It is true that the image a people has of itself and of other peoples is usually biased. For example, Turks consider themselves superior and Greeks inferior. It is also certain that Greeks do not know the way Turks see their relations with other peoples and consider them simpletons.

The Turks believe in Islam. But Islam is not only a religion; it is also a political system. It is a peculiar religious-political system. Muhammad was simultaneously the founder of a religion and of a state.

Islam believes in holy war (jihad). Its goal is the dominance of Islam throughout the world, the submission of non-Muslims to Islam, or their disappearance as states and peoples.

For that reason, peace between an Islamic and a non-Islamic state is not possible. If peace is concluded, according to Islamic law, the Islamic state is not bound by it. This trick is fully legitimized in order to achieve the main goal: the Islamization of the unbelievers. Peace treaties only between Muslim states are conceivable and binding.

Historically, before the fall of Constantinople in 1453, there was a deep and multifaceted crisis. There were fierce political disputes between the Unionists and the Anti-Unionists. The Unionists looked to the West and to the union of Catholicism and Orthodoxy. The Anti-Unionists turned to the East, but there was no Christian power able to help. So, in the name of faith, they embraced unbelievers.

Loukas Notaras, Grand Duke under Constantine Palaiologos, reportedly exclaimed before the fall: "Better to see, in the middle of the city, the turban of a Turk ruling than the Latin mitre."

The Turkish conquerors imposed relations of power and subordination between themselves and the conquered peoples. For example:

A) A relation of power and subordination between Muslims-believers and non-Muslims-unbelievers. The unbelievers were at the mercy not only of the Turkish state, but of every Muslim.

For example, Christian churches, compared with Muslim mosques, had to be small and insignificant so as not to provoke Muslims. Those that were not were converted into mosques. In fact, in order to save some Byzantine churches, the ground around the church was filled in so that they would appear semi-underground. This happened, for example, in Athens with the churches of Kapnikarea and Saint Theodoros.

B) A relation of subordination between the Turk-master and the non-Turk-rayah. The rayahs, literally, "are a flock of sheep subject to their shepherd." The rayah, in order "to keep his head calm," had to pay the poll tax. The position of the rayahs is also shown by the following: when the rayah met a state official, he had to dismount and stand in a posture of submission, or change street, or crouch on his knees against a wall.

Relations of power and subordination continue today as well. One example: in 1941, a fire destroyed most of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. And after international pressure, the Turkish government only granted permission in 1988 - yes, you read that correctly, 1988 - that is, 47 years later, for the damage to be restored. This proves beyond doubt that Turkey continues to "see" its relations with the Greeks as it did before 1821, that is, as a master-slave relationship.

The late Neocles Sarris noted that for Turkey, and for the collective consciousness of Turks, priority is given to whoever is superior by size and power. That is why Turkish leaders, and the people as well, regard Greece's behavior when it opposes Turkish interests or policy as a hostile act, as impertinent behavior lacking self-knowledge. In fact, the impertinent behavior of small Greece toward great Turkey is attributed to Europe's overindulgence and not to Greece's strength.

Those who follow Erdogan's statements and those of other Turkish officials today will have confirmed the above.

In conclusion, Greeks need to understand the Turks. Professor Neocles Sarris used to say in his university lectures: "Turkey does not have a history; it only has a criminal record."

Paul Marantos

marantosp@gmail.com