The Ertugrul Phenomenon! Political Dimension of a Turkish Drama Series.

 

During the last two years, Pakistani society has witnessed an unusual controversy over the screening of the Turkish drama series Diriliş: Ertuğrul on TV channels and YouTube. In a society where the Tik Tok generation and the TV and film artists feel proud in mimicking third rate Indian actors representing the fantasy world of Bollywood gutter movies, it seems rather strange when these very same people criticize the Turkish drama for 1) Not being based on historical facts; 2) Encouraging jingoism; 3) A threat to local TV dramas. There is a long list of similar objections, grievances, and heartburns.

 Interestingly, these objections are raised less by the commoners and more by the local TV and cinema artists, media houses, intellectuals of sorts, and a few politicians in the opposition. The opposition to this Turkish drama serial was more pronounced during the last government when the Indian movies were screened in Pakistan and there was a strong film distributors’ lobby that considered the Turkish drama series as a competitor to the Indian movies. Ertugrul is not the only such drama series.

 Turkish dramas are popular among Pakistani viewers for the last many years. These are based on themes varying from life in modern Turkey to historical dramas depicting various aspects of Ottoman history. Why, then, this clamor against Ertugrul? What is so offensive about this drama series? It will not be off the mark if I say that the Ertugrul series has polarized the so-called Pakistani elite across the political spectrum -“I haven’t seen even a single episode of this drama”, stated an opposition leader (the one who, as a former FM, had threatened Israel with a nuclear holocaust). “I haven’t seen it either”, seconded a famous TV anchor who brags about “carrying two bullets in my body as a souvenir from the enemies of media freedom”. One may ask them what the big deal is if they haven’t seen the drama.

 Why are the Arab states against the Ertugrul drama series? 

On 10 February 2020, Diriliş: Ertuğrul was banned in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Egypt's Dar al-Ifta al-Misriyyah announced it was forbidden to watch the series. It also targeted Turkey's President Erdoğan in a statement, stating that his intention was to restore the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East and restore Turkish sovereignty over the Arab countries that had previously been under Ottoman rule. Despite the ban, the series remained quite popular in these countries. 

 Why are a large number of common Pakistanis enamored by Ertugrul? As a result of the First Crusade (1095-1102), the Crusaders captured Jerusalem and a vast area of Palestine which they called the Holy Land. Salah ad-Din, Kurd by descent defeated the crusaders and recaptured Jerusalem on October 2, 1187. As a result of Salah ad Din’s conquests, the Crusaders, led by the Knights Templar were scattered to the four winds and were confined to their isolated mountain outposts dominating the approaches to important cities like Jerusalem, Allepo, Damascus, etc. from where they routinely hatched conspiracies and launched raids against the Muslim rulers. 

It must be borne in mind that Saladin’s advent took place when rulers of the Arab Middle East had completely failed to stem the tide of the Crusaders and the Mongol hordes that followed them. However, the Crusader states managed to maintain their political presence in the region until 1291. Starting 1268 with the sacking of Antioch by the Mamluks, these Crusader outposts on the Middle East soil were gradually wiped out by the Muslim armies. This was roughly the period, i.e. The 13th Century, when Ertugrul, the main character, lived. 

According to Ottoman tradition, Ertugrul was the son of Suleyman Shah, leader of the Kayı tribe of Oghuz Turks, who fled from western Central to Anatolia to escape the Mongol conquests. Salah ad-Din, a non-Arab, had liberated Jerusalem from the Crusaders at the end of the 12th Century. The Turkish tribes living on the fringes of the Eastern Roman Empire started streaming into the borderlands of the Arab Middle East at the beginning of the 13th Century. 

Both Salah ad-Din and the Turks being non-Arab, we can understand the resentment and opposition of the Arab countries against this Turkish drama series based around the personality of Ertugrul.  The common people in Pakistan find a lot of resemblance between the 13th Century Middle East and the 21st Century Pakistan. Consider a scenario where nomadic people were struggling to find a secure foothold to survive.

 It was an era when the descendants of Saladin, not as powerful and effective as Saladin himself, were falling prey to Crusader intrigues for the control of important towns and cities with the objective of controlling The Middle East commerce. The Knights Templar, in the guise of Muslims, had infiltrated the palaces and fortresses of Muslim rulers. The bedrooms of the Sultans were infested by female Christian spies. Muslim population and tribal camps were the Templars’ targets for spreading epidemics. The Muslim world was3 witnessing turmoil such as the one it had passed through during the Crusades. Out of this tumult and chaos appeared the Turkish tribes who stemmed the tide of infidel intrigues and were the forerunners of another great Muslim empire, the Ottomans. 

The Ertugrul drama reminds common Pakistanis about the similarities between a bygone era when Muslims were fighting for their survival against the infidels, and the present situation in Pakistan- Enemies on the borders, palace intrigues, prostitutes ruling the roost, a pandemic, which has paralyzed life, enemies within, and a scattered and disorganized group desperately fighting a rearguard action against the enemy. They are waiting for their savior. Pakistanis are often blamed for falling prey to foreign influences and searching for heroes among alien invaders. Having an identity distinct from the people who inhabited the Subcontinent before the advent of Islam, it is but natural that our heroes be from among the people with whom we identify spiritually and emotionally. That is why we struggled for a separate homeland. 

Saleem Akhtar Malik

The writer is a retired Army officer. Writes on issues related to national and International affairs, important events from military history, and military technology. Considers writing as an instrument to calibrate his mind.

Tweets @saleemakhtar53