14 - Dimitri Kitsikis interview to Gerçek Hayat, 9-15 September 2019.

14 - Dimitri Kitsikis interview published in Turkish in Gerçek Hayat,  weekly magazine, Istanbul, 9-15 September 2019,

Back to the Ottoman Empire

Turkish Interview   August 30, 2019

 Dear Suleyman,

Below are my answers to your questions. Please, do send me a paper copy of your magazine containing my interview to the following address:   Prof.Dr. Dimitri Kitsikis, Department of History, Desmarais Building, University of Ottawa, 55, Laurier Ave East, Ottawa, K1N6N5,Canada (Air Mail), as well as an electronic copy.

1. You have a thesis known as Turkish-Greek State. What means that definitely? Federation, Confederation or something another?

The Turkish-Greek State should be the restauration of the Ecumenical Byzantine-ottoman Empire with its confederal capital in Istanbul under the modern structure of two independent states based in Ankara and Athens linked in a Confederation, gradually increasing its integration in a superior union that would tend to recreate the Empire

2. Both, Modern Turkish and Greek States founded on ideological, opposite nationalist bases. Is that a big challenge for your thesis?

Nationalism is an ideology which appeared in the West in the 18^th century and aimed at the replacement of empires by nation-states. The West used this new ideology as a violent poison to destroy the Ecumenical Ottoman Empire and beak it down in nation-states. It started in 1821 with the creation of Greece and ended in 1923 with the creation of Turkey. This  Western imperialistic policy is known to historians as the Eastern Question.

The Eastern Question is an exact repetition of the Western imperialistic policy against the Ecumenical Empire of Byzantium, from 1081 to 1204, the ancestor of the Ottoman Empire. As at the time nationalism did not exist, the West used religion to dismantle the Empire, i.e. the Roman Catholic Crusades against Islam and Christian Orthodoxy. The fourth crusade, in 1204, succeeded in dismantling the Byzantine Empire by destroying Constantinople and creating numerous independent states instead. Fortunately, with the help of the Byzantines, the Empire was reconstituted under the wise rule of the Fatih and the Ottomans in 1453.

3. Yes, we know Turks and Greeks lived peacefully almost a millenium. Who broke this harmony and why?

From 1081 to 1453, the West tried hard, through religion to divide the people of the Empire. They did not succeed as in 1453, the great majority of Christian Orthodox people of Byzantium were «pro-Turkish»  demanding to be liberated by the Ottomans against a small minority of «pro-Latin» Byzantines, considered as sold out to the West. Thus,  May 29, 1453, was considered by the overwhelming majority of Byzantine people a kind of «national day» to be  celebrated as «independence day» . The only problem was the difference of religion inside the Empire. George of Trebizond (1395-1486), the famous Greek philosopher from Crete, wrote to the Fatih (see: Χρῆστος Κυπραῖος, '' Ἡ ἰδεολογία τοῦ ἑλληνοτουρκισμοῦ ἀπὸ τὸν Γεώργιο Τραπεζούντιο στὸν Δημήτρη Κιτσίκη'' - Ἀθήνα, Ἐκδόσεις  Ἔξοδος, 2019, ISBN 978-618-84162-0-8 (Christos Kypraios, “The Ideology of Hellenorurkism from George of Trebizond to Dimitri Kitsikis”, Athens, Exodos Publishers, 2019). In this letter to the Fatih George presented a project of merging, in one religion, Orthodox Christianity and Islam on the basis of Bektashism-Alevism which was the religion of the Ottoman family, very close to Christian Orthodoxy. In a word, having the whole of the Greek-Turkish people praying for Christ-Ali, Christ being Ali and vice versa. Even though the Fatih agreed with George he did not go to the end of the project from fear of violent reaction from fanatics from both religions. Myself I have always been a supporter of such a merging scheme as everybody is aware of my support to bektashism-alevism.

4. We also know, Russia and West helped Greece to gain independence from Ottoman Empire. What was the reason for that? Hellenophilia or something hid behind it?

Certainly not Hellenophilia as Great Powers serve only their own interests. Their aim, explained above, was the implementation of the Eastern Question, i.e. the dismantling of the Ottoman Empire.

5. Since West aparted two nations, can we expect it to tolerate Turkish-Greek State today? Any change since then?

The Western game of dismantling today nation-states as a continuation of the Eastern Question(this is what I call the Kuweitization of the Middle East and the Kossovozation of the Balkans) is aimed at preventing any territorial formation that would try to become strong  enough to extract itself from Western hegemony. Nevertheless, acquiring nuclear power would help in giving strength to such enlarged territorial formations. The recent example of Erdoğan’s independent policy is encouraging enough. A common Greek-Turkish venture in the Aegean as well as a two-state  Cyprus Greek-Turkish Confederation could be a good starting point towards a larger Turkish-Greek Confederation between Ankara and Athens under a Trump-Putin single umbrella.

6. Do you think that Greek nation is ready for such a joint venture?

The present Greek State suffers from a total lack of leadership. This is the reason why the majority of Greek people look with envy at the Turkish performances,  saying  loudly, “If only Greece could have a leader of the Erdoğan calibre!”  

7. Did you ever think about a Balkan Commonwealth? Does it sound better?

In the Interwar Period of 1919-1939, Balkan Federation projects was high on the agenda. Second World War stopped the realization of such projects for which I have written tons of studies. My long time scheme of a Turkish-Greek Confederation of  reviving the Ottoman  Empire has always included as peripheral states joined to the Confederation , the Balkan countries as well as  the Middle East countries. Otherwise the scheme of a revived Ottoman Empire would not have any meaning.

8. Let's say you convinced Greeks upon your thesis. How can you convince Turks for that?

I do not need to convince Turks as they are already convinced of the necessity of Erdoğan’s vision of the the resurgence of the Ottoman Empire. My work of persuasion lies primarily with the Greeks and this has been the effort of my long life.

Dimitri Kitsikis, Ph.D.,

Professor Emeritus,

Geopolitics and International Relations,

University of Ottawa,

Fellow, Royal Society of Canada,

Honorary President, The  Dimitri Kitsikis Public Foundation,

http://www.idkf.gr

Pikoulianika, Laconia, Greece, Plethon House,

August 30, 2019

12 - Fasting versus Fanaticism

12 - Letter to a Turkish friend: 

F vs F

Fasting versus Fanaticism or God versus the Devil

1 – Crusaders:  How the Devil took over

Emmanuel Sivan in a remarquable book he wrote in French, in 1968, titled, L’Islam et la croisade (Paris, Maisonneuve), says this:  In the 11^th century A.D. in Byzantine Syria, in the city of Antioch (Antakya), the «cradle of Christianity», Christians and Muslims lived together as brothers, making no religious difference between the two communities. Then came warriers from the West and the Muslims were not scared because they thought they were mercenaries of the Byzantine Greeks. But these warriors started slaughtering the Muslims with a cross on their dress and the latter understood they had nothing to do with the Greeks but with the Barbarian Franks, coming from Western Europe. In 1204, these same Crusaders conquered Constantinople from their Greek Christian brothers, slaughtered them and stole everything, transporting their booty to Venice where every stolen byzantine precious artifact is still shown with pride in this city of Western pirates. Since that time, for 700 years the Westerners looted and slaughtered the whole planet turning mad their Third World victims and gave birth among the subjected people to the sick phenomenon called djihadism, which had nothing to do with any religion whatsoever but with the Devil itself.

2 – The Temptation of Christ  by the Devil in  the Desert

In three of the four Christian Gospels i.e.  of Matthew, Mark and Luke, the evangelists say that after being baptized by John the Baptist, Jesus fasted for 40 days and nights in the Judean Desert. During these fourty days Satan appeared in  front of Jesus and tried to stop him from fasting but without any result. The result was that Jesus was strengthened in his resolutions and after the 40 days returned to Galilee to begin his teaching, because, contrary to what happens today with the Jihadists, Jesus won over the Devil who Jesus calls «the prince of this world».

3 – Why Christian Orthodoxy is nearer to Sufism than to Western Christianity

The main characteristic of Christian Orthodoxy is desert monachism that took birth in the first centuries after the death of Christ in the deserts of Egypt and Syria, following the familiarity with the Palestinian desert of John the Baptist and of Jesus. The word monk is derived from the Greek word «monachos» which means «alone», living alone in the desert. This is why even in the mountains of present-day Orthodoxy (see, the Holy Mountain  in Greece), among the trees and rich vegetation, the monks that live alone call their abode «the desert».

There are five different derivations of the word sufi. All of them refer to poverty due to the spiritual wisdom of a monk and all include the wisdom of the Greek «sophos» (the sage), because a monk is a sage wearing rough woolen («suf») and not silk garments.

A monk is defined mainly by fasting and that is why Western Christianity which never gave priority to monks, also did not insist on the practice of fasting. Up to the 11^th century A.D. Western Christianity followed Greek Christian tradition. Nevertheless, after Rome separated from Constantinople in the year 1054 A.D. the West started being loose on fasting arriving to the present day when practically no Western Christian (Roman Catholic or Protestant) fasts even though the word itself remains in their vocabulary. This practical disappearance of fasting in the West is the best proof that Western society has come under the spell of Devil’s practices, something evident from the overall picture of today`s  Western life.

4 – Christian fasting is not total abstinence

Because Christian fasting encompasses more than half of the calendar year, following total abstinence would be an impossible task. So normal Christian fasting means abstain from certain categories of food, i.e. four main ones. Abstinence from animal food that are absent in the desert i.e. no meat, no fish, no eggs, no dairy products, but animals without blood as locusts in the desert or bloodless sea food like squids. For more strict fasting, during certain periods of time, especially for monks, abstention is required from olive oil and wine. Before holy communion total abstinence, including no water, is required.

5 – The periods of fasting through the calendar  year

Even though the general word used for Christian fasting is «sarakoste» which means in Greek «fourty days», the many periods of fasting all preceding Christian holidays, vary from 50 days (before Easter), 40 days (before Christmas), 15 days (before the 15^th of August, Virgin Mary`s death) one week to one month before the feast of the Apostles Paul and Peter, and every Wednesday and Friday of a normal week during the year. Exempt from fasting are sick people.

6 – The Ottoman Empire, as the perfect kingdom of God on Earth

The Empire that reigned over the center of the planet Earth, that we call the Intermediate Region of Civilization for 2,500 years, from the Persian Empire, to Alexander’s Empire to the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, arriving at its perfection during the last 650 years of the Ottoman Empire, has been the perfect abode of world civilization, as the kingdom of God on earth, in which all religions were free to worship God through the millet system and fasting.

Today the world is waiting for its total destruction through fanaticism that establishes the kingdom of Satan and its inevitable consequence, the Armageddon. Only the restauration of the Ottoman Empire is capable of saving the planet from total destruction.

Dimitri Kitsikis,                                                                  Ottawa, 27 November 2018