http://tatar.yuldash.com/082.html
?? !! Metamorphosis? Or merely schitzo?
--
choro-nik
********
"Nicolai" <nicolai.vladirmirescu@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:piwQe.513$Kk1.238@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> 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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