Yavuz Ağıralioğlu's warning to Minister Tekin: 'Do not fragment Turkish history': The Ottoman Empire and the Republic are continuations of each other

Evaluating the reports regarding Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin's statements on the new curriculum, Ağıralioğlu stated, "The correct approach is not to fragment Turkish history, but to read it as a whole; to see the Ottoman Empire and the Republic not as rivals, but as continuations of each other."

In his assessment of the reports that the term "National Struggle" would be used instead of "War of Independence" in the new curriculum, Ağıralioğlu emphasized that Anatolia was liberated from occupation as a result of a great National Struggle.

"WE ACCEPT THEM ALL AS THE TURKISH STATE"

Expressing that the Ottoman Empire, the Seljuk Empire, and the Republic of Turkey are parts of the same historical journey, Ağıralioğlu said, "The Ottoman Empire, the Seljuk Empire, and the Republic of Turkey are all Turkish states. We view all the states we have established from the Göktürks to the present day as links in the same historical journey, and we accept them all as the Turkish state."

Stating that the transition process from the Ottoman Empire to the Republic of Turkey was not a rupture but an indicator of historical continuity, Ağıralioğlu noted that the transition from empire to nation-state was a result of the political and historical conditions of the era, and that the national will demonstrated through the National Struggle lies at the foundation of this transformation.

In his statement, Ağıralioğlu included the following remarks: "The correct approach is not to fragment Turkish history, but to read it as a whole; to see the Ottoman Empire and the Republic not as rivals, but as continuations of each other. Instead of positioning the states and heroes of our glorious history against one another, we should evaluate them as different periods of the same nation's common journey."