Secular citizens of Turkey have never felt so alone
New Year’s Eve attack on Istanbul nightclub is latest sign that ‘old Turkey’ faces an uncertain future
But the nightclub outrage revealed another story that is as important for understanding Turkey today as the political and executive failures that led to the attack.
Turkey’s social fabric is torn at the very heart, which makes it impossible for the country to grieve as one, let alone share joy and happiness – not that these feelings are much to be found in the country these days.
Reina is no ordinary place. In the past five years or so, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been railing against secular Turks as members of an “old Turkey”: people who are out of touch with the country’s reality and unfairly privileged, who – in his words – “sip their whisky while enjoying the view over the Bosporus”. Indeed, Reina is characteristically frequented by secular “white Turks” – a term coined by the late journalist Ufuk Güldemir for the well-educated upper middle class.
Not so long ago, few in Turkey cared if some of the club’s clients drank too much alcohol, danced and had carefree fun. Now the secular lifestyle is under threat.
