Some Turks fear culture clash with Erdogan is about to get worse
IT’S THE Muslim holy month of Ramadan, but in Istanbul smokers huddle outside offices, couples sip beer and sex workers call out to young men from balconies.
The contrast with some Arab countries that penalise people for publicly breaking the dawntodusk abstention from food and drink couldn’t be more striking in and around the city’s central Taksim Square. And supporters of that Turkish way of life want to keep it that way.
The collision between secular Turkey and Islamic Turkey is nothing new. Under the 16year leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Islam has been playing a wider role in the country and moving it closer to its religious roots in the Middle East and away from the more European secular state founded a century ago. But the clash of those two Turkeys is being overshadowed by a more pressing confrontation between authoritarianism and democracy, with secularists feeling that their culture is more at risk than ever.
Erdogan, who overturned the ban on headscarves, removed the theory of evolution from school textbooks and prohibited alcohol advertising, is seeking to tighten his grip on the country in elections on June 24 after jailing thousands of dissenters.
“I know that I will look back at today with nostalgia,” said Efsun, 55, who declined to give her last name because she works for the government. “I am a Muslim, but I eat and drink alcohol during Ramadan,” she said as she finished off a lunch of meat- stuffed aubergine and rice with creme caramel. “Some of the Islamic rules made sense in the Arab deserts centuries ago, but they are not applicable to today.”
The political battle over the next few weeks will be fought on the economy after the lira recently hit an all-time low. It lost 16 per cent against the dollar this year and the country is plagued by inflation and a swollen current account deficit. The looming concern for some, though, is Erdogan’s pledge to raise a “more pious generation.”
Most polls show Erdogan far ahead of rivals in the presidential race, though still short of the 50 per cent needed for a first-round win. That would mean a run- off against an “anyone-but-Erdogan” candidate.
A broad coalition, meanwhile, is running against Erdogan’s AK Party in parliamentary elections, including Islamists who say the president has betrayed their principles on corruption.
Secularism has long set Turkey apart from its neighbours to the east. Under the constitution, lawmakers and the president are required to swear allegiance to the “principles and reforms” of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. He founded the secular state, abandoned the Arabic alphabet and granted women full universal suffrage before countries like France or Italy.
Inside Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, one of the the world’s oldest, carpet seller Cemal Aydin said it’s vital Turkey defends its heritage. He fasts during Ramadan, but drinks alcohol the rest of the year.
Aydin, 37, said he will vote for Erdogan’s opponents because the president has “ignored those of us who didn’t elect him.” “I respect religious people but they don’t respect me and it’s because he’s sending that message to them,” said Aydin, who sported a trim, light brown beard.
“My vote will be based on the lifestyle I want to maintain — the culture of Ataturk,” he added. “Erdogan is forgetting one thing: We are Turks. We are not Arabs. He can’t turn the country into an Islamic Republic.”
A walk around some areas of the sprawling city of Istanbul, with its Roman, Byzantine and then Ottoman history, suggests that’s not happening as quickly as some critics claim.
“Erotik” shops, banned in the Arab world, are clearly marked with blinking red lights. At least half of the clients are Arab, mainly from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, according to salesmen at two stores. Prostitution is legal and regulated by the government.
During Ramadan, some restaurants in conservative areas close because business is slow or out of respect for cultural traditions, not by law. In Jordan, a relatively liberal Arab country compared with the Gulf states, the Interior Ministry orders restaurants to close during the day and liquor stores for the whole fasting month. Those caught eating and drinking in public are penalised.
The Ottoman implementation of Islamic law was always different, according to Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, who runs the Ankara office of the German Marshall Fund, a think tank. Turkey has had a century of secularism and there’s also its orientation toward Europe and membership of NATO, he said.
“When we talk about the erosion of secularism in Turkey, we are talking by Turkish standards,” said Unluhisarcikli. “I don’t think that Turkey will ever become similar to other Muslim nations in the Middle East.” — Bloomberg