Intended for the Imam, but it falls to the Priest!..

Not only Greece, but also its supporters, the US and the EU, have always included the reopening of the Halki Seminary, which has been closed since 1971, on the list of concessions they demand from Turkey for “good neighborly relations and normalization.”

The issue of reopening the Seminary, which was frequently discussed during the early years of the AKP government when it sought refuge “from the wrath of Ankara in the intercession of Washington and Brussels” and was the subject of “reform packages,” has recently returned to the agenda along with the “spring atmosphere” between Erdoğan and Mitsotakis.

Specifically;

Before his visit to Athens last December, Erdoğan explained that with the Constitutional Court's 1971 ruling, all private higher education institutions across the country were nationalized, that this decision covered not only the Seminary but all private higher education institutions, and that comprehensive legislative changes would be required for this school to be reopened today, before adding the following:

“On the other hand, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople has not approached the idea of the Seminary resuming education within the structure of a state university, subject to the Council of Higher Education (YÖK) regulations, in a positive light.”

As can be clearly understood from these words of Erdoğan, the desire is for the school to be opened outside the Turkish education system, with an autonomous status!..

Let us continue with the statements.

Erdoğan, while answering a question on this subject from the Kathimerini newspaper before the Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis's return visit last month, explained the same things. He then said, “We are still working on the reopening of the Halki Seminary. We expect the same constructive approach from our neighbor regarding the problems faced by the Turkish minority in Greece in the field of education.”

In the end, this issue was also discussed at the meeting of the two leaders, and Mitsotakis requested that steps be taken for the resumption of the Seminary's activities.

Just 12 days after that meeting, with the visit of Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin to the Seminary, it was reported that the reopening of the school was being handled within the scope of a “second wave of reforms” and that Turkey had made certain demands from the Greek side in accordance with the principle of reciprocity.

Meanwhile, it was also emphasized that “the reopening of the school is seen as a ‘positive element’ for Turkey, which is going through an economic bottleneck, to secure support from Western credit institutions.”

Naturally, the pro-government media got excited again. One newspaper wrote the following with the headline, “First a mosque in Athens, then a priest school”:

“Before the Seminary, which the Crusader West wants to be opened unconditionally and without delay, a mosque must be opened in Athens, a Muslim cemetery must be allocated, the expectation for an elected mufti must be met, the freedom to use the word ‘Turkish’ in the names of associations must be granted, and the problems experienced regarding education must be resolved as a priority.”

All of these are true, but the problem is that these demands fall within the scope of the fundamental rights and freedoms of our kinsmen guaranteed by the Treaty of Lausanne. Even if Greece, which violates Lausanne, were to accept them all now, the price cannot be the opening of the Seminary under the conditions dictated by the imperialists. In other words; neither do our muftis in Western Thrace have an “ecumenicity” project, nor are our kinsmen seeking “autonomy”!..

THE AKP'S PASSION FOR THE SEMINARY

Yes, Greece and the imperialists have been wanting the Seminary to be opened since the 1990s, but the most intense efforts took place during the AKP era. Let us briefly recall that process.

In 2004, the Council of Higher Education (YÖK) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs developed a formula: “You increase the number of Turkish teachers at the Celal Bayar High School in Komotini, and we will open the Seminary.”

2005; Hüseyin Çelik, the Minister of that period from whom the current Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin takes advice, said, “If the authority were mine, if it were up to me, I would open the school in 24 hours,” and a study was initiated with the EU on this matter. Within the scope of this study, it was brought to the agenda to make regulations in the Law on Unification of Education (Tevhid-i Tedrisat) to connect Imam Hatip Schools to the Presidency of Religious Affairs and the Seminary to the Patriarchate.

However, when the public and the media reacted to this work, which would fundamentally undermine the unification of education, it was abandoned.

Afterward, it was proposed that the school be opened within the structure of Istanbul University by “establishing a chair of comparative theology.” While all minority communities accepted this, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople opposed it and reiterated its demand for autonomy.

In 2008, the then Prime Minister of Greece, Kostas Karamanlis, who came to our country, said while visiting the Patriarchate that the priority issue was the opening of the Seminary.

US President Obama, who mentioned the Seminary in his speech at the Turkish Grand National Assembly in 2009, also focused on this issue during his visit to the Patriarchate.

In 2010, Erdoğan listed the following conditions for the opening of the school:

“The demands of our Turkish minority in Western Thrace from the Greek government should also be taken into consideration. Athens should also focus on these issues at the same time and find solutions to the problems of the clergy, leadership, unemployment, and minority associations.”

In 2011, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, who became the first minister to visit the school, said, “With my visit, I want to express that the Seminary is a part of European life and belongs to Europe... I resolutely support the conclusion of the Seminary issue.”

In 2012, while Erdoğan was giving the good news to Obama that the Seminary would be opened, the then EU Minister Egemen Bağış stated, “This issue is more about our internal legislation than an issue between Turkey and the US. I do not see the opening of the Seminary as a threat to Turkey. This will be a wealth for Turkey.”

In 2013, Erdoğan announced that he had discussed this issue with Obama, former President Bush, US Secretaries of State, Greek Prime Ministers, and some heads of government and state, and that they had said, “If you could be understanding about the Seminary issue”... In the same year, at an election rally, he emphasized that “Turkey has broken its chains” and while bringing up the opening of the Seminary, he touched upon the mufti and mosque problem in Greece.

In 2014, Erdoğan again said, “You are still asking me about the Seminary. We will open it, it is not difficult, but for once, you keep your word. There is no place where you were born under the ‘Give’ tree. For once, say ‘take.’ That is the issue.”

Erdoğan also complained during his visit to Athens in December 2017:

“The thing they tell us every other time is the Halki Seminary. Let's say we solved that issue, but where will we put your attitude towards the schools of our kinsmen in Western Thrace? Or the mosque issue in Athens... There is not the slightest progress. For example, they supposedly did something new, but it doesn't even look like a mosque. It has no minaret... I mentioned that the issue of the Chief Mufti has still not been resolved.”

In 2019, when Greek Prime Minister Tsipras went to the Seminary accompanied by the then Presidential Spokesperson, current MIT President İbrahim Kalın, one of the pro-government media writers expressed exactly the following:

“The opening of the school will increase the weight of the Patriarchate in the Orthodox world. The gaining of weight by the Seminary and the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which are located on its own soil, is very important for Turkey. It makes Turkey's position in the world unique. We should take this step anyway as a requirement of the historical heritage we received from the Ottoman Empire, which has hosted countless civilizations, religions, and races. Such an opening will bring other positive steps with it and will provide an important leap in relations with the European Union. The ‘coincidence’ that brought Tsipras there today shows that the time has come.”

WIN-WIN SITUATION

The picture is clear. They want the Seminary to be opened with an autonomous status. Ankara has also been making this a matter of reciprocity for almost 20 years. We pointed out above how wrong this is, but let us elaborate a little more.

At an international meeting on the Patriarchate and the Seminary held in Istanbul in October 2005, the late Armenian Patriarch Mesrob II of that period explained that they had accepted the opening of the school within the structure of Istanbul University, but that the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople insisted on the Seminary being an independent religious school, and emphasized, “That some dynamics of the country must definitely be taken into account, and that if the Seminary were opened as an independent religious institution, the madrasas in Erzurum or Van would also want to see the same treatment.”

At the same meeting, an argument broke out between Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and the then AKP Deputy Chairman Şaban Dişli. When Bartholomew said that the patriarchs before him had used the title “ecumenical” since the 6th century and that it was impossible for him to renounce it, AKP's Dişli replied, “That title may have been yours since the 6th century. The 1924 Treaty of Lausanne is clear. The Patriarchate is tasked with religiously representing the Greek Orthodox people living in Istanbul. The Patriarchate is equal to all other institutions in Turkey and receives equal treatment. We also used to have the Sheikh-ul-Islam. With the Republic, there is now the President of Religious Affairs. He also only deals with religious affairs related to Muslims in Turkey.”

Let us note that since 2020, Patriarch Bartholomew has even been invited to the Palace with the title “ecumenical” and even openly uses the title “Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch,” and let us move on to the argument between Bartholomew and Dişli regarding the Seminary.

When Bartholomew requested the opening of the Seminary, Dişli noted that the issue was being deliberately distorted and said the following:

“The closure of the Seminary should not be perceived as a conscious counter-movement; it should be viewed as a judicial decision. The closure of these schools at that time aimed to protect the secular system in Turkey. Turkish legislation does not allow religious and military education in private schools. In 1971, the Seminary was closed along with all private schools. The law that forms the basis for this is a law that covers both Muslims and non-Muslims... If special rights are granted to the Seminary, they must also be granted to others.”

So, what does this mean? If special rights are granted to the Seminary, they must also be granted to others!..

The reason for the AKP's efforts regarding the Seminary is understood, isn't it? A win-win situation. Both the imperialists will be satisfied, and the secular education system and the Law on Unification of Education will be eliminated, and the way for sects and madrasas will be opened wide.

While the country has turned into a place of fire, this must be one of the reasons for the desperate pursuit of a “new constitution”!..

Müyesser YILDIZ

June 10, 2024