MAIN PAGE: ‘Mein Kampf’ a Best Seller in Turkey

‘Mein Kampf’ a Best Seller in Turkey

Associated Press
Thursday, March 24, 2005

BY JAMES C. HELICKE, Associated Press Writer

ISTANBUL, Turkey – Turkish bookshops have a best seller, but some of
them are hesitant about giving it too much display.

It’s “Mein Kampf.”

The popularity of Adolf Hitler’s book, filled with anti-Jewish
diatribes and dreams of world domination, is puzzling some Turks. Does
it reflect rising anti-Semitic or anti-Western sentiment in Muslim
Turkey? Or anger over Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians and the
war in Iraq? Is it a backlash against the country’s moves to join
the European Union? Or does it simply offer a cheap thrill?

At least two new Turkish-language versions are out in paperback and
selling for as little as $4.50, but they could run into legal trouble.
They were printed without the permission of the Finance Ministry
of the German state of Bavaria, which was given control of Hitler’s
estate after World War II and is keen to suppress the book.

German diplomats in Turkey have been told to explore court action. “The
book ‘Mein Kampf’ should not be reprinted,” says Bavarian Finance
Minister Kurt Faltlhauser. “The state of Bavaria administers the
copyright very restrictively to prevent an increase of Nazi ideas.”

Last month the ministry said it was seeking legal action to stop the
book’s publication in Poland.

“Mein Kampf” ~W meaning “My Struggle,” was written in the 1920s and
has long been widely available in Arab countries, but no increase
in sales has been noted there lately. So Turkish analysts are hard
put to explain why tens of thousands of copies have been sold here
in recent months.

Lina Filiba, executive vice president of Turkey’s 25,000-member Jewish
community, called it “disturbing.”

She said price and media attention were major factors, but also
pointed to a “worrying trend” of anti-Semitic publications such as
“The Protocols of the Elders of Zion” being sold even in bustling
department stores.

“Metal Storm” by Orkun Ucar and Burak Turna, a novel imagining
a war between Turkey and the United States, is Turkey’s top
seller. Conspiracy theory books sell well and the press is extremely
critical of the United States and Israel.

Filiba tied the phenomenon to the European Union’s Dec. 17 decision
to open membership talks with Turkey, a move long sought by Turkish
governments but unpopular among those who fear it will expose their
country to permissive European influences.

“I think there’s an increase in anti-Semitic, anti-American, and
anti-foreigner feeling that has paralleled Dec. 17,” Filiba said.

Umit Ozdag, writing in the daily Aksam, worried that Turks feel
ill-treated by the West and are anxious as ethnic Kurds in Turkey and
neighboring Iraq are increasingly assertive. Some Turks, he wrote,
are finding comfort in Hitler’s claims that Germany lost the first
world war because of the Jews.

“Turks think they are being exploited. They are angry with the demands
of the European Union and United States. But those who anger them the
most are Kurdish nationalists,” he wrote. “Turks who think they’re are
being stabbed in the back read Hitler. That is a … very dangerous
development.”

At least two publishing houses, Emre and Manifesto, have released
cheap versions of “Mein Kampf.”

Oguz Tektas of Manifesto said it had sold at least 25,000 of its
print run of 30,000.

“It has nothing to do with anti-Semitism. Our only aim was commercial,”
Tektas said.

Esin Aka of the D and R bookshop chain said Thursday that the Emre
book, released five weeks ago, was No. 2 this week, after “Metal
Storm.” Senol Bilginan of the Bilgi store in Ankara said it was No. 3.

“The price is of course low. And the fact that it has been ordered
confiscated in some countries also helped,” he said. “Everyone is
buying it … Young people have an intense interest.”

Still, it’s not always easy to find. One D and R shop in Istanbul
buried it on a low shelf. The Dost bookshop in Ankara put it on a
high shelf, where the cover featuring a saluting Hitler couldn’t
be seen. The manager said he was selling about five books a day and
added he deliberately didn’t put it on the best-seller shelves.

“I saw the book on TV and got curious about Hitler’s life and decided
to buy it,” said Asli Ugur, 20, a university student.

She also bought a book about Che Guevara.

Associated Press writer Matt Surman in Berlin contributed to this
report.

;cid=487&ncid=487&e=4&u=/ap/20050324/ap_en_ot/turkey_hitler_s_book

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&amp

Benon Sevan: No money has been paid

Pravda.RU:World:More in detail

Benon Sevan: No money has been paid

10:36 2005-03-24

Leading members of the United Nations Security Council yesterday
demanded to know why the UN secretariat had offered to use Iraqi oil
revenues to pay the legal fees of Benon Sevan, the disgraced former
head of Iraq’s oil-for-food programme.

The UN said on Tuesday that it had promised to pay Mr Sevan reasonable
legal fees to ensure his co-operation with the Volcker Commission
(IIC), which is investigating allegations of fraud and mismanagement
in the multibillion dollar programme. It had proposed to cover the
costs from a special account funded by Iraqi oil revenues to administer
the oil-for-food programme, informs FT News.

Iraq and the United States questioned on Wednesday why the United
Nations offered to use Iraqi oil money to pay legal fees of the
U.N. official in charge of the scandal-tainted oil-for-food program.

At issue is a U.N. announcement on Tuesday saying it had offered to
pay Benon Sevan, the former head of the program, reasonable legal
fees to ensure his cooperation with a probe conducted by Paul Volcker,
former head of the Federal Reserve.

No money has yet been paid to Sevan. The United Nations said it
was questioning some of his reimbursement claims and would not pay
anything after Feb. 3 when the Volcker commission accused Sevan of
steering oil contracts to an Egyptian trader.

Mark Malloch Brown, the new U.N. chief of staff, told a news
conference the decision to pay the fees was made because of Sevan’s
responsibilities as head of the program and before any allegations
were made against him.

The Volcker commission also disputed a U.N. statement that it had
offered to pay legal fees to Sevan to get his cooperation, saying
Sevan was permitted to have an attorney because of the seriousness
of the allegations against him, publishes Reuters.

NR

Visite de Micheline Calmy-Rey en Turquie=?UNKNOWN?Q?R=E9conciliation

Schweizerische Depeschenagentur AG (SDA)
SDA – Service de base français
23 mars 2005

Visite de Micheline Calmy-Rey en Turquie Réconciliation sur fond
d’échanges économiques Avant-papier

Berne (ats) Le voyage de Micheline Calmy-Rey en Turquie, du 29 au 31
mars, doit consacrer le retour à des relations plus sereines entre
Berne et Ankara, après les tensions de l’automne 2003, selon les
observateurs. Les incitations à renouer le contact sont surtout
économiques.

La cheffe du Département fédéral des affaires étrangères (DFAE)
rencontrera mardi son homologue turc Abdullah Gül. Les deux ministres
feront “un large tour d’horizon” des sujets qui touchent les deux
pays comme “les droits de l’homme, les minorités ou les relations
économiques”, précise le conseiller diplomatique de Mme Calmy-Rey
Roberto Balzaretti.

Interrogé sur la possibilité que la conseillère fédérale aborde la
question du génocide arménien, il a répondu qu’il sera difficile
d'”éviter de toucher aux questions qui ont fâché par le passé”.

Un précédent voyage de Mme Calmy-Rey en Turquie avait été annulé en
septembre 2003, suite à la reconnaissance par le Grand conseil
vaudois des événements de 1915. En décembre 2003, le Conseil national
avait lui aussi adopté un postulat reconnaissant le massacre des
Arméniens par l’Empire Ottoman, suscitant l’ire d’Ankara.

“Leçons à l’étranger”

Françoise Saudan (PRD/GE), membre de la Commission des affaires
extérieures qui s’est rendue en Turquie en août, met en garde: “il
faut être extrêmement prudent, le génocide reste un problème latent
pour la Turquie tant qu’elle n’aura pas fait ce que nous avons fait
pour les fonds en déshérence”. “Je suis toujours mal à l’aise quand
la Suisse veut donner des leçons à l’étranger”, poursuit-elle.

“Mme Calmy-Rey ne va pas à Ankara pour ajouter aux tensions, mais
pour approfondir les relations entre la Suisse et la Turquie”, note
Jean-Jacques de Dardel, chef de la Division politique I du DFAE, qui
sera du voyage. “Les autorités turques sont devenues beaucoup plus
ouvertes face aux problèmes de leur société, le dialogue est
désormais possible”, souligne-t-il.

Mme Calmy-Rey et M. Gül doivent également aborder la question de
l’adhésion de la Turquie à l’Union européenne (UE). Si Ankara rejoint
l’UE, l’économie helvétique profitera d’un marché élargi, avait
estimé la cheffe du DFAE en décembre. Quant à la libre circulation
des personnes, son extension à la Turquie pourrait faire l’objet d’un
délai transitoire ou d’une dérogation permanente.

Les crises en Irak, pays voisin de la Turquie, et au Moyen-Orient
devraient aussi figurer au menu des discussions. Mme Calmy-Rey sera
en outre reçue par le président turc Ahmet Necdet Sezer pour une
visite de courtoisie.

Sud-est kurde

Au deuxième jour de son voyage, elle se rendra à Diyarbakir, la
grande ville kurde du sud-est “pour avoir une vue différenciée du
pays”, selon M. Balzaretti. Elle s’y entretiendra avec des
représentants locaux et des ONG. Mais, à la différence de ce qui
était prévu en 2003, elle n’examinera pas les projets de la Direction
du développement et de la coopération (DDC).

Ce volet de la visite avait été mal perçu par Ankara en 2003. Peu
après l’annulation du déplacement, les autorités turques avaient
accusé Mme Calmy-Rey de partialité envers la cause kurde pour s’être
entretenue avec un représentant de cette communauté à Lausanne.

Partenaire économique

Enfin au dernier jour de sa visite, Mme Calmy-Rey prononcera un
discours devant la “communauté commerciale Suisse-Turquie” à
Istanbul. “La Turquie est le partenaire économique le plus important
de la Suisse au Moyen-Orient. Chaque année une quarantaine de firmes
helvétiques s’y installent”, relève M. Balzaretti.

“Les investissements suisses sont bien présents en Turquie, notamment
dans la pharmaceutique et le textile”, renchérit Marcel Cavaliero,
président de la chambre de commerce Suisse-Turquie. Il pense
toutefois qu’il faudra attendre la visite du ministre de l’économie
Joseph Deiss en septembre pour assister à un “nouvel essor des
relations économiques” entre les deux pays.

–Boundary_(ID_r+NNz43N2XYbvSZkFrSngw)–

“Mesrop Mashtots” University To Fulfil In Stepanakert”Children Of Di

“MESROP MASHTOTS” UNIVERSITY TO FULFIL IN STEPANAKERT “CHILDREN OF DIASPORA” PROGRAM

STEPANAKERT, MARCH 23. ARMINFO. Head of NKR “Mesrop Mashtots”
university Donara Gabrielyan held today a press-conference dedicated to
university’s participation in an international exhibition of education
taken place in Yerevan. 26 Armenian and 1 Karabakh institutions of
higher education took part there.

ARMINFO’s reporter in Stepanakert informs that the exhibition was
organized by the Armenian Ministry for Education and Science and
“EXPO SERVICE” OJSC. The university was awarded a diploma for active
participation in the action and signed numerous agreements with
several Armenian universities.

Gabrielyan noted that the university takes an active part in regional
conferences and seminars organized by Russian Embassy in Armenia,
cooperates with Armenian University of Management and Information
Technologies, American University of Armenia, German Cultural Center
after Goethe, Hamburg University, University of M.L.King (Germany),
Association of Armenian Engineers and Scientists of the USA (AAESA)
and the Research Group of Armenian International Policy.

“Mesrop Mashtots” intends to fulfil in Stepanakert the “Children
of Diaspora” program to enlarge and strengthen Diaspora-Karabakh
relations. A three-day conference on the topic of “The role of Karabakh
in the formation of Russian-Armenian relations” will be organized by
the university in Stepanakert in October, 2005. Scientists from Russia
and Southern Caucasian countries will be invited to the conference. “We
have a goal to show our longstanding friendly relations with Russia,
to tell about Karabakh, to give a new impulse to our current ties,
and to establish the new ones”, Gabrielyan noted. -r-

Georgian president arrives in Ukraine for official visit

Georgian president arrives in Ukraine for official visit

AP Worldstream
Mar 24, 2005

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili arrived in Ukraine on Thursday
for talks with Ukraine’s President Viktor Yushchenko aimed at expanding
cooperation between the two Western-oriented ex-Soviet republics.

Joint energy and transport projects were expected to dominate
negotiations when the two presidents meet Friday, but the unfolding
events in Kyrgyzstan were also likely to be on the agenda. Both
countries have offered to mediate.

Protesters in the Kyrgyz capital seized control of the presidential
and government headquarters on Thursday, reportedly prompting President
Askar Akayev to flee the country and tender his resignation.

The upheaval in Kyrgyzstan has been likened to last year’s Orange
Revolution protests in Ukraine and the 2003 protests in Georgia that
helped usher opposition leaders into power. Those protests were also
sparked by allegations of widespread election fraud.

During his visit to Ukraine, due to end early Saturday, Saakashvili
was also expected to meet with Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and
Parliament Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn.

Both Saakashvili and Yushchenko have advocated a pro-Western course.
They have also talked about reviving a loose trade grouping of five
ex-Soviet republics. In addition to Ukraine and Georgia, the group
also includes Armenia, Azerbaijan and Moldova.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Celebrate Persian New Year at Glendale College

Celebrate Persian New Year at Glendale College

Valley Sun, CA
March 24 2005

IN TRADITION – A Nowruz (Haft-seen) table is a display of seven
articles placed on the table representing life, health, happiness,
prosperity, love, joy and beauty.

The Glendale Community College Persian Club presents a Nowruz Baazar –
a celebration of the Persian New Year – on March 29 from 10 a.m. to
2 p.m. in San Rafael Plaza on the GCC campus, 1500 N. Verdugo Road
in Glendale.

The club will have several booths to represent the different aspects
of the Persian culture such as a Haft-seen table, a beautiful display
of seven articles with their names starting with S to represent life,
health, happiness, prosperity, love, joy and beauty; and a Chay Khaneh,
a traditional tea house that is a place to relax, eat, drink and talk –
mostly for men. The strings of history, philosophy, music, culture and
art are all attached to the walls of this cozy yet profound setting.

The Persian Club will also host Persian artist Badri Borghei for
the Nowruz Festival. In 1997, Borghei was recognized by the YWCA of
Greater Los Angeles and received a proclamation from former Mayor
Richard Riordan. Her artworks have been used in lectures by professor
Michael Hillman at Texas State University at Austin. More information
about her work can be found at

Displays of Persian musical instruments such as the tombak, tar, daf,
darieh and santoor will also be featured.

A display of Persian hand crafts, miniature frames, statues, Persian
rugs and samovar will also be featured.

Shiraz, one of the most beautiful and historical cities of Iran,
will have its own booth with a display of artwork, foods and pastries.

Books such as “Iran, the Ancient Land,” with beautiful pictures of
different parts of Iran, “Shahnameh” by Ferdowsi, in English and
biographies of great Armenian characters as Hafez and Khayam willbe
available.

Children are an important part of the Nowrus celebration. The
Persian Club will have Haji-Firuz, a disguised face character in
bright red clothes, singing and entertaining the children. His red
costume symbolizes the blood and tragic fate of the legendary Prince
Siavush and the rebirth of the god of sacrifice, while his happiness
and singing represent his joy at being reborn.

Persian foods will also be be sampled, such as Basmati rice with
safran, kabob, chicken, ashe-reshteh (traditional Persian soup),
ashe-balghoor, and more. For dessert, a traditional Persian ice cream
will be served as well as Persian pastries.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

www.badriborghei.com.

Russia ready to actively help in resolving Karabakh problem

Russia ready to actively help in resolving Karabakh problem
By Vasily Deyev

ITAR-TASS News Agency
March 24, 2005 Thursday

MOSCOW, March 24 — Moscow is ready for a most active contribution
to the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh problem both in bilateral
format and as a co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk group, Foreign Ministry
spokesman Alexander Yakovenko said on Thursday.

Russia “welcomes the restoration of the Armenian-Azerbaijani
dialogue at various levels, foremost between the presidents of the
two countries,” Yakovenko said.

It should result in a rapprochement of the parties’ position on the
key settlement aspects and, ultimately, should help work out a formula
of a mutually acceptable settlement of the conflict, he added.

Commenting on Russian-Armenian cooperation, the spokesman noted that
“serious attention is paid to the coordination of efforts aimed at
boosting political interaction in fighting terrorism.”

In addition, an exchange of opinions is underway over intensifying
cooperation within the scope of the Collective Security Treaty
Organization, and further strengthening of the CSTO in the face of
new challenges and threats.

CIS problems and interaction at the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe and other international organizations occupy
an important place in the contacts between Moscow and Yerevan.

Russia and Armenia also focus on coordinating their efforts in
normalizing the situation in the Caucasus, including within the
framework of the “Caucasian Four.”

It helps create an atmosphere of trust and settlement of the existing
conflicts by political means, according to Yakovenko.

“Relations in the region should be built on the basis of good
neighborly ties and the wish to ensure peace, security and mutually
advantageous regional cooperation in all spheres,” the diplomat said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Russian Foreign Ministry on Russia’s relations with Armenia

Russian Foreign Ministry on Russia’s relations with Armenia
By Vassily Deyev

ITAR-TASS News Agency
March 24, 2005 Thursday

MOSCOW, March 24 — Relations between Russia and Armenia have taken
on the character of strategic partnership in recent years and their
dynamics is encouraging, Alexander Yakovenko, the ministry’s official
spokesman said on the eve of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit
to Armenia.

“We have developed a practice of holding regular meetings between
the two countries’ officials, and bilateral contacts are marked by
the spirit of trustworthiness,” Yakovenko said.

“Fruitful cooperation between Russia and Armenia has a solid
legislative foundation – the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and
Mutual Assistance and almost 160 inter-state and inter-governmental
agreements and declarations,” he said.

The two countries have named 2005 the Year of Russia and Armenia,
and in 2006 Russia will host the Year of Armenia.

“Exchange of reciprocal programs like the year of one country in
another country always envisions many large-scale events,” said
Yakovenko.

“Our nations are bonded by friendship that has lasted centuries
and hase stood the test of time and historic battles [with common
enemies],” he said.

“It’s quite symbolic that the Year of Russia in Armenia has begun
on the eve of the 60th anniversary of victory in World War II,”
Yakovenko indicated.

Spartacus

South China Morning Post
March 24, 2005

Spartacus

Kevin Kwong

Auditorium, Sha Tin Town Hall Tomorrow-Sat, 8pm, Sat-Sun, 3pm

In 1981, at the age of 21, Irek Mukhamedov became the youngest man
to dance the leading role in Spartacus with the Bolshoi Ballet. He’s
now in town to perform this piece that earned him a place in Russian
ballet history – giving it a 21st-century twist with help from the
Hong Kong Ballet.

The name Spartacus is, in the ballet world, forever associated with
the great Russian choreographer Yuri Grigorovich. But the work is
more than three decades old and it’s time for an update.

Mukhamedov, who is now London-based, has returned to the original book
by Raffaello Giovagnoli and devised a new scenario that’s free from
the “political considerations” of the Soviet Union that had dictated
the work in the past.

According to the Hong Kong Ballet, the production will depend more
on lighting than physical scenery, to allow maximum use of space
for dancing.

So it’s only appropriate to put John A. Williams in the lighting
design hot seat. Having trained with one of England’s oldest theatre
companies, the Bristol Old Vic, Williams became its head of lighting
and went on to light more than 250 local and international productions,
including West End and Broadway shows.

Williams is no stranger to the Hong Kong Ballet, having lit numerous
shows for the company, including Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty.
Spartacus will feature top dancers, including principals Nobuo Fujino
and Faye Leung. Both have performed overseas, with Fujino recently
picking up the Hong Kong Dance Awards best performance prize presented
by the Hong Kong Dance Alliance.

Set to a score by Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian, Spartacus
features a demanding choreography for male dancers, including epic
battle scenes, gladiator fights and romantic pas de deux. This new
work is sure to add sparkle to the Hong Kong Ballet’s increasingly
unique repertoire.

The Crescent and the Cross – Communities of God

Global Politician, NY
March 24 2005

The Crescent and the Cross – Communities of God

3/25/2005

By Sam Vaknin, Ph.D.

“From the beginning, people of different languages and religions
were permitted to live in Christian lands and cities, namely Jews,
Armenians, Ismaelites, Agarenes and others such as these, except that
they do not mix with Christians, but rather live separately. For
this reason, places have been designated for these according to
ethnic group, either within the city or without, so that they may
be restricted to these and not extend their dwelling beyond them.”
Bishop Demetrios Khomatianos of Ohrid, late 12th century and early
13th century AD

“The Latins still have not been anathematized, nor has a great
ecumenical council acted against them … And even to this day this
continues, although it is said that they still wait for the repentance
of the great Roman Church.”

“…do not overlook us, singing with deaf ears, but give us your
understanding, according to sacred precepts, as you yourself inspired
the apostles … You see, Lord, the battle of many years of your
churches. Grant us humility, quiet the storm, so that we may know
in each other your mercy, and we may not forget before the end the
mystery of your love … May we coexist in unity with each other,
and become wise also, so that we may live in you and in your eternal
creator the Father and in his only-begotten Word. You are life, love,
peace, truth, and sanctity…” East European Studies Occasional Paper,
Number 47, “Christianity and Islam in Southeastern Europe – Slavic
Orthodox Attitudes toward Other Religions”, Eve Levin, January 1997

“…you faced the serpent and the enemy of God’s churches, having
judged that it would have been unbearable for your heart to see the
Christians of your fatherland overwhelmed by the Moslems (izmailteni);
if you could not accomplish this, you would leave the glory of your
kingdom on earth to perish, and having become purple with your blood,
you would join the soldiers of the heavenly kingdom. In this way,
your two wishes were fulfilled. You killed the serpent, and you
received from God the wreath of martyrdom.” Mateja Matejic and Dragan
Milivojevic, “An Anthology of Medieval Serbian Literature in English”,
Columbus, Ohio: Slavica, 1978

Any effort to understand the modern quagmire that is the Balkan must
address religion and religious animosities and grievances. Yet, the
surprising conclusion of such a study is bound to be that the role of
inter-faith hatred and conflict has been greatly exaggerated. The
Balkan was characterized more by religious tolerance than by
religious persecution. It was a model of successful co-habitation
and co-existence even of the bitterest enemies of the most disparate
backgrounds. Only the rise of the modern nation-state exacerbated
long-standing and hitherto dormant tensions. Actually, the modern
state was established on a foundation of artificially fanned antagonism
and xenophobia.

Religions in the Balkan were never monolithic enterprises. Competing
influences, paranoia, xenophobia and adverse circumstances all
conspired to fracture the religious landscape. Thus, for instance,
though officially owing allegiance to the patriarch in Constantinople
and the Orthodox “oikumene”, both Serb and Bulgarian churches
collaborated with the rulers of the day against perceived Byzantine
(Greek and Russian) political encroachment in religious guise. The
southern Slav churches rejected both the theology and the secular
teachings of the “Hellenics” and the “Romanians” (Romans). In turn,
the Greek church held the Slav church in disregard and treated the
peasants of Macedonia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Albania to savage rounds
of tax collection. The Orthodox, as have all religions, berated other
confessions and denominations. But Orthodoxy was always benign – no
“jihad”, no bloodshed, no forced conversions and no mass expulsions –
perhaps with the exception of the forcible treatment of the Bogomils.

It was all about power and money, of course. Bishops and archbishops
did not hesitate to co-opt the Ottoman administration against
their adversaries. They had their rivals arrested by the Turks or
ex-communicated them. Such squabbles were common. But they never
amounted to more than a Balkanian comedia del-arte. Even the Jews –
persecuted all over western Europe – were tolerated and attained
prominence and influence in the Balkan. One Bulgarian Tsar divorced
his wife to marry a Jewess. Southern Orthodox Christianity (as opposed
to the virulent and vituperative Byzantine species) has always been
pragmatic. The minorities (Jews, Armenians, Vlachs) were the economic
and financial backbone of their societies. And the Balkan was always a
hodge-podge of ethnicities, cultures and religions. Shifting political
fortunes ensured a policy of “hedging one’s bets”.

The two great competitors of Orthodox Christianity in the tight market
of souls were Catholicism and Islam. The former co-sponsored with the
Orthodox Church the educational efforts of Cyril and Methodius. Even
before the traumatic schism of 1054, Catholics and nascent Orthodox
were battling over (lucrative) religious turf in Bulgaria.

The schism was a telling affair. Ostensibly, it revolved around
obscure theological issues (who begat the Holy Spirit – the Father
alone or jointly with the Son as well as which type of bread should
be used in the Eucharist). But really it was a clash of authorities
and interests – the Pope versus the patriarch of Constantinople, the
Romans versus the Greeks and Slavs. Matters of jurisdiction coalesced
with political meddling in a confluence of ill-will that has simmered
for at least two centuries. The southern (Slav) Orthodox churches
contributed to the debate and supported the Greek position. Sects
such as the Hesychasts were more Byzantine than the Greeks and
denounced wavering Orthodox clergy. Many a south Orthodox pilloried
the Catholic stance as an heresy of Armenian or Apollinarian or Arian
origin – thus displaying their ignorance of the subtler points of
the theological debate. They also got wrong the Greek argumentation
regarding the bread of the Eucharist and the history of the schism.
But zeal compensated for ignorance, as is often the case in the Balkan.

What started as a debate – however fervent – about abstract theology
became an all out argument about derided customs and ceremonies.
Diet, dates and divine practices all starred in these grotesque
exchanges. The Latin ate unclean beasts. They used five fingers
to cross themselves. They did not sing Hallelujah. They allowed
the consumption of dairy products in Lent. The list was long and
preposterous. The parties were spoiling for a fight. As is so
often the case in this accursed swathe of the earth, identity and
delusional superiority were secured through opposition and self-worth
was attained through defiance. By relegating them to the role of
malevolent heretics, the Orthodox made the sins of the Catholics
unforgivable, their behaviour inexcusable, their fate sealed.

At the beginning, the attacks were directed at the “Latins” –
foreigners from Germany and France. Local Catholics were somehow
dissociated and absolved from the diabolical attributes of their
fellow-believers abroad. They used the same calendar as the Orthodox
(except for Lent) and similarly prayed in Church Slavonic. The only
visible difference was the recognition of papal authority by the
Catholics. Catholicism presented a coherent and veteran alternative to
Orthodoxy’s inchoate teachings. Secular authorities were ambiguous
about how to treat their Catholic subjects and did not hesitate
to collaborate with Catholic authorities against the Turks. Thus,
to preserve itself as a viable religious alternative, the Orthodox
church had to differentiate itself from the Holy See. Hence, the
flaming debates and pejorative harangues.

The second great threat was Islam. Still, it was a latecomer.
Catholicism and Orthodoxy have been foes since the ninth century.
Four hundreds years later, Byzantine wars against the Moslems were
a distant thunder and raised little curiosity and interest in the
Balkan. The Orthodox church was acquainted with the tenets of Islamic
faith but did not bother to codify its knowledge or record it. Islam
was, to it, despite its impeccable monotheistic credentials, an exotic
Oriental off-shoot of tribal paganism.

Thus, the Turkish invasion and the hardships of daily life under
Ottoman rule found Orthodoxy unprepared. It reacted the way we all
react to fear of the unknown: superstitions, curses, name calling. On
the one hand, the Turkish enemy was dehumanized and bedevilled. It
was perceived to be God’s punishment upon the unfaithful and the
sinful. On the other hand, in a curious transformation or a cognitive
dissonance, the Turks became a divine instrument, the wrathful
messengers of God. The Christians of the Balkan suffered from a post
traumatic stress syndrome. They went through the classical phases of
grief. They started by denying the defeat (in Kosovo, for instance)
and they proceeded through rage, sadness and acceptance.

All four phases co-existed in Balkan history. Denial by the many
who resorted to mysticism and delusional political thought. That
the Turks failed for centuries to subdue pockets of resistance (for
instance in Montenegro) served to rekindle these hopes and delusions
periodically. Thus, the Turks (and, by extension, Islam) served as
a politically cohering factor and provided a cause to rally around.
Rage manifested through the acts against the occupying Ottomans of
individuals or rebellious groups. Sadness was expressed in liturgy,
in art and literature, in music and in dance. Acceptance by conceiving
of the Turks as the very hand of God Himself. But, gradually, the
Turks and their rule came to be regarded as the work of the devil as
it was incurring the wrath of God.

But again, this negative and annihilating attitude was reserved to
outsiders and foreigners, the off-spring of Ishmael and of Hagar,
the Latins and the Turks. Moslem or Catholic neighbours were rarely,
if ever, the target of such vitriolic diatribes. External enemies –
be they Christian or Moslem – were always to be cursed and resisted.
Neighbours of the same ethnicity were never to be punished or
discriminated against for their religion or convictions – though
half-hearted condemnations did occur. The geographical and ethnic
community seems to have been a critical determinant of identity even
when confronted with an enemy at the gates. Members of an ethnic
community could share the same religious faith as the invader or the
heretic – yet this detracted none from their allegiance and place in
their society as emanating from birth and long term residence. These
tolerance and acceptance prevailed even in the face of Ottoman
segregation of religious communities in ethnically-mixed “millets”.
This principle was shattered finally by the advent of the modern
nation-state and its defining parameters (history and language),
real or (more often) invented. One could sometimes find members of the
same nuclear family – but of different religious affiliation. Secular
rulers and artisans in guilds collaborated unhesitatingly with Jews,
Turks and Catholics. Conversions to and fro were common practice,
as ways to secure economic benefits. These phenomena were especially
prevalent in the border areas of Croatia and Bosnia. But everyone,
throughout the Balkan, shared the same rituals, the way of life, the
superstitions, the magic, the folklore, the customs and the habits
regardless of religious persuasion.

Where religions co-existed, they fused syncretically. Some Sufi
sects (mainly among the Janiccary) adopted Catholic rituals, made
the sign of the cross, drank alcohol and ate pork. The followers of
Bedreddin were Jews and Christians, as well as Moslems. Everybody
shared miraculous sites, icons, even prayers. Orthodox Slavs pilgrims
to the holy places in Palestine were titled “Hadzi” and Moslems were
especially keen on Easter eggs and holy water as talismans of health.
Calendars enumerated the holidays of all religions, side by side.
Muslim judges (“kadis”) married Muslim men to non-Muslim women and
inter-marriage was rife. They also married and divorced Catholic
couples, in contravention of the Catholic faith. Orthodox and Catholic
habitually intermarried and interbred.

That this background yielded Srebrenica and Sarajevo, Kosovo and
Krajina is astounding. It is the malignant growth of this century. It
is the subject of our next instalment.

End

Sam Vaknin, Ph.D. is the author of Malignant Self Love – Narcissism
Revisited and After the Rain – How the West Lost the East. He served
as a columnist for Central Europe Review, PopMatters, Bellaonline,
and eBookWeb, a United Press International (UPI) Senior Business
Correspondent, and the editor of mental health and Central East Europe
categories in The Open Directory and Suite101.