I don’t think that we can escape from the reality of interrogating ourselves when we look at the situation that our border neighbors were in ten years ago. What conditions were the Bulgarian, Greek and Russian economic and political structures ten years ago? Those who were once far behind us have now developed beyond our administration, which is focused on the power of “self.” Kazakhstan was a place struggling for a new identity ten years ago. In a country of 14 million people, food was basic, consisting of meat, potatoes and cabbage. Clothing was scarce. There were no roads, no infrastructure. At that time, no one even believed that Kazakhstan could become its own country. Believing that he had been exiled, the first Turkish ambassador bought a ruin of a building. Our member of the foreign ministry, blind to future possibilities, settled in that wreck of a building as if it deserved the name of Turkey. Now, a Turkish flag is waving on top of such a ragged building and Kazakhstan is developing. Upon reflection, this building with its unkempt yard may be a correct choice, as it shows our bleeding heart. Luckily, in those difficult days, our people had run to Kazakhstan in order to make investments, not being as pessimistic as our ambassadors. Additionally, we now have 28 schools in Kazakhstan, a country considered crucially important by all the western countries. We have two universities there as well. Everybody is literate there, with many people graduating with double diplomas. There are 110 universities in a country of 14-million. These are Egyptian, German, English-Kazakh and American-Kazakh universities. Opening a university depends on many criteria. There is no lecturer problem. You can’t open a university unless there are 140 books per student and unless you allot a nine square-meter-place per student. The quality of the state universities is very good, Al-Farabi University being one such school. The president of Suleyman Demirel University is a very interesting mathematician, Askar Cumadullayev, and it was upon his name that chairs were opened in the western universities. Askar Cumadullayev talked about his ancestor Mustafa Cokay. He [Cumadullayev] spoke of how the Russians forced the Kazakh people to abandon their language, which had been put down as a peasant language. I said, “I know that a language is the fatherland of a person.” During a recent symposium on cooperative cultures in the 21st century, a symposium attended by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and coinciding with the timing of the European Security and Cooperation Organization (AGIT) conference, the audience gave a shower of applause when Kazakh intellectuals were on the podium. Intellectuals are public heroes here in Kazakhstan. Kyrgyz Aytmatov was also honored by applause. While the parliamentarians participating in the AGIT conference spoke one or two eastern languages, the Turks were nailed down to speaking only in English. And while the United States ambassador spoke Russian in his opening address and later spoke in the Kazakh language during discussions, the Turkish foreign ministry exhibited no such command of eastern languages. Though my grandmother, grandfather and father’s mother spoke three or four languages, my mother’s generation spoke only Turkish. What a singular style of life! Fifty-two percent of the population in Kazakhstan, a country comprised of people from 130 nations, is Kazak, 30 percent is Russian and the larger remaining nationalities are German, Korean, Ukrainian, Muslim Chinese known as Dungan, Yezidi Kurds, Armenians and other Turkish peoples. The Kazakh People have developed a cooperative culture with a mature aesthetic taste, being fond of music and dance. Women are involved in every field of life. The Kazakh woman is the fundamental pillar of the country, with her music, dance, art and hard work. There are three lady ministers as well as one female national education minister in the Kazakh Parliament. Minister of Education Shamsha Berkimbayeva said, “Our closest friends are the Turkish people who were here in our most difficult days.” She continually praises the schools opened by Turkey. Also, she said that she never misses the TV series Deliyurek, adding that she enjoys Alabora a great deal. They are fond of the Turkish TV series here. I wish we could turn it into a cultural export material, as the entire Turkish world, the Middle East and even North Africa buys such things. Two Kazakh girls formed a duo, playing Spanish melodies and using the dombra as a guitar, and won an award in Europe in this year. There are lots of musicians who have succeeded in integrating western forms into their own cultures. Young people are proud of their cultures. However, the Kazakh language is a new learned language. I don’t suppose as long as the Kyryl alphabet exists, the effect of Russian culture will decrease. If the language is your homeland, the alphabet is the car taking you to the homeland. It should be said that there are many people who were defeated under the old collapsed system. In their speeches, intellectuals were very angry at the concept that presented the making money as the Kaaba of everything, under the name of free market economy. The widest avenues are full of casinos, discotheques and bars. Gambling and drinking are the most prevalent addictions. Everybody feels a desire to get rich quick. Immediately. I knocked on the door of a house together with my friends as an unexpected guest in an Armenian neighborhood. I experienced unbelievable hospitality. When there is no ideological poisoning, the human heart is a very soft corner. We drank mint tea and ate cherries and fruits from its garden. We were reminded of Yunus, who said: “72 nations are the same for us.”

One can’t but ponder the significance of the 550th anniversary of Istanbul’s conquest within the context of globalization. I wonder whether the introverted and constrictive policies of today’s politics are sufficient to understand Mehmet the Conqueror. The great Mehmet the Conqueror, who conquered Constantinople without compromising the West-East complex, was in pursuit of enormous dreams. His dreams determined his policies and expansion. The Conqueror neither touched the temples of the city that he conquered nor altered the lifestyle of the people. His master Aksemsettin prayed in the garden of the Hagiasofia and the majesty of Hagiasofia was sheltered in his shadow literally. The Turks, who could not have celebrated the conquest of Istanbul with much pride, lost their dreams, along with all their values, in the miserable introversion of leftist-rightist discrimination. I wonder if Fatih was the last bastion of the Conquest ideal. It is impossible to talk about dreams in this country if the only ideals are either the establishment of the turban in the public field or the unique dream to keep the turban out of that field. Those who are party to this fruitless dispute would do well to remember that their forefather, Fatih, gave the Kalanderi dervishes a huge dervish lodge in good faith. The Great Sultan of the Conquest protected these Heteredox dervishes, who wore earrings and navel-rings, shaved their hair, beards and eyebrows and went naked from the waist up. This great sultan, who acknowledged the splendid wealth of diversity, also protected an old church, known today as the Zeyrek Mosque. Can you tell me who would love Mehmet the Conqueror if he were alive today? With today’s narrow-minded policies and views, who would have loved this giant? The Ottoman era’s withdrawal and decline over a 300-year period left Republican history with depressive fears. We could not honor our nation state with a modern conquest. We were unable to carry a scientific, cultural, artistic or fashion conquest beyond our borders. We have forgotten our culture and tradition of conquering hearts. Go to Miniaturk and see it: The Ahrida Synagogue, established by the Jews from Ohri, pays tribute from the 15th century; numerous Sinan artifacts such as the Haseki Hurrem Bath of Sinan the Architect were used as a depot for years during the Republican period as many Sinan masterpieces in our lap. The artifacts, crafted in the wide bosom of Ottoman geography, are fluttering like our dreams’ flag. If we cannot create a single architectural wonder to advance our civilization in the Republican period, it is because we have been unable to dream beyond our borders. The barren state of our culture is reflected in our cities and architecture. Designs of the past fifty years are squatter camps of our sterile dreams. Why do fashion, art and cultural conquests elude us? Why do some fear a drought of foreign capital? While Polish leaders attracted $13 billion in foreign capital to their countries and became military leaders of the Iraqi administration, did Polish leaders happen to divide Poland? It is necessary to reflect on the reasons why the dreams of those leaders – who don’t love their countries – brought prosperity to their countries in such a short time. Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and Russia were countries we used to curl our lips at. And they had also admired us. We were the advanced out-post of the West. We were a symbol for the West. We were a launching pad to the West. Now, our businessmen flock there; everybody is fleeing from Ankara, which has turned into an apple that has been sapped. The big states, which represent globalization and want to break up nation states, don’t have the power to change this situation. They can only split imaginary things and move on. One needs to ask oneself why those fearing the imaginary don’t try to realize reality. I spoke to a university student in Petersburg. He said young people are against globalization. The 22-year-old added: “It’s hollow, like everything in fashion!” Antagonism and the building of walls don’t stop the youth. Despite the multi-polar world theory being developed by Primakov, Russia shakes hands with Bush today and agrees with him on many issues. International powers yield in the presence of power. This power, whether it is harsh or soft, does not bring equal rights or alleviate all the fears of those countries. Speaking without looking at the world is like giving a lecture inside one’s head.

We Don’t Have to Be the Grocer of the Middle East The period between 1718 and 1730, which includes the revolt of Patrona Halil, is called the Tulip Age in the history books. What was outstanding about this period was the existence and development of an extraordinary culture of the tulip in Istanbul. During this period, when Europe was still in the Middle Ages, the Ottomans had transformed the tulip into a unique treasure trove of culture with its poems, songs and dances. There is no other example on earth in which such a wealthy economic sector and rich culture developed around a single flower. The tulip is no ordinary flower. Its shape contains the divine secrets of mysticism; its leaves hide the secrets of a period; and its red color bears the cry of the pleasures that were beheaded. The secret contradiction of Turkey’s history is hidden in the tan mark at the bottom of its leaves. But we underestimated the value of the tulip in these lands that loved and exalted it so highly. We lost it to the Dutch. Now Holland exports tulips all over the world and holds international tulip festivals. It makes you want to ask, “O Hollanders, have you ever had a Tulip Age? Have you ever written poems and songs about the tulip? Have you ever called your daughters “Tulip”? Have you ever beheaded grand viziers who cultivated tulips? Have there been times when you plundered tulip gardens, when you were afraid of cultivating tulips? Do you really know the tulip, the love of the tulip, the cry of the tulip?” It was we who did all of this: we — the gentle, noble, angry, capricious and blooded children of these lands. We loved the tulip very much, and we killed it as we killed many other things we loved. Every year in April and June, more than 1 million tourists travel to Holland’s tulip center, Kokinhof, to look at tulips. This is tulip tourism, which brings in an income of millions of dollars. Today, the tulip is the Dutch identity. I went to a place in Amsterdam where tulips are sold at auction. Flowers from all over the world flow into an area of 7,000 square meters. Separate auctions are held in tens of halls. Flowers coming from Turkey, too, are worked on and resold to Turkey at very high prices. They cultivate their flowers in greenhouses. There is incredible organization. This tiny country gets its highest revenue from agriculture. Cultivated areas constitute 26 percent of the country. But the word “tulip” in Western languages as well as the bulb itself came from Turkey. “Tulbendi Turcica” means Turkish muslin. The Dutch word “tulip” was derived from its association with the Turkish turban. We destroyed an enormous culture, and they claimed ownership of it. We talk about it as the age of enjoyment and pleasure in our history books. At a time when Holland didn’t know anything about tourism, the Ottomans used to organize tulip festivals in palace gardens, set up tables selling tulip bulbs and silk to people coming to Istanbul from all over the world. Istanbul was then the capital of the unnamed tulip festival. Now I dream of a “Tulip Renaissance” in the 21st century. We will orient tulip tourism towards Istanbul. We will give these admiring tourists books in every language explaining that the tulip is the “flower on which God reflected” according to the mystics. We will translate Nedim and other poets of this age. We will export to every place possible those beautiful tulip vases displaying the fine taste of Ottoman architecture. Then we will conclude the tulip festival with a tulip garden drawn by lasers in the sky. A symphony orchestra will play that immortal composition based on the poem by Nedim: “It’s the time of festival. Tulip gardens are cheerful because of it.” We can tell this secret again if we estimate the value of our own culture and open our hearts to the tulip once again. Though Ottoman tulips have vanished genetically, let’s create new Turkish tulips. The businessman who doesn’t know his own culture cannot win over the world and production. Cultural preferences and values are the basis of the national identity and the source of our strong and weak points in economic terms. We can create a trademark only with our culture. And to be able to make a synthesis of this, we must stop being narrow-minded.

Prime Minister [Tayyip] Erdogan delivered a very important message during a meal which he had with French President [Jacques] Chirac: “Our people already deserve to take a place in a modern and contemporary civilized society.” I am an intellectual, who has made this determination for years, as well as being an individual trying to take the pulse of society and agreeing with it with it all my heart. I wonder, if modernization is a negative concept, or a positive concept, as some people insist on? Modernization had been preached only as an imitation and adoption of Western norms for many years. Modernization was not liked because of this. When the definition of modernization was made as being tantamount to an unbeliever, it became a concept attracting anger. Modernization was presented as replacing the former better life and norms with bad habits. In my opinion, modernization is an attempt of trying to be free from primitive and underdeveloped obsessions. It contains “becoming free” with a focus on humans. It is a phase of a more aesthetic, more productive and a more developing process of cultural life and forms. The organizational form of the mosque in the neighborhood of Muradiye, which I visited at the weekend in Bursa, represents modernization. The mosque was not only a place of worship but it was also a social foundation with a place where the administrative power “Divan” gathered, with its guestrooms, small restaurants and boys’ school in the 1300s. The Muradiye Primary School is an extension of the boys’ school today that was founded by Mehmet the Conquerer’s mother. The first “Bedesten” was established. The closed bazaar in the 1300s was like today’s mega malls. The free trade modernized daily life. This means that Islam is a transformation of the modernization of that period, in my opinion. Modernization is a response to the demand for a renewal in life-style. Mimar Sinan is the name of a genius synthesizing the contents of the modern West and East in architecture. We need to realize this synthesis today. The Turkish people want to benefit from the blessings of a better life and modernization. I see that women are making great efforts on this subject. They are rushing from one place to another in order to improve themselves. I saw this at the exhibiton in ISMEK’s “Feshane”. Modernization means the determination of the place of women [in a society], anyway. Improving the status of women is closely related to women having the right of speaking in the family. Six million illiterate people out of 7 million in our country are women and this is very thought-provoking. Keeping the mind only on external appearance does not mean modernization. For example, if the president would have recognized the modern world more, he would have known the importance of the cooperation of businessmen, trade and culture and he would not have spent his foreign trips, like his private trips, at the museums. We need lobbies. The modern world is the [arena for the] war of cultures. Whose culture will be loved?.. In my opinion, that is the work to do. I saw the roots of a modern understanding in many places in Anatolia. The Turkish culture comes from an open past that loves renewal and development. This root does not dry out whatever it experiences. However, it can be delayed [in growing up]. Our power is to carry it as soon as possible to the point which it deserves. Because the world turns fast. I hope that the government grasps that point. Turkey expects lots of things from them. As a matter of fact, our people combine tradition and modernization in their own bosoms. Bursa’s Emir Sultan is an unbelievable folkloric place. All the brides don’t cover their heads, covering their heads or half covering them whenever they come here. During the children’s circumcision ceremonies, they have their photographs taken near the tomb of Emir Sultan and they continously walk around with video cameras at the center. Our extraordinary cultural heritage awaits modernization. The old forms want their interior to be filled with modernization. Then, the Mimar Sinan masterpieces will get out from this culture and the rest will be to market them to the world. I met with people coming from Izmir, Ankara, Isparta while visiting places in Bursa, which were the nucleus of our culture. I wished we had taken this heritage nucleus and shown it to more of our people and our youths and had told the stories. Unfortunately, there was no guide in the center. It is necessary to know the past in order to seize the synthesis; however, that is what we have to do is to load it on the future ship instead of casting anchor to the past. How much we need to the intellectuals and academic personnel, who will produce our own theory… June 24, 2003

I frequently remember the words of Benjamin D’Israeli in our country where politicization is high: “I am a Conservative to preserve all that is good in our constitution, a Radical to remove all that is bad. I seek to preserve property and to respect order, and I equally decry the appeal to the passions of the many of the prejudices of the few” [1] Viewpoints, which have no integrity, define only the angles of the views since you either need to be leftist or Islamist, Easterner or Westerner, party standard-bearer or trimmer, EU fan or Eurasia fan, in this country. When I said Iran was a very important culture and a country, Turkish intellectuals held Iran in contempt. There was no leftist except a few people who were curious to know Iran profoundly. Because what they understood was that it meant defending the mullah regime. Unfortunately, it has not been accepted that everything is just one inside the other as a life chain, a human body and spirit. Medical, political or media members are all prisoners of this one angle. Turkey does not have a road map. Some may consider the existing single units one by one as a road map; however, that does not change the reality. For instance, the relation between education and profession is bad in Turkey. Architects or nuclear scientists don’t practice their professions, they only get the diplomas. A pharmacist loans out the certificate. Suitable arrangements are not made according to the demands and development of the society. Unemployed people with diplomas complain. Hopeless young people who could not gain admission into universities and high school graduates are unqualified. That is, they are jobless. Vocational high schools have been in effect in Turkey for years. As far as I know, theological high schools were opened within this framework. Now, there is a 15,000 imam (Muslim preacher) shortage. I wonder what people who graduated from the theological high schools do? Vocational high schools are very important educational planning methods in other countries, particularly in Germany. People, who are not admitted into universities, are trained according to their abilities and desires. Nobody even considers providing them an opportunity to go to university; professionals do not consider that a chance either because the university career and professional education are like athletes running on different tracks. Nobody says to a sprinter, ‘come here, I will give you a chance to run in the 800 meters’ because it is against science and planning. In Turkey, people are constantly left alone with the wrong choices. And our most important source, the human resource, is wasted in this mess. The society somehow cannot see the future. If sectoral priorities are not planned and if there isn’t any development plan, what is the meaning of focusing on vocational high schools? India focused on the software sector and planned an education system to be a basis for this subject. Maybe, we need more computer experts for e-state transformation. Now, Ford and Fiat companies have moved their production facilities to Turkey and Turkey is fast becoming an automotive base. It is the same for durable goods and textiles. These are coming [into Turkey] due to the cheap manpower. However, the manpower is unqualified. We need to close the qualified personnel deficit. Another reason why vocational high school students want to go to university is the compulsory military service. Military service is a nightmare for men, even for police officers. But no one thinks about caring for the thousands of people. People are forced to do everything they do not like. There is hindrance by persisting, rather than producing solutions for people, in the country. Persistence is not a policy. Why is there no entrepreneur vocational high school in our country, where KOBIs (small and medium size businesses), are commonplace? Even the European Commission initiated a campaign around Europe to support KOBIs, enabling them to use the job opportunities, which will emerge from the EU enlargement. The campaign is conducted by the ‘Euro Info Centers.’ Four hundred activities within the scope of the campaign, together with various data like national markets and regularities concerning certain sectors and exportation of guidance, will be provided. We can create original models by making a synthesis of Akhism [2] and the new world. The important thing for young people is not only profession but also mental and spiritual understanding. The only power that can bring young people a hopeful future is learning about their own cultures, history and the world they live in, all at the same time. Youths who has no direction map and excluded from the decision mechanisms, do not only rely on education. Hostilities against foreigners had increased in The Netherlands between 1970 and 1973. They were told, ‘when the number of Turkish people who died after being pushed into a canal was made known, Turks began to learn how to swim.’ Today everyone has to learn how to swim. Benjamin D’Israeli, campaign speech at High Wycombe, England, November 27, 1832 [1] Akhism: An organized brotherhood in Anatolia related to trade guilds [2] July 1, 2003

Local cultures are trying to compete in the global platform, to become globalize. Local cultures and trademarks now understand that they would only exist if they fight in the global platform. Without leaping from local competition to the global one, it is impossible to become a brand. The Mado ice cream has begun to sell its brand in the United States and Russia. Ulker has now entered the cola market with Cola Turka. It is striving to get cola out of being an American symbol. Okay, now where is the identity in Cola? Is it inside it, or outside it? The surface of it is the tin box. No difference. I have not known the inside of it yet. However, the identity is more than material existence related to the meanings put on it and related to cultural identity. How do we understand that? We understand it through the text of the commercial. Turkish is spoken (the main component of the identity), values of the Turkish cultural identity are being tried to be conveyed to the Americans. We understand that one who drinks the cola will have those values. Moreover, he will absorb it so much so that in the end, transforming into what is physical and it will have a moustache [as a Turkish man's stereotype]. And that is of course the life style and representative of the fashion. Tarkan is a world brand. When he made his works in the tendency of the domestic market, he was criticized, because he is the representative of a global trend. Turkey is not yet on that level. However, it should both market itself as a brand and create brands. The most important sector on this subject is football. It is not enough for any local football team to become the champion at home. Turkish teams desire to win trophies in Europe and to make a name in the world market. Football is a global sector. Today football is also the representative of the global values at neighborhood level. In neighborhood matches, the children playing dream of Rustu [Recber] and Nihat [Kahveci]. They set global targets for themselves even in the neighborhood games. This is observed very clearly in matches between rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona. Because of their different languages, Spanish Madrid people and Catalan Barcelona people consider themselves as sides of a different culture and an identity war. Real Madrid is the symbol of Spain and State sealed. Catalans are in pursuit of independence. Football players are bought to display those identities. Rustu is the representative of an independent, free and rebellious Catalan soul. Rustu being a Turk, is an independent, free and macho symbol. At the same time those values represent national honor. As for [David] Beckham, marketed by the other side, he is the representative of a city-dweller, cute and modern world. What Rustu is saying ,”I’m a fan of Barcelona and Fenerbahce since I was seven,” is the best proof of that the smallest local unit who is in pursuit of global values, I guess. Instead of crying for our disappearing local values, it is required of us to think how we could convey them to the world stage and to work on that. Football is the most regular “show” of the world. It is now “show business.” It is a feast and a show presented every weekend. That is why football has become people’s inseparable passion. The other two very important elements in our identity struggle are literature and our architectural environment. In the field of literature we have lost Tomris Uyar adding precious stories to our cultural identity and describing us. How many of our young people have read that storyteller whom I love very much, that elegant woman? The second name is Celik Gulersoy. He was a man, who endeavored all alone to make brand city Istanbul the heart of our cultural identity.” He was not an architect, he had no academic title,” and with such kinds of words that hurt the “certificated/lecturer” cadre, Celik Gulersoy saved many things that might have come to an end — and he died just the way he loved it. May both of them rest in peace. If you love your identity it is not a solution to remain closed in it, it requires opening it to the world and to compete. Since nothing good in Turkey has returned without a punishment, certainly you shouldn’t forget that you would encounter many difficulties. There will be many obnoxious people trying to block you. Nevertheless, we should carry on. July 8, 2003

We have left the sixth Abant Platform behind, where 60 people with different opinions came together. I think the platform, which was magnificent in terms of social interaction, was not good enough mental interaction wise. Like Ilber Ortayli said, “Everybody speaks through the model in his head, not the reality itself.” This causes hermeneutic blindness that Mehmet Aydin frequently emphasized during his speech. A Turkish intellectual, who condemns the experience, is imprisoned to the world of writings. Which writings? [That is] the world of ideological concepts and faith-refreshing words. Iraqi Turkmen Suphi Saatci added after saying that 5,000 Turkmens were executed during the Saddam [Hussein] regime: “The Iraqi opposition demanded the operation by going to the door of the United States. Now Americans are taking revenge on the Turkmens through the parliamentary vote. Because they say to us you are linked to Turkey. We listened to what Turkish strategists said about America on TV, but they turned out to be wrong.” Kemal Karpat noting that we are in a brand new era, said: “People are still talking with the concepts of the 19th and 20th centuries here. Who are the actors of the war? From what we know so far it was a war between the states. The situation has changed today. The United States has turned out to be a big power by fighting for 200 years. One should think according to this new paradigm.” The discussions about war and democracy were presented by referring mostly to Iraq and the United States. The issue that Ali Yasar Saribay underlined in his notification was that the concept of war could not be understood without picturing the modernity pattern. It is a common attitude to misperceive the concept of vague modernity as coming from the West, and as something bad, also identical with the West. It was promising that Turkish intellectuals no longer consider modernity as something disastrous. I think people who said Arab countries would be more democratized than us or considered Iran democratic, confused the culture of politics with the culture of democracy. The idea that elections are tantamount to democracy is very old-fashioned. An article, supporting Farabi, who mentioned that the virtue-nurturing struggle idea was issued in Iran. The article which tells us how we are imprisoned to the models in our heads on issues concerning Arabs, Iran and the Middle East that we talked in Abant, says: ‘The Baath [Party] regime in Iraq and the Palestinian problem hindered unity in the Middle East. The first obstacle was eliminated by overthrowing Saddam, now it is the second obstacle’s turn.’ However, it was announced in the final declaration that there should be no interventions, including dictatorships. The article goes on: ‘Iran and Turkey are the two countries, which are ahead of the other regional nations after having passed through the democratization process. Therefore, if Iran pursues a passive or negative policy in forming the Middle East union, it would cause damage. Pursuing an active and leading policy will win influence for Iran and make it become ready for the leadership role.’* Even Iran obviously had to give Turkey’s due and write its claim for leadership. When people like me or I mention Turkey’s leadership in the Middle East, and write that it should be a model country, and also be active, people turn their noses up. So long as we have intellectuals saying Turkey cannot be a model for the Middle East and Iran, called the mullah regime, it [Turkey] will always regard itself as a model and stress that it could be a leader in the Middle East. As you can see, it is not possible for someone who is not sure of his/her own identity and historical experiences, to present promising road maps for the country. ‘Authority Determination’ has been realized by war throughout history. The point we have arrived at, in a historical process, is authority determination led by selected ones not by the strong ones. Authority determining is not obvious in the global plan now. Can global democracy be achieved without taking a global responsibility? Is it possible to avoid war without providing global security? Do economies operate without putting the ‘regional security system’ into effect in a world where terrorism hits everyone? Countries that are not pleased with the power of the United States, neither have the power to establish the regional security system nor the plans. Turkey represents global values as much as the United States does. That’s why Turkey should be active in creating principal authority and in establishing alliances. Otherwise, Turkey, squeezed in between shyness and inferiority complex, will withdraw from the game. *Radikal [Newspaper] July 14, 2003

New Yorker Sociologist Richard Sennet says, ‘Change flourishes in people who share their needs with each other rather than through massive rebellions.’ The [Justice and Development Party] AKP convention was organized in a festive atmosphere in Turkey, where parties vanish and politics is suppressed in an apolitical structure. There was hardly any politicization or harsh slogan like in the [Welfare Party] RP conventions that I attended in the past. Women also displayed vivid images. Dreaming of ‘a place where women’s rights are fully protected, the future of children and young people guaranteed, art and culture celebrated,’ Prime Minister [Recep Tayyip Erdogan] fired the dynamo of change as a party leader. He now knows that it would be a dream to join the E.U. without speaking and acting on women’s issues. Because, a woman having the position she deserves in society and all of the problems concerning women are indicators of modernization and progress for a country. But I do not know why women applauded the prime minister when he said these things. By envying Ataturk’s revolutions, uneducated father Shah became the forerunner to socialize women. The first laws that considered a woman as an equal citizen were passed during the time of father Shah. He was ignorant but he was smart enough to understand that a modern country could be realized with women playing active roles. But after the Islamic Revolution, women (who organized the revolution and had their positions in the front line against the Shah’s son’s dictatorship) were firstly excluded from the society. They were ordered to be veiled and locked up in their homes. During this clean-up operation, Shirin Ebadi, a woman judge, was fired for the reason that ‘this was against the women’s nature.’ She is a human rights activist in her country. Newly Nobel Peace Prize winner Ebadi says, “There is no conflict between human rights and Islam.” There is no conflict between Islam and human rights or women. Just as there is a conflict between bigotry, reactionarism and Islam, there is a conflict between bigotry and human rights, democracy and freedom. The horror committed by Hezbollah and similar organizations is the horror of bigotry and fanaticism. Ebadi is a libertarian who was imprisoned because of her struggle for women’s rights. For the rulers who support conservatism and fixation, the Nobel Peace Prize is a disgrace rather than an honor. Because freedom is not for them; a woman comes among them and says she will forever sing the song of freedom and die in her own country if she does someday. This is because bigotry and reactionarism are cocoons surrounding a ‘woman.’ The banner that women from Istanbul held at the AKP convention could be a wish to replace the applause: ‘Let’s not lose the contact.’ All the parties, which failed to make contacts with women, have vanished. Nobody who once wrote about RP had ever cared about pro-RP women. Viewing women in a prejudiced way is a disease that spreads without caring for any ideologies. The now-defunct RP, which failed to read the society and resisted the demand for change, has become a little felicity, which is just hanging on somewhere. For some reason or the other, women obstinacy in our political parties women is like an unconquerable fortress. There will be only five women at the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in Malaysia, in which 57 Muslim countries are participating! One of them is Turkey’s First Lady Semra Sezer. The women who even feared the heel steps of the Taliban favor men in Turkish culture. Nomad women I talked to on a mountaintop made this description: “A woman and a man are like day and night. They cannot be separated. They are equal.’ The Taliban has vanished. What is left behind are the tears and pain. Forming the theoretical structure of the demand for change in Turkish politics, where it is the only party doing so, AKP should continue its way towards Europe. It will attract attention in the E.U. as ‘European Muslims,’ as is stated in Gulhane imperial edict. The fight in The Netherlands indicates that we should act quickly. Pro-assimilation leftist parties are increasing their anti-foreigner activities. Jacques Wallage, former president now Groningen mayor, says that the opinions of leftist parties like ‘obey or get out’ have been partly included in their programs. Europe’s multicultural structure is only possible with Turkey. Turkey will catch up with the future through the importance it gives to women, and Europe will do likewise through the importance it attaches to Turkey.

While Pope John Paul II marks the 25th anniversary [of his papal election], this occasion is embroiled in controversy on the same level as the celebrations around the world. The question, ‘What will become of the Catholic world,’ is asked as pretty much as the question, ‘Who will be the next pope?’ The main point is that Catholicism, the biggest religious community in the world, has 1 billion believers, according to the World Christian Encyclopedia. The fortress of Catholicism, which is expected to have 1.6 billion members in the next 22 years, is no longer Europe. Catholicism is on the rise in Third World countries, in Africa, Latin America and Asia but declining in Europe. And it has gone through serious upheavals in North America. The population of the Catholic Church is expected to increase in these three continents from 68 percent to 75 percent in 2025. The reason behind the decline of Catholicism in Europe and America is due to the pope’s failure and not being able to meet the needs in these lands where modernization and freedom are on the rise. However, the pope is successful in the poor people’s world. The Philippines where the old matriarchal structure was forcibly changed by the Spanish colonialists, is the new fortress of Catholicism. In the Philippines, with a population of 80 million, the mobile phone network of the influential Catholic Church has a text message network among believers. In religious activities, charismatic singers give a young and modern image to the church. The biggest rivals of Catholicism in Philippines are Muslims. In the last three years 110,000 people have converted from Catholicism to Islam. Catholicism in Latin America on the other hand is very strong as well. Here Catholicism has been integrated with culture by mixing the religion with local beliefs. In these lands, where theology of salvation developed, Catholicism, mixed with Marxism in the 1970s has pagan traditions, rituals and goddesses. The church, not too long ago, announced the beatification of Juan Diego, even though there is skepticism about his existence. Catholicism has exploded in America among refugees. Hispanic and Vietnamese populations are growing fast. Seemingly appropriate to make a leap to the upper classes, Catholicism teaches priests Spanish as a second language. However, white Catholics are not pleased with these developments. Everyone has begun to have his/her own church and Catholic churches are being divided into small communities. Rituals in Vietnamese and Hispanic churches are very different. Sociologists show the failure of being religious in Western Europe as becoming rich and promoting individualism and materialism. Many people think that the Catholic Church failed to keep up with the era and remained traditionalist. The necessity of keeping up with time and the modernization of Islam were voiced by Turkey at the recent Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) summit. Syrian poet Adonis was quoted by Hurriyet daily as saying, “In our age, Islam is a religion that is uncultured, thoughtless and lacks the ability of asking questions.”* Saudi missioners, bigotry, the old-fashioned perception of women and reactionaries who explain Islam through this content are being identified with the religion. But the opportunities of the Turk-Islam understanding are very much in today’s world. What societies expect from religion is being more and more adapted to modern life and modernization. The Turk-Islam understanding includes a modern interpretation. Its best example is Mevlana, a best-seller in the United States. I believe that Islam, as the religion that is extra-sensitive to the poor people’s rights, and states, “While your neighbor sleeps hungry, don’t you sleep full,’ should be included in this contest. In today’s world where people’s inner worlds are emptied in a soul-searching effort, Islam’s modern and illuminated implementations are needed. Modern methods and viewpoints are important in interpreting Islam. Islam should get rid of reactionary ideas and anachronistic views that imprison women, because it is such an illuminated religion that cannot be prisoner to those who make these remarks. It would be better to start the prejudice-free campaign right away. Islam’s modern interpretation is necessary for modern Muslims. 1. Compilation, The Wall Street Journal, Oct. 17. 2. Hurriyet (Ozdemir Ince), Oct. 19. October 21, 2003

Bireyselliğimizin temel çekirdeğini seçmeler dizgemiz oluşturur. Zamanın en küçük birimlerinde her an seçim yaparak yürürüz, konuşuruz, yola devam ederiz ya da meyve tabağından bir elmayı alır dişleriz.

Hoşlandığımız ve hoşlanmadığımız şeyler uzun listeler olarak asılıdır bir yerlerde ve seçim yaparak hayata geçiririz isteklerimizi. Başka insanların seçimleri de bizi çok ilgilendirir ya da etkiler. İnternet sitemde “Evlilikte seçim” diye bir anket yaptım. Bu mini ankette 128 kişi oy kullandı. ‘Eşini aşkla seçmeli’ diyenler yüzde23, aynı yüzde de ‘insanın içi ısınmalı seçtiğine’ diyenler. ‘Sevgisiz seçim olmaz’ın yüzdesi 21. Mantığı tercih edenlerin oranı 26, ‘seçmek yol ayrımı gibi çok korkutucu bir şey’ diyenler yüzde 5, ‘seçimden çok korkuyorum’ yüzde 4 ve evlilikten korkanların sayısı yüzde 6. ‘Evlenmeye mecbur değilim’ diyerek seçimi öteleyenler 15 gibi yüksek bir oran. Bu tabloda korku faktörünün ne kadar etken olduğu aşikar. Özellikle seçme ve seçilme aşk ve sevgide gerilim hattı gibi dokunanı yakıyor. Yine de herkesin “sevgi”yi temel bir öğe olarak algılaması kültürümüzün doğal yapısındaki sevgi devamlılığını gösteriyor. Ayrıca gençlerimizdeki sevgiye olan inanç ve tutkuyu. Korkuyla tutkunun bu dansı bitmiyor bu tabloda. ‘Mantıkla’ diyerek seçimini yapanlar korkudan kurtulacakları ümidiyle birlikte, tutkudan da feragat etmekteler. Tutkunun seçimi çizik yiyor. Seçim birçok karmakarışık yapının içinden çıkıp gelir. En gizli yanlarımız, derin çatlaklarımız ve tepelerimiz seçim öncesinde tek tek gezilir. Sevgi ta özünde bir seçmedir. Üstelik tüm benliğimizin ilkeleriyle, yansımalarıyla yaptığımız bir seçimdir. Sevgi aslında kendimizi yüceltmeyi de içeren bir övgü düzmektir seçilene. Seçme insanın en derinlerinde mayalanan derin ideallerle belirlenir.

Platon, “Sevgi; güzellik içinde üreme ve doğma arzusudur.” demiş. Üreme, bir geleceğin yaratılmasıdır. Güzellik, iyi yaşamdır. Sevgi, bize iyi görünen ve başka varlıkta insanlığa yeniden bağlanmayı simgeler adeta.

Seçmenin karanlık yanı, ‘hata yapacak mıyım?’ sorusunda gizli. Ya benim hayallerimin, sevdiğimi koyduğum yerin yüksekliği yaşanırken alçalırsa korkusu kemirir insanı. İnandığımız hayallerimiz gerçek bir bedende somutlaşınca mutlu olduğumuz kadar, kırılıp dökülen ideallerimiz iç dünyamızı harabeye çevirir. O farklıdır diye inandığımız, içselleştirdiğimiz her şeyi, seçilen farklı olmadığını kanıtlamak ister gibi fırlatıp duvara çarpınca varlığımızı tehlikede hissederiz. Uygulanan şiddet, söylenen yalanlar, her erkeğin/kadının benzer tekdüzeliğinin yavanlığı, aldırmazlık, aldatılmak, bir gün ortak yaş günü bile kutlayamayan iki yabancıya dönüşen hayallerin acısı… ‘Ben bunu mu seçtim?’ ‘Ben bunun için mi fedakarlıkta bulundum?’ Sorular yığını dağlar gibi yığılır, bir süre sonra kendine acımaya başlar insan. Bu, seçimin bittiğinin kanıtıdır.

Çünkü seçim, seçim anıyla sınırlı değil bir sürecin de başlangıcıdır. Tam da korkutucu olan budur.

Masallarda kahramanımız yol ayrımına gelince derin düşüncelere dalar, yollardan biri iyiliğe diğeri kötülüğe aittir. Nasıl bilecektir doğruyu? Ejderhanın uyuduğu yol sağda mı, solda mıdır acaba? ‘Mutluluğa giden hangisi?’ sorusuyla karşılaşırız binlerce yıllık masallarda. İyi insanlar sonunda ödüllerini alırlar. Onlar çıkar kerevetine ve masal biter.

Hayat ise her seçimden ve umutsuzluktan sonra da devam eder. Yıkımların üstünden, gözyaşlarından ufku geniş bir dünyaya geçilebilir.

Her seçim içinde cennet ve cehennemi aynı anda taşır. Hazırlıklı değilseniz, sevginizin gücü cennet kadar (sadece kendi istekleriniz ve onaylarınız) cehenneme de (onların dışında gelişecek her şey ve sevdiğinizin hataları) hazırlıklı değilse ateşten yanarsınız. Hem de çok yakabilirsiniz.

Hem seçen, hem seçilen, her seven aşk-ın narına düşer ve acıyla yanar. Kor ateşte ayağıyla yürüyüp karşıya varamayan, bu hazırlıksız “aşk” içine atlayandır.