1 July 2010
It stems from higher national interests that have accumulated since the mid-1970s, i.e. after Turkish troops entered parts of Cyprus in 1974 and after Turkey hosted the summit of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference in 1976.
Success in this area will depend on several factors including mutual economic interests, the need of the region to create a positive balance to counter extremist groups, and a concerted move away from political hegemony, polarisation and the policies of axes and military or ideological alliances. Does the Turkish shift toward the East mean that Turkey has abandoned the West? Is this shift transitory and governed by the interests of the ruling Justice and Development Party? Is this rapprochement with the Arab world contradictory to American and Israeli interests or not? And are Arabs prepared for this rapprochement?
To begin with, Turkey has never been distant from the Arab region. Ottoman Turkey maintained strong relations with the Arab world over four centuries until the Caliphate fell and the Republic of Ataturk was founded in 1923. It was the Ataturk Republic that moved the country in a Westward direction. Consequently, Turkey joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in 1952. Turkey was also the first Muslim country to recognise Israel in 1949.
After 80 years, however, Turkey has begun to realise that there are limitations to what it can obtain from the West. The door to the European Union appears locked. The growing power of Iraqi Kurds may lead to the emergence of a Kurdish state in the Kurdish Triangle in Iraq, Iran and Turkey. The shifts push Turkey back in the direction of the Arab world.
<span>In 1901 the Jewish banker Mizray Qrasow and two other Jewish influential leaders came to visit Ottoman Turkey, they offered:</span>
ReplyDelete<span>1) Paying ALL the debts of the Ottoman state. </span>
<span>2) Building the Navy of the Ottoman state. </span>
<span>3) 35 Million Golden Leeras without interest to support the prosperity of the Ottoman state. </span>
<span>In Exchange for </span>
<span>1) Allowing Jews to visit Palestine anytime they please, and to stay as long as they want "to visit the holy sites." </span>
<span>2) Allowing the Jews to build settlements where they live, and they wanted them to be located near Jerusalem. </span><span></span>
<span>Sultan Abdulhamid II refused to even meet them, he sent his answer to them through Tahsin Pasha: </span><span>"Tell those impolite Jews that the debts of the Ottoman state are not a shame, France has debts and that doesn't affect it. Jerusalem became a part of the Islamic land when Omar Bin Alkhattab took the city and I am not going to carry the historical shame of selling the holy lands to the Jews and betraying the responsibility and trust of my people. May the Jews keep their money, the Ottoman's will not hide in castles built with the money of the enemies of Islam."</span><span></span>
Unfortunately, the great Sultan did not mind the historical shame of presiding over the massacre of a couple hundred thousand Armenians and giving away their lands. His actions helped pave the way for the genocide of Armenians and Assyrians 20 years later.
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