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Future generations will look back at this time in human history with severe judgment.
Policies of religious hatred and intolerance are taking center stage, while those of solidarity and mutual aid, much needed in times of a global pandemic, have taken a hiatus.
The vacuum in global leadership, in a world run by capital and the pursuit of profit, has created an opportunity for Presidents Erdogan and Macron to believe in their sense of destiny to direct human history.
To relocate from the footnotes of history, these leaders have chosen the path of confrontation, stirring up religious and nationalist identities to elevate their perceived power.
The most recent dispute began with President Macron’s speech on October 2 that sought to address France’s complex balance of secular ideals and perceived incompatibilities with Islam. In describing “Islam in crisis,” Macron tried to address internal concerns by outlining new legal initiatives that will seek to combat “radical Islamism.” While not yet formally submitted, amendments to the 1905 French law on secularism will increase state control over the organization of the Islamic faithful by the French Republic, in part to “free Islam in France from foreign influences.” .
For Macron to combine a minority of Muslims who have extreme ideologies with the 1.8 billion followers of the wider faith is inflammatory and irresponsible. The response from Erdogan, the leader of a secular Muslim country, was swift. Removing the veils of diplomatic courtesy, he attacked the psychological health of the French president while calling for a boycott of French products in Turkey. While European leaders have fervently supported President Macron, leaders of the Islamic world are under increasing pressure to take a stand, even more so with Macron’s insistence not to “give up on cartoons” depicting the Prophet Muhammad. .
This latest round of confrontation, sparked by the brutal assassination of Samuel Paty, has reignited heated debates across the political spectrum. The murder of a teacher, for the performance of his duties, is a symbolic attack on education. In the same week, 24 Afghan students were killed at an educational center in Kabul. Fanatical attacks on these soft targets are a form of intimidation that must be countered at its source.
Macron and Erdogan, along with their contemporaries who prefer harsh words and confrontational actions, are paving a dangerous path for humanity.
French society is being drawn into a false dichotomy, with some intellectuals and communication channels directing the debate towards a false polarization. This false debate confronts radical secularists who apparently confuse state neutrality with religion by insisting on the erasure of religious obligations in public contexts and Islamogauchists who seek to downplay the fundamentalist elements among Islam adherents to one another.
Meanwhile, Macron, with his sights set on the 2022 elections, is trying to transform himself not just into leading France, but into an emerging global power, filling in the gap left by a Brexit-stricken Britain and a lonely America. . Germany’s strong silence towards Turkey, although there is talk of silent diplomacy, may be due to concerns of maintaining internal cohesion over the large Turkish minority in the country. Furthermore, French attempts to create a zone of influence through the EUROMED initiative, as well as the promise of large hydrocarbon reserves in the Mediterranean, are propelling the region into another crisis.
Erdogan, emboldened by the geopolitical realities of his time, as well as the threats to his political survival, is continually redoubling his rhetoric and expanding the use of hard power throughout the region. The Turkish economy, which had its GDP close to $ 1 trillion in 2013, has lost nearly $ 200 billion from its economy since expanding its foreign policy ventures. A fall that almost equals the entire Greek economy. Both nations view the riches of fossil resources as vital to regaining lost prestige.
This myopic view ignores the long-term damage, both to their own societies and to the planet, by maintaining human dependence on fossil fuels. A just transition to the Green New Deal for Europe, and beyond, will reduce stress on resources that should no longer be tapped. Macron and Erdogan, by politicizing circumstances to detract from their domestic failures, are deepening the abyss in which they find themselves further. Deportations, deterrence and control of religious organizations, not to mention the continued sale of weapons to global hot spots, will not solve the alienation and isolation of minorities.
France and Turkey are on opposite sides of regional proxy wars and resource conflicts.
From Libya and Syria to the Aegean and Nagorno-Karabakh, these diplomatic disputes could escalate into incidents that could have unintended and deadly consequences. With no descent in sight, we are fast approaching a tipping point. We can choose to descend further into the abyss of confrontation and reverse the course of human history away from its progress, or we can turn to what is essential during this time: human solidarity, environmental sustainability, and peaceful dispute resolution. Supporting this requires transnational democratic practices that seek to nurture forces for peace and reconciliation across borders.
In the immediate term, we:
- Invite grassroots organizations in Turkey and France to contribute significantly to reducing the war of words, while increasing pressure on their respective governments to curb their knee-jerk reactions.
- Appeal to religious leaders around the world, of Abrahamic or other beliefs, to jointly call for greater religious tolerance and an end to the use of religious beliefs for little political gain.
- Demand the European Parliament and the Commission to adopt the 10 pillars of the Green New Deal for Europe and move our economic and political systems towards a just and sustainable future, while reversing the loss of biodiversity and drastically reducing inequality.
- Request the immediate convening of a conference, under the auspices of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, to amend the
The path of acrimony could find France, never extradited from its colonial past, to plunge into infighting. Similarly, Turkey, suffering significant economic losses and a weakened currency, could rush into a future mired in conflict across the region. We would not have been at this juncture if the institutions within these countries, as well as the EU, had been democratic enough to direct their political energy towards policies of solidarity, sustainability and the peaceful resolution of conflicts.
DiEM25 contributes to the goals of democratizing the EU by placing peace issues and international politics at the forefront of actions seeking to bring about change inside and outside Europe. The task at hand is growing and so is the need for more members to join us to advance our progression. Join us.
This article has been written by Amir Kiyaei and Paola Pietrandrea, members of the DSC for Peace and International Politics.
Photo source: Wikimedia Commons.
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