Lies at home, lies in the world

Abdülhamit Bilici

The Zaman daily has remained dedicated to an important mission ever since it was founded: to expose the lies of the old media, which was prejudiced against the religious.

Zaman correspondents have worked hard to research allegations raised against religious groups in order to reveal the truth. In the end, those news reports were compiled in a book, “Yalan Haber Dosyası” (Dossier of False News).

Take, for example, how some papers argued that Timurtaş Uçar had harshly criticized and insulted secularism in a sermon he delivered in Yeni Camii. Brief research revealed that Uçar had never delivered a sermon at that mosque and that he had not been an active cleric for seven years. A report by three expert witnesses also confirmed that the speech was not made by Uçar.

Following this, new newspapers emerged from among the conservative circles. The religious became more active in the media; they consolidated their presence on TV, radio and the Internet. The number of conservative media outlets increased during the Justice and Development Party's (AKP) terms in office.

However, the only thing that this media, which would have made a huge contribution to the promotion of democratic and ethical values, have been doing for a while now is trying to convince the people that the Hizmet movement is a horrible terrorist organization. There might be differences and disagreements among different groups, but these must be discussed in a civilized manner. However, what is going on now is pretty different. The old media had in the past made an alliance with coup supporters and defined religious circles as a threat; but now, some of the conservative media outlets are doing the same to the Hizmet movement.

Telling the truth does not work. It is as if they are following in the footsteps of the greatest master of propaganda of this century rather than ethical principles and norms. Our religion states that telling a lie is the greatest sign of hypocrisy; but that master sees it as the most important tool in psychological warfare: Tell a lie; somebody will eventually believe. The people will be more inclined to believe big lies than they are relatively insignificant ones. Instead of defending yourself, take aggressive action so that your opponent will have to defend himself.

Their media outlets tell a lot of lies; it is not possible to correct every single one of them. They argued that a bank had purchased $2 billion because it was notified ahead of time that a police operation would take place on Dec. 17, but that was a lie. It was further argued that students staying at boarding schools in Saudi Arabia were forced to curse the prime minister, but the Hizmet movement does not have any schools in that country.

This media also alleged that the Hizmet movement wanted to seize control of the Fenerbahçe football club, but it became apparent that the prime minister had made such efforts. It was also argued that the movement had secretly acquired the questions to be asked on a military school exam; the General Staff dismissed this allegation, noting that they admit students based on interviews and sporting tests.

This media further noted that residents in Bediüzzaman's village were uncomfortable with the movement; this was denied. It was alleged that those who placed spy cameras in the Office of the Prime Minister had traveled abroad, but it became apparent that those names were not on file and that one of them was in Turkey and the other was on official duty abroad. The list of shameful allegations is pretty extensive.

These are the lies that were told here in Turkey. But there are also lies that would risk Turkey's international relations. I have firsthand experience of one such lie in Uganda. One of these papers argued that a Muslim intellectual, Dr. Sheik Kaliisa had criticized the Hizmet movement and Turkish schools abroad. When I showed him the reports, he said: “They should be ashamed of this report. Why would I criticize the schools that three of my children attend?”

Four pro-government papers argued in their headlines on the same day that, at a dinner at which he hosted European envoys on Dec. 17, US Ambassador Francis Ricciardone, in reference to the government, allegedly said he was watching the collapse of an empire. The envoy denied the allegation. The Turkish Foreign Ministry took the allegation seriously and warned the US government. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan used this allegation in his election campaign as if it were true; he even said they might expel Ricciardone.

The US State Department made a statement in which it noted that the Turkish government had assured them that they would not pay attention to such ungrounded accusations against American servicemen. This is a polite articulation implying that the lie was used for political purposes. In a press conference in Geneva, in reference to their talk before the meeting, US Secretary of State John Kerry said they have no intention of interfering in the internal affairs of Turkey.

A graver scandal was a phone conversation between Erdoğan and US President Barack Obama. In a televised interview, Erdoğan said he had told Obama that the person who is causing a disturbance in Turkey is in the US and further argued that Obama had implied that the US had received the message. However, a response from the White House to the Turkish journalists who, in writing, asked this matter to Washington suggested that this was a lie. In a statement, the White House said the response attributed to Obama about Fethullah Gülen is not true. For the first time in the history of Turkey, a prime minister was accused of not telling the truth about the content of a conversation with the White House.

However, the truth will not change even if more lies are told. This is an obvious fact; it is horrible to risk the image and dignity of a state for the sake of a personal cause and fight. Is it worth it?

Published on Today's Zaman, 14 March 2014, Friday