Saturday, January 16, 2021
Alternate Kashmir
  • Login
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • National
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • J&K
  • Sports
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • National
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • J&K
  • Sports
No Result
View All Result
Alternate Kashmir
No Result
View All Result
Home Opinion

Pakistan is obsessed with a Turkish drama that glorifies the sword and distorts Islamic history

AK News by AK News
June 10, 2020
in Opinion
0
Pakistan is obsessed with a Turkish drama that glorifies the sword and distorts Islamic history

‘Dirilis: Ertugrul’ reinforces a dangerous delusion celebrating conquest and imperialism.

Written by Pervez Hoodbhoy,

A Turkish drama series brimming with tribal intrigues, blood, murder, and conquest – all wrapped in pious religious idiom – has taken Pakistan by storm. Filmed in Anatolia, Dirilis: Ertugrul is a 150-episode fictional account of Ertugrul Ghazi, father of the Ottoman Empire’s founder. As of June 5, the YouTube count for the 30th Urdu-dubbed episode had already clocked up 5.5 million views on Pakistan Television.

Even those who made Dirilis are astonished – and hugely pleased – at its tumultuous welcome. Tribal Turkmen fighting for a homeland can’t be expected to capture the imagination of millions in some far-off country. But Pakistan is different. Transfixed, entire families are spending evenings watching it together. They think it is wholesome entertainment and genuine Islamic history.

What history? This is a free-wheeling caricature of 13th-century Anatolia of which we know next to nothing. Facts are not important, says Mehmet Bozdag, the man who wrote and produced the series. To quote: “There is very little information about the period we are presenting – not exceeding four [to] five pages. Even the names are different in every source. The first works written about the establishment of the Ottoman State were about 100-150 years later. There is no certainty in this historical data…we are shaping a story by dreaming.”

That this serial is frankly propagandistic and ideologically motivated is beyond doubt. It has been manufactured for a purpose. But what purpose?

If it seeks to project Islam as a religion of peace and to counter Islamophobia, then the very opposite is achieved. The first scene of the first episode begins with sword-making and sword-sharpening in the background of nomadic tents. The tribe’s adversaries are Christians and Byzantines whose bloodied bodies lie scattered here and there after every fight. The hero, Ertugrul Ghazi, not only beheads several Knight Templars but also former associates from his tribe, such as Kurdoglu Bey, who he suspects of disloyalty.

Should we be surprised if IS-like organisations find this inspirational? Is glorifying the sword glorifying Islam? Islam can surely be represented in ways more positive than putting a spotlight on power struggles within a tribal society. Far better, for example, would be to build upon Turkish scholars like Ali Qushgi, Taqi-al-Din, or Al-Jazari. Without Islam’s early scholars the colorful tapestry of Muslim culture – and Turkish culture as well – would have been far poorer, its claim to being a great world civilisation weak and unconvincing.

Reimagining history

I suspect Dirilis’s real goal is less about Islam and more to vent Turkish nostalgia for a long-lost empire. Production demanded massive funding by the Turkish state. A horse farm was created, together with a special zoo-like area for the sheep, goats, nightingales and partridges that appear on the show. A Hollywood stunt team was hired to train actors for the movie’s staged fights. Erdogan and his family have repeatedly visited the filming site.

Understandably, from within the bastions of Sunni Islam the reaction to this blockbuster has been fiercely negative. Both the UAE and Saudi Arabia have condemned and banned the series, and Egyptian authorities have issued a fatwa decrying this “insidious attempt to re-impose Turkish tutelage” over Arab countries formerly under Ottoman rule. Currently, Saudi Arabia is reportedly funding a $40m counter series called Malik-e-Nar of which trailers have already been produced. Though inadequate it does make the point: Arabs cannot celebrate Turkish imperialism.

Most peoples don’t like invaders, but Pakistan’s psyche is somehow special. Perhaps overwhelmed by Erdogan’s aggressive style, Prime Minister Imran Khan proudly tweeted that Turks had ruled India for 600 years. Historians will raise their eyebrows – this is between quarter-true to half-true only. But it must be rare for a prime minister to hail imperial rule over his land.

Khan is not alone. Pakistan celebrates all post-eighth century invasions beginning with Mohammed bin Qasim’s conquest of Sindh in 712 AD. Urdu novelist Nasim Hijazi’s books, devoured by millions, are an ode to the Arab conquest of India. Like filmmaker Mehmet Bozdag, Hijazi’s strength lay in creating imagery unconstrained by facts.

How should one look at ancient invasions and imperial conquests? To laud or vilify them is equally irrational. India is a stunningly clear example of just how much a society can degenerate if it does that. Hindu revivalism is fixated upon the wicked foreign invader who shattered the seraphic heaven of Mother India. Suddenly all Muslims and Christians became unwelcome. As Narendra Modi’s right-hand man recently declared, foreigners are termites infesting a poor man’s grain store.

But do Hindutva’s mindless ideologues not know that all human civilisation began in Africa and there is no such thing as son of Indian soil? That every single human society on earth today is the result of countless conflicts, wars, and foreign invasions over tens of thousands of years? That even precision DNA tests cannot tell the difference between Hindus and Muslims? These basic lessons are for all, not just Pakistan’s rulers.

A mature attitude towards ancient foreign invasions would be to simply accept them clinically as facts of history. They should be investigated and absorbed without either glorification or condemnation. Doing otherwise is utterly pointless. No one living today can be held responsible for the actions, good or bad, of his or her ancestors. Moreover the mists of time have forever hidden true facts from view.

The creators of Dirilis: Ertugrul want us to wallow in the past glories of others and celebrate imperialism. Hook, line and sinker, we are mindlessly swallowing their proffered bait. This poisonous substance can only reinforce the dangerous delusion that going forward actually means going backward.

Instead, the way forward is to ask that Pakistaniat spring from Pakistan’s native soil. It must be rooted in the diversity of all our peoples and historically formed cultures. The year 1971 showed decisively the limits of pan-Islamism. Aping Saudi culture failed to create a viable Pakistani identity; aping Turkey won’t get us much further. Instead a strong national identity can emerge only if Pakistan embraces pluralism, accepts that Punjab is just another Pakistani province, and helps all citizens achieve a sense of belonging based upon a commitment to equality and justice.

This article first appeared on Dawn.

AK News

AK News

Related Posts

Uighurs tragedies & criminal silence of Muslim countries
Opinion

Uighurs tragedies & criminal silence of Muslim countries

October 12, 2020
Subsequent lockdowns widened learning gaps & impacted future of Children
Education

Subsequent lockdowns widened learning gaps & impacted future of Children

October 10, 2020
Ressurection Of Cinemas and Social Entertainment In Kashmir
J&K

Ressurection Of Cinemas and Social Entertainment In Kashmir

September 17, 2020
Next Post
Forces defuse IED found in Pulwama village

Shopian encounter: Two more militants killed, toll 5

Labourer electrocuted to death in Sopore

Body of missing trooper fished out from Jhelum river in Baramulla after five days

Govt evacuates 101,170 stranded JK residents

COVID-19: 1,18,891 residents stranded outside J&K evacuated so far, says Govt

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Follow Us

  • 21.4M Fans
  • 79 Followers
  • 46.4k Subscribers

Recommended

Covid-19: 18 people from discharged from hospital

12 more test positive for covid-19 in J&K

8 months ago
COVID-19 in India: Over 83,500 cases, more than 1,000 deaths in 24 hours; tally above 3.8 million

COVID-19: J&K reports over 1000 cases for the 5th day

4 months ago
Pakistan-Administered Kashmir Mentioned as ‘Azad Kashmir’ in Madhya Pradesh Board’s Class 10 Question Paper

Pakistan-Administered Kashmir Mentioned as ‘Azad Kashmir’ in Madhya Pradesh Board’s Class 10 Question Paper

11 months ago
It Is Time To Apply Chinese Model To Defeat Coronavirus In Kashmir: DAK

Asymptomatic coronavirus cases can infect others: DAK

9 months ago

Instagram

  • Photo by  amivitale   A kindergarten student looks up from beneath his cap on graduation day at the Willow Creek School in Willow Creek  Montana  Willow Creek became one of the first schools in the state   and the country   to reopen for in-person instruction  a decision made because Willow Creek is a rural community that had recorded no cases of COVID-19  Numerous safety protocols  including temperature checks  social distancing measures  and masks on faculty and staff  are in place  The educators are as much focused on the students  emotional well-being as academic progress  Follow  amivitale for more stories of hope and joy in the world   thephotosociety  schools  coronavirus  kindergarten  covid19  graduation
  • Photo by Saumya Khandelwal  khandelwal saumya   A guard stands watch from his post at a residence in Lucknow  India  which is in a nationwide COVID-19 lockdown  Follow me on  khandelwal saumya for more from South Asia
  • Photo by Diana Markosian  markosian   I   ve spent the past week in Milwaukee  Wisconsin  on assignment with  andycatarisano  meeting high school seniors who are finishing the school year at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic  Benny Draeger  18  from St  Francis High School  is one of them  On Friday  seniors took part in a celebration unlike any other before them  The school organized a parade  where seniors decorated their cars and drove around town as a way of celebrating the end of their year
  • Photo by  lynseyaddario   Pall bearers with African Caribbean Funeral Services in London lower the casket of a COVID-19 victim  Brandis Metcalf Roberts  who passed away after catching the virus in a care home following discharge from a hospital in West London  It was a double funeral for Roberts and his mother  Alexteen Alvira Roberts  who passed away of natural causes at 104 years old  Statistics show that people of color are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 both in the U K  and the U S  Across England  funeral directors of different faiths and backgrounds are working to maintain tradition and adhere to religious instructions for burial  To see more of my work  follow  lynseyaddario   insidenatgeo
  • Photo by Robin Hammond  Hammond Robin      I have faced a lot of violence  mob attacks  police cases   because of my sexuality     In 2009  Pearl  not his real name   a transgender man from Ghana  was arrested  When he refused to  confess  to being lesbian  he was handed over to a crowd  Gasoline was poured on him as he was marched to a bonfire  Moments before what would have been Pearl   s murder  his father arrived  saving him  However  fatherly love did not extend to accepting Pearl   s gender identity  The  cure  lay in prayer  it was decided  Pearl was sent to a prayer camp  He eventually escaped the camp and a father who would never accept him  Today he   s an activist for transgender rights  June  Pride month  marks the anniversary of the Stonewall riots of 1969  which changed    gay rights    in the U S  and beyond  Transgender people of color were at the forefront of the riots  Around the world  they are still fighting literally for their lives   BlackTransLivesMatter  For more stories of survival go to  whereloveisillegal
  • Photo by  beverlyjoubert   As we continue to adjust to a world that has been changed so profoundly in the past few months  it is remarkable how much solace we can find in nature   even those parts of nature that had seemed quite unremarkable to us before  Natural wonders can be found anywhere   we just need to train our eyes to see them  Take the most ordinary bird in flight  add golden sunlight to illuminate a fan of translucent feathers  let the shadows of the tree line do the rest  A snapshot of nature   s beauty   and a little moment to soothe the soul   nature  birds  photography
  • Photo by  estherhorvath   I m always interested in how people spend their free time in the most remote locations on our planet  Josefine Stakemann  a geophysicist  plays her violin while resident at Neumayer Station III  in Antarctica  Scientists there spend 15 months conducting research  Please follow  estherhorvath and  awiexpedition for more science stories   Check out Nat Geo s link in bio for more on this story
  • Video by  joelsartore I Found on all continents except Antarctica and Australia  flamingos are one of the most recognized bird species in the world  Flamingos like these  lincolnchildrenszoo live in large colonies  sometimes numbering into the thousands of individuals  In the wild  these colonies often occupy mud flats with nearby estuaries  as this habitat provides the birds with breeding sites as well as abundant sources of food and reduced competition  Follow this flock over to  joelsartore to see more species featured in the Photo Ark   flamingo  bird  pink  PhotoArk  savetogether
  • Photo by Michael Yamashita  yamashitaphoto   Troubled waters  The Mekong River is in crisis  at its lowest level since record-keeping began  A drought in the lower basin countries of Thailand  Cambodia  and Vietnam  coupled with new dams built upstream in Laos and China  has exacerbated a perilous water shortage largely caused by climate change  With the drastically reduced water levels affecting food crops grown on its banks  and fish stocks that have fallen sharply  many of the 60 million people who depend on it have been forced to give up their former livelihoods as farmers and fishermen  Here   s what the healthy banks of Luang Prabang looked like back in the 90s  when I traveled the river from its source on the Tibetan Plateau to its mouth in Vietnam   s Mekong Delta  Recent news sources are reporting that this section is currently unnavigable    LuangPrabang  Laos  MekongRiver

Categories

  • Business
  • Culture
  • Education
  • Health
  • J&K
  • National
  • National
  • News Brief
  • News By Region
  • Opinion
  • Other
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Videos
  • World

Topics

2018 FIFA World Cup 2018 League Asian Games 2018 Balinese Culture Bali United BJP Budgam Budget Travel Chopper Bike Coronavirus Covid-19 DDC polls Deaths DGP Farooq Abdullah Grenade attack Gunfight Health India Indian Army Istana Negara J&K Jammu and Kashmir JKPolice JK Police Kashmir Kashmir conflict Kulgam LoC Market Stories Mehbooba Mufti Militancy Militant Militants National Conference National Exam Pakistan PDP Poonch Pulwama Road accident Shopian srinagar Suicide Visit Bali
No Result
View All Result

Highlights

COVID-19 Vaccination: Dir SKIMS Dr Ahanger gets first vaccine shot among 4k health workers in J&K

COVID-19: 15,158 fresh cases, 175 deaths reported in India

10 Newspapers dis-empanelled by information department in Kashmir division, Says Joint director DIPR

Sarjan Barkati released from detention

‘Fake Orders’: Govt directs strict action against unscrupulous elements, CB probe

Five persons injured in Poonch accident

Trending

7 DCs Among 13 Officers Transferred in J&K
J&K

7 DCs Among 13 Officers Transferred in J&K

by AK News
January 16, 2021
0

Srinagar: Seven Deputy Commissioners were among 13 officers transferred by the government with immediate effect on Saturday....

Three militant associates arrested in Bandipora

5 militant ‘associates’ arrested for pasting threat posters in Tral

January 16, 2021
Police officer dies of cardio-pulmonary arrest in Kashmir capital

Police officer dies of cardio-pulmonary arrest in Kashmir capital

January 16, 2021
People with allergies can take Covid-19 vaccine: DAK

COVID-19 Vaccination: Dir SKIMS Dr Ahanger gets first vaccine shot among 4k health workers in J&K

January 16, 2021
COVID-19: J&K reports 198 new  cases, tally reaches 7695

COVID-19: 15,158 fresh cases, 175 deaths reported in India

January 16, 2021

© 2020 Alternate Kashmir – Designed by Aamir Ganaiee || Developed by Idrees Kema

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Politics
  • News Brief
  • Business
  • Culture
  • National
  • Sports
  • J&K
  • Travel
  • Opinion
  • Login

© 2020 Alternate Kashmir - Designed by Aamir Ganaiee || Developed by Idrees Kema

Welcome Back!

Sign In with Linked In
OR

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Sign Up with Linked In
OR

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In