Islamic terrorist activities in Turkey in the 1990s

Terrorism and Political Violence

Volumn 10, Issue 4, 1998, Pages 101-121

  Karmon, Ely ^a  

^a Intl Plcy Inst Counter Terrorism   (Israel)

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EID: 0032263841     PISSN: 09546553     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/09546559808427484     Document Type: Article

References (96)

1. See for instance Nur Bilge Criss, 'The Nature of PKK Terrorism in Turkey', Studies in Conflict and Terrorism 18 (1995) pp.17-37, esp. p.30; and Kemal Kirisci, 'Post Cold-War Turkish Security and the Middle East', Middle East Review of International Affairs (hereafter MERIA) 2 (15 June 1997) p.1.
2. See for instance Nur Bilge Criss, 'The Nature of PKK Terrorism in Turkey', Studies in Conflict and Terrorism 18 (1995) pp.17-37, esp. p.30; and Kemal Kirisci, 'Post Cold-War Turkish Security and the Middle East', Middle East Review of International Affairs (hereafter MERIA) 2 (15 June 1997) p.1.
3. Perhaps the best historical background can be found in a series of three articles by Ismet G. Imset, 'The Islamic Movement in Turkey', Turkish Daily News (TDN) 14-17 May 1993.
4. Sabri Sayari, 'Turkey's Islamist Challenge', Middle East Quarterly (Sept. 1996) pp.35-43, esp. p.37. See Anat Lapidot, 'Islamic Activism in Turkey since the 1980 Military Takeover', Terrorism and Political Violence (hereafter TPV) 8/2 (Summer 1996), Special Issue on 'Religious Radicalism in the Greater Middle East', edited by Bruce Maddy-Weitzman and Efraim Inbar, p.66.
5. Sabri Sayari, 'Turkey's Islamist Challenge', Middle East Quarterly (Sept. 1996) pp.35-43, esp. p.37. See Anat Lapidot, 'Islamic Activism in Turkey since the 1980 Military Takeover', Terrorism and Political Violence (hereafter TPV) 8/2 (Summer 1996), Special Issue on 'Religious Radicalism in the Greater Middle East', edited by Bruce Maddy-Weitzman and Efraim Inbar, p.66.
6. See Sami Zubaida, 'Turkish Islam and National Identity', Middle East Report (April-June 1996) pp.10-15, esp. p.11.
7. See Ertugrul Kurkucu, 'The Crisis of the Turkish State', Middle East Report (April-June 1996) pp.2-7.
8. See Binnaz Toprak, 'Religion as State Ideology in a Secular Setting: The Turkish-Islamic Synthesis', in Malcolm Wagstaff (ed.), Aspects of Religion in Secular Turkey (Durham: University of Durham, Center for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, Occasional Paper Series No.40, 1990) pp.10-15, at p.10.
9. Ibid.
10. Lapidot (note 3) p.64.
11. Kurkucu (note 5) p.65.
12. For an evaluation of Turkey's strategic interests and policy in the region see Kemal Kirisci (note 1).
13. This section is based mainly on Ismet Imset's articles (note 2) unless other sources are cited.
14. Hizb ut-Tahrir, founded in Jordan in 1953, is dedicated to the creation of a Khilafah (unified Islamic state) and is banned throughout the Middle East due to its attempts to foment Islamic revolution. It began activity in Turkey in 1962. See Cumhuriyet, 30 Oct. 1991. In the 1980s this organization had only a limited propaganda activity in Turkey.
15. US Department of State, Patterns of Global Terrorism: 1991, p.14.
16. Lapidot (note 3) p.65.
17. Cited by Cumhuriyet, 30 Oct. 1991.
18. Hezbollah is the spelling used by TDN and other Turkish sources.
19. For this reason the names of the organizations mentioned in this article are those used by the various sources and do not always concord with the real group hiding behind the name.
20. Kalim Siddiqui was the founder of the Muslim Parliament and the Muslim Institute in London, which have close links with Iran and many of the world's violent Islamist groups. He died in 1996. See also The Antisemitism World Report (London: Institute of Jewish Affairs 1995) pp.241-2.
21. According to the Turkish journalist Tunkay Ozkan the Islamic Movement was established in Batman in 1987 as one of the branches of the Islamic terror organization called Hizbullahiler, active in the Southeast, and moved its headquarters to Istanbul in 1990. See Cumhuriyet, 23 June 1993.
22. It is interesting to note the similarity of this conversion to radical Islam as a consequence of harsh conditions in prison with the radicalization of Islamic militants in the prisons of Nasserist Egypt and Baathist Syria in the middle 1960s. See Emmanuel Sivan, Radical Islam: Medieval Theology and Modern Politics (Tel Aviv: Am Oved 1986, in Hebrew) p.37.
23. See Cumhuriyet, 16 Feb. 1993.
24. Ibid.
25. See Meir Hatina, 'Iran and the Palestinian Islamic Movement', Orient 38/1 (March 1997) pp.108-10.
26. See Gilles Millet, in Liberation, 9 Oct. 1995, and James Philips, 'The Rising Threat of Revolutionary Islam in Algeria', Backgrounder - The Heritage Foundation, 9 Nov. 1995, p.6.
27. See Gilles Millet, in Liberation, 9 Oct. 1995, and James Philips, 'The Rising Threat of Revolutionary Islam in Algeria', Backgrounder - The Heritage Foundation, 9 Nov. 1995, p.6.
28. See Haggay Ram, 'Exporting Iran's Islamic Revolution: Steering a Path between Pan-Islam and Nationalism', TPV 8/2 (Summer 1996) pp.12-16.
29. Milliyet, 27 Feb. 1997.
30. Professor Bahriye Ucok, writer Turan Dursan and journalist Cetin Emec (editor of the daily newspaper Hurriyet) were assassinated because they served 'the idolatrous regime' and in order 'to bring about the resurrection'. See Hurriyet, 10 Oct. 1993, and Cumhuriyet, 6 Feb. and 23 June 1993.
31. Professor Bahriye Ucok, writer Turan Dursan and journalist Cetin Emec (editor of the daily newspaper Hurriyet) were assassinated because they served 'the idolatrous regime' and in order 'to bring about the resurrection'. See Hurriyet, 10 Oct. 1993, and Cumhuriyet, 6 Feb. and 23 June 1993.
32. See Imset, TDN, 14 May 1993.
33. It is interesting to note that most of the anti-American and anti-western terrorist activity during the Gulf War was perpetrated by the extreme left-wing Turkish organization Dev-Sol and not by Islamic groups, although they were also fiercely opposed to the allied intervention (with Turkish participation) in Iraq. See also US Department of State, Patterns of Global Terrorism: 1991, p.14.
34. A security officer at the Israeli embassy in Ankara was killed by a bomb in his car, 7 March 1992; grenades were thrown at the Neve Shalom synagogue in Istanbul, 1 March 1992; bombs were placed in the cars of two Iranian opposition militants, June 1992; the same month a member of the Iranian Mujahedin-e Halq was kidnapped and assassinated.
35. See Anatolia Radio in English, 24 Jan. 1993.
36. See, for instance, TDN, 29 Jan. 1993 and reports of Ankara Turkiye Radyolari Network (FBIS- WEU-93-023, 4.2.1993).
37. On 2 July 1993, during the traditional Pir Sultan Abdal Culture festival in the southeastern city of Silvan, fundamentalists set on fire the Madimak Hotel where all the guests had been staying.
38. See TDN, 3 July 1997.
39. See Jane's Intelligence Review (Aug. 1996) p.372.
40. TDN, 19 Jan. 1995.
41. See Inter Press Service, 11 Jan. 1995.
42. See U.S. Department of State, Patterns of Global Terrorism: 1995, p. 12, and Iran News, 3 January 1995.
43. See Imset, TDN, 8 Feb. 1993, 14 May 1993 and Cumhuriyet, 4 Feb. 1993.
44. See Imset, TDN, 8 Feb. 1993, 14 May 1993 and Cumhuriyet, 4 Feb. 1993.
45. See Hurriyet, 10 Feb. 1993.
46. See Cumhuriyet, 16 Feb. 1993.
47. See TDN, 12 March 1993 and 15 May 1993.
48. Irfan Cagarici, the arrested leader of Islamic Action, was also behind the attack on the Jewish businessman Jak Kamhi in Jan. 1993. See Jane's (note 35) p.374.
49. See Sayari's analysis (note 3) pp.35-7. The RP obtained 21.3% of the vote and 158 seats out of the 550-member National Assembly and became the largest party in parliament.
50. See Kurkucu (note 5) p.5.
51. See Zubaida (note 4) pp.11-12. See also Feroz Ahmad, The Making of Modern Turkey (London: Routledge 1993) pp.219-22.
52. TDN, 26 Feb. 1993.
53. The Project for the Study of Anti-Semitism, Anti-Semitism Worldwide: 1995/96 (Tel Aviv University 1996) p.202.
54. See Inter Press Service, 11 Jan. 1995.
55. Imset, TDN, 14 and 16 May 1993.
56. See Zubaida (note 5) p.12.
57. The vice-president of the RP declared on 9 Feb. 1993 in the Turkish parliament that a team of six Israeli Mossad agents assassinated Mumcu and that the West was interested in inciting public opinion to believe that Iran was responsible. This accusation was apparently based on a secret report of pro-Islamic elements in the police. See Middle East International, 19 Feb. 1993.
58. See Kanal 6 Television, 24 Nov. 1993.
59. See Criss (note 1) p.21.
60. The pro-Islamic daily Turkiye, 3 Dec. 1995, published a series of such declarations, such as that of Muhsin Yazicioglu (leader of the Grand Unity Party - BBP) or that of Professor Mahir Kaynak, ex-intelligence officer.
61. See Alan Makovsky, 'Turkey: Erbakan at Six Months', Policywatch 230 (27 Dec. 1996).
62. Cumhuriyet, 23 June 1993.
63. Ibid., 24 June 1993.
64. See Imset, TDN, 14 May 1993.
65. Cumhuriyet and other newspapers, 5-6 Feb. 1993.
66. Unfortunately, there is no room in this article for a detailed evaluation of the economic, strategic and political reasons behind the cautious approach of the various Turkish governments in their relations with Iran.
67. Ibid.
68. See TDN, 29 Jan. 1993.
69. See TDN, 31 Jan. 1993.
70. See Ankara TRT TV Network, 5 Feb. 1993.
71. See Gungor Mengi's column in reaction to Velayati's interview on 15 Feb. 1993 in Sabah, 16 Feb. 1993.
72. See US Department of State, Patterns of Global Terrorism: 1995, p.55.
73. See US Department of State, Patterns of Global Terrorism: 1994, pp.11-12, 25, and US Department of State, Patterns of Global Terrorism: 1995, pp.12, 25. See also Criss (note 1) p.31.
74. See US Department of State, Patterns of Global Terrorism: 1994, pp.11-12, 25, and US Department of State, Patterns of Global Terrorism: 1995, pp.12, 25. See also Criss (note 1) p.31.
75. See TDN, 8 Jan. 1996.
76. See Kirisci (note 1) p.2.
77. For a full account of the events from the point of view of the military see the extraordinary document which is the interview of the Admiral Guven Erkaya by Milliyet columnist Yavuz Donat, Milliyet, 14 Aug. 1997.
78. This interesting analysis of Iran's 'three-phase' relations with Turkey appeared in the Tehran Salam, 19 Dec. 1996, on the occasion of Rafsanjani's visit to Turkey.
79. Ibid.
80. See Tehran Times, 13 Jan. 1998.
81. Ibid.
82. For a discussion of RP's characteristics as an Islamic movement see Zubaida (note 4) pp.10-11 and Sayari (note 3) p.37.
83. See Elie Podeh, 'Egypt's Struggle against the Militant Islamic Groups', TPV 8/2 (Summer 1996) p.48.
84. IBDA-C's monthly, Taraf, gives some addresses of its representatives in Europe. In Germany there are several extremist Islamic Turkish organizations. The most active is 'The Islamic Communities Union' led by Cemalettin Kaplan. See Islamischer Extremismus und seine Auswirkungen auf die Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Bonn: Bundesamtfar Verfassungschutz 1994).
85. According to Erbakan, western 'imperialist' institutions and 'Zionist Wall Street bankers' seek mainly to exploit Turkey and the Islamic countries, and Washington is the tool of 'Zionist forces'. RP's politicians and daily newspapers have blamed the Jews, Zionism and Israel for every domestic and foreign problem of Turkey. See Sayari (note 3) p.41 and The Antisemitism World Report (note 18) p.228.
86. See again the interview with Admiral Guven Erkaya in Milliyet, 14 Aug. 1997.
87. See Tehran's Resalat, 18 Feb. 1996.
88. See Agence France Presse, 1 March 1998 and TDN, 10 March 1998
89. See Agence France Presse, 1 March 1998 and TDN, 10 March 1998
90. See for instance al-Watan al-'Arabi, 9 Jan. 1998.
91. See the publication of the revealing round-table discussion between Dr. Ebrahim Mottaqi, assistant professor of political science at the University of Tehran, Dr. Dehshiri, member of the faculty of 'Allameh Tabataba'i' University and Dr. Javat Eta'at, the head of the Research Division of the Center of Islamic Revolution Documents, in Tehran Salam, 11 Aug. 1997. It is interesting to note that in this professional theoretical discussion on Iranian foreign policy, Turkey is one of the very few countries mentioned by name and in this context Dr. Eta'at proposes a policy to confront it and put it in a reactive position by striving to a 'reverse alliance' with one of its neighbors.
92. See Sedat Sertoglu's commentary in Sabah , 22 Aug. 1997.
93. The mayor, Tayyip Erdogan, declared during a speech that 'Minarets are our bayonets, domes our helmets and mosques our barracks'. The TDNnoted that following his declaration the mayor is under investigation for inciting religious hatred. See TDN, 22 Nov. 1997.
94. See Tehran Times, 13 Jan. 1998.
95. See the commentary 'Turkey's Islamic movement at crossroads', 16-28 Feb. 1998, Multimedia, http://www.muslimedia.com/mainpage.htm. Multimedia is a joint venture with the monthly Crescent International, the Canadian-based pro-Iranian publication founded by Kalim Siddiqui in 1972.
96. See 'A Call from Hizb ut-Tabrir to the Generals of the Turkish National Security Council and the Armed Forces', in Hizb ut-Tahrir Home Page, http://www.hizb-ut-tahrir.org/, 7 Aug. 1997.