Readings for Turkey: After the Coup
Turkey’s Thirty-Year Coup
By Dexter Filkins
From the beginning, the Turkish Republic was designed as a secular state. It was founded in
1923 by Mustafa Kemal, better known as Atatürk—a fierce nationalist who believed that religion
and politics needed to be kept strictly apart. Once in power, he abolished the Islamic Caliphate,
which had existed for thirteen hundred years, and put the country‟s clerics on the state payroll, to
make sure they didn‟t step out of line.
As a result, for most of the twentieth century Turkey‟s pious majority was governed by a small
secular élite. The Turkish military, perhaps the country‟s strongest institution, saw itself as the
guardian of Atatürk‟s secular state; several times in the nineteen-seventies and eighties, Islamist
parties rose to prominence, only to be shut down and banned. Displays of religious fervor were
seen as undesirable, even dangerous.
In 2001, the Justice and Development Party—known by its Turkish initials, A.K.P.—was
founded by a group of men led by Tayyip Erdoğan. A dynamic former mayor of Istanbul,
Erdoğan had recently emerged from prison; he had been jailed by the country‟s military leaders
after giving a speech that included the lines “The mosques are our barracks . . . and the believers
our soldiers.” The next year, he announced his candidacy for Prime Minister. In campaign
speeches, he proclaimed himself an Islamist, a voice for pious Turks, but he also promised to
keep Islam out of politics.
The A.K.P. swept into power in national elections, and Erdoğan began remaking Turkey. He
overhauled the judicial system, liberalized the economy, and eased relations with longsuppressed minorities like the Alevis and the Kurds. The G.D.P. doubled. In the West, Erdoğan
was seen as a bridge to the Islamic world—the leader of a prosperous, democratic, and stable
Muslim country.
In the same years, Gülen was making his own accommodation with Turkey‟s secular
establishment. Gülen, a preacher in the coastal city of Izmir, may have been employed by the
state, but he charted his own spiritual path; for inspiration, he looked to the theologian Said
Nursi, who emphasized the compatibility of Islam with reason and scientific inquiry. While
many Islamists espouse anti-Western, anti-capitalist, and anti-Semitic views, Gülen‟s sermons
were pro-business, pro-science, and—virtually unheard of in the Muslim world—conciliatory
toward Israel.
In 1971, after a military coup, the new regime arrested Gülen on charges of conspiring to
overthrow the secular order, and he served seven months in prison. After that, he became a
model Islamist of the secular establishment, meeting often with the country‟s leaders and
publicly expressing his support. “I have said time and again that the republican order, and
secularism, when executed perfectly, are blessings from God,” he once said on Turkish
television. Such proclamations earned Gülen the ire of Islamist leaders, but they seemed to buy
him a measure of protection from secular authorities.
To Western audiences, Gülen‟s appeal could be mysterious. He speaks in Koranically inflected
Turkish, and his theology can seem like a blend of bumper-sticker slogans about love, peace,
tolerance, and interfaith dialogue. “His charisma comes from his emotion,” one former follower
explained. “He cries, he reacts quickly and unpredictably, he shows all of his emotions. For
Westerners, this might be difficult to understand. But for Muslims it can be magical.”
In a kind of verbal sleight of hand, Gülen sometimes quotes people‟s accounts of speaking to the
Prophet, giving the impression that he was the one who had the divine encounter. “I was doubled
over with the troubles of Muhammad‟s followers and especially the Turkish people,” Gülen said,
in one sermon. “Then I cleared my mind and said „O Muhammad, what will become of us?‟ All
of a sudden, Muhammad graced me with his appearance. This wasn‟t a dream.”…..
In the early years of Erdoğan‟s tenure, he and Gülen shared an interest in finding a place for
Islam in public life, but they collaborated only sporadically. Then, in the spring of 2007, Erdoğan
and the military had a dramatic confrontation. After he attempted to nominate an Islamist
confidant as President, the office of the chief of the general staff posted a memorandum on its
Web site. “It should not be forgotten that the Turkish armed forces are a side in this debate and
are a staunch defender of secularism,” it said. “They will display their convictions and act openly
and clearly whenever necessary.”
Instead of backing down, Erdoğan denounced the military, called for an election, and won
decisively. Still, he was terrified that the generals, backed by the secular establishment, would
come after him again. “The Gülenists saw an opportunity,” Ibrahim Kalın, an Erdoğan aide, told
me. “We were newcomers. When our party came to power, the only thing it had was the support
of the people. Our party did not have any access to state institutions—no judiciary, no security
forces.” Gülen, with his supporters in the bureaucracy, was an appealing ally. He and Erdoğan
began to work together more closely.
March/April 2013
Erdogan’s Grand Vision: Rise and Decline
Hillel Fradkin and Lewis Libby
“A great nation, a great power”—the recent Fourth General Congress of Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan‟s AKP party proclaimed this ambitious goal for 2023, the hundredth
anniversary of the founding of the Turkish Republic. The Congress celebrated Erdogan‟s
leadership and reelected him as party chairman. With his party‟s backing, and through a
prospective new constitution that will create a powerful “presidential system,” Erdogan expects
to preside over the anniversary celebrations as president of a transformed Turkey that dominates
the Middle East.
But what would be the shape of Erdogan‟s golden age?
Would Turkey be a moderating influence on political Islam, in particular on the Muslim
Brotherhood parties now dominant in much of the new Middle East? Will Erdogan make the
country a unique Islamic liberal democracy that will reconcile the Muslim world to the West?
Or is he presiding, as a growing number of observers fear, over an Islamist transformation of
Turkey that would put it at odds with the West as it consolidates a “neo-Ottoman” regime? Those
who worry about such an outcome find a portent in his remarks—well noted in Turkey but not
elsewhere—at his party‟s recent Congress. There, Erdogan urged the youth of Turkey to look not
only to 2023, but to 2071 as well.
This is a date that is unlikely to be meaningful for Westerners, but is evocative for many Turks.
2071 will mark one thousand years since the Battle of Manzikert. There, the Seljuk Turks—a
tribe originally from Central Asia—decisively defeated the leading Christian power of that era,
the Byzantine Empire, and thereby stunned the medieval world. At the battle‟s end, the Seljuk
leader stepped on the Christian emperor‟s throat to mark Christendom‟s humiliation. The Seljuk
victory began a string of events that allowed the Seljuk Turks to capture the lands of modern
Turkey and create an empire that would stretch across much of Palestine, Iraq, Syria, and Iran.
In evoking Manzikert, Erdogan recalled for today‟s Turks the glories of their aggressive warrior
ancestors who had set out to conquer non-Muslim lands and, along the way, fought off the hated
Shias of their day to dominate much of the Middle East. Manzikert is thus not an image of a
peaceful and prosperous liberal state that sways others by its example of tolerance, virtue, and
goodwill.
Rather it indicates that as part of his vision of Turkish power and glory, Erdogan seeks to reverse
the broad legacy of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who founded modern Turkey in 1923. The recent
AKP Congress aimed to celebrate Erdogan as a new and powerful kind of leader—now prime
minister, later president—of Turkey, one ready to abandon Ataturk‟s secular state structures and
Western orientation. The warrior Ataturk warned against the allure of military victories; the
politician Erdogan invokes them.
Failed coup in Turkey: What you need to
know
By Gul Tuysuz
What exactly happened?
Late Friday, tanks rolled onto the streets of the capital, Ankara, and Istanbul. Uniformed soldiers
blocked the famous Bosphorus Bridge connecting the European and Asian sides of Istanbul.
Media outlets, including CNN Turk, said they'd been forced off air, and social media
experienced outages. Shortly before midnight local time, a faction of the military issued a
statement, saying the "political administration that has lost all legitimacy has been forced to
withdraw."
Watch CNN Turk's final moments on air before soldier shut it down
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addressed the nation via FaceTime. Speaking to a CNN Turk
anchor who held her phone so viewers could see it, he urged people to take to the streets to stand
up to the military faction behind the uprising.
"Go to the streets and give them their answer," Erdogan said.
Within a few hours -- during which gunshots were heard at the presidential palace -- the Turkish
National Intelligence unit claimed the coup was over. But not before 290 people were killed and
more than 1,400 people were injured.
Who is to blame?
Erdogan quickly blamed low-ranking military officers who rebelled against their superiors. He
later pointed across the Atlantic, to a small, leafy Pennsylvania town that is home to his bitter
rival: Fethullah Gulen, a reclusive cleric who leads a popular movement called Hizmet.
The 75-year old imam went into self-imposed exile when he moved from Turkey to the United
States in 1999 and settled in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania.
"I call on the United States and President Barack Obama. Dear Mr. President, I told you this
before. Either arrest Fethullah Gulen or return him to Turkey. You didn't listen. I call on you
again, after there was a coup attempt. Extradite this man in Pennsylvania to Turkey! If we are
strategic partners or model partners, do what is necessary," Erdogan said.
Supporters describe Gulen as a moderate Muslim cleric who champions interfaith dialogue.
Promotional videos show him meeting with Pope John Paul II in the Vatican in the 1990s. He
also met frequently with rabbis and Christian priests in Turkey.
Gulen has a loyal following -- known as Gulenists -- in Turkey, who all subscribe to the Hizmet
movement.
Hizmet is a global initiative inspired by Gulen, who espouses what The New York Times has
described as "a moderate, pro-Western brand of Sunni Islam that appeals to many well-educated
and professional Turks." Nongovernmental organizations founded by the Hizmet movement,
including hundreds of secular co-ed schools, free tutoring centers, hospitals and relief agencies,
are credited with addressing many of Turkey's social problems.
Why now?
Some analysts say a purge of high-ranking military officials loyal to Gulen was expected to take
place next month. That's the short answer.
The long answer is that Erdogan has made many enemies, including Gulenists who were his
allies for most of his tenure when he served as prime minister. In fact, it was with the help of the
Gulenists that he was able to carry out the previous military purge, which targeted secularist
generals and officers.
But after a fallout that started with the government trying to shut down Gulenist educational
centers and the Gulenists accusing senior administration officials of bribery, the friction between
the former allies became openly hostile. The government now categorizes the Gulenists as a
terrorist organization, called FETO. Over the last year, police ranks have been cleansed of
Gulenist officers.
Why didn't it work?
In a country that has experienced four coups and three coup attempts, most would say this
attempt was sloppy and disorganized. Erdogan has not backed down in the face of military saberrattling, like most administrations have. In fact, when the military disapproved his pick for
president, Abdullah Gul, Erdogan ordered a referendum and won.
While the would-be junta leaders managed to take over state broadcaster TRT on Friday night,
more widely watched news channels were still on air. The piece de resistance was Erdogan on
FaceTime, calling on his supporters to flood the streets of Turkey, thereby nullifying the junta's
declaration of martial law and a curfew. In fact, officials in Turkey are still calling on people to
stay in the streets and squares as a protective measure against any further attempts.
When it comes to Erdogan's popularity, his most ardent supporters routinely profess their
willingness to die for him. He's particularly popular among the poorer, more pious Muslim
women who wear the veil and newly prosperous Muslim businessmen.
In a rare display of cross-regional reach, Erdogan supporters straddle the entirety of Turkey.
While opposition leaders and parties tend to be regionally restricted, Erdogan has supporters in
large and small cities as well as across rural parts of Turkey.
Where does Turkey go from here?
Turkey now faces even more uncertainty. With Erdogan emerging victorious from the biggest
challenge a Turkish politician can face, he's in an even better position to consolidate his power.
While he has been pursuing his ambitions openly, there were still obstacles and challenges
ahead. But now, with the military purge already underway, there are concerns about whether it
will target the actual perpetrators of the coup or will turn into a bigger witch hunt for anyone
opposed to the President.
Police officer shows compassion amid chaos
The government has already arrested military commanders and members of the judiciary that it
alleges are "would-be junta collaborators."
Around 6,000 people have been detained and arrests will continue, according to Turkey's Foreign
Ministry. Responding to a crowd demanding the death penalty for the plotters, Erdogan said,
"We can't ignore the people's request in a democracy. This is your right."
Is Erdogan still popular?
Erdogan is loved and worshiped by a good half of the country. The other half detests him
passionately.
But coups have gone out of fashion in Turkey, which previously had a record of 10-year coup
cycles and poor economic performance that may have swayed even those who aren't really fond
of Erdogan to support him against the would-be junta.
The president successfully mustered large crowds of supporters who took to the streets in cities
across the country and in some cases confronted soldiers carrying out the coup.
In a sign of how little apparent public support the coup plotters had, even long-standing Erdogan
critics condemned the plot, and all three main opposition parties in Parliament denounced the
plot.
Turkey coup: Barack Obama backs President
Erdogan as world leaders express concern
The United States has called on all parties in Turkey to support President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan's government against a coup attempt by the military - with other world leaders
expressing concern about the upheaval in a Nato member country.
President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry spoke by phone and gave their
support to Mr Erdogan.
“The President and Secretary agreed that all parties in Turkey should support the democraticallyelected government of Turkey, show restraint, and avoid any violence or bloodshed,” the White
House said in a statement.
The situation remains unclear but there have been numerous reports of violence.
What does it mean for NATO, the world?
Turkey's NATO membership and its international commitments remain the cornerstone of Turkish
foreign policy. But if the power in Turkey becomes even more concentrated in Erdogan, the lines of
communication to the Turkish bureaucracy or other state institutions will be severely limited.
The United States has repeatedly said it supports the democratically elected civilian Turkish government,
but there is a host of ramifications. But there are concerns.
The United States has already expressed displeasure with Erdogan's anti-Western and authoritarians
tendencies. Now come concerns that Erdogan may use the coup to crack down on opposition and jail
dissidents. Already, 200 top Turkish court officials, including members of the Supreme Court, were taken
into custody despite a lack of evidence that any were involved in the coup.
There are also concerns that the upheaval could weaken ties between the countries' militaries, hinder the
fight against ISIS and bring more instability to the region.
The Turkish army has historically intervened in politics as it sees itself as the protector of
Turkey's secularism and democracy - there have been four military coups since 1960.
The military has had tensions with Mr Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) over its
brand of political Islamism. The president has also cracked down on free media and is seen as an
authoritarian by many people.
BBC Middle East Editor Jeremy Bowen also suggests the war in neighbouring Syria and its spill
over effects on Turkey, including jihadist attacks, may have been a factor.
The European Union and other countries, as well as human rights groups, have voiced
increasing concern about the crackdown. According to recent figures from the interior ministry,
more than 18,000 people have been detained since the coup attempt. Of those, more than 3,500
have since been released, a senior government official said. More than 66,000 people in the
wider civil service have been suspended from their jobs.
Turkey said on Wednesday the European Union was fueled by anti-Turkish sentiment and
hostility to President Tayyip Erdogan and was making grave mistakes in its response to a failed
coup which was costing it the trust of ordinary Turks.
Erdogan and many Turks have been incensed by what they see as the undue concern of Europe
over a crackdown after the abortive July 15 coup attempt but indifference to the bloody events
We have worked very hard towards EU (membership) these past 15 years. We never begged, but
we worked very hard ... Now two out of three people are saying we should stop talks with the
EU."
More than 60,000 people in the military, judiciary, civil service and education have been
detained, suspended or placed under investigation since the coup attempt, in which rogue
soldiers commandeered tanks and warplanes to try to take power.
Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern has said Europe needs to think again about Turkey's possible
EU membership.
"I am interested in a fundamental discussion," he said on Wednesday in an interview with
broadcaster ORF.
"That fundamental discussion is: Can we accept someone within the EU who does not adhere to
democratic standards, who has difficulty with human rights, and who ignores humanitarian
necessities and necessities regarding the rule of law?"
SYRIA
Turkish tanks and jets are attacking Kurdish YPG units in Syria.
And Turkey is forging ahead with Operation Euphrates Shield, announced in August, its attempt
to carve out a 2,000-square-mile buffer zone deep into Syrian territory.
Washington has beenattempting toappease Turkey by praising its contribution to the fight against
IS and its efforts to provide shelter to Syrian refugees, as well as noting its gratitude for Ankara
allowing the US-led coalition to use the strategically situated Incirlik Air Base, near the southern
city of Adana, to launch air attacks against IS.
Washington has warned its Kurdish allies not to confront Turkish forces:
Vice President Joe Biden said the Kurds, who Turkey claims intend to establish a separate state
along a border corridor in conjunction with Turkey‟s own Kurdish population, “cannot, will not,
and under no circumstances will get American support if they do not keep” what he said was a
commitment to return to the east of the River Euphrates.
IRAQ
Turkey has undermined American goals in Iraq by insisting on playing a role in the fight for
Mosul. For almost a year, American diplomats have sought to contain the crisis. They have
encouraged the Turks to respect Iraq‟s sovereignty and aid the fight against the Islamic State by
carrying out activities under the umbrella of the United States-led coalition. Turkey has sent
2,000 troops into Iraq, where they are watching the massive military operation aimed at
recapturing Mosul from the extremists. Baghdad maintains Turkey has violated its sovereignty
"The Iraqi foreign ministry has presented a request for an emergency meeting of the United
Nations Security Council to discuss the Turkish violation of Iraq's territory and interference in its
internal affairs," said a statement on the ministry's website.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey has insisted on a role in the battle for Mosul, trying
to ramp up an involvement in Iraq that has already alarmed the Iraqi government.“We have a
historical responsibility in the region,” Mr. Erdogan said in a recent speech, drawing on his
country‟s history of empire and defeat, from Ottoman rule of the Middle East to its loss in World
War I. “If we want to be both at the table and in the field, there is a reason.”
In response, the normally mild-mannered Iraqi prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, warned last
week of a military confrontation between Turkey and Iraq. If Turkish forces intervene in Mosul,
he said, they will not “be in a picnic.”
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey has insisted on a role in the battle for Mosul, trying
to ramp up an involvement in Iraq that has already alarmed the Iraqi government. "Now, he [alAbadi] says 'withdraw from here'. The army of the Republic of Turkey has not lost its standing
so as to take instructions from you," he said. “"Who's that? The Iraqi prime minister. First you
know your place! You are not my interlocutor, you are not at my level. It's not important at all
how you shout from Iraq. You should know that we will do what we want to do," he added.
New York Times
Turkey’s Push to Join Battle for Mosul
Inflames Tension With Iraq
By TIM ARANGO and MICHAEL R. GORDONOCT. 23, 2016
Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter says that the United States is trying to balance “our respect
for the sovereignty of Iraq” and “our respect also for Turkey‟s historic role in the region.”
Turkey, a Sunni power, also says it wants to protect ethnic Turkmens and Sunni Arabs in
northern Iraq and counter the presence of Shiite Iran, which is dominant in Iraq and controls
several militias. More broadly, and in keeping with Mr. Erdogan‟s vision of reclaiming Ottoman
glory, Turkey wants to project influence in the region, in Iraq but also in Syria, where in August
the Turkish military intervened to push the Islamic State out of the city of Jarabulus.
At times, Mr. Erdogan has seized on the issue of Mosul to highlight century-old grievances that
linger from the end of World War I, when Western powers divided the former Ottoman lands of
the Middle East. “We did not voluntarily accept the borders of our country,” he said.
He has also referred to a manifesto from the last Ottoman Parliament, as the empire crumbled,
claiming Mosul as part of Turkey.
“Our most important task is to teach this to a new generation,” he said recently.
And Turkey is at the very heart of it, trying to unmake the WWII settlement that denied it the
Mosul buffer and ignited 100 years of Kurdish grievance.
Something else is motivating Turkey apart from the Kurds, and this goes back 100 years.
The Kurds were among the great losers after World War I, having failed to gain an independent
homeland as the conflict's winners scooped up the war spoils.
The Turks also emerged humiliated from the conflict, their once great Ottoman Empire shattered
and shared out among the victorious French, who took control of Syria and Lebanon, and the
British, who moved into Iraq and Palestine.
One The Great Powers, led by Britain, would have none of it. The British saw Mosul as an Arab
city built by Arabs. British diplomats and leaders also reasoned the Turks would threaten
Baghdad if it they got their hands on Mosul again.
So Turkey lost when the League of Nations ruled against it in 1926. But its obsession with Mosul
has not gone away.
What was dubbed "The Mosul Question" in the 1920s plagued the organization that was the
precursor to the United Nations.
Turkey desperately wanted to keep control of a city it had controlled for centuries and considered
vital to its image as a power. Mosul's people, it argued, were bound to Turkey by history, trade
and tongue.