Anti-Turkish sentiment

General Information

Anti-Turkism (Turkish: Turk Dusmanligi) is hostility toward the Turkish people, Turkish culture and the Republic of Turkey. When compared with apparently similar phenomena (like Anti-Semitism) it turns out to be, at least in its recent form, more of a deliberate misconstruction than an actual hate movement. However, some hold that the negative Turkish imagery--including allusions to the infamous Battle of Vienna in the time of the Ottoman Empire--which has been brought forth by legislators in various European parliaments during the ongoing European Union accession process is evidence of Anti-Turkism's belligerent nature.

Anti-Turkism apparently lacks a racial and cultural basis (unlike Anti-Semitism), and it appears to be mostly based on geopolitics and religion in addition to diplomatic and strategic interests involving the modern state of Turkey. These facts by themselves don't imply a direct hate towards Turks as a nation, but rather reflect the various diplomatic tensions of the moment. The Cyprus Dispute and the Bosnian War and Massacre are two examples of possible Anti-Turkism against Turkic and Muslim peoples.

Also, unlike other kinds of racial or ethnic prejudice, it is not officially based on a concrete ideology (such as described in Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf), nor is it present in an organized form (such as with the Ku Klux Klan in the United States of America). Instead, it usually manifests itself as a negative perception of Turks which some claim is promoted by the mass media.

Anti-Turkism itself, as a concept, is not debated in Turkey. Some Turkish people firmly believe that there is an underground international conspiracy aimed at destroying Turkish language and culture, but apparently not the Turks themselves.

Detractors

Anti-Turkism's detractors (most of them Turks) claim on the other hand that Anti-Turkism is merely a handy excuse which has been used to label and demonize all actual or imaginary enemies of the Turkish nation and that Anti-Turkism has been used excessively to justify personal and national failures. They believe that the Turkish state and the Turkish people are regarded no worse than any other democratic country and its citizens. These same people also feel that some facts are exaggerated by the mass media and by some politicians for their own purposes.

What is, ultimately, "Anti-Turkish"?

Although there is no clear definition of what makes something or someone "Anti-Turkish", there are some possible clues:

• Territorial claims and disputes connected with the modern state of Turkey: Maybe the most realistic of all antihellenic fears, since there are actually Greek and other middle eastern extremist groups (such as the PKK) which claim part or all of Turkey's land and sea.
• Publications and articles which criticize Turkey and Turkish people to various extents. These include:
  • Traveller guides,especially if they conjure the existence of terrorism or contain too much negative warnings and stereotypes. It is not a pleasant thing in general when country A issues negative traveller guides for country B, but one doesn't see why Turkey and Turkish should feel particularly offended by a similar fact.
  • Newspaper articles,especially if they write about the Cyprus dispute, the PKK, make undocumented connections with international terrorism or merely report actual negative statistics and promote stereotyped ideas about Turkey. Also, any piece of article merely showing interest or positively promoting one of Greeces "enemies" is promptly labelled as anti-Turkish.

Consequences of anti-turkism

Dedicated press

Perceptions of anti-turkism in Turkey are also fueled by (and fuel in turn) a flourishing market of publications promoting National Mysticism. The arguments treated by those publications are:

• • The supposed absolute superiority of the Turkish culture and Turkish language.