"Nationalism has seemed to be on the rise amongst the Turkish public.
Novels like "Metal Storm," "World War III" and the popular movie "Valley of the Wolves Iraq," all of which are about brave Turks fighting against the U.S and other Western powers, were interpreted as signals of this rise in nationalism.
However, behind the scenes there is another and certainly more dangerous tendency fueled by the current government, the "ummah" ideology.
"Ummah" is an Arabic word meaning "community of believers." The Ottoman Empire, which was ruled according to Islamic laws and based on the supremacy of Muslims over people with different religious beliefs, could be considered an excellent example of the dominance of the "ummah" ideology.
Almost everybody, both in Turkey and abroad, forgot that the popular "heroes" of the movies and novels who defeated the "evil Americans" had a Muslim identity as well as a Turkish one."
"Why would the AKP government, which has carefully suppressed its Islamic tendencies for almost three years after coming to power, publicly turn toward the Muslim world in recent months?"
"Our American friends seemed to understand the reason more accurately than the Europeans. In a speech earlier this week in Washington, U.S. Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Matt Bryza underlined the crucial role of Turkey's European Union membership in countering radical Islam.
Educated Turks who want to belong to Europe and other moderate Muslims throughout the world agreed with Bryza's comments. Only the Europeans appear not to have noticed this dangerous run of events.
So, obvious European procrastination about Turkish membership to the EU has not only fueled nationalism in the country, but it also seems to have encouraged the rise of the "ummah" ideology. This could potentially be more dangerous for the future of the world."
The New Anatolian
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