The New Turkey When I evaluate a certain political situation that arises in some country, I go back and assess the political, economic and cultural evolution of that country throughout history (past and present). The demonstrations throughout Turkey & Europe dominated the international news. I can understand the reasons behind the European demonstrations which are due to the bad economic situation, high unemployment rate and government spending cuts. On the contrary however, the Turkish economy is one of the leading economies in the world, where unemployment is very low and government spending is very high. As mentioned earlier, in order to understand this bizarre situation, let us shed some light on the historical and geopolitical situation in Turkey. The Turks lived in a region extending from central Asia to Siberia. They lived as Nomads and believed in shamanistic religions (a practice that attempts to access the spirit world). It was not until around the year 750 (6-7th century) when the nomadic tribes united into what was later called the ‘Turk-Khan’ empire. Later the Turk tribes came in contact with Muslims and gradually adopted Islam. They have had a strong influence on the Muslim nation, namely during the Abbasids period. These tribes comprised of fierce and very tough soldiers who later formed the Seljuk Empire and defeated the Byzantine in the 11th century. A great empire was established, the nation of Turkey as we know it today, till 1243 AD when the Seljuk army were defeated by the Mongols. It was till 1453 AD when the Ottoman Turks captured the Byzantine capital Constantinople (Istanbul) and started expanding to Anatolia, central Europe, Russia, the Mediterranean, Iraq, Syria, North and East Africa, the Arabian Gulf and Yemen in the 14th,15th, 16th and 17th century. Between the 4th-10th century, at the time when the two great Turkish Seljuk and Ottoman empires were formed, there existed two main world powers that dominated the world of geopolitics. The Roman and Persian Empires, referred to as the Western and Eastern Empire respectively. The Persian Sassanian Empire 225 – 650 AD (adhering primarily to Zoroastrianism), stretched over lands which are known today as Iran, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Egypt, Caucasus, central Asia, Turkey and Arabia. This was the peak of the Iranian civilization. The borders of the Empire stretched side by side with the Roman Empire. The two Empires were faced with a power struggle, fighting endless battles to proclaim more land and provinces. Around 635 AD, Arab tribes united under the banner of Islam, establishing the Muslim nation) led by the Caliph Abu Baker, who put an end to the Persian Sassanian Empire. During the 5th century, Justinian I, sought to revive the lost Roman Empire. This lead to the reuniting of the Empire which stretched from south Europe to the western Mediterranean and North Africa, taking Constantinople (Istanbul) as the capital of the Empire. Regaining back the former territories of the old Roman Empire, this expansion led to a lot of contact with their Persian rivals and as a result, many bloody battles were waged. The unification of the Arab nomadic tribes under the banner of Islam in the early 6th century was the seed of the birth of the Muslim Ummah (nation) and the third Empire that swiftly took over the Persian Empire by the Rashideen Caliphs in 635 AD, announcing the collapse and the end of the Persian Empire. A series of wars followed in the 7th century to the 11th century between the Muslim Ummah and the Byzantine Empire. This was led by the ‘Rashideen’ Caliphs, followed by the Umayyad’s, the Abbasids and ending with the Ottomans. Subsequently, the Byzantine Empire collapsed in 1453 AD on the hand of the Ottoman Caliph Mehmet II by capturing the capital Constantinople (Istanbul), initiating an expansion into the heart of Europe and Russia. In the early 19th century the Muslim Ummah under the leadership of the Ottoman Caliph, faced immense hardship and conspiracies which led to the breakup of the Sultanate. The Muslim Ummah was finally dismantled and faced an unfamiliar system on disunity based on synthetic borders created under the “treaty of Serves”. This was achieved by the victorious unified allies of England, France, Italy and Greece in WWI. In 1923 AD the Republic of Turkey as it stands today was established. Mustapha Kemal was announced the first president of Turkey, and this was the physical end of the Muslim Ummah. Nevertheless, Islam was still alive in the hearts of the followers of Islam, hoping for a reawakening and the reconstructing of an Islamic state for the Muslim Ummah again. The new rulers of Turkey made an unconscious step to westernise the country, announcing a secular state, and enforcing a new way of life to the Turkish culture. During this period, Turkey suffered from military dictatorship and had a lot of economic difficulties. In 2001, Turkey had a debt to GDP ratio that reached 76% and the inflation reached uncontrollable values. It was till the year 2002 when the AKP party reached power and started the political, economic, social, and cultural reforms. Ten years later, the reforms proved successful and today Turkey is praised for its swift emergence in power and as one of the largest industrial nations in the world. My intentions for this insight into the history of this area is to give the reader a basis that will help him/her draw a picture or a conclusion on what is going on with these demonstrations that erupted suddenly in Turkey and the Arab spring nations. Below are a few points that I raise in regards to challenges for the Muslim Ummah to reunite under the new Ottomans or the new Arabs: 1- Do the new powers of the present time (The US western block and the Eastern Russian/China block) see the awakening of the Muslim Ummah as a threat to their own power? 2- Are the global financial institutions that control the world economy threatened by these emerging powers such as Turkey? (Note: In the last 10 years, Turkey saved $300 billion US in interest on the country debts to the banks by refraining from the usual practices of usury). 3- Minorities have lived peacefully and justly under the Muslim Ummah for hundreds of years. Are they possibly attempting to sabotage the unification of the Muslim Ummah in hope of establishing their own separate states? I leave the conclusion to our readers.
Posted on: Wed, 02 Oct 2013 03:08:54 +0000
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