen of British Government of Mr. Blair under the false pretensions of the existence of WMD in Iraq and the necessity to bring Democracy to Iraq by annihilating the regime of Saddam .
The lies used to occupy and destroy the people of Iraq for the purpose to get oil resources have turned into a nightmare and quicksand for each member of the occupation forces. The point that they are on now is a dead-end and there is no more any reasonable cause to use to cover-up the real intentions of occupiers except the ILIMLI Islam’s victory in Turkey.
Now they cling to the thesis that Turkey’s election has proved that the Islam and Democracy can survive side by side and non-democratic nations of the area can be forced by us (EU – USA) for the name of “human rights and democracy” to annihilate the regimes of the countries such as Iran and Syria and possibly Saudi Arabia.
However they are again dead wrong not only because the Turkish Prime Minister and the chairman of AKP, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has openly declared that “there does not exist such a thing called ILIMLI Islam, either there is Islam or not”, but also because he ordered his Party circles to prepare a new Constitution in which Atatürk’s ideology must be dropped out”.
As a matter of fact after the formation of the new Turkish government the first item of its agenda has become to prepare a new constitution for the Republic. AKP has been determined as creating a new constitution and officially deleting philosophy of Kemalism from the new constitution. Actually they have selected and empowered a committee of legal advisors and it almost have completed the articles of that constitution and reduced the prevailing governing structure of Turkey. The Committee’s argument was that the 22nd of July election was a democratic election and its result gave right to AKP to alter the Turkish society in accordance with wishes of the electorate. Indeed the electorate gave AKP its majority power in the Parliament due to an ingenious political approach by AKP namely changing the election process into a referendum by asking voters whether they will approve by their votes for AKP’s wish to have a “religious President or not”? To vote for AKP was in immense scale. ILIMLI Islam showed its real color and gave way to AKP to drop Atatürk’s laicism from the new Constitution by doing so changing the regime from secular one to a religious one.
The basis of laicism comes from the school of ideas of Voltaire, Rousseau, Condercet, Mirabeau and Montesquieu and French Revolution. It is a thought which covers the state as the great organism in which freedom of right, of morals and of politics has to be implemented taking into consideration that any man obeys the natural laws his own reason and mind, namely human reason not a religious dictations. Every religion requires the human beings to bow and submit to the God’s authority. In other words any religion can not permit its subjects to organize any State which can carry out legal codes or norms that are against the authority of God.
Atatürk’s base of establishment of the New Turkey in 1920’s depended upon French philosophy of J.J. Rousseau. His notion of secular state had depended on those French writers who have defied the religious assertions of irrationalism of religion. Atatürk’s famous motto says “Hayatta en hakiki mürşit ilimdir.” (the real guide in life who guides to the correct road is not spiritual teacher but science --human reason).
But there is an extremely important issue here, that is, the truly religious state is the theocratic state, if the head of that state is either God or His prophet or His representative or Caliph of His messenger. In Christianity, for example according to Catholic beliefs that the Catholic Church is “infallible” and believers deeply believe that a man in the world if he is not in the church will burn in the hell eternally unless he enters to the Church and submit himself to the authority of the church and the Pope.
In history of Islam religion, the Prophet Mohammed, the messenger of God, began to establish Islam by spreading the Word of Allah as the messenger and administered the followers as the head of the state. He even commanded several battles with infidels as a head of state while continued to spread the Word. As a matter of fact, after the death of Prophet Mohammed an era began as it is called “four caliphs era”. These four Caliphs acted as the representatives of Prophet Mohammed in the state administration and as the religion guide, spiritual head of the religion. The fourth caliph died in 661. Afterwards in Islamic world the head of state and the head of the religion has always been the same man, a Caliph.
From 661 up to 1920 this system has continued until Atatürk convincing the Grand National Assembly abolished the system of Caliphate. According to Atatürk the contemporary modern world requires that any state should be based on a social contract as it is described in the writings of J.J. Rousseau not on the religious scriptures. In other words man obeys the natural laws of his own reason and mind not on religious dictations.
On this point it is important to distinguish an extremely important difference between Christianity and Islam. The Christianity’s sacred book The Bible does not contain any rules and regulations to arrange, or administer the life of the members of any tribe, clan, or nation or state. But the sacred book of Muslims’ Koran contains several rules and codes and directives for social life. For example it contains those rules concerning the rules of division of inheritance, the rules of marriage, the rules of punishment etc. It also goes up to governing the personal, private lives of a citizen of a tribe and/or of a state.
For example Koran (Al Baraka Chapter 2, verse 230,) regulates divorce and re- marriage of a man:”So if a husband divorces his wife (irrevocably), He cannot, after that, re-marry her until after she has married another husband and that new husband has divorced her. In that case there is no blame on either of them if they re-unite, provided they feel that they can keep the limits ordained by Allah. Such are the limits ordained by Allah, which He makes plain to those who understand.”
Moreover it also regulates social relations of men and women. For example, the Chapter 4(Nisa9);verse 11:”Allah (thus) directs you as regards your Children´s (Inheritance): to the male, a portion equal to that of two females: if only daughters, two or more, their share is two-thirds of the inheritance; if only one, her share is a half. For parents, a sixth share of the inheritance to each, if the deceased left children; if no children, and the parents are the (only) heirs, the mother has a third; if the deceased Left brothers (or sisters) the mother has a sixth. (The distribution in all cases (´s) after the payment of legacies and debts. Ye know not whether your parents or your children are nearest to you in benefit. These are settled portions ordained by Allah. and Allah is All-knowing, All-wise”
Atatürk refused to make these kinds of regulations to exist in the Turkish society. He did not accept religious rules stated 1440 years ago to reign on personal lives and social relations of new Turkey. He got the legal system from Europe; In other words Napoleonic Code came not from Koran but from the school of ideas of J.J. Rousseau and Montesquieu--- namely, not from the divine theological scriptures but from the human reason. This was the crux of secularism of Atatürk.
Christian religion has never had any statement in the Bible in organizing extensively the “worldly affairs” of its believers. It contains only points of views about and on religious issues and those points that are in the realm of religion. There are no doubt some suggestions do exist in the Bible although “irrational” and against “human reason”; nevertheless it is limited to minor areas that cannot carry important weight in the lives of Christians in comparison to the Muslims’ lives. But the sacred book of Muslims, Koran, composed of regulations and rules concerning A) religious B) social spheres as we have quoted above.
Atatürk when placed the cornerstone of secularism (laicism) as the base of the new Turkish Republic he cut off any connection between public life and religious rules, directives, edicts. The religious beliefs and personal practices of citizens in the realm of religion were left alone to the people itself. However he established a Religious Affairs Directorate to help people’s questions on religious matters although of those views of Directorate was not imperative to be bowed but just suggestions to follow. Namely, Office which cannot issue any imperative religious edicts on neither social nor religious agenda.
State and society has been separated from religious rules and views and religion per se has been left to the people’s private realm. This separation has worked successfully and in a state of equilibrium since 1920’s until AKP declared that new Constitution will be free of Atatürk’s thoughts. Namely according to AKP’s new strategy secularism will be dropped out from the Constitutional set up. This declaration was met with great joy by the western countries, western politicians, western statesmen, western media and those of the Turkish counterparts of anti-Atatürk circles in the Turkish media.
Western civilization neutralized and disabled the extreme power of religion on the administration of their governments by Renaissance and Reform movement between 14th to 17th century. The works of ancient Greek and Hellenistic writers (such as Plato, Aristotle, Ptolemy Plotinus and Muslim scientist and philosophers such as Geber, Abdulcasis, Alhacen, Avicenna) were imported into the Christian world providing new intellectual material for European scholars.
In other words, texts and knowledge of the classical Greek civilization that was based on “Human Reasoning” which had been lost for centuries in the West came back to Europe’s intellectual life. Indeed in 1517 Luther challenged Papal authority and Church lost its hegemony in Western Europe. Humanism and Renaissance played a direct role in sparking the reformation and very efficient religious alterations. In contrast to these awakenings and revival of the Western civilization in Europe, the conditions in Turkey are regressing back to the pre- Atatürk’s era.; there are some very powerful religious groups who still want to control and rule the country according to the rules of religious elements which was founded in 610 and whose renewals were forbidden in 12th century by the prohibition of the interpretation. Islam as a religion has not been reviewed by “rationality-- reason” as has been done in Christian theology by the reform and renaissance movement during 14th to 17th centuries.
On the other hand, the Islam’s theological views and/or rules are untouchable verses. It is due to a 12th Century edict which states “içtihat kapısı kapanmıştır” (there is no more need to innovate any religious norms, rules and or principles after this moment. The door is shut.). As Prof. Dr. Onat states: “whereas in order to find new solutions to new ever changing social problems it is required that the door to stay open. It is necessary to re-open of the “içtihat” door again not only because the most important element in the “içtihat” is “reason”, but it also is the beginning of the intellectual life”(Prof.Dr.Hasan Onat, Milliyet, 16 Şubat 2004).
It is clear now that AKP is going to bring the system of pre-Atatürk era; namely public and private lives of Turks and the all of the institutions and establishments of Atatürk’s Republic will again be governed in accordance with the Divine Principles and edicts instead of human reasoning.
Let us repeat and stress on the crux of matter, that is, Western civilization neutralized and disabled the power of religion on the administration of their governments by Renaissance and Reform. The public of the Western countries reached to Human Rights and civil laws. But in Turkey the threat of religion still exists. And after the 22nd elections, this threat reached to its superior power since the foundation of the Turkish Republic. On the contrary of the revival in the Western civilization, in Turkey, there are some groups who still want to control the country according to the rules of Koran which was founded in 610 and whose renewals were forbidden by the (içtihat kapısının kapanması). In this sense, the behaviors of the Western politics, who, by a majority, acclaimed and supported the application of the democracy in the 22nd elections, contradicts with the behavior that they display on Turkey.
Nowadays, the Europen Court of Human Rights decided that, the attandance to the religios lessons can not be held as obligatory for the students. And a couple of years ago, some of the European countries, in which the religios symbols were not forbidden in their schools, forbidded the Islamic symbols in schools. And nowadays, AKP is at the preparatory of a new constitution by which they hope to solve the so-called "injustice" of not being able to enter to the universities with Turban which is also accepted as a religios symbol by the European Court of Human Rights. So how can it be explained that these two extreme sights get together in a common sense. It is for sure that, there are some economical benefits that the western investors make use of. But besides that, there is a inexplicable and mysterious relation between the representative of so-called moderate Islam, AKP and the Eurpean countries and U.S.A. It is very surprising that these western countries who have been living fearfully in their own territories because of the religios terrorism, supports the ideology of AKP and its leaders who has critical statements against the secularism of Turkish Republic in their recent pasts. And it is also very surprising that, this so-called moderate Islamic party supported the occupant U.S.A. in Iraq by all the ways that they can do and in answer to this, the greatest tariqats against Kemalism, which live in USA and very probably supported by USA, declared before the 22nd elections that, they will support the AKP in this election by all the ways that they can do.
When ILIMLI Islam begins to function in full swing then our Western friends may light a candle on their Church altars. The Arab, Iran, Egypt, Malaysia and other Islam countries won a new partner in their actions and deeds against the Western values for at least 100 years to come.
Long live neo-cons and adherents of Globalization, long live Seriat and Ulema lovers --- living either in Turkey or in the West.
COSKUN URUNLU
17 October 2007