The Anatolians are coming

Mustafa Akyol
Mustafa Akyol


Date posted: October 13, 2011

Mustafa Akyol / Wednesday, October 5, 2011

If you want to get an idea of how much Turkish civil society has flourished recently, just visit this address on your browser: www.anatolianfestival.org. It is the website of the “Anatolian Cultures and Food Festival” that will be held this upcoming weekend in Costa Mesa, California. Probably the largest nongovernmental “Turkish event” so far in the United States, it is quite impressive. In a huge area expected to be visited by tens of thousands, icons of Turkish culture will be displayed via impressive installations, concerts, conferences and eateries.

I emphasized the civil society aspect of this big event, for it is organized by none other than the “Hizmet” (Service) movement, which is inspired by the teachings of Fethullah Gülen, Turkey’s most influential spiritual leader. As the promoter of an interpretation of Islam that is theologically conservative, politically moderate and culturally tolerant, the Gülen Movement, as it is also sometimes called, has become gradually global since the early 1990s and has opened hundreds of schools and other institutions around the world.

I know that the very concept of a “Muslim movement” is toxic to some ears these days, as any inspiration from Islam is supposed to be inherently authoritarian, intolerant and even violent. But the Gülen Movement seems to be the perfect antidote to that misperception. Their thought excludes the calls for an “Islamic state” and rather seeks religious freedom under the secular state. Their works focus on not challenging the West, Israel, or other “infidels,” but rather raising pious individuals who are hoped to be exemplary figures for Islam. And they look at other religions not as enemies, but as different shades of the same truth.

Some of the talks scheduled in the Anatolian Festival underline this ecumenical vision of the Gülen Movement. One of the titles reads “Cultural Legacy of Armenians in Anatolia and in the Ottoman Empire.” Another one is about “The Scriptural Foundations of Muslim-Jewish Dialogue and Coexistence in Muslim and Jewish Sacred Texts.” I, too, will give two talks there on the weekend about “the exceptional story of Turkish Islam” as a part of my three-week-long book tour in the United States.

This inclusion of the Armenian and Jewish cultures in the “Anatolian” concept is worth pondering, for it tells something about the cultural codes of some of the makers of “New Turkey” and how they differ from the codes of “old” (i.e., Kemalist) Turkey.

In fact, the term “Anatolian” was used as a derogatory term by the Kemalists for decades. They regarded themselves as enlightened urbanites, whereas they saw the Anatolians as parochial masses kept ignorant by religion.

However, the “modernity” of the Kemalists was defined by a zealous Turkish nationalism, which rested on a nasty history of Turkey’s “Turkification.” The ethnic cleansing of the Ottoman Armenians by the secular Young Turks, Atatürk’s “population exchange” with Greece and the military’s forceful assimilation of the Kurds were all manifestations of the same monist paradigm.

The Anatolia-based conservatives were partly influenced by this century-long paradigm, too. But their very cultural conservatism helped them preserve some “Ottoman” values and helped them grow more respectful to the non-Turkish cultures of Turkey, ranging from Armenians to Greeks, or from Jews to Kurds. (That can’t be said for the whole Islamist movement, unfortunately, for their political reaction to Israel misleads some of them to anti-Semitism.)

That is why those who believe in pluralism should welcome the coming of the Ottoman-minded “Anatolians” – and I mean not just to the Los Angeles area this weekend, but also to the Turkish Republic of this century.

Source: Hurriyet Daily News http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=the-anatolians-are-coming-2011-10-05


Related News

Fethullah Gülen’s Statement of Condolences for Florida High School Shooting

I express my deepest condolences to all those who lost their loved ones during this tragedy, and to the people of Florida. I pray to God, the Most Compassionate, to provide comfort for the parents who lost their children and to lead our society to days of peace and tranquility.

Texas Senate passes resolution commending Fethullah Gülen

ALİ H. ASLAN, WASHINGTON The senate of the US state of Texas on Tuesday passed a resolution commending respected Turkish scholar Fethullah Gülen for his contributions to the promotion of global peace and understanding. Senate Resolution No. 85, which was approved during Tuesday’s session chaired by Texas Lt. Governor David Dewhurst, said, “The Senate of […]

Symposium concludes: Hizmet (Gulen) Movement Contributes to World Peace

Professors said that Hizmet is an anti-violence group that uses education and dialogue to achieve its goals. One of the highlights of the symposium was Dr. Martha Kirk’s presentation called Iraqi Women of Three Generations. There are 32 Hizmet schools in Iraq and she said these institutions teach Iraqi women self confidence.

In Houston, a celebration: Silk road festival

“Yes, I am very pleased,” Annise Parker, mayor of Houston, told me. “The community of Turks, here in particular, are very outward, extroverted and curious in a sense of cultural understanding. I wish the others, too, would be like them. They contribute a lot to our prosperity and future and teach us a lot about where they come from, Turkey.”

Coup attempt in Turkey puts Tulsa Turks in difficult position

Muhammet Ali Sezer, the incoming executive director of the Raindrop Turkish Cultural Center, said it will be impossible for him to return to his homeland unless the political situation improves. “If I go back to Turkey, I don’t know what they will do to me,” said Sezer. He also said he fears for his father and brother who live in Turkey.

Trip to Turkey leaves a lasting impression

Charley Honey | The Grand Rapids Press | Saturday, July 30, 2011 The meal was incredible: savory lentil soup, two kinds of bread and salad, stuffed peppers, a scrumptious chicken casserole and a tasty pudding called muhallebi, followed by black tea in dainty glass cups. When you eat like this, you know you’re in Turkey. […]

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

In Case You Missed It

Fethullah Gülen’s Message on International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

3-month-old with oral disease also under arrest as parents imprisoned over coup charges

Turkish Biggest NGO [ Kimse Yok Mu] Chief Discloses Plans to Extend to Gambia

Journalist Gültaşlı: European institutions are ‘cherry-picking’ imprisoned journalists in Turkey

James Baker’s remarks about Fethullah Gulen and Gulen Movement

2,500 schools confiscated, 30,000 teachers dismissed over Gülen links

Arrest of Kanter’s father underscores deepening tensions between U.S., Turkey

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News