To Plato - Turkey's "secularism" as reflected in her national anthem

Submitted by Ianus (Poland), Apr 6, 2007 at 21:03

Dear Plato,

I'd like to add just one more little comment on Turkey as a deeply Islamic nation. If anything , then it is Turkey's national symbols that reveal what's under this police-imposed secular hijab. The Turkish flag as you know is nothing else than the old Ottoman flag. The national anthem ( İstiklâl Marşı ) composed and adopted during a time when Mustafa Pasha was not even a shadow of secularism on earth is equally eloquent as to what values were uphoeld and promoted by him. Every Turkish child learns and identifies themselves with these two basic symbols of Turkishness. So a glimpse into the Turkish anthem is by all means worth taking.

Look at this stanza e.g.

Oh glorious Allah , the sole wish of my pain-stricken heart is that, No infidel's hand should ever touch the bosom of my sacred Temples. These adhans , and these shahadas that my hearing is accustomed to, are the foundations of my religion, And may their noble sound last loud and wide over my eternal homeland. [ Ruhumun senden,ilahi , şudur ancak emeli; Değmesin mabedimin göğsüne na-mahrem eli! Bu ezanlar ki şahadetleri dinin temeli, Ebedi yurdumun üstünde benim inlemeli ]

And this one is most recommendable to Turkey's staunch allies ( first of all the USA) :

"The lands of the West may be armored with walls of steel, But I have borders guarded by the mighty chest of a believer. Recognize your innate strength, my friend! And think: how can this fiery faith ever be killed, By that battered, single-fanged monster you call "civilization"? [ Garbın afakını sarmışsa çelik zırhlı duvar, Benim iman dolu göğsüm gibi serhaddim var. Ulusun, korkma! Nasıl böyle bir imanı boğar. "Medeniyet!" dediğin tek dişi kalmış canavar? ]

To see the whole of this heart-felt poetry expressing the "grand" Turkish soul see :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/İstiklâl_Marşı

---

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".