During my previous week in Turkish 2241, I had the opportunity to read an excerpt from Edward Said’s Orientalism, and watch the third part of a PBS documentary titled, “Islam Empire of Faith”. Having absorbed the information from both the reading and the film, I was delighted to challenge my assortment of historical knowledge that has developed over my academic career, and to further analyze stereotypes that characterize the globally prevailing West vs. East conversation.
To first understand some of the contextual reasoning behind the development of a strong West vs. East divide, it is important to discuss some of the content presented in the PBS documentary. The very early growth of the Turkish empire, a modern-day derivative of the Ottoman empire, was strongly characterized by invasion, pillaging, and conquer. There was a strong emphasis of breeding warriors that could help to expand upon the steadily growing land that the Ottomans had control over, which was to the detriment of all of Europe, as it was the primary direction in which many Turkish sultans aimed their pathway for domination. This early targeting of many modern Middle Eastern countries posed no immediate threat to Europe as a whole, militarily or culturally, however, the sentiment quickly changed when Mehmed the Conqueror set his sights on Constantinople (modern day Istanbul). Although the siege lasted months, the eventual victory by the Ottomans signaled a massive shift in power dynamics of the continent, as Constantinople was a major religious and cultural treasure of Europe at the time. For instance, the Hagia Sophia, which was previously the under the jurisdiction of the Greek Orthodox Christian church, became an imperial Ottoman mosque. The significance of this change in ownership can be attributed to the fact that the Hagia Sophia was, at the time, the largest cathedral in the world, and as such, held a coveted spot in the religious hearts of all of Europe. Its conversion to a mosque signified a dramatic change in outlook of the European people toward the foreign Ottomans, who now rampaged all the way from Asia into their sacred city of Constantinople and took one of their most prized possessions. From this point, an agenda was established against those who came from the East, one that penetrated so deep into the levels of European society that eventually, as can be observed today, there were many prejudices and stereotypes that prevailed unconsciously in the minds of most people. An unfortunate propagation of these negative sentiments towards those that hail from Islam, the Muslim culture, and Turks, which were all intertwined to encompass one archetype that ignored the individuality of each group of people, was the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. While widely considered one of the greatest sultans of Ottoman history, his powerful reign witnessed the emergence of a double-edged sword for the people of the Ottoman empire, and it was the embracing of the arts and cultural commingling between Turks and Europeans. The massive expansion of architecture and artistic expression during the era of Suleiman was immense, as his art patronage invited creatives from around the world, especially Europe, to come tickle his fancy and impress him enough to be licensed for projects. Specifically, the modern-day city of Istanbul witnessed an artistic revolution unbeknownst to the world beforehand, as the riches of the Ottoman empire at its peak created almost limitless room for creativity and splendor to be formed throughout the city. Unfortunately, this became a time of Ottoman amazement and dependence on European excellence, and a time for Europeans to make hasty first impressions from their temporary experiences in a totally different environment. This led to the development of a new form of Oriental art that seemed to belittle and poke at the customs of the Ottoman culture, as well its people. Men and women were portrayed by the same tropes and stereotypes, and many cultural oddities were accentuated to seem even more strange, sensual, improper, or unfitting of “civilized” European society.
Briefly alluded to in the conclusion of the previous discussion, the progression of a European culture with a superiority complex toward Turks, and many Middle-Eastern and Asian ideologies, peoples, and cultures, became known as the phenomenon called “Orientalism”. Under this supposed understanding of a people, as Edward Said eloquently verbalized, there is no consideration of the rich historical and cultural complexity of an entire people, but instead, there is a focus on easily recognizable mannerisms, features, cultural practices, and general lifestyle characteristics that may not necessarily be accurate but portray people of the “East” as lesser or uncommon in some way. The misfortune that arises from this ideology, which is especially true today, is that there is very rarely a case where the positive differences of Middle-Eastern or Asian culture are highlighted or made prominent. For example, many modern films and TV-shows, which reach a broad global audience, generally portray the “bad-guys” as Muslim or Islamic radicals/terrorists, or some people that originate from the Middle-East, Asia, or portions of Africa. Furthermore, these people are always displayed as inept criminals, that always make some mistake that the hero takes advantage of and embarrasses the foes. While it can be argued that there is some truth to the character traits of the enemies, as they are meant to embody modern day terrorist cells and enemies of the “free world”, the constant generalization that ALL Muslims, or all people that follow Islam, or all Turkish people (who have been mixed into the same group as the previous two), are bad is unfair to the intricate and beautiful aspects of these cultures. As such, I believe it is regressive for modern global society to allow for the cultural divide that the East/West argument propagates, and instead of considering Turkey technically being in the East or a certain line where the West or East begins, we should begin to alleviate the misplaced distrust and stereotyping of regions of the world. Accordingly, I believe it is the responsibility of our generation, and those that come after, to challenge the harmful stereotypes that exist in the world, and to begin spreading awareness of the beauty of different peoples, places, and cultures.