Turkey is one of the most complex conflict zones, albeit not classical conflict, and people find it difficult comprehending the events there…… It is natural that the struggle between radical and moderate Islam will see many more such events at revolution and counter-revolution. This is the proverbial churning which has to take place before reformation of Islam becomes inevitable; that is a scholarly belief, not a belief of the clergy or many who implicitly follow the faith.

1. What’s the Real Story in Turkey?
Lt General S A Hasnain, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SM, VSM (Bar), Visiting Fellow,
VIF
….. Turkey is one of the most complex conflict zones, albeit not classical
conflict, and people find it difficult comprehending the events there.
The elite love visiting Istanbul the city divided into the Asian and European
segments by the sliver of the Bosphorus. Tourists love to dine by the
Bosphorus, step into the Blue Mosque and shop endlessly at the Grand
Bazar, one of the largest market places in the world. Ankara, the capital city
is sited inside a bowl with hills all around. The terrain is like Ooty, the
picturesque hill station in the Nilgiris in India. All over the hilltops massive
Turkish flags flutter in the wind symbolizing the nationalism and spirit
infused into a defeated nation by none other Kemal Ataturk, also known as
Kemal Pasha (Mustafa Kemal) one of the iconic personalities of the
20th Century……..
The Ottoman Empire, founded in 1299 lasted almost seven centuries. It was
a trans-continental empire based upon the Anatolian region as the core
center. With Constantinople (Istanbul) under its wings, the Ottoman Empire
was also a multinational, multilingual empire controlling much of Southeast
Europe, Western Asia, the Caucasus, North Africa, and the Horn of Africa.
That it was Islamic made for its ambitious assumption of the mantel of the
longest lasting Caliphate of Islam. It also remained the center of trans-
continental dialogue and movement for many centuries. It was both Asia and
European and aligned itself with Germany in the First World War with a
mistaken intent and was finally militarily defeated by the Allies in 1918.
From 1918 to 1924 the Ottoman Empire underwent the classic suffering of a
defeated power until through the Turkish War of Independence Kemal Pasha
emerged. It is sufficient to note that Kemal Pasha was the one who brought
order to disorder and created the modern state of Turkey. The fact that
Turkey straddles both continents Asia and Europe and was hugely influenced
by Persian culture did not escape Kemal Pasha.
His perception for the emergence of Turkey as a truly powerful nation was
based upon the belief that it had to acquire a contextual approach to
modernism and acquire a European attitude and character to make progress.
To remain steeped in mediaeval thinking as was the practice of the Middle
East, the Arab and the Persian culture, would spell doom for Turkey; never

2. permitting it to move away from the shackles of the Middle Ages. Kemal
Pasha was probably a man beyond his times and the manner in which he is
adulated in Turkey says it all. The sprawling mausoleum housing the
memorial and the nearby museum symbolizes the awe with which he is held
in Turkish society; has that awe been diluted? A positive response to that
question would reflect the tragedy of Turkey and its inability to convert to
the modernism it so aspired for.
In 1923 Kemal Pasha took some hard decisions to break the symbolic
linkages with Turkey's past, convinced as he was that the future lay in
Europe and western thinking. Perhaps the modernism initiated by the
industrial revolution in Europe was considered the vehicle of change. He
decided to ban those symbols of Turkish existence which saw it being
perceived as a part of the Persian civilization. Persian was banned overnight
and the state language became Latin. Even for road signs and mainstream
media only Latin was used. The headscarf, veil and fez (long Turkish cap)
were banned to prove the liberal nature of the new Turkish society
orientated towards European taste, values and way of life. The making of
modern Turkey was based upon a divorce from Asia and a remarriage with
Europe.
To safeguard the change he had instituted Kemal Pasha trusted only the
Turkish Army; he was a warrior too and an accomplished scholar at that.
The Army became the guarantor of the ideology of Kemal Pasha and secular
democratic principles enshrined in the Turkish Constitution.
The long march of Turkey from Kemal Pasha’s enlightened principles to the
Islamism associated with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the current President and
his Justice and Development Party (AKP) is a history of coups. Opting to stay
out of politics but watching over political actions and their effect on the
people the Army implemented the mandate of the Founding Father, stepped
in with a military coup when needed – but quickly handed power back to the
politicians. However, what is not appreciated is the relationship of Turkey
with rest of Europe and how that has contributed towards Erdogan’s rise and
dilution of the principles of Kemal Pasha.
With its large Army Turkey was a welcome inclusion into NATO and the
virtual vanguard against a potential invasion of Europe, surrounded as it was
by the powerful Warsaw Pact nations during the Cold War. However when it
came to the inclusion of Turkey in the European Union (EU), Europe
dithered, its racist bent coming full circle. Europe just did not wish for
Turkey to be a part of the Union and placed every obstacle in the way.
During my visit to Ankara I met the officials at the EU office set up for the
purpose of negotiating Turkey’s entry. Just one of the clauses laid down for

3. this was the need for Turkey to clean up its environment to come up to
supposed Euro standards; the cost of it was an unaffordable 30 billion US
dollars. The rise of Islamism in the Arab world and elsewhere along with the
dent to Turkish self-esteem at being denied entry to the EU was a heady mix
of emotion which helped in the decline of the Kemal Pasha legacy and the
rise of what is now popularly termed Erdoganism.
This article is not about the coup per se. It is about the background which
eludes most common people. Given the rise of modern day Islamism, Turkey
as one of the populous nations comprising Muslims made every effort to
prevent Islamism embedding itself. Erdoganism was the counter revolution
which has been emerging in Turkey over time. The coup itself, about which
more will be eventually written, was just a symptom of the struggle. It is not
possible that with strong ideological counter currents Turkey could remain
afloat with its aspirations outlined by Kemal Pasha.
Interestingly, in the fight against ISIS (Daesh), Turkey did not display the
kind of energy that may have been expected from a nation which is a
member of NATO. It was more concerned about the potential empowerment
of the separatist Kurdish PKK in its South and East should the Kurds emerge
the victors with the assistance of the Allies. It was also suspected of keeping
supply lines open to Daesh and even purchasing some of the oil from the
Mosul refinery. It is only after the surge of migration that it truly went in for
sealing its border.
Lastly, the temptation to compare the situation in Turkey with that in Egypt
is too strong. In Egypt, the Army has similarly been the virtual guarantor of
secular values against the radical Islamist philosophy of the Muslim
Brotherhood. Gamal Abdel Nasser had, in fact, hung to death one of the
most radical Islamist thinkers – Syed Qutb.
Mohommad Morsi’s rise to power on the back of the Arab Spring and his
attempts to introduce an Islamist character in Egypt in 2012-13 was strongly
resisted by Sisi and the Egyptian Army leading to the counter revolution
which sees Egypt under Army rule today. Awkwardly, it was the US which
was against the rise of the Army in Egypt and it supported the Muslim
Brotherhood. This was anathema to Saudi Arabia which has always opposed
the Brotherhood. It is natural that the struggle between radical and
moderate Islam will see many more such events at revolution and
counter-revolution. This is the proverbial churning which has to take place
before reformation of Islam becomes inevitable; that is a scholarly belief,
not a belief of the clergy or many who implicitly follow the faith.