VZCZCXRO3287
RR RUEHDA
DE RUEHAK #5669/01 2711328
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 281328Z SEP 06
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9053
INFO RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 1374
RUEHDA/AMCONSUL ADANA 1158

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 005669 
 
SIPDIS 
 
EUR/PPD: CFITZGERALD, INFO EUR/UBI, ECA 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KPAO KISL SCUL TU
SUBJECT: Turkish Culture Wars Heat Up 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  Starting with a front page article in the 
liberal newspaper "Radikal", secular media outlets in Turkey raised 
alarms over a set of translated children's classics that allegedly 
feature "Islamist influence".  The works were approved by the 
Ministry of Education, which prompted editorials and stories about 
creeping Islamism in Turkish primary education.  The media storm 
over these books - mostly accurate translations coming from 
Islamist-oriented publishing houses -- demonstrated the passions of 
the continuing "culture war" in Turkey.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) In an August 19 front page article, the liberal newspaper 
"Radikal" drew attention to a new box set of "100 Basic Classics" 
for children released recently by an Islamist publishing company. 
The article claimed that the firm, Damla Yayinevi, inserted Islamic 
and Turkic references into fairy tales and other pieces of classic 
western literature.  Several examples were given in the article, 
from a religious greeting in an Oscar Wilde novel to a Turkification 
of Heidi's grandfather's name. 
 
¶3.  (U) The book sets were certified by the Ministry of Education, 
giving schools the ability to purchase them directly.  The article 
noted that since each of the books is under ninety-six pages, they 
were not required to conform to several standards applied to normal 
books - for example, volumes of this length in Turkey are not 
required to list the translator, and there is no requirement for an 
International Standard Book Numbering (ISBN) code, making them 
harder to trace back to the original publishing house. 
 
¶4.  (U) Following the "Radikal" article, several other secularist 
newspapers jumped on the bandwagon.  On August 20, "Hurriyet" ran an 
article entitled "Islamic Makeup for 100 Basic Works" which pointed 
to several instances of Islamic influence in the books' translation. 
 
 
¶5.  (U) "Sabah" newspaper restated the arguments of the previous two 
articles on August 22, but then went further by tracking down a 
translator who worked on the set.  Ismail Bilgin, a geologist with 
the Istanbul Municipality who translated "Pinocchio" in his spare 
time, told the paper, "I used [this language] naturally.  Where is 
the suspicion in that?  In a ninety-six page book Allah is mentioned 
five or six times.  It's wrong to focus on that.  If there are 
errors, I will return and correct them." 
 
¶7.  (U) On August 30, Education Minister Celik responded to the 
growing criticism with statements denying that his ministry was 
attempting any ideological manipulation of the translated texts. 
Instead, the Minister placed responsibility on the publishers, 
saying, "These tactless publishing houses will be made to do the 
right thing."  In a speech to teachers, Celik announced that the 
books sets would be reviewed again by the Ministry's Education and 
Instruction Commission. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) The publishers of these volumes are widely considered to 
be Islamist.  Damla Yayinevi, the main focus of the "Radikal" 
article, publishes not only secular textbooks for children, but also 
volumes such as "Our Prophet's Life" and "Islam and Science".  On 
Damla's website, owner and founder Mehmet Dogru says that his 
"experiences, education, and exalted Islam" led him to pursue a 
career in publishing.  Nehir Yayinevi is another Islamist publisher 
singled out by the "Radikal" article.  It is more openly Islamist, 
publishing many books focused on Islam for children, including "I 
Love Allah" and "The Six Part Islamic Interpretation Set". 
 
¶9.  (SBU) In spite of the social leanings of the publishers, 
however, the charge of deliberate manipulation of these works is 
debatable. Quick comparisons of the English versions of these works 
with the examples of "Islamism" cited by the Turkish press shows 
that the translations are by and large accurate.  Since most of the 
books were written over 100 years ago, they depict the more 
consciously religious order of the day.  In "Heidi", for example, 
the main character is often heard praying and engaging in religious 
discussions with her elders.  The translation of these books merely 
puts these passages in context for younger readers used to hearing 
"Allah" instead of the more secular "Tanri", the religiously neutral 
term for a deity. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Emin Gurkan, who oversees textbook publishing for the 
Ministry of Education, told PDOff that he didn't consider this 
"issue" to be a scandal.  He said, "There were over 200 titles 
authorized for publication by the Ministry of Education, but none 
are required reading.  The Ministry has never checked the 
translations for accuracy.  Mostly they just look to see if the 
names match."  Gurkan stated that the secular media is "cherry 
picking" books with a more religious bent to begin with, while 
ignoring several other books in the series about Chinese communism 
and liberal thought.  "The columnists of Turkey have their own view 
of secularism," he commented, "but that is not necessarily the view 
of the state.  The rules about checking translations for accuracy 
have slipped somewhat under this government, bt that is probably 
not a function of ideology" 
 
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¶11.  (SBU) Comment:  The recent "battle of the books" reflects 
ongoing tensions between social and ideological communities and 
groups in Turkey.  "Kadrolasma", or "cadre-ization" is a word that 
came into vogue in Turkey in the 1970s.  It has been used by the 
secular elite since then to describe in alarming terms the 
infiltration of government ministries (in particular the Ministry of 
Education) by ideologues.  Charges of "kadrolasma" are a frequent 
staple of the secular press, often leveled at Islamists, 
nationalists, and right-wing politicians in general.  This latest 
uproar over translations is yet another iteration of Turkey's 
"culture war", pitting secular elites bent on preserving the 
ideological purity of the education system against Islamist 
influence. End Comment. 
 
WILSON