Israel Visit by Turkish Islamist Shows Inadequacy of Religious Categories

NY Times: “Turkish Leader Visits Israel, Restoring Friendly Ties,” by Greg Myre, May 2, 2005.

One of the most destructive and annoying features of post-9/11, Bush-era political discourse, in both the US and the world at large, has been the strident emergence of religion as the key marker of identity, usually to the exclusion of other societal characteristics that are, in fact, much more relevant for the situations under discussion.

We have been aware of this problematic development since the fall of 2001, which we pointed out in the Millennium Crisis lectures – notably, Lecture 3, “The Fundamental Problems: The Low Level of Public Discourse – Everywhere & Stagnation” –

and several times since, noting how it contributes to massive MIS-understanding of not just the challenge of political Islam, but also the Israel / Palestine imbroglio, as well as Iraq.

This context is important in making sense of the two-day visit of the Turkish Islamist Prime Minister to Israel.

If you think only in the dogmatic categories loved by both Osama and his pal George Bush – as well as the constituencies that support them – this relationship is impossible to understand.

But those with minds not dominated by religious thinking understand that relations between Turkey and Israel have long been friendly, with basically continuous mutual recognition since 1949.

The reasons have nothing to do with religion, but rather ethnicity: both Israel and Turkey are NON-Arab countries in the middle of the overwhelmingly Arab “ummah” (nation) that stretches from Morocco to the Persian Gulf –

where you find the Iranians – also a NON-Arab people, who, until the overthrow of the Shah in 1979 by Shiite political Islam, ALSO had excellent relations with Israel.

Thus, this visit by Islamist Recep Tayyip Erdogan is not about religion, but, rather, the situation of non-Arab countries in a massively Arab part of the world.

In this context, the next interesting aspect here is the ambivalence of Turkey towards Israel NOT because of religion, but, rather, reasons of nation-state prerogatives:

On the one hand, Turkey knows their entry into the European Union will be much easier if they make clear they are pursuing their country’s historically friendly relationship with Israel.

On the other, the one thing Turkey fears most in the current situation is the possible emergence of an Iraq-based Kurdistan – which, as we have noted here MANY times, they fear will lead the large Kurdish population of southeastern Turkey to want to secede to join their Kurdish brothers and sisters.

In that context, the extraordinarily close relations between Israel and the leadership of both Kurdish parties in Iraq is a source of MAJOR concern for the Turks, who recognize how valuable Israeli help would be if the Kurds decide to set up their own state.

Therefore, they have to walk a fine line in their dealings with Israel – something the Sharon regime will no doubt try to exploit in its deeply misguided effort to hold off the just and inevitable emergence of a Palestinian state.

Some interesting quotes from the consistently excellent Greg Myre (bold emphasis mine):

In a rare visit by the leader of a Muslim country, Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, came to Israel on Sunday offering to serve as a Middle East peace mediator and looking to build on trade and military ties.

Relations between Turkey and Israel had been developing steadily since they established full diplomatic relations more than a decade ago. They became strained last year when Mr. Erdogan sharply criticized what he called Israel’s violent policies toward the Palestinians, and his government briefly recalled two diplomats.

But Mr. Erdogan’s visit suggested that any damage had been repaired. …

Mr. Erdogan brought a large group of businessmen on his two-day trip, which included talks on Sunday with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and President Moshe Katsav. Mr. Erdogan also laid a wreath at the Holocaust memorial, Yad Vashem, though he broke with protocol by not putting on a Jewish skullcap.

“I came here to contribute to the peace process,” he said at a news conference with Mr. Sharon. …

Let’s hope he can succeed … something that would be in the interests of ALL concerned.