Western far-right-fueled Turkophobia harms Turkish diaspora
Turkophobia has escalated since 2001, driven by rising Islamophobia, populism, economic challenges, and evolving political ideologies across Europe
University Faculty of Political Sciences Department of International Relations assistant professor Soner Tauscher stated that the fear magnified by populist rhetoric in Europe frequently subjects the Turkishorigin population to discrimination and that this situation turns into physical or psychological violence.
Soner Tauscher, who is also the deputy director of the Diaspora Studies Center, explained the concept of Turkophobia or Turkish hostility. He mentioned that this concept, formerly known as Turkophobia and now referred to as “Türkiyefobi” in recent times, has evolved significantly with an influential ethnic identification element, starting with the influence of Islam in the 14th and 15th centuries.
TURKOPHOBIA SPIKED AFTER 2001
Tauscher pointed out that Turkophobia, considered today a widespread and populist political argument in the West, has been on the rise since 2001 due to factors such as the coronavirus pandemic, economic turmoil and populist political ideologies.
He made the following assessment: “Especially since 2001, we can say that Turkophobic and Islamophobic perceptions have been increasingly established in the Western world. We see that the pandemic period and economic crises have led to an increase in anti-Turkish sentiment, influenced by new radical right-wing and populist right-wing movements. Previously, we had Nazis, then neo-Nazis. Now, in European politics, we see figures like Geert Wilders and Marine Le Pen, and formations like AfD and Pegida in Austria and Germany. These have emerged as structures triggering antiTurkish sentiment in Europe. They try not to repeat the mistakes of racists, defining themselves more based on cultural racism than biological racism. They do this very cleverly, in a subtle way.”
Tauscher also highlighted attempts by politicians to “politicize society in terms of Turkophobia” and noted efforts to influence the public, saying: “Here, they target Turkish customs, traditions and practices, but they cannot go beyond the intention of targeting them before the law. The new rightwing is inflating Turkophobia with this fear. They feed this element with fearful expressions like ‘If Turks come, every place will become a mosque, your women will cover their heads, you won’t be able to eat pork or drink alcohol,’ and they plan to turn this element into social action.”
Referring to a report published by the German Ministry of the Interior in 2022, which observed an increase in crimes motivated by far-right ideologies, mainly targeting Turks and Muslims, Tauscher emphasized: “The German Ministry of the Interior’s study detected an increase of more than 5% in crimes involving discriminatory elements compared to the previous year, with 23,083 crimes recorded from farright sources. About 20,000 of these occurred on online platforms, with over 1,800 physical assault crimes reported.”
Tauscher pointed out that some attacks are not registered as hate crimes due to legal decisions and added that when unclassified attacks are included, Turks and Muslims face about 50,000 attacks annually.
Tauscher stated that Turks living in Europe are subjected to psychological or physical Turkophobic and Islamophobic violence almost daily. He said: “In addition to physical attacks, the Turkish population here faces psychological violence every day. The way people look at you when you leave your door, while shopping at the market, or when using German, or the behavior and addresses toward you change completely if you are veiled or have a beard.”
Being a branch of xenophobia, Turkophobia differs from other forms of xenophobia in that it targets not only psychological but also physical and even terroristic acts against Turks, Tauscher continued. He added: “The reason we talk about this Turkophobia concept on behalf of Europe today is that it is not just simple opposition; it has become a concept inclined toward violence. Actions that go beyond passive fear and turn into active, aggressive behavior, such as targeting Turkish shops and homes, burning the Quran and ridiculing prophets, have been established. They are trying to build a fortress of Europe here. Today, these situations occur because Europe, instead of being solved through multiculturalism, harmony and communication, tries to solve this fear it created with violence and human rights violations.”
Stating that the Islamophobia-related Turkophobic attacks mostly heard in Germany are actually a problem for all of the West, Tauscher emphasized that the individual acts of violence seen in the 80s and 90s have now turned into organized and terrorist acts.