Considering Orientalism to Understand Turkish-Greek Relations

There is a necessity to "Consider Orientalism to Understand Turkish-Greek Relations." In this context, following today's article, I will attempt to reflect my views in summary on "The Distortions and Lies of Orientalism" and "The Imperial Factors of the Megali Idea Ideal Created Under the Guidance of Orientalism," respectively.

Otherwise, resolving the problems that arise in Turkish-Greek relations in the Aegean and Cyprus will remain impossible, as it has been until now.

What is the Aryan Model, the Origin of Eurocentrism-Orientalism Against the Ancient Model?

First of all, it is useful to take a look at the "Aryan Model" that took its final form in the 1830s-1840s and the "Ancient Model" approach that stands against it.

According to the Ancient model; "Civilization consists of common values that emerged as a result of developments spanning thousands of years, with the contribution of human reason, science, and technology, and are the work and property of all humanity.

According to most historians, there was a continuous and multi-layered civilized life in Near Asia and Egypt before Greek history. It is known that these civilizations, like the Ancient Greek Civilization, were not born from the genius of a single nation, but were born and developed under the influence of ever-expanding international relations. The mentioned civilizations extend from the Caucasus and Western Asia to the Indian Ocean and the African lakes, and from the borders between Iran and India to Gibraltar. The ancient history of this area forms a complete whole. In this context, Ancient Anatolia such as the Hittites, Mesopotamia such as Sumer, Babylon and Assyria, the Eastern Mediterranean, Central Asia, Egypt, Iran, China, India, Rome, Byzantium, Islamic and Andalusian civilizations stand out. To these, American civilizations such as the Maya, Aztec, and Inca should also be added."

In contrast, according to the "Aryan model" approach; "Greek civilization emerged as a result of the occupation of the Aegean basin from the north by the Hellenes, who were 'Aryans' speaking an Indo-European language. While those who created the Aryan Model in the 19th century placed Greece in a different place than India, where the Aryans surrounded the dark-skinned people (i.e., the Indians) but were later corrupted by them, Greece was seen as a suitable cradle for Western civilization, pure in terms of race, and fundamentally European.

While all civilizations that have emerged in world history have followed their own unique path; Western civilization deviated from the general development line of humanity and took a different path from other civilizations, reaching its current level.

In this process, while Western societies progressed, Eastern societies lagged behind and became in need of 'patronage.' Because according to the European approach, stagnation and backwardness lie within Eastern societies."

The Aryan Model coincided with the progressive historical understanding of 19th-century Romantic historians.

The determinant of European identity is Ancient Greece. Ancient Greece is the most important factor that separates Europe from the rest of humanity.

Europe took from it; competence, freedom, progress, and a method of thinking aimed at the complete human being. It owes the science, which is its most original product, to the change it initiated.

With the creation of the Aryan Model, which is the product of such an approach, and the idea of a pure European race, all societies and civilizations before and after Greece (except for those that were convenient) were attempted to be erased from the stage of civilization.

The mentioned approach did not remain in the dimension of thought; 'Western Civilization' was able to become a "civilization" by ignoring other civilizations. In this sense, "Western history can also be characterized as a kind of history of civilizational genocide."

With the Aryan Model, history was turned upside down with a Eurocentric understanding, and for this purpose, various scientific disciplines were even created. (1)

Orientalism is the best example of this, and it can also be said to be the name of "othering" others in order to remain "the single, elite, and supreme" one.

Orientalism

Orientalism bears the traces of "Eurocentrism." It can be said that Eurocentrism emerged as a tool for seizing the resources of the East for the capitalism created in the West after the Enlightenment, or more clearly, for developing colonialism.

In the progression of this historical process, the East-West distinction was also institutionalized and brought the othering of the East to the agenda.

The othered East was placed in a position lower than the status of a human being and was intended to be made suitable for being civilized/governed.

As a result of this, the peoples of the East would have two options. In the first option, they would accept Westernization and the internalization it brought. In the second option, they would oppose Westernization and experience collapse. (2)

In this context, it is observed that Eurocentrism is an approach to forming the background of Orientalism and preparing a suitable environment.

Although its past dates back to the 12th century, it is seen that the Orientalist view emerged in the West as an academic discipline under the name "Oriental Studies" starting from the mid-19th century. The most competent scientific basis for accepting the progressive story of world history as Western-sourced was expressed in the book titled "Orientalism," written by Said in 1978. (3)

Said bases everything that exists between existence and non-existence on the fundamental distinction between the East and the West.

In his book "Orientalism," Said questions the West's perspective on the "East."

According to him, Orientalism has various interconnected meanings.

First: Orientalism is an academic field of interest, even a discipline, that has schools such as "Oriental Studies."

Second, it is a way of thinking that expresses the distinction between the "Orient" and the West in terms of ontology and epistemology.

Third, and perhaps most importantly, Orientalism is "a Western discourse developed for imperialism, in other words, for the purpose of establishing dominance over the East, restructuring it in line with its own interests, and having authority, and further, for the West to seize the people and lands of the East."

Here, it is necessary to say that imperialism has a connection with hidden and open (overt) or scientific racism. Hidden racism assumes that backwardness in the sense of civilization can be cured and should be cured with the help of the imperialist "modernization mission." Open (overt) or scientific racism focuses on physiological/genetic characteristics because it tends to see these second-class characteristics as unchangeable.

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(1) Bernal, M., 2016. Black Athena: The Fabrication of Ancient Greece 1785-1985. Kaynak Publications

(2) Amin, S., 2018. Eurocentrism: Critique of an Ideology (L’eurocentrisme Critique d’une idéologie) Translator: Mehmet Sert. Yordam Kitap

(3) Said, E. W., 2010. Orientalism. Fifth Edition (Translation: Ülner, B.) Metis/Kültür Publications

According to Orientalism, human communities are classified as "Civilized (Civilized, Western Europeans: Whites), Barbarian (Turkish-Ottoman Empire, Chinese, Siamese, and Japanese: Yellows), and Savage (Africans, Australians, and New Zealanders: Blacks)."

Some Orientalists, Social Darwinists, and scientific racists believed that the Yellows and Blacks were destined to disappear and that the world could only be governed by the Anglo-Saxon race, where the development of civilization was only in the hands of the British, but under the accepted name of the English. (4)

In this context, Said characterizes Orientalism as a thought characterized by prejudices, ignorance, lack of knowledge, clichés, standardized views, and fabrications. (5)

Philhellenism

It is observed that Philhellenism, which is a product of Orientalism, also emerged with the European Enlightenment.

According to the Enlightenment thinkers, the "uncivilized" Turks are the "arch-enemy" of European culture and have occupied Europe's "most beautiful" lands with their "bloody administrations."

"Philhellenism" has been an approach where Eurocentrism feeds Turkophobia.

In other words, they write that "the West's Orientalist approach has paved the way for the Greeks' search for identity and that a perception has been created in the form of 'Turks are tyrants who do not recognize rights' and 'it has brought poverty, ignorance, fatigue, pain, trouble, whips, bastinado, and death to the Greeks.'"

The View of Today's Orientalist Huntington

One of the prominent Orientalists of today is the American Political Scientist, Samuel P. Huntington. (6) Huntington bases his Orientalist approaches on a religiously rooted cultural difference.

According to Huntington; "The 21st century will be determined by a clash of civilizations weighted by religion. This clash will be inevitable between two civilizations (Western and Islamic) that have spread over the widest geographies. In today's world, differences between people are now primarily cultural. Societies with cultural affinities are moving towards cooperation. Westerners must accept that their civilization is not universal, but a civilization that carries a unique and singular quality. The rest of the world is 'different'."

With this perspective, didn't Huntington suggest that Turkey is a country wavering between Islamic and Western civilization and that Atatürk's legacy should be denied as it is?

In summary, I think it is impossible to perceive Turkish-Greek relations without considering the West's view of Turkey on the basis of Orientalism.

Stating that I will send my article on "The Distortions and Lies of the Orientalist Approach," which has turned into imperialism, to 12punto next week, I say let's put a period to our article as my friend Bahadır Selim Dilek said.

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(4) Hobson, J. M., 2020. The Eastern Origins of Western Civilization. 7th Edition (Translation: Ermet, E.) Yapı Kredi Publications, Istanbul, p. 222-229

(5) Kaymakçı, M., 2018. The Origins of the Turkish Image in Greek Perception and Ways Out for Friendship (In., The Forgotten People of the Aegean Islands: The Turks of Rhodes and Kos (Ed., Kaymakçı, M., Özgün, C.) Eğitim Publishing, Konya, p. 273-293

(6) Huntington, S., 2011. The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order (Translation: Özdemir, C.; Turhan, M.) Okuyan Us Publications, Istanbul,