Cultural Genocide of Turkey
Dr. Pasha
Beginning from almost 1300, Christian, till 1920 -- a period of about 600 years -- a great big Muslim empire spanned parts of Asia, Africa and Europe.
It was known as the Ottoman Khilaafat, which was corrupted in English to read: Caliphate.
The word Ottoman also was a Western Corruption of the Muslim name Uthman, who was the man who founded the state known as Khilafat Uthmaniyyah.
Soon after World War I, a band of Military Officers under the leadership of Mustafa Kamal overthrew the Khilaafat Uthmaniyyah and ended the 600-year rule of the House of Uthman.
No sooner did he overthrow the Uthmaani Political Establishment, Mustafa Kamal also began to systematically and methodically dismantle the entire cultural and social fabric of Ottoman Turkish Society piece by piece, using brute force and coercion.
While I am not fully in possession of relevant details, much to my chagrin, I believe Mustafa Kamal banned the Traditional Turkish Dress and forced Turkish People to adopt European clothes and Western hats.
Arabic too I believe was banned, especially for Salaah and Adhaan.
Even Salaat or Namaaz in mosques was banned or limited or controlled for a certain period.
Calling of Adhan from the Minarets was stopped.
Arabic-Farsi Script of the Turkish Language was changed to Roman-European Script.
And many other things of this nature were imposed upon the Turkish People using brute force and coercive methods.
To me, this was perhaps one of the worst Cultural Genocides ever perpetrated on any people or society by any dictator, Muslim or non-Muslim.
And I think about it like this: How would the People of England or France or America react if they were told suddenly one morning that they could not were pants or skirts or fedoras or baseball caps?
And they could no longer speak English or French?
And they could no longer attend Sunday Services in Churches?
And violators were brutalized in the most barbaric manner?
I think about this and shudder. I keep asking myself how could something like this ever happen to any People: Muslim or non-Muslim?
The Poor Turkish People suffered from this forced Cultural Exile, Banishment and Deprivation so brutally perpetrated on them by Mustafa Kamal, and kept alive by his Military Successors, for close to a century.
Until the present government of the ruling Justice and Development Party, starting maybe with the year 2000 or shortly thereafter, slowly started to undo some of the most brazen Injustices and Barbaric Brutalities perpetrated on the Turkish People by Mustafa Kamal and his Military Successors.
I ask myself:
How much did a Slice of Humanity around the world cry tears of blood on this barbarity to which the Turkish People were subjected?
How much did World Political Leadership protest and object?
How much did World Media write about it and condemned and criticized it?
I wish I had the time, energy and resources -- and time and energy of course are resources too, and among the most valuable ones -- to study some of these things.
But it is clear to me that every child and adult everywhere, Muslim as well as Non-Muslim, should study and investigate these things scientifically and objectively, so that the Human Race as a whole can make a collective decision to never, ever let anything like this happen again to anyone else.
"Never Again!", did you say? More and before anything else, say that to and about the brutal and barbaric Cultural Genocide to which the Turkish People were subjected for close to a Century.
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