If it weren't for a photo sent by a dear friend of mine from the stadium last Thursday evening (February 22nd), - due to my distance from football - Galatasaray's match against Sparta Prague would probably not have entered my agenda at all. And of course, then another photo: that shot showing the "1683 - European War" banner displayed by Sparta Prague fans... While looking at the other photos reflecting the 4-1 defeat of Galatasaray in the match, it was impossible not to dwell on this.
The historical message highlighted by Sparta Prague fans and reminded to their Turkish counterparts referred to the famous Second Siege of Vienna. Initiated under the command of Grand Vizier Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha during the reign of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed IV, the siege lasted a full two months from July 14th to September 12th, ultimately leading to the Ottoman army withdrawing in the face of the united forces of the Holy League. The European army consisted of elements from Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland, Italy, France, and many others. The possibility of Vienna falling to Muslims had caused serious fear in Christian Europe, prompting nearly 90,000 soldiers to be gathered from almost every region of Europe to eliminate this great threat. The reason why the event we call the "Siege of Vienna" is referred to as the "European War" in the Christian world was this.
It is unknown how Galatasaray players and fans felt when they saw this historical message and reminder on the opposite stands. However, the "1683 - European War" banner was an indicator that history did not remain in the past, that even a normal football match was perceived as a "war with the Turks," and that the deep-seated fears and concerns embedded in the subconscious were ready to resurface at any opportunity.
From this point, let's go to the other end of the world, to the city of Christchurch in New Zealand and the date of March 15, 2019:
On that day, a white terrorist named Brenton Tarrant carried out consecutive armed attacks on two mosques where Muslims were performing Friday prayers, killing 51 people and injuring 40. The most striking aspect of this event, which caused shock worldwide, was the writings and notes on the weapons and magazines used by Tarrant, as well as the references he pointed out in his manifesto. Tarrant engraved on his weapon details of all significant battles fought between Muslims and Christians throughout the centuries, from the Battle of Tours in 732 to the Siege of Vienna in 1683. Tarrant also gave himself the nickname "Turkofagos." This expression was the title of Nikitaras, one of the prominent figures during the Greek rebellion against the Ottoman Empire (1821-1829), meaning "Turk-eater." It was remarkable that Tarrant did not overlook even the most critical stages of the Shipka Pass Battles (1877-1878), one of the significant phases of the Russo-Ottoman War.
The fact that among the 51 Muslims killed in the Christchurch attacks, only one was Turkish, and the targeted mosques were places frequented by Asian Muslims mostly, was a striking indication that the word "Turk" directly evoked "Muslim" in Tarrant's mind. Just like it did in Christian West for centuries...
History imposes certain duties on all of us and places us in a certain position in the eyes of our interlocutors. From Prague to Christchurch, from an ordinary football match to the massacres committed by a fanatic, this is an issue we cannot escape and cannot erase from the subconscious of the people we face, no matter how much we try to remove it from our agenda. History never stays in the past and continues to live on in the memory of nations.
Speaking of memory, are the references in our minds as strong and vivid as those in our interlocutors'? Where do historical turning points unexpectedly appear - for example, in a stadium - in the construction of our consciousness? What are we doing to remember the building blocks of our identity? We are in an era where we need to ponder on the answers to all these questions more than ever before.
