The West’s deadly identities

In mainstream media outlets across Europe and the United States, it is almost impossible to encounter critical articles about the genocidal crimes of Zionist Jews. During this period, it became clear that nearly all of the elite intellectuals who claim to represent Western civilization are aligned with the ideology of Zionism. This was something we could have anticipated, but the reality turned out to be far more chilling. To predict what kinds of consequences this will produce within Western civilization is, at least for me, not at all easy. Although there are countries such as Spain that have recently tried to step outside the dominant Western civilizational discourse and challenge it, we have not witnessed the emergence of a strong intellectual voice from the Latin world either. In this context, figures such as the jurist Francesca Albanese remain exceptions for now. I deliberately use the adjective “elite” for intellectuals. The question of how compatible the concepts of intellectual and elite really are is, of course, a separate debate, because elitism essentially corresponds to a class-based form of differentiation. Yet today it is evident that intellectuals like Noam Chomsky, who are presented as representatives of Western civilization, live intertwined with elite and corrupt classes. This, I believe, is a defining feature of the Anglo-Saxon era that still maintains its dominant position within Western civilization. After October 7, 2023, those who expected to hear a new word from the Anglo-Saxon–dominated Western world regarding what unfolded in Gaza waited in vain. Especially after the Second World War, the perspectives that came to dominate Oriental studies institutes were also shaped by elite classes. Today we understand much more clearly that the research grants allocated in these institutes had a class character. We had already seen that the knowledge produced about the East poisoned nearly all Western societies. They knowingly and deliberately established a link between Islam and terrorism and set out to market representations built on that link. From the very beginning, it was clear that these propaganda efforts were directed toward a specific purpose. Yet the images and representations produced found a very rapid resonance even in societies like ours that are inclined toward the West. Over time, we did not witness any sense of remorse for surrendering to the orientalist canon. In the end, only a very narrow circle opposed the genocide committed on the historic lands of Palestine. The majority merely revealed their doubts as to whether those outside Western civilization were even human. Together, in full view of the entire world, they ignored the crime of genocide and became preoccupied with safeguarding the existence of Zionist Israel. This was also a sign of how dogmatic and reactionary they actually were. In Türkiye as well, just as in the Western world, it is noteworthy that only a limited number of people are trying to renew themselves with a sense of remorse for having surrendered to the orientalist canon. Those here also made an ideological choice and internalized the ideologies they adopted without questioning them. Yet the ideology presented to the world by figures like Chomsky in fact carried an Anglo-Saxon identity and was a colonial ideology. Claims that the American century is coming to an end certainly need to be taken seriously. In fact, the publication of photographs of figures like Chomsky in the Epstein files is a highly significant indicator. Chomsky was, in one way or another, an intellectual of the American century. Along with the civilization he represented, he too needs to be questioned. This questioning must also be undertaken by Turkish intellectuals who have faith in an Anglo-Saxon–centered world. Recently, Taha Akyol advised the Muslim world to engage in self-confrontation in one of his columns. I thought it was not very clear where Akyol’s argument ultimately led. As far as I could follow, it also did not encounter any widespread objection. Yet the text could also be interpreted as calling for a confrontation with the Companions. In the final analysis, questioning one’s understanding of history is a matter of method, but praising Western civilization in ideological terms is something else entirely. We do not witness Akyol or similar figures expressing any remorse. In the 1990s, they adopted Anglo-Saxon liberalism as an ideology and entered into a competition to market it. Until very recently, they even attempted to repackage and sell the most famous ideologues of this ideology, such as Daron Acemoğlu, back to Türkiye as if they were saviors. They even gave the man an award. Reducing modern European history, by following Enlightenment philosophers, to a battle between light and darkness has truly produced deadly consequences. From now on, we will seek deadly identities within Western history itself. Criticism of Western civilization, it seems, should not be left solely to Western or Westernist intellectuals.