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ARMENIAN GENOCIDE AND MODERN MEMORY
GetReligion
Sept 14 2011
The Daily Beast, a news and opinion website published by Tina Brown in
conjunction with Newsweek magazine, has weighed in on the diplomatic
spat between Israel and Turkey. In a piece entitled "The Erdogan
Doctrine", columnist Owen Matthews argues President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan and his ruling AK Party have been unfairly characterized as
villainous Islamist thugs. They have actually sought to build bridges
with Turkey's minority faiths, Matthews argues.
Yet the notion of Erdogan as a Jew-hating jihadi doesn't really fit.
Just before the current standoff, Erdogan sat down to dinner with
the leaders of Turkey's religious minorities, including the Chief
Rabbi of Istanbul, and promised to return thousands of properties the
Turkish state had confiscated from Christians and Jews in the past
century. He also made a point of praising the "vast diversity of the
people that have peacefully coexisted" in Istanbul. "In this city the
[Muslim] call to prayer and church bells sound together," said Erdogan.
"Mosques, churches, and synagogues have stood side by side on the
same street for centuries."
The Daily Beast is also somewhat overgenerous in describing what
Erdogan has offered: only the properties of Christian and Jewish
institutions seized since 1936 are under discussion. Neither the
property of individual Christians and Jews confiscated by the state
nor the wholesale expropriations of the 1920's are being reviewed.
The Daily Beast also uncritically relates Erdogan's words of religious
peace and harmony .. queue the video .. without offering context. The
prime minister is able to speak of religious harmony because Turkey's
religious minorities are all but extinct. In the home city of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople it would have been just as
easy for Erdogan to sit down to dine with all of the city's remaining
Orthodox Christians as with its minority religious leaders. An op-ed
in The Hill, "Religious Freedom for Turkey?" penned by members of
US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is less
sanguine about the prospects for Christians, Jews, and members of
minority Muslim sects, especially the Alawites than The Daily Beast.
Turkey's Christian minority has dwindled to just 0.15 percent of the
country. In the words of one church leader, it is an "endangered
species." In past centuries, violence exacted a horrific toll on
Turkey's Christians and their churches. This provides a frightening
context and familiar continuity to a number of recent high-profile
murders by ultranationalists.
Turkey's Jewish community also fears a reprise of past violence, such
as the 2003 al Qaeda-linked Istanbul synagogue bombings. Societal
anti-Semitism has been fueled in recent years by Erdogan's rhetoric
against Israel's activity in the Middle East and by negative portrayals
in Turkey's state-run media.
Today, however, it is the state's dense web of regulations that most
threatens Turkey's religious minorities.
And this brings me to the articles under examination. The
English-language editions of Turkey's two major daily newspapers, the
Hurriyet Daily News and Today's Zaman, offer stories on the re-opening
an ancient Armenian church located on an island on Lake Van in Eastern
Turkey. The Hurriyet Daily News has "Historical Armenian church hosts
service" from the Anatolia News Agency, the Turkish state wire service,
while Today's Zaman prepared an in-house version entitled "Armenians
hold second religious ceremony at Akdamar church."
Both pieces present a straight forward if slight account of the
festivities. The Church of the Holy Cross, a tenth century Armenian
Apostolic Church located on Akdamar Island in Lake Van, hosted its
second religious service since it was renovated in 2007. Between
2000-3000 attended the service and the reports note the island drew
30,000 tourists in 2010 (or are they pilgrims?) after the Turkish
government reopened the building as a museum.
Where things go wrong is when the Turkish correspondents attempt
to give some historical context to the story. The Hurriyet Daily
News states:
The church remained as part of a monastic complex until the beginning
of the 20th century. It was abandoned during World War I due to
fighting along the Russian border and was left in a bad condition
for many years.
While Today's Zaman notes:
The Armenian Church of the Holy Cross was a monastic complex until
1920s, but deteriorated in condition after being abandoned during World
War I. Upon a proposal by the Governor's Office of Van and approval
of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the church is expected to
now host annual religious services.
Armenians who lived in this province, located on the eastern shore
of Lake Van and in eastern Anatolia, were deported by Ottoman forces
in 1915. Armenians say 1.5 million Armenians were killed during a
systematic campaign in eastern Anatolia, while Turkey strongly rejects
the claims of genocide, saying the killings came as the Ottoman
Empire was trying to quell civil strife and that Muslim Turks were
also killed in the conflict. There are only around 60,000 Armenians
left living in Turkey, mostly in Istanbul.
Yes, the Church of the Holy Cross was abandoned during World War I.
The reason why it was abandoned was because the Turkish Army sacked the
monastery, killed the monks and drove off, or murdered, the Armenian
population in the region. Today's Zaman makes note of the Armenian
genocide, but states it is a contested point in history.
I very much doubt the heavy hand of the censor massaged these
passages. The Daily Hurriet is the principle opposition newspaper,
while Today's Zaman backs the Islamist government. What we see here
is a loss of memory. The genocide is not mentioned because its memory
has not been preserved in Turkey.
Journalism is a craft, a learned trade that has a pragmatic and moral
end. It informs while it also educates. If the press does not speak
the truth about the past, no matter how unpalatable this past may be
to nationalistic or religious sensibilities, it fails in its mission.
The bottom line: The absence of the Armenian Genocide from this
story, whether through ignorance, accident or design, means that
these articles fail the test of good journalism.
In his 1986 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, Elie Wiesel wrote:
"That I have tried to keep memory alive, that I have tried to fight
those who would forget. Because if we forget, we are guilty, we are
accomplices."
Buildings may survive, but memory of peoples fades away. A free press
should not be an accomplice.
Nota bene: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Yerevan bureau filed a
report that fills in the blanks. "Thousands Attend Armenian Church
Mass In Turkey"
Written by: geoconger on September 14, 2011.
http://www.getreligion.org/2011/09/armenian-genocide-and-modern-memory/
GetReligion
Sept 14 2011
The Daily Beast, a news and opinion website published by Tina Brown in
conjunction with Newsweek magazine, has weighed in on the diplomatic
spat between Israel and Turkey. In a piece entitled "The Erdogan
Doctrine", columnist Owen Matthews argues President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan and his ruling AK Party have been unfairly characterized as
villainous Islamist thugs. They have actually sought to build bridges
with Turkey's minority faiths, Matthews argues.
Yet the notion of Erdogan as a Jew-hating jihadi doesn't really fit.
Just before the current standoff, Erdogan sat down to dinner with
the leaders of Turkey's religious minorities, including the Chief
Rabbi of Istanbul, and promised to return thousands of properties the
Turkish state had confiscated from Christians and Jews in the past
century. He also made a point of praising the "vast diversity of the
people that have peacefully coexisted" in Istanbul. "In this city the
[Muslim] call to prayer and church bells sound together," said Erdogan.
"Mosques, churches, and synagogues have stood side by side on the
same street for centuries."
The Daily Beast is also somewhat overgenerous in describing what
Erdogan has offered: only the properties of Christian and Jewish
institutions seized since 1936 are under discussion. Neither the
property of individual Christians and Jews confiscated by the state
nor the wholesale expropriations of the 1920's are being reviewed.
The Daily Beast also uncritically relates Erdogan's words of religious
peace and harmony .. queue the video .. without offering context. The
prime minister is able to speak of religious harmony because Turkey's
religious minorities are all but extinct. In the home city of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople it would have been just as
easy for Erdogan to sit down to dine with all of the city's remaining
Orthodox Christians as with its minority religious leaders. An op-ed
in The Hill, "Religious Freedom for Turkey?" penned by members of
US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is less
sanguine about the prospects for Christians, Jews, and members of
minority Muslim sects, especially the Alawites than The Daily Beast.
Turkey's Christian minority has dwindled to just 0.15 percent of the
country. In the words of one church leader, it is an "endangered
species." In past centuries, violence exacted a horrific toll on
Turkey's Christians and their churches. This provides a frightening
context and familiar continuity to a number of recent high-profile
murders by ultranationalists.
Turkey's Jewish community also fears a reprise of past violence, such
as the 2003 al Qaeda-linked Istanbul synagogue bombings. Societal
anti-Semitism has been fueled in recent years by Erdogan's rhetoric
against Israel's activity in the Middle East and by negative portrayals
in Turkey's state-run media.
Today, however, it is the state's dense web of regulations that most
threatens Turkey's religious minorities.
And this brings me to the articles under examination. The
English-language editions of Turkey's two major daily newspapers, the
Hurriyet Daily News and Today's Zaman, offer stories on the re-opening
an ancient Armenian church located on an island on Lake Van in Eastern
Turkey. The Hurriyet Daily News has "Historical Armenian church hosts
service" from the Anatolia News Agency, the Turkish state wire service,
while Today's Zaman prepared an in-house version entitled "Armenians
hold second religious ceremony at Akdamar church."
Both pieces present a straight forward if slight account of the
festivities. The Church of the Holy Cross, a tenth century Armenian
Apostolic Church located on Akdamar Island in Lake Van, hosted its
second religious service since it was renovated in 2007. Between
2000-3000 attended the service and the reports note the island drew
30,000 tourists in 2010 (or are they pilgrims?) after the Turkish
government reopened the building as a museum.
Where things go wrong is when the Turkish correspondents attempt
to give some historical context to the story. The Hurriyet Daily
News states:
The church remained as part of a monastic complex until the beginning
of the 20th century. It was abandoned during World War I due to
fighting along the Russian border and was left in a bad condition
for many years.
While Today's Zaman notes:
The Armenian Church of the Holy Cross was a monastic complex until
1920s, but deteriorated in condition after being abandoned during World
War I. Upon a proposal by the Governor's Office of Van and approval
of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the church is expected to
now host annual religious services.
Armenians who lived in this province, located on the eastern shore
of Lake Van and in eastern Anatolia, were deported by Ottoman forces
in 1915. Armenians say 1.5 million Armenians were killed during a
systematic campaign in eastern Anatolia, while Turkey strongly rejects
the claims of genocide, saying the killings came as the Ottoman
Empire was trying to quell civil strife and that Muslim Turks were
also killed in the conflict. There are only around 60,000 Armenians
left living in Turkey, mostly in Istanbul.
Yes, the Church of the Holy Cross was abandoned during World War I.
The reason why it was abandoned was because the Turkish Army sacked the
monastery, killed the monks and drove off, or murdered, the Armenian
population in the region. Today's Zaman makes note of the Armenian
genocide, but states it is a contested point in history.
I very much doubt the heavy hand of the censor massaged these
passages. The Daily Hurriet is the principle opposition newspaper,
while Today's Zaman backs the Islamist government. What we see here
is a loss of memory. The genocide is not mentioned because its memory
has not been preserved in Turkey.
Journalism is a craft, a learned trade that has a pragmatic and moral
end. It informs while it also educates. If the press does not speak
the truth about the past, no matter how unpalatable this past may be
to nationalistic or religious sensibilities, it fails in its mission.
The bottom line: The absence of the Armenian Genocide from this
story, whether through ignorance, accident or design, means that
these articles fail the test of good journalism.
In his 1986 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, Elie Wiesel wrote:
"That I have tried to keep memory alive, that I have tried to fight
those who would forget. Because if we forget, we are guilty, we are
accomplices."
Buildings may survive, but memory of peoples fades away. A free press
should not be an accomplice.
Nota bene: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Yerevan bureau filed a
report that fills in the blanks. "Thousands Attend Armenian Church
Mass In Turkey"
Written by: geoconger on September 14, 2011.
http://www.getreligion.org/2011/09/armenian-genocide-and-modern-memory/