POLITURCO Volume 1, Issue 1 | Spring 2019 | www.politurco.com “FOR FREE EXPRESSION, WE ARE COMMITTED TO PROVIDING TOPICAL INFORMATION IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE HIGHEST STANDARDS OF JOURNALISTIC AND ACADEMIC ETHICS AND INTEGRITY.” Politurco | www.politurco.com TABLE OF CONTENTS 4 10 From Editor’s View of Politurco Politurco is a relatively new, yet rapidly growing online platform focused primarily on helping readers to understand the dynamics of “The Never-Ending Story 30 of Turkish Democracy” by Dr. H. ARSLAN In a world of politics, deception and trickery are natural and seen very often. It has been observed throughout history that some politicians have a superlative piece of skill that is very subtle “International indexes show the downward arrow and alarming “Erdogan’s Ambition for the Caliphate collapse of and the Failure of Turkish Democracy” Turkey” by by AYDOGAN VATANDAS 25 PHD C. ABDULMELIK What went wrong with the AK Party and its ALKAN leadership during the democratization of Turkey remains an important question… 3 “Turkish-Financed Mosques 38 Are Embassies Of Political Islam” by PROF. DAVID L. PHILLIPS “The Roots Of Anti Americanism In 41 Turkey" by AYDOGAN VATANDAS “How Many Arrested Journalists 50 Are There In Turkey?” by TURKMEN TERZI “Heartbreaking Stories Of 53 Turkish Refugees In Greece” by POLITURCO “Enforced Disappearance: Cases Of Hizmet Movement Members And 58 International Law” by ABDULMELIK ALKAN “In The Light Of Islamic Values, Is It 97 62 War Or Peace That Is Essential?” by DR. AHMET KURUCAN “A Theological Examination Of 76 The Hadith, “War Is Deception” by PROF. ZEKI SARITOPRAK “Instrumentalization Of Islam: 81 Hayrettin Karaman’s Role In “Political Islamism And The Teachings Of Erdogan’s” by BULENT KENES The Qur’an” by PROF. ZEKI SARITOPRAK Since the beginning of the 20th century, the “The Entanglement Of Economic idea of what came to be called Political Islam 90 And Political Crises In Turkey” has been a feature of many political movements by PROF. ELVAN AKTAS in the Islamic world. Politurco is a relatively new, yet rapidly While Turkey is now the worst jailer of growing online platform focused journalists in the world, those who are primarily on helping readers to not imprisoned cannot do journalism. I EDITOR-IN-CHIEF understand the dynamics of Turkey, the cannot express how crucial a function AYDOGAN VATANDAS Middle East, and the Muslim world, as Politurco is fulfilling in this period and well as the global impact of developments doing it with style. If you are interested in in these areas. It provides a platform for Turkish news these days, Politurco objective information, enabling a broad should one of the few bookmarks on your selection of scholars and journalists to browser.’ told Dr. Alp Aslandogan, the make their voices heard—something that president of ‘Alliance for Shared Values’ a is regrettably no longer possible in non-profit umbrella organization Turkey due the absence of freedom of dedicated to promoting community media and expression. We are committed service, education and interfaith dialogue. to providing topical information in Dr. Abdulmelik Alkan, who broadly accordance with the highest standards of writes on refugee issues, international journalistic and academic ethics and relations at Politurco notes that Politurco integrity. fills a huge gap in voicing Turkey's ‘Politurco provides a valuable platform current political, cultural and economic for free expression on conditions in conditions to international audiences. ‘ Turkey where dissent is considered ‘Doing so, most importantly Politurco terrorism.’ Says Professor David Phillips uses an analytical approach to news that of Columbia University who writes extensively on Kurdish conflict and is harnessed by facts and figures which Turkish politics at Politurco. distinguishes itself. ‘Politurco filled an important gap in coverage of news about Turkey after ‘It has also turned into a home or 2014. In the aftermath of President shelter of thoughts for scholars at Erdogan’s crackdown on free press in risks, refugee writers and others Turkey, it became extremely hard to o b t a i n i n d e p e n d e n t n e w s a n d who are deprived of writing. Thus, I commentary about developments in do believe that Politurco is a Turkey. Through a combination of carrots and sticks Turkish press have platform for refugee scholars, been subjugated to the wishes and whims Journalists, and who had to flee of the ruling party. Even traditionally Turkey's Erdogan regime. independent media outlets have lost their ability to criticize the government. 4 We, the writers who want to freely write and connects with others via Politurco. I would like to thank Politurco for giving me this opportunity to write my thoughts on Turkey, a country in where there is no freedom of writing and writing is caged.’ added Dr. Alkan. The following is a review of a selection of some of the best Politurco articles of the past year dealing with significant political, economic and social developments in Turkey. The ongoing persecution of people with ties to or suspected sympathies with the Gulen Movement is a recurring theme in many articles, as are the numerous challenges to Turkish democracy, both before and since the June 24, 2018 elections. T h e a r t i c l e s d e t a i l t h e i n c r e a s i n g authoritarianism in Turkey, as well as the Erdogan government’s politicization and Overall, the 1990s were a “lost decade” for instrumentalization of Islam in Turkey and Turkey on many levels: short-lived coalition abroad. governments, unsolved assassinations, escalating Dr. H. Arslan provides a detailed, well-founded PKK terrorism and financial crisis. Between examination of the developments in Turkey that 2002 and 2011, the AKP instituted many have led to the rise of the current authoritarian democratic reforms and gained widespread political system in a September 3, 2018, article popular support, which allowed them to reduce on “The never-ending story of Turkish the military’s influence in politics. The deep state democracy.” remains powerful, however, as Arslan demonstrates in an overview of its modus The author explores the “zigzags” of democratic operandi and activities, including assassinations development in Turkey: the military and bombings, over the past 15 years and interventions, the deep state structures, and the explains the factors that enable the emergence of imposition of an authoritarian model of a deep state. Finally, he describes the rise of an government. Beginning with the rise of Ataturk authoritarian system in Turkey under the AKP, and the 1960 coup, Arslan notes that the vicious which has violated the rule of law, eliminated cycle of military interventions demonstrated that checks and balances and enabled the assertion of democracy is merely a means to an end. He a conspiracy allegedly masterminded by argues that a covert political transformation took Fethullah Gulen—despite the fact that neither place in 1993 at the hands of the deep state, with Gulen nor Hizmet has ever developed political the deaths of key political and military figures. goals or endorsed a political party. 5 Politurco | www.politurco.com “International indexes show the downward Professor David L. Phillips explains in his arrow and alarming collapse of Turkey” by October 1, 2018, article on “Turkish Financed Abdulmelik Alkan on September 20, 2018, laments Mosques are Embassies of Political Islam” how Turkey’s socio-economic problems and its coercive Turkey’s foreign policy aims to propagate diplomacy, which have led to its recent decline. Islamism, destabilize secular democracies, and Alkan analyzes a range of international indexes thereby enhance Turkey’s influence. Erdogan from reputable organizations such as Freedom pursues these policies through Turkey’s House, Reporters without Borders and Department of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) and Transparency International, all of which show an the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination alarming downward trajectory on key areas such as Agency. According to the author, Erdogan is rule of law, transparency, media freedom, and using religion for political purposes, turning human rights since the 2016 coup attempt. Islam into a wedge to divide societies and Declining scores on PISA tests show that the radicalize youth. He has used Turkish funds to educational system is also in decline, with Turkish restore or build mosques in Albania, Kosovo, students scoring below the OECD-average in Germany and throughout Central Asia—all while Science, Mathematics, and Reading. Alkan argues restricting the restoration and construction of that the government’s changes to the educational non-Muslim shrines and places of worship in system and sacking of tens of thousands of teachers Turkey. The author concludes that, although and university rectors, as well as the closure of Erdogan has publicly rejected radicalization, his more than a thousand educational institutions, is to policies and support for political Islam has blame for the educational decline. Similarly, until created fertile ground for radical Islamic groups. the government restores rule of law and justice, along with other democratic norms and human “The roots of anti-Americanism in Turkey,” by rights, Turkey’s standing in international indexes Aydogan Vatandas, published on April 29, 2018, will continue to decline across the board. discusses the historical and ideological context of this phenomenon and explores the risks it could The June 21, 2018, article by Aydogan Vatandas entail for American-Turkish relations and the on “Erdogan’s Ambition for the Caliphate and world. While anti-Americanism has a long history the Failure of Turkish Democracy” examines the in Turkey, it has dramatically increased in recent historical and systemic obstacles to democracy in years. Recent factors influencing this increase Turkey, including the resilience of Kemalist include accusations of U.S.