The Turkish – U.S. Relationship

Contrary to many of the comments I’ve received while in the U.S., Turkey is not a land of covered women and turbaned men willing to trade five camels to bring me back to their village. A walk down Istiklal Caddesi, Istanbul’s main shopping drag, reveals Turks who would look surprisingly familiar to Americans—jeans abound (including the Turkish brand Mavi), piercings, Puma Sneakers, and other styles common to the U.S.

In fact, I’ve perceived more embracing of material and cultural aspects of U.S. life than I’ve seen in Athens and London, for example. While cross-cultural fashion and education emulation seems to be alive and well, there are other aspects of the Turkish – U.S. relationship that have taken a heavy hit over the past five years. Anti-Americanism is on the rise in Turkey. The main focus of the anger is toward the Bush Administration and the Iraq War.

With the majority of Turks unable to afford international travel or obtain necessary visas, their perceptions of the U.S. will be molded largely by books, movies, and television. From what I’ve seen and heard in those categories, relations are likely to get worse. Irfan Erdoğan (no relation to the current Prime Minister, as far as I know) is a popular Turkish author who writes about social problems in the U.S. One open-minded PhD student that I spoke with wanted to know if what Erdoğan wrote was true. Some of Erdoğan’s main points? Obesity is a problem in the U.S. – can’t argue that one. Education is too expensive—true, although there are options. Violence within the family is common—this one I argued, but realized that when compared with the unconditional love that Turkish families seem to give each other, and especially their children, the bickering and yelling that accompany even the most loving of U.S. households could be perceived as such.

The real point is not whether Erdoğan’s writings are true or not. For many Turks, these writings might be their closest encounter with America—being able to hear an American’s point of view can be a rare opportunity. The main point is that Erdoğan’s books are not alone. There are many such books circulating within Turkey. Fiction such as the popular “Metal Storm” depict the U.S. attacking Turkey in year 2007, in what many Turks see as a probable scenario. To read an article about Metal Firtina and anti-Americanism in Turkey click here

The movie Kurtlar Vadisi is making headlines worldwide. From its origins as a TV series, the spin-off story of the 11 Turkish special operations forces arrested by U.S. troops for allegedly planning to assassinate the Kurdish governor of Kirkuk has captured Turkish attention. I have not yet seen the widely-shown movie, but it is a good indicator of how Turks perceive the implications of the military involvement on their southern border. Read more about the movie and the original incident here

Turn on the television, as happened while I visiting a Turkish family one evening, and you’ll see the mixed impressions that Turks are getting about the U.S. That evening we flipped back and forth between the un-tour-de-force, Cat Woman, and a CNN-Turk news story exploring treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. To say the least, neither of these programs cast the U.S. in its best light.

The family I was watching T.V. with is a well-educated, well-off family. Everyone speaks at least a little English, and one of the children is going to study in the U.S. this fall. However, the father was very passionate about his feelings about the Bush Administration (not good) and the continuing rise of anti-Americanism worldwide. Earlier that day a student I spoke with told me how badly she wants to move to New York. Later in the interview, when I asked what the majority of campus protests were about, she told me, with what I perceived as a bit of pride in her voice, that they are typically anti-American protests.



Anti-Americanism in Turkey is complicated, and can exist in the same person who covets an American lifestyle or education. Nor is anti-Americanism rational. Those who argue that anti-American sentiment has false foundations, or dismiss it because it is emotional or irrational are missing the point. Regardless of what it is based on, this burgeoning feeling is very real. And U.S. public diplomacy is atrophying. The below quote from the conservative Heritage Foundation website shows the lows to which American public diplomacy has fallen:

“While overseas opinion polls show mostly negative views of the United States, the State Department’s communications machinery remains in disarray. Congressional funding for public diplomacy programs has increased only slightly since 9/11, interagency coordination remains minimal, and America’s foreign communication efforts lack a focused strategy.[2] More worrisome, new programs may not be effective in confronting the array of security, foreign policy, and economic challenges emanating from the Middle East.” - August, 2005

I haven’t experienced any outright anti-Americanism while here. Everyone has been friendly and open. But beneath the surface there is anger in the population of a strategic ally—anger that the U.S. might want to take a little more seriously.

Faith-Based Organizations in Turkey

Yesterday I had the opportunity to meet with the women who work at Hanımlar Eğtim ve Kültür Vakfı (Women’s Education and Culture Foundation) in Istanbul. This organization provides services to poor women and children—families that for whatever reason lack a male parent. Some of the services the foundation provides include clothes, medical care, food, in-kind donations of furniture and other supplies, and playgroups for children. In addition, the foundation has a scholarship program for medical students, often from the countryside.

The foundation has been in operation for well over a decade, and was started by two women, one a doctor and one a tailor. During its operation, it has grown to employing 25 people with at least four times as many volunteers. The organization is run entirely by women out of the centuries-old Bayrampaşa Complex—a former school for whirling dervishes.

The foundation itself is one that is based on tenets of Islamic faith—that you have a responsibility to help those less fortunate than you, that you should not be able to sleep at night if your neighbor is hungry. While this is not a proselytizing organization—the Turkish government goes to extreme ends to ensure that—it is one that is based on religion, much like the Salvation Army in the United States. Many of the women who work there cover their heads; some do not. The foundation’s domain is the middle ground that sees their work as more important than any religious dogma that inspires it.

Regardless of how one feels about President Bush’s Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, faith-based organizations in many countries, the United States included, provide the majority of the services given to those in need. These organizations do not necessarily come into conflict with governments based on secularism (separation of religion and state) and laicism (subordination of religion to the state). Rather than serving as conversion grounds for religious zealots, many of these organizations channel their faith into projects to help the most needy.

For many people raised in a secular or laic mentality, myself included, the idea that government money can fund organizations with a moral imperative is frightening. At the same time, a moral imperative is providing a majority of food, clothes and shelter to those who need it most. Finding a balance between a government that doesn’t legislate morals and funding organizations that effectively alleviate poverty is a challenge of which we should all be aware.