Uzay Bulut is an exiled Turkish journalist and political analyst formerly based in Ankara. Her writing has appeared in outlets such as the Washington Times, The Christian Post, Jewish News Syndicate, Al-Ahram Weekly, The American Spectator, The American Conservative, Providence, and The Jerusalem Post. Her journalistic work focuses mainly on human rights, Turkish politics and history, and religious minorities in the Middle East and Asia. Bulut is currently doing a Ph.D. in international studies and she is a research fellow of the Philos Project. She also serves on the advisory board of the educational documentary film series “Faces of Persecution: Exploring Global Religious Oppressions.”
You have spoken out against Erdogan’s government and denounced the existence of thousands of political prisoners. What have been the consequences for you of taking this stance?
Yes, there are thousands of political prisoners in Turkish jails. If you are a dissident, Turkey’s government might call you a “terrorist” with no actual evidence whatsoever. You might spend years in jail, suffering abuse and even torture for being a “terrorist” or for other political offences such as for “insulting the president.” I’ve written extensively about this issue as arbitrary arrests and torture of political prisoners are one of the top human rights abuses in Turkey, which also demonstrates the dictatorial nature of the government.
I started working in 2013 as a journalist while I was in Ankara. I left Turkey on my own free will about 8 years ago to work abroad. There was some pressure on dissident journalists in Turkey back then too, but I was never persecuted or arrested. So my exile situation is self-imposed. I did not flee nor was forced to leave Turkey. But if I had stayed, I would not be able to write the things I do now. I would probably have to quit journalism or be imprisoned. So my love for writing and journalism has trumped everything else. Since leaving Turkey, I lived in the U.S. and then Israel. Currently, I’m based in Greece. Due to my writings, I’ve been targeted by the Turkish press and some Turkish diplomats. I often receive threats on social media. And the most serious consequence of my journalistic work is that I have not been able to visit Turkey for the past 8 years. I miss my place of birth so much.
In recent years there has been a clear trend towards Islamisation, such as the decision to convert Hagia Sophia Cathedral into a mosque. This is the best known case, but I think there are many more.
The Turkish abuse of churches has a long history. During the period of the Ottoman Empire, after major cities were invaded and captured by Turks, the greatest church of those cities was turned into a “mosque of conquest”. This was done to demonstrate Islamic domination and its supremacy to the Christian kafirs (infidels). But destruction or abuse of churches culminated during and after the Christian genocide in Ottoman Turkey, which targeted Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks. According to research by professors of history Benny Morris and Dror Ze’evi, from 1894 to 1924 “some 4 million Christians were either killed or forcibly removed from Turkey and the adjacent territories of eastern Thrace, Urmia and the southern Caucasus.”
Since then, countless churches have been destroyed or converted into other purposes, such as mosques or stables. Many are also targeted by treasure hunters. All of this is largely caused by Islamic supremacy against non-Muslims and their desire to wipe out everything belonging to non-Muslims. Today, Christians comprise only 0.1% of Turkey’s whole population.
A very recent example is Northern Cyprus, where the Turkish authorities are planning to convert a historic monastery into a mosque.
Since 1974, Turkey has illegally occupied 36% of the northern part of the Republic of Cyprus, an EU member. Throughout this period, hundreds of churches, chapels and monasteries in the occupied area have been pillaged, vandalized and, in some cases, demolished. Many churches were converted into mosques, depots for the Turkish army, stockyards, or haybarns, among other things. Many Christian cemeteries, as well as a Jewish cemetery in the occupied area, were demolished. Many cultural relics, from churches and other sites, were stolen from Cyprus by invaders and smuggled abroad. Turkey and its illegal regime in the occupied area of Cyprus have for the past 49 years largely destroyed the Greek cultural and religious heritage of the occupied area.
Today the occupied north is majority-Turkish because Turkey has forcibly changed the demographic structure. Turkish troops committed many crimes such as murders, rape of children and women, unlawful arrests and torture, enforced disappearances and unlawful confiscation of properties and lands, among others. Greek and other Christian Cypriots were forcibly displaced out of the region during the 1974 military invasion, replaced by illegal settlers from Turkey. If I can make an analogy, this would be akin to Muslims militarily invading Spain once again, and reestablishing Al-Andalus on the sovereign lands of Spain after expelling Spanish people.
Another of the fundamental axes of Erdogan’s policy is his interventionism. You define it as neo-Ottomanism. Why?
Neo-Ottomanism is an irredentist and imperialist Turkish ideology that aims to revive the lands of the dead Ottoman Empire as much as possible. The Ottoman Empire invaded and captured lands in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Hence, Turkey’s neo-Ottomanist ideology affects large swathes of lands and is evident in its foreign policy.
Turkish policy towards almost all its neighbors is aggressive. Turkish armed forces illegally occupy parts of Cyprus and Syria. Under the guise of “fighting the PKK terrorism”, they regularly bomb Iraq, including the lands of persecuted Yazidis and Assyrians. Azerbaijan’s 2020 war against Armenians in Artsakh and the ongoing blockade have also been supported by Turkey. Turkey also often violates the Greek airspace and territorial waters and threatens to invade Greek islands in the Aegean Sea. There’s also Turkish involvement and cooperation with jihadist terror groups. The government of Turkey has for several years supported jihadists in other nations. These include ISIS, Hamas, al-Qaeda affiliated groups in Syria, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Taliban, among others. Hence Turkey’s pan-Islamist, neo-Ottomanist visions and activities cause instability, deaths, and destruction in the wider region.
You mentioned Turkey’s support for Azerbaijan in its war against Armenia. The Azeris have skipped the peace agreements and have maintained a blockade on Nagorno-Karabakh since July. There are voices beginning to speak of famine and genocide. What is happening in Nagorno-Karabakh?
Since December 2022, for over 8 months, the indigenous Armenians of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) in the South Caucuses have been exposed to a siege at the hands of the government of Azerbaijan, causing starvation and mental anguish for 120,00 Armenians living in the region. Azerbaijan has blockaded the only road between Artsakh and the outside world. So currently, Armenians in Artsakh are besieged in their own land, with almost no food, medicine or fuel. According to the Artsakh Human Rights Defender’s Office, even the bread supply is running out and, in a few weeks, there will be no food left.
Through this blockade, Azerbaijan aims to take over the region by forcing the Armenians to flee their native land. But Artsakh is truly Armenian. The history of Artsakh as an Armenian entity dates back to approximately the 6th century B.C. The first ever Armenian school, the Amaras monastery, was established in Artsakh. In the 1920s, Soviet dictator Stalin granted Artsakh to Soviet Azerbaijan as an autonomous oblast as part of his “divide and rule” strategy. But Artsakh has never been part of independent Azerbaijan. It has historically been an integral part of Armenia. On December 10, 1991, a few days before the official collapse of the Soviet Union, Artsakh held a referendum where the overwhelming majority of the population (99.89%) voted in favor of independence. Hence, in 1991, two independent and legally equal republics—Azerbaijan and Artsakh—were declared during the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Luis Moreno Ocampo, the founding prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), has called the ongoing Azeri blockade against Artsakh “a genocide.” Hence, all this genocidal violence is taking place because of Azerbaijan’s obsessed hatred of Armenians and their regressive desire to capture Armenian lands. Currently, Artsakh is the only place on earth besieged by a hostile government and has no access to the outside world. The people there are literally starving.
Why the deafening international silence on this issue? Is it because of Azerbaijan’s gas and oil, or is it also because of Turkey’s influence in the West?
Both play a large role, but they should not. We are witnessing a genocide in real time. Azerbaijan is a murderous dictatorship, and the international community should take the required stance against the Azeri regime. This stance would include the U.S. and European governments sanctioning Azeri political leaders, sending urgent humanitarian aid to Artsakh and officially recognizing Artsakh to prevent future crimes by Azerbaijan and Turkey.
On Turkish influence in Europe, what role do you think immigration control and Muslim Brotherhood funding play in many European countries?
Mass Islamic immigration is a major problem faced by Europe currently—coupled with the declining birth rates of Europeans. In fact, Europe also has a long history of Islamic invasion. But mass immigration, mostly of Muslims, has been, and still is, part of an expansionist ideology pushed by the U.S. Democrats and the EU executive. The idea behind it appears to be to use Muslim immigration, especially in Europe, as a sort of social catalyzer to create “false conformity,” to gradually do away with nations and the true wealth of Europe: its cultural diversity.
Apparently, the EU executive wants to federalize Europe. It seems to think that Islam can help considerably in obtaining this objective. It might even naively believe that they share the same expansionist objective. But it’s feeding the crocodile.
Look at the Turkish case, for instance. In many countries in Europe, ethnic Turks overwhelmingly voted for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the latest Turkish presidential elections. Turkish-supremacist neo-Nazis, also known as the Grey Wolves, have become a political force in Europe. In 2020, French Interior Minister Gerard Darmanin announced on Twitter that the group was banned in France. “It incites discrimination and hatred and is implicated in violent actions,” he wrote. The announcement came after an 1915 Armenian genocide memorial outside the city of Lyon was defaced with yellow graffiti and pro-Turkish slogans. Grey Wolves are responsible for many acts of violence, including the 1981 attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II. But they are still well-organized in many parts of Europe—particularly in Germany and Austria. So is the Muslim Brotherhood, which aims to establish a sharia state on a global scale. The question is: Why are European nations allowing such hostile organizations to operate on European soil?
The case of the blockade is unfortunately not the only one where the mainstream media remain indifferent, the brutal persecution of Christians in Pakistan or the usual massacres in Africa go almost unnoticed. Why does this happen?
It seems that individuals, organizations and governments have different motives for their denial regarding the persecution of Christians. Fear of Islamists is only one factor. Sadly, many are scared that if they truthfully speak about jihad and its theological roots, they will be targeted by jihadists. Political correctness is another factor. It’s easier and more convenient to mince words and “be safe” without “offending” the feelings of anyone. Another factor is avariciousness, when journalists and politicians are compromised by financial deals that restrict integrity or determine the content of their reporting. It also seems that many people in positions of power think that if they play the ostrich, the threat or the problem of jihad or Sharia oppression of non-Muslims will go away.
Misled worldviews also play a factor in this denial. I think that many people—in the governments and media—are blinded by false opinions concerning the world. They believe that all religions are basically the same, that Islam is a religion of peace, or that “Western imperialism or European colonialism” causes violence or backlash from Muslims in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, etc. They don’t seem to understand the power of faith and how religion affects the way one thinks and acts. They either don’t understand Islam or are in denial about its teachings. But it’s not rocket science: Given its scriptures and global history, one can see that Islam has persecuted all other religions.
Denial is the core of the problem. However, denial has no impact on the truth. And the truth is that Christians are now the most persecuted community by Muslims. Islamization threatens humanity’s cultural and intellectual diversity. This is a serious matter. It cannot be ignored. The future of Europe and of Christendom around the world is at stake.
