Religious Minorities in Turkey

Religious Minorities in Turkey Alevi, Armenians, and Syriacs and the Struggle to Desecuritize Religious Freedom Mehmet Bardakci, Annette Freyberg-Inan, Christoph Giesel and Olaf Leisse Religious Minorities in Turkey “This is a timely book looking at the complex issues of religious minorities and their security problems in Turkey. It provides a much needed analysis in an area previously understudied and addresses a gap in the literature.” —Professor Meltem Müftüler-Baç, Sabancı University, Turkey “Turkey has made temporary, partial political and social progress which has made life a little easier for minorities, before taking alarming steps backwards recently. This book will be able to contribute to a better understanding of the social and political prospects of the country and gives scientific insights into the difficult situation of religious minorities.” —Professor Thede Kahl, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Germany Mehmet Bardakci • Annette Freyberg-Inan • Christoph Giesel • Olaf Leisse Religious Minorities in Turkey Alevi, Armenians, and Syriacs and the Struggle to Desecuritize Religious Freedom Mehmet Bardakci Annette Freyberg-Inan Department of Political Science and University of Amsterdam International Relations The Netherlands Yeni Yüzyil University, İstanbul, Turkey Olaf Leisse University of Jena Christoph Giesel Jena, Germany Department of Slavonic and Caucasian Studies Friedrich Schiller University Jena Jena, Thüringen, Germany ISBN 978-1-137-27025-2 ISBN 978-1-137-27026-9 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-27026-9 Library of Congress Control Number: 2016961241 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2017 The author(s) has/have asserted their right(s) to be identified as the author(s) of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Cover illustration: Images & Stories / Alamy Stock Photo Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Macmillan Publishers Ltd. The registered company address is: The Campus, 4 Crinan Street, London, N1 9XW, United Kingdom PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS When we applied for a European Commission enlargement grant “PRINCE 2009—EU27” in 2009 as a consortium of three universities—Izmir Gediz University, University of Amsterdam, and Friedrich Schiller University of Jena—we included a research project on minorities in Turkey as part of the overall project, which also included a broad range of outreach activities to familiarize the public with Turkey’s accession process. This was because “respect for and protection of minorities” was one of the Copenhagen cri- teria that were laid down at the June 1993 European Council and that EU candidates had to fulfill in order to become members. Moreover, in view of the EU progress reports, minority rights was one of the fields in which Turkey had to undertake far-reaching reforms in order to align its legisla- tion with that of the EU. This stems from the fact that the very existence of minorities has historically been highly securitized in the Turkish nation- building process, which has stood in the way of strengthening minority rights. Thus, we wanted to find out to what extent Turkey has indeed met the EU demands and improved the lives of its minorities. To what extent and how have minorities been desecuritized in the context of Turkey’s EU candidacy, and how do the minorities in Turkey themselves evaluate this process and its results? We chose a focus on religious minorities and in particular on the Alevi, Armenians, and Syriacs (Assyrians). For each of these groups, we collected extensive new primary data by means of surveys as well as in-depth interviews and relied on a broad range of other sources. We analyzed our data using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Each chapter in this book on a respective minority group (4–6) can be read individually for detailed information about the respective v vi PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS group. They are written in such a way that they are comprehensible as freestanding texts. Chapters 2 and 3 provide the necessary background for understanding why and how religious minority rights are an issue for Turkey and for its European integration process. They also clarify our theoretical vocabulary of securitization and desecuritization. Chapter 7 allows the reader to compare the situations, perceptions, and char- acteristics of the examined groups and draw important general conclu- sions. Our volume thereby provides a very rare opportunity to explore the situation of the covered minorities in comparative perspective. The book should be of interest to scholars, practitioners, and interested citizens curious about minority rights, religious minorities more particularly, Europeanization processes, Turkey, or any of the specific groups analyzed in depth here. This book has been prepared by four authors, and it seems useful to indicate our respective responsibilities. The project was developed, dis- cussed, and planned by all four authors. The interview questions for civil society representatives and experts were designed by Mehmet Bardakci. The survey for ordinary citizens was co-designed, tested, and re-designed by Christoph Giesel with the support of Olaf Leisse. All field research was conducted by Mehmet Bardakci and Christoph Giesel. The Alevi were interviewed and surveyed by Mehmet Bardakci (with some support from Christoph Giesel); the Armenians and Syriacs were interviewed and surveyed by Christoph Giesel. Mehmet Bardakci authored Chap. 4 and Sects. 2.2. and 3.3. Christoph Giesel authored Chaps. 5 and 6 and Sects. 3.2. and 3.4. Olaf Leisse conducted the statistical analysis: (with some support from Christoph Giesel) and authored Chap. 7 as well as Sect. 2.1. Annette Freyberg-Inan authored Chap. 1, Sect. 3.1., and Chap. 8 and reworked and edited the entire manuscript. As always, a project of this magnitude could not have been realized without the support, professional and personal, of others. We wish to thank the European Commission for the funding granted as well as our three respective universities—Izmir Gediz University, University of Amsterdam, and Friedrich Schiller University of Jena. Annette Freyberg-Inan thanks her partner, Boris Slijper, for being there with heart and mind and challenging her to write better books. Our gratitude also goes out to all those whom we were able to interview and who filled in our survey as well as the many colleagues and participants in events who inspired and supported us in the larger context of the PRINCE 2009 project. PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS vii Christoph Giesel in particular gives his heartfelt thanks to all Syriacs and Armenians as well as all Turks and Kurds of both Alevi and Sunni background who offered him their kind support throughout years of extensive fieldwork. He thanks those many persons who, with their helpfulness, self- lessness, kindness, and patience, added to the successful execution of this study and without whom this book would not have been possible. For rea- sons of personal security, given the circumstances then and now in Turkey, these people have chosen to remain anonymous. Christoph further thanks the persons surrounding him at home for their patience, helpfulness, and emotional support during the tough stages of research, evaluation, and writing, especially Dr. Karolin Weigel and Paul-Anton Giesel as well as Dr. Katja Richters and Stephanie Luther. He dedicates his work and his part in the book to all members of minorities and ethnic groups in Turkey who are facing an adverse political, legal, and social situation. The country has made temporary, partial political and social progress, which has made life a little easier for those concerned, before taking alarming steps backward recently. He wishes that, in future, all persons concerned will have better existential, social, and political prospects and hopes that the knowledge and insights this book can provide will at least make a small contribution to better their difficult situation and heighten the understanding of its background. Christoph dedicates his work most particularly to the Syriac people, whose religious, cultural, and even physical existence is seriously threatened not only in Turkey but in all countries of the Near East, even as they have a particularly long history within this area and been a strong influence on regional cultures and societies.

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