The sentence in the headline belongs to Alev Alatlı, the recipient of the Presidential literature award. During her speech after receiving her award she outlined the borders of the philosophy that should prevail in the 21st century. It wasn’t just a speech expressing her appreciation.
On the contrary, it was a comprehensive expression of intellectual foresight just like the one emphasized by Immanuel Wallerstein during an address in Doha last week about the end of liberal thought and the capitalist world.
She was drawing the borders of what needs to be done as the hierarchy of values is changed. It was an anti-capitalist speech and encompassed the idea that “Islam and capitalism cannot coexist,” which she has frequently mentioned in the past as well.
However, the speech was perceived in a very literal sense by the public. It was interpreted in a very undeserving manner. Turkey’s intellectual despotism once again twisted everything and delivered an immature reaction. As someone who understands Alatlı well, I couldn’t stop myself from saying this is what the opposition should do while listening to her speech.
On the other hand, the acrimony between the left and right in the world of Turkish literature, and the irresponsible attempts at besmirching by leftist literary circles, reared its head again with the granting of this award. The leftist literary lobby (extremely strait-laced and orthodox) displayed its usual discriminatory approach.
Anything that they don’t like (their criteria for liking is entirely associated with their sense of domination) is of no value.
Alatlı is not someone whose image will be tarnished in the eyes of her readers due to her Orwellian approach of thanking Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for accepting Syrian migrants. Quite the opposite, her readers will understand this better than most. Let alone the fact that the lack of conscience being displayed by the world with regard to Syrian migrants was documented in a report released a few weeks ago. Just 1.7 percent of the aid sent to them comes from western countries.
A lot of what she has written is out there in the open for those who read her work to see. There is no better writer than her to reveal the shallowness and mediocrity in the conservative segment. However, she is erudite enough not to succumb to the Galileo effect and will not hold back from voicing the truth, regardless of whether it benefits or doesn’t benefit some people.
She has explained this yet again in an interview that will be published in Yeni Şafak in the near future. I hope it will be comprehended.
IS THE OPPOSITION TO OTTOMAN TURKISH A WISE ACT?
Cahit Uçuk is a successful female author even though she is not a very renowned figure in Turkish literature. She has penned many stories and novels. I am not sure to what extent current generations are aware, but her book of memoirs titled “As an empire collapses…” is important in order to understand the spirit of the Republic.
I had the honor of interviewing her at her home in Beşiktaş before she passed away. She was the embodiment of a woman of the Republic. Her father was one of the last deputies in the Ottoman Meclis-i Mebusan (Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the Ottoman parliament), and had even back then served as a provincial governor. In her memoirs she explains her childhood that was spent in places where her father served as provincial governor, how she tried to emulate the children in the neighborhoods learning the Quran and how she would try to emulate the entire community observing the fast.
However, even in those years (before the formation of the Republic) her parents with their progressive thoughts prevented her from doing so and did not permit her to develop a religious sense. From what I can understand, the family was among the early-era positivists.
Her opposition to an Islamic lifestyle was formed in the environs where she was raised, but yet all her notes were in Ottoman Turkish. All the notes posted on the walls of her study, her books and telephone book were written in the old alphabet in Ottoman Turkish.
Even when I, out of peskiness, said, “Oh, so you write in Arabic;” she became very angry and explained at length that it wasn’t Arabic but Ottoman Turkish and that they were Turkish texts. This is because writing in Arabic was not something that she found very palatable. She wrote in Ottoman Turkish because writing in that alphabet, which she had learned in her childhood, was easier for her.
The fact that a woman, who embodied the spirit of the Republic in every fiber of her being, was still jotting down her notes in Ottoman Turkish in 2000, was a clear signal of the significance of continuity for a language and alphabet.
I recalled this while watching the debates on Ottoman Turkish and wanted to share it with you. As much gain as the language revolution has brought us, it has also cost us a lot in terms of severing our connection with our history.
I started to think of all the things I would be able to do if I knew Ottoman Turkish. For instance, I would have been able to read and understand by myself the newspapers published and books written by women in the 19th century instead of having to rely on a summary of an academic study. I would be able to personally attest that women’s rights did not just appear out of the blue and in a perfectly-formed shape in Republican Turkey.
I would be able to access the source material relating to our history instead of having to rely on the work -- which has been summarized and filtered by their views -- of academics who know Ottoman Turkish. I would be able to look at history on the basis of all sources available and not just by relying on Latinized books. I would be able to gain inspiration from reading the Siham-ı Kaza without the need to resort to a dictionary. I would be able to understand Itri’s famous compositions without the need to have it translated for me.
On the other hand, I am also sure that learning Ottoman Turkish would also benefit the language of opposition a lot. They would thus be able to become acquainted with Nef’i, the most critical poet of Ottoman Divan poetry.
Despite many technical shortcomings in regard to teaching Ottoman Turkish as a lesson, I consider it an important move in terms of “cultural” development and support it.
Ottoman Turkish is the junction where Arabic, Farsi and Turkish meet. Knowing Ottoman Turkish will also result in familiarity and closeness with all language groups, including Kurdish, in the Middle East.
