HOW ARABS SEE ISTANBUL / GEOPOLITICAL FUTURES

How Arabs See Istanbul

By: Hilal Khashan



Istanbul strikes its visitors as the seat of an empire, not as the capital of a nation-state.

This ethnically diverse metropolis was too big for the type of state that Mustafa Kemal Ataturk founded during the War of Independence (1919-1923). For him, the current capital of Ankara suited his republican order better than Istanbul’s imperial legacy that he passionately sought to disband. For Turks, Istanbul is a cultural hub and the country's economic powerhouse.

Arabs have held Istanbul in high esteem for centuries as the seat of the Ottoman Empire, the last caliphal state. By the 19th century, British influence, pan-Turanism and pan-Arab nationalist movements weakened the Ottoman Empire beyond repair. Efforts to Turkify its Arabs after the Young Turk coup of 1908 caused them to lose faith in the empire, especially after Turkish nationalists abandoned the multiethnic composition of the state.

In response, people in Greater Syria and Iraq, the only remaining Arabic-speaking lands in the empire, turned to Arab nationalism and accepted it by default without understanding the complexity of the development of national identity.

Unaware of the 1916 Sykes-Picot agreement between Britain and France to partition Iraq and Greater Syria, the Hashemites in Arabia declared jihad against the Ottomans in the hope of establishing an Arab kingdom. Justified or not, this created a wedge between Arabs and Turks that has never fully healed. But the failure of Arab nationalism and the subsequent upheaval wrought by Islamist militancy seem to have endeared Turkey to the Arabs in recent years.

The change of heart began with the founding of the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, in 2001 and took off after Recep Tayyip Erdogan became prime minister in 2003 and then president in 2014.

Erdogan opened up to the Arab region as part of his foreign policy agenda dubbed “neo-Ottomanism,” a concept that refers to Istanbul’s former imperial holdings in the Middle East, the Balkans and the Caucasus. His behavior toward Israel was particularly attractive to some Arabs. In 2009, he stormed out of a meeting in Davos after clashing with Israel’s prime minister over the military offensive in Gaza. In 2010, he became something of a hero to Arabs after Israel killed nine Turkish activists aboard the Mavi Marmara, which was leading a flotilla to break the Gaza blockade.

Erdogan is, after all, an Islamist at heart. His gestures toward Arabs have been more genuine than rhetorical. His charismatic speeches harken back to former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, whose pan-Arab ideals won the hearts and minds of Arabs throughout the region. Under Nasser, Cairo became a mecca for Arab tourists. Under Erdogan, Istanbul has taken its place.

Istanbul, a captivating city that straddles Europe and Asia, keeps bringing Arabs back time and time again. Since the beginning of the Arab uprisings in December 2010, it has been not only a popular tourist destination but also a haven for Arab activists and opposition leaders who lost the fight to free their societies from the shackles of authoritarianism. Arabic is widely spoken, and visitors often think they are in a familiar place. Relative to the local population, there are more Arabs in Istanbul than in Dubai and more veiled women than in Beirut. Many shop signs and tourist attractions use Arabic, and businesses often recruit Arabic-speaking staff.

Istanbul has also become the city of choice for anti-government satellite TV stations. Dozens of Syrian, Libyan, Iraqi, Egyptian and Yemeni stations that cannot broadcast at home find Istanbul ideally suited to their audiences. Arab asylum seekers in Istanbul include religious activists, such as members of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood and Yemen's al-Islah Party, and secular-nationalist opposition leaders such as Ayman Nour, who, in December 2019, established the Egyptian National Action Group to bring down the current regime. In recent years, Istanbul has been a forum for Arab intellectuals and opposition leaders as political debate has disappeared elsewhere in the region.

Arab money is widely spent in the city. Refugees from the uprisings, escaping death, persecution and poverty, established a flourishing mini-Arab city in Istanbul's Aksaray neighborhood. Unemployed young Arabs desperate for opportunity sought refuge in Istanbul's metropolis. Others with life savings converged on Istanbul to open a family business or buy an apartment in the relative stability and security of Istanbul compared to their countries of origin.

Saudi Attorney-General Saud al-Mujib traveled to Istanbul in October 2018 to investigate the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi. That his two-day talks with Turkish officials turned into an exercise in stonewalling did not stop his visit from becoming a shopping success. He returned to Saudi Arabia with five large suitcases of merchandise and four packages of sweets.

Still, Arab heads of state such as those of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have their reasons for fearing Erdogan: His alleged, covert Islamic agenda intimidates them, especially as it becomes economically successful. They feel threatened by the AKP’s linkages to the Muslim Brotherhood, and Dubai sees Istanbul as a serious competitor in global air travel and tourism.

Refugees generally lose some status when they overstay their welcome in a host community, especially in an ethnic-nationalist environment such as Turkey's. There are at least 1.2 million Arab immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers in Istanbul. This figure excludes Turkish citizens of Arab descent. According to an Arab proverb, "He who leaves his homeland cries forever."

Even though Arabs and Turks share many cultural values, there are specific behavioral traits that set them apart and cause tension and resentment. Arabs are more likely to feel unwelcome in parts of Istanbul that are populated by secularists and nationalists than in districts such as Fatih that are staunchly pro-AKP. In 2016, the twitter hashtag “I do not want Syrians in my country” went viral, and embroiled Arabs in Istanbul and the rest of Turkey in the country's divisive politics.

Scapegoating against Arabs is common in Turkey. Much of the media and public blame Arabs in general and Syrians in particular for triggering the country's economic crisis. (In truth, a trade imbalance is to blame.) Swings in anti-Arab sentiment in Turkey are natural and can occur in any social setting, regardless of who governs Turkey. Arabs are likely to continue to converge on Istanbul, even though its scale is contingent on Ankara's ability to become an accomplished regional power.