The Other Perspective

Tweet :   This is identity appropriation inversed. A very common technique among the leftist revolutionary currents and not uncommon as a historical phenomenon either. But it is not the main issue here provided that Turkic is not a monolithic ethnic identity.   Besides the Uthmanly were not merely Turkic they were "Osmanlı Türkleri". "Türk" had actually been used as a derogatory term for the Anatolian shepherds. Uncultured, uncouth.   I think the main issue here is the legacy of French Revolution. It agitated the youth globally. For example, the Young Türk is considered to be influenced by Giovine Italia. And nationalism is one of its dirty artifacts. Hence Attatürk. The modern turkification of Anatolia under his terror regime and the identity politics of modern Türkiye at large. The birth of Nationalist Türkiye. Within the spectrum of Ethnic Nationalism and Religious Nationalism Attatürk leaned towards ethnicity while Erdoğan leans towards religiosity. But...

When state mechanisms fail, when people do not feel safe to express their opinion, specially in public matters, their grievances, their dissensions find ways in unusual sites. Sometimes it is expressed in the loudness of 'Amen' in unison during the congregation of an Islamic supplication. Some times it is exhibited in the funeral of certain people. And I'm sure there are more outlandish examples out there. It is etched in my memory that during a night supplication at Mecca the Imam was praying for the well-being of the Muslims around the globe and the betterment of their conditions etc. And every time the congregate would leave no strength to reply with an 'Amen' in unison. The more passionately the Imam asked for their collective needs the louder it got. But as soon as the Imam started to ask for the well-being of its ruling class and the King the loud 'Amen' started to dissolve into diminuendo. Until it ended with a muttering when the Imam specially mentio...

Ever since the Gaza war I've been asking myself why didn't I raise my voice the same way for the other oppressed Muslims specially for the Rohingyas since ethnically they are Bengalis and live right next to us. While its not an excuse there are convincing reasons worthy of discussion.   First, I'm not an activist per se. I write re-actively most of the time than proactively. This is because my main interest has been in the sciences and engineering as in Computer Science and Engineering, although Gaza war has made some significant changes in me. But at the same time I've always been politically aware. Its hard for me to look away from the injustices happening right before my eyes. So this is a dialectic that I've been pondering upon for a while. You see some of the great minds excelled despite their challenging life. But at the same time, one could argue, that many were lost in the tribulations of life, specially if it is a moral choice at hand. After all how many of...