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From the Sabaha region,
which overlooks Sanaa from the west and constitutes a vital outlet to the port
of Al-Hudaydah on the Red Sea, the Ottoman (Turkish) armies invaded Sanaa twice
to tighten their grip on it — in 1538 and again in 1849. Perhaps it was there
that the commanders of both armies paused to take a first look at a national
capital that they were about to turn into merely another capital for a new
Ottoman vilayet (administrative division).
About This Article
Summary :
Turkish
influence in Yemen, which has continued since Ottoman times, has proven to be
a divisive topic among the Yemeni public.
Original Title:
Turkey: The New-Old Actor in Yemen Author: Farea al-Muslimi Posted on: September 13 2013 Translated by: Pascale Menassa and Sahar Ghoussoub |
Today, in that same
region, a new tall building stands alone on the eastern side of Mount Asser,
with a huge sign on which is written “International Turkish School of Sanaa.”
This school stands
witness to the long history of Yemeni-Turkish relations, which is perhaps the
longest-standing between any two countries in the world, despite their
differences.
Naser Taha
Mustafa, director of the Yemeni president’s office and former head of the
Syndicate of Yemeni Journalists, said on his personal Facebook page that while
his grandfather was Turkish, that has not had a negative effect on how he has
been treated and regarded as a national Yemeni figure. Hundreds of Turks who
stayed in Yemen after the departure of Turkish troops from Sanaa in 1918 were
integrated into the highly tolerant Yemeni society, in the wake of Turkey’s
defeat in World War I.
Just as some Turkish
descendants are government officials, some old Turkish buildings are still
being used by the Yemeni government. The headquarters of the Yemeni army’s high
command uses an old Turkish building that was renovated and expanded. A Turkish
monument that faces the western gate of the building was erected three years
ago, standing witness to a relationship founded on common religion.
In Yemen, you can still
hear an old man talking about heroic adventures and stories of wars against the
Turks. At the same time, however, his elderly wife will still be wearing
Turkish-style dress that was popular for a while in Sanaa, yet is now only
common among old women resisting change.
Moreover, some words in
the local Sanaa dialect have Turkish roots such as kindara, which
means shoes. Salta, a traditional Yemeni dish that is still very
popular, was the food of choice among the Turkish army decades ago.
The topic isn't simply
about history. Even Turkey's current affairs resonate in Yemen and have their
pros and cons. Yemenis became divided between supporters and opponents of
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Islamic government as a result of
the government’s response to the Taksim Square protests in June. The rift soon
widened as a result of the Egyptian army’s ouster of President Mohammed Morsi,
a member of the Muslim Brotherhood strongly backed by Erdogan.
Any discussion of
Turkish-Yemeni relations cannot overlook the historical memory between an
invader and a country occupied by the power of weapons, even if spreading Islam
was the pretext under which Turkey invaded Yemen. Such justification is
illogical, because Yemenis adopted Islam decades before Turkey; it then spread
throughout the country and citizens did not stray from their religion. Thus,
there was no reason for the Ottoman Empire to impose Islam on Yemenis.
Turkey: weapons
and jihadists
Whenever Turkey is
mentioned today in Yemen, the first word that comes to mind is “weapons,” in
reference to the multiple [illegal] weapons deals that were revealed
during the past two years, before smugglers were able to succeed in bringing
weapons into Yemen. These arms include thousands of pieces manufactured in
Turkey. At the same time, other deals coming from Iran to Yemen were unveiled,
although neither country claimed responsibility. Moreover, “Turkish pistols”
have become popular in Yemen among those who are accustomed to carrying
personal weapons.
Despite the contradiction
between the Turkish and Iranian positions in Yemen and the region in general,
Saudi media outlets have accused Turkey of cooperating with Iran and Qatar to
smuggle arms to Yemen.
According to the Saudi daily Al-Sharq, “Turkey has recently appeared as a
strong player — alongside Qatar, Iran and Israel — and has managed to
coordinate with Qatar and share several important roles in smuggling arms to
Yemen through the same networks that have been active for many years in the
western part of the country.”
However, these
accusations are not necessarily accurate, and come in the framework of Saudi
Arabia’s disputes with Ankara regarding their differences in position toward the Muslim Brotherhood —
which Riyadh publicly regards as an enemy. Yet, what is certain and constant is
that Turkish arms are being smuggled to Yemen through huge deals, whether in
the framework of regional coordination with those countries or without. Turkish
President Abdullah Gul objected to Iran’s meddling in Yemen when he visited Sanaa
less than a year ago, and expressed his shock at the actions of some countries
trying to derail Yemen’s security and unity. Moreover, he confirmed that no
force can take away Yemen’s unity, security and stability, and Turkey does not
even want to hear of such thing.
Turkey’s supervision and
support of the recruitment of Yemeni militants, with the cooperation of Yemen’s
Muslim Brotherhood, was mentioned by local Yemeni newspapers at the time.
Moreover, Al-Sharq mentioned earlier that a Turkish
intelligence group is in Yemen to oversee the process of sending militants
from the Muslim Brotherhood to Turkey, to prepare them and take them to Syria
to fight against President Bashar al-Assad's regime. The newspaper also stated
that Turkish Airlines has added several direct flights from Yemen to Ankara to
transport militants. While the transport of militants used to happen
individually before, there are now large groups going there with the Yemeni
authorities' knowledge.
Turkey and the
Yemeni spring
During the mandate of
former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, Turkey worked on renovating and
maintaining archaeological buildings that go back to the era of the Ottoman
occupation of Yemen. Moreover, Turkey expanded its horizons of cooperation with
Yemen, and its annual exports to the latter reached into the millions of dollars. The Turkish president visited Sanaa
and gave Yemenis unprecedented emotional praise by saying, “Merely the
mention of Yemen in Turkey causes Turks to get shivers down their spines. All
Arab countries are our friends, but Turks know Yemen very well because of their
shared history and beautiful memories.”
Yemenis remained
impressed by the ruling experience of the Islamists in Turkey, until Ankara
revealed its public support for the Muslim Brotherhood, which led the
revolutions of the Arab Spring in several countries, including Yemen. Thus, the
position of Yemenis toward Turkey changed in line with their position on these
revolutions and on the Muslim Brotherhood’s takeover of power in several
countries.
When Turkey announced its
support for the Muslim Brotherhood in Yemen and opened its hospitals to treat
wounded members of the group, as well as when Nobel Peace Prize laureate (2011)
and Muslim Brotherhood member Tawakkol Karman was granted Turkish citizenship,
the country’s popularity increased among the Muslim Brotherhood and their
supporters in Yemen — to the point that Karman announced she was more proud of her Turkish nationality
than her Nobel Peace Prize. On the other hand, Ankara’s antagonism to other
parties — whether supporting the former regime or opposing the Muslim
Brotherhood — intensified, especially after the increased mutual visits between
officials of the two countries and the strictness of Ankara’s opposing position
to Assad’s regime in Syria and the new authority in Egypt. These latter
positions constitute the main reason behind the division of the Yemeni street
regarding these parties, whether collectively or individually.
Erdogan’s four-finger salute — which became the motto of the Muslim
Brotherhood in Egypt, and was soon adopted by hundreds of thousands around the
world — is also widely spread in Yemen. Pro-Turkey Yemeni parties have
announced their stances in favor of the Muslim Brotherhood, based on Turkey’s
policies in Egypt and Syria.
Turkey in the
Yemeni school curriculum
For decades, Yemeni
ninth-graders studied detailed chapters on the bloody and cruel reign of the
Ottoman Empire in Yemen and its unfair taxation system.
However, another
educational program was established in Yemen and lasted from the 1970s until
2001 when former President Saleh canceled it. It was called the scientific
institute program and was funded by the state budget. The program was run by
the Muslim Brotherhood, which developed its curriculum, presenting the Ottoman
era as the "Ottoman conquest of Yemen." Students were taught that the
conquest was to promote and spread the Islamic caliphate. It was not about
colonialism or invasion — the term conquest refers to the rule of the Islamic
state in non-Muslim countries for the purpose of spreading Islam, whether by
means of war or peace.
There was a significant
difference between these institutes and public schools in terms of what
students were taught about Ottoman Turkey. Public school textbooks were much
more thorough when it came to this topic.
The Turkish
school in Sanaa
Nearly half a decade ago,
the Turkish Embassy opened a private school in Sanaa, which now has branches in
Taizz and Aden. Two years ago, the school acquired its own building on the
western entrance to Sanaa, through which Turkish armies had entered, setting
the stage for its centuries-long rule.
Hundreds of Yemeni
students enrolled in this school. Some of them visited Turkey within the
framework of the school's program to spread and promote Turkish culture. For
three years, the school has been sponsoring a science contest for students in
Sanaa. The contest includes three subjects, yet excludes history, perhaps due
to the Turks’ sensitivity to this subject. Also, Turkey has recently started to
grant Yemeni students scholarships to various Turkish universities.
It seems that the history
of foreign influence in Yemen is playing out once again. While today the conflict
of power between Turkey and Iran has been reflected on the situation in Yemen,
both countries had colonial rule in Yemen.
The Persians — during the
era of the Sassanid Empire — invaded Yemen in the sixth century, while the
Ottoman Empire conquered Yemen 10 centuries later in the early 16th century.
Ottoman rule lasted until the end of World War I, and thus is fresher in the
minds of Yemenis than those of the Persians.
The coalition between
domestic conflicting parties and regional conflicting parties — which are seen
as extensions of the former — has strongly provoked a sense of nationalism
among Yemenis. Yet, Yemenis are well aware that this coalition will affect
Yemenis alone in the future — whether those who studied in the Houthi sessions
in Saada, those who graduated from the Turkish school in Sanaa or those who
stood on the fence between both sides.
The combination of
religion and politics, which characterizes current foreign intervention in
Yemen, threatens Yemeni social peace more than anything else — even more than
nuclear weapons. This is true because while this intervention is led from the
outside, its repercussions will have a major effect within the Yemeni borders
alone.
Farea al-Muslimi is a Yemeni youth activist, writer and
freelancer. His work has appeared in The
National, Foreign Policy, As Safir and many other regional and
international media outlets. On Twitter: @AlMuslimi
