TURKOPHOBIA: ITS SOCIAL AND HISTORICAL ROOTS
By Sabirzyan BADRETDIN
Not a single nation or ethnic group in the world can credibly claim
that it has never been a target for ethnic or religious prejudices.
The Turkic peoples are certainly no exception. What are the origins of
hostility towards the Turkic peoples?
The roots of turkophobia go back centuries. Some stem from specific
historical events, such as the Russo-Turkish wars, the Tatar-Mongol
invasion of Russian principalities, the wars between Russia and the
Tatar khanates, the conflicts between the Ottoman empire and its
colonial vassals, etc. These historical events are usually preserved
in the collective consciousness of the nations who were historical
adversaries of the Turkic peoples. On an individual level, these
events become transformed into personal prejudices towards the
contem****ary descendants of the earlier Turks. When an Armenian
terrorist kills a Turkish diplomat and justifies his crime by what
happened seven decades ago, before he was even born, he unwittingly
exposes the complex interaction of historical, political, social and
psychological factors that form the basis of turkophobia.
Another source of turkophobia is religious prejudice. Since most
Turkic nations are Islamic, all the negative stereotypes of
fundamentalist Islamic intolerance and violence are inevitably
projected onto the Turkic peoples, despite the fact that most
individual Turks are either secular or adhere to peaceful and
inoffensive interpretations of Islam. The EU's recent rejection of
Turkey is a vivid example of such prejudice.
One more factor that contributes to turkophobia is the geographical
location of the Turkic lands. Most Turkic lands are located at the
so-called "fault lines" of civilizations. According to Samuel P.
Huntington's theory of cla****ng civilizations, international conflicts
are most likely to arise between nations that share common borders but
belong to different religious civilizations. There are seven or eight
civilizations in the world: Western, Sinic (Confusian), Hindu,
Christian Orthodox, Islamic, Japanese, Latin America and, perhaps,
African. Among these, Islam is the only one that shares its "borders"
with most other civilizations. Many Turkic nations happen to be
located at the fault lines dividing these supranational entities. Even
in the absence of conflicts, these cultural, religious and political
hostilities take their toll on the image of Turkic peoples held by the
world.
Yet another source of turkophobia is the government-sponsored
propaganda within the states that either border on Turkic countries or
have Turkic minorities in their midst. Very often this propaganda is
vague and indirect but its detrimental effect is, nevertheless, very
damaging. For example, Greek Cypriot politicians frequently resort to
anti-Turkish rhetoric in order to deflect the public's attention from
domestic problems or to win elections on a wave of popular prejudice.
In the former Soviet Union turkophobia in the form of Tatar-ba****ng
was especially evident during World War II. Stalin unjustly accused
the whole Crimean Tatar nation of collaboration with the Nazis and
exiled it from its native Crimea. He also introduced special medals
and orders commemorating Dmitry Donskoy and other Russian military
chiefs famous for successfully fighting against the Tatar-Mongol
invaders in the 14th-15th centuries. Stalin's frequent invocation of
the Tatar yoke as a metaphorical analogy to Hitler's invasion of
Russia resulted in an outburst of tatarophobia, directed against the
modern Kazan Tatars, despite the fact that the latter had little in
common with the Mongols of the Middle Ages.
Stereotypes of modern popular culture are another rich source of
virulent turkophobia. As an example, let's take "Midnight Express," a
profoundly disturbing film about an American who was busted for trying
to smuggle ha****sh out of Turkey and had to spend five years in the
squalor and terror of a Turkish prison. The film was released in 1978
and for two decades reenforced the negative image of Turkey in the US.
Russian popular folklore also supplies many examples of turkophobia. A
popular Russian proverb, "An uninvited guest is worse than a Tatar"
(which originally referred to the Tatar-Mongols but is frequently used
to taunt modern Tatars) was recently changed to "An uninvited guest is
*better* than a Tatar".
The struggle against ethnic prejudice aimed at the Turkic peoples may
succeed only when its specific origins are taken into consideration.
For example, the public must be educated about past historic events,
the religious practices and beliefs of the Turkic peoples, and the
present state of cultural and intellectual life in the Turkic nations.
Combating prejudices in a thoughtful, logical and methodical way
through education and outreach may be the most promising strategy in
the battle against intolerance.
--
Nicolai
"I am the Whistler, and I know many things, for I walk by night. I
know many strange tales, many secrets hidden in the hearts of men and
women who have stepped into the shadows. Yes, I know the nameless
terrors of which they dare not speak."
They seek him here
They seek him there.
Those Frenchies seek him everywhere.
Is he in heaven?
Or is he in hell? That damned elusive Pimpernel!
"How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the
impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?"
The little things are infinitely more im****tant."
"I am an omnivorous reader with a strangely retentive memory for
trifles."
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