Post by Bozur on Jan 29, 2010 1:09:11 GMT -5
Iraq's Turkmenia to Merge with Turkey: Primary Concern of All Turks and Muslims
The Turkmen of Tuz Khurmatu have been through the ages highly interconnected with Turkey and the Ottoman Empire, Azebaijan and Central Asia.
In two previous articles, entitled "William Guthrie’s Turcomania: the Correct Name for Inexistent Kurdistan", and "Jews and Turkmen Can Prosper Again in Tuz Khurmatu ¨C With Turkey Annexing North Iraq", I published the first chapters of an insightful book published by Mofak Salman Kerkuklu, one of the Turkmen foremost intellectuals, on "The Turkmen City of Tuz Khormatu".As the book bears witness to the Turkmen identity of the Northern Iraqi city, it consists in an excellent refutation of disastrous plans that provide for the formation of a fake state "Kurdistan" which will plunge into strife and disaster the subjugated non-Kurdish nations and ethno-religious groups, either those identified as other (Turkmen, Aramaean, Jewish) or those labeled "Kurds" (Zaza, Sorani, Yazidi, Ahl-e Haq, Feyli, etc.).
In the present article, I publish further chapters from the book, and more specifically those dedicated to the language, the education and the tribal traditions of the Turkmen of Tuz Khurmatu. Through various testimonies, the unbreakable interconnection with Turkey and the Ottoman Empire, Azebaijan and Central Asia is highlighted.
The Turkmen historicity of many lands falsely claimed as "Kurdish" will be one of the obstacles to the evil plans of the Apostate Freemasonic Lodge to set up a bogus-state called Kurdistan that will be the Hell-on-Earth.
The Turkmen City of Tuz Khormatu
By Mofak Salman Kerkuklu
3.1 The language of the Turkmen
The main spoken language in Turkmeneli is a Turkmen dialect. This is a part of the Western Turkish language group that also includes the Turkish spoken in Turkey, Cyprus, the Balkans, Iranian Azerbaijan (South) and the Republic of Azerbaijan (North), northern Syria, Iran, Turkmenistan and southern Turkistan (northern Afghanistan).[1] The Turkmen language, with its various accents, is closer to the Turkish spoken language in both Azerbaijan (Republic of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan of Iran) and Urfa in South©\eastern Turkey than to the Turkmen language spoken in the Republic of Turkmenistan.[2][3]
The Iraqi Turkmen language derived from two major sources. The primary source is the spoken language and local dialect spoken in Erbil, Kirkuk, Tuz Khormatu and other main Turkish settlements. In general, these belong to the Azeri Turkish. Although local Turkish dialects show degrees of similarity, differences were found in local dialects spoken in different cities, towns, villages and, even, neighborhoods. These are attributed to the fact that different Turkish clans settling in Iraq from the 11th century onwards have slightly different dialects.[4][5]
The Turkmen language is commonly spoken in Tuz Khormatu and has naturally been passed on to new generations, creating a strong bond uniting the Turkmen speaking people of Iraq. Unfortunately, compulsory education in Arabic has led to the weakening and deterioration of the spoken Turkmen language from generation to generation. In fact, older generations with no formal education speak relatively pure and more correct Turkmen language then the new generation. Formal written Turkmen language is the second major source of the Turkmen language in Iraq. Local dialects have not found their place in written literature yet and the Turkmen have adopted formal Anatolian Turkish for written language. Up until the 16th century, the literary works of Turkmen were in an Azerbaijan dialect: this could, perhaps, be named old Anatolian Turkish; but from the second half of that century onwards, the written literature of Turkmen came under the influence of the rising Ottoman language, a western Turkish dialect.
Historical evidence, governmental data, corresponding letters and manuscripts distributed by officials in Tuz Khormatu have clearly demonstrated that the Turkmen language was utilized in the district not long ago and until the end of the seventies, for example, invitation cards for the Prophet Mohammed's birthday ceremony (pbuh) and other social occasions, such as marriages, were written in the Turkmen language, using the salutation "Muhtaram Effendi", a phrase which here means "respectful friend".[6]
3.2 Education
The first established school in Tuz Khormatu opened four years before the declaration of World War One. The school consisted of only one class and was located adjacent to the Bayuk Khan. The teacher, Hamdi Kerkuklu, the poet, Mohammed Sadiq, and another Jewish teacher, who lived in Tuz Khormatu, worked as staff members. On 19th August 1919, Mr Khurshid Mohammed Ali was the first government appointed teacher, and he opened one other school in Tuz Khormatu. The new school was located next to the Ottoman Mosque and was named Tuz Khormatu.
At the newly established school, the students were able to carry out their studies to a high level but for further education they would have to travel to Kifri district, and within a few years after of World War One, another school was built in Tuz Khormatu. This school was located inside the house of Haj Ahmed Mustafa Agha and Mr Mohammed Mehdi Ak Su was appointed its headmaster. Within a very short period of time other schools were opened in the area, such as the First Tuz School, The Second Tuz School and The Third Tuz School. However, there was only one school designated for girls in the city, with 45 female students. The first secondary school was built in 1949 in the Tuz Khormatu district and Mr Gamin Mosul was appointed headmaster.[7]
Since the toppling of the monarchy in Iraq by the revolution 1958, led by the general of Abdul Kareem Qasim, the education system in Iraq has changed completely, more schools were opened and a variety of subjects were introduce into the curriculum. With the toppling of the general of Abdul Kareem Qasim by a military coup, the socialist government came to power, and then the social government was toppled by military coup by the Ba"ath Party. During the Ba"ath regime the education changed completely. Education was compulsory and free for all the Iraqi people. The Turkmen were also given certain rights, such as teaching a Turkmen language in Turkmen schools. Also, the government has permitted the Turkmen the use of a Turkmen language in Turkmen populated areas and education in Turkmen. Moreover, during the Ba"ath socialist government several primary, secondary schools, institutes of teaching and industrial school were established.
However, government policy suddenly changed towards the Turkmen and all given cultural and educational rights were brought to a halt in 1975 when the Iraqi government banned all publications, even newspapers and magazines, from Turkey. This forced Turkmen writers to work self-sufficiently, relying solely on Turkish radio broadcasts.
During the Saddam Hussein regime, all Turkmen schools and Turkmen publications were forced to close and they were replaced with Arabic schools, but after toppling the Iraqi regime by the United States forces, a Turkmen language has been reintroduced and new Turkmen schools have been established in Turkmen-populated areas. The Turkmen have managed to publish more books, magazines and newspapers. The Turkmen have managed to publish their own Turkmen newspapers in the district, such as Ak Su newspaper.
The Tuz Khormatu district is well known for its public schools: these are each run by a religious figure called a Mullah and since the Ottoman Empire, these public schools were updated to the national standard level, to match the standard in schools run by the government. In addition, in Tuz Khormatu, several public schools were run by Mullahs, such as Mullah Ilyas, Mullah Mohammed Ak Su, Mullah Qanber Quli and Mullah Ali Akber.
As already mentioned, on 19 August 1919, Mr Khurshid Mohammed Ali was the first teacher appointed by the government in Tuz Khormatu. Mr Khurshid Mohammed was the father of Dr Zehdi, who is lecturer at one of the Canadian Universities, Dr Behram, who is a lecturer at the Kirkuk University, the teacher, Mehdi Ak Su, and the teacher, Salim Amin Beg, who graduated in 1927. Because of the arrest, imprisonment and oppression of the Turkmen in Tuz Khormatu by the Ba’ath regime and also because of the political uncertainty or other reasons a large number of Turkmen intellectuals from Tuz Khormatu have left the district to work abroad, such as Dr Behram Khurshid, Dr Muhsin Kawser, who is lecturing at the Baghdad University, Dr Fazil Mehdi Bayat, Hassan Abdulkarim, Dr Zehdi Khurshid, Dr Mustafa Demirci, who is lecturing at the Austrian University in Vienna, Dr Hassan Hussein, in Turkey, Dr Qasim Hassan Asker and Dr Mohammed Asker, in Germany. In fact, there are hundreds of highly qualified and intellectuals from Tuz Khormatu are working and lecturing in various Universities around the world.[8]
3.3 Population of the Turkmen in Tuz Khormatu
The estimated area for Tuz Khormatu is approximately 20 km square but the total area for the district and all villages is approximately 35 km square. The real Turkmen population has always been suppressed by the authorities in Iraq for political reasons: it is officially estimated at 2%, whereas in reality their numbers should be put between 2.5 and 3 million, i.e., 12% of the Iraqi population. The population of the Turkmen in Tuz Khormatu according to censuses from 1934 to 1978 is given in Table 1.[9]
Year Sub-district Tuz Khurmatu
1934 3840 people
1957 10670
1978 41406
Moreover, when the traveler Gloudious James Rich visited Tuz Khormatu in 1820 he estimated the population of the Tuz Khormatu district at approximately 5000 and he stated that the overwhelming population were Turks, with the total population of the region being 13860 people.[10]
The total population of the city according to the census for 1993 was 60280 but this number has been increased dramatically. The war between the Iraqi government and Kurdish rebels caused a lot of Kurdish people to leave their homes in the mountains and to settle in the Tuz Khormatu: Saddam Hussein had caused the destruction of the Kurdish villages and homes in the mountains. In addition, the population of the city of Tuz Khormatu increased dramatically when the Iraqi government confiscated the Turkmen agricultural land, which is known as sector five, and these lands were distributed to the members of the Ba"ath party, army personnel and Arabs who, were brought from the south of Iraq. The confiscations of the Turkmen"s land led the Turkmen villagers to leave their villages and settle in Tuz Khormatu, thus also contributing to the increase in the city"s population.
In 1997, the population of Tuz Khormatu was estimated at approximately over 100,000 but the total population of the district including the villages was estimated at approximately 500,000. The manipulation, the government"s total control on the census and the lack of accurate data on the census has led to difficulties in providing accurate data about the Turkmen population in Tuz Khormatu. Part of the reason for the vast difference in estimates is the Iraqi government"s policy of the 1970s and 1980s, which expelled Turkmen from their traditional lands. They were resettled in other areas and encouraged to register officially as Arabs and they were forced to change their national identity from Turkmen to Arab, causing difficulties in establishing real Turkmen numbers in Iraq.[Doc.8]
3.4 The Turkmen tribes in Tuz Khormatu
The majority of the Turkmen tribes and clans in Tuz Khormatu have originated and descended from Azerbaijan and the Khazer Sea region. The overwhelming population in Tuz Khormatu is Turkmen, and there are also other small numbers of minorities living in Tuz Khormatu: moreover, the city is also a home for a large number of Turkmen tribes.
3.4.1 Khatlan tribe
The Khatlan tribe is one of the Turkmen tribes; they are concentrated in Tuz Khormatu. The tribe has a huge number of branches and the tribe numbers several thousand families.[11]
The Abbas Khalifa al_Muetasam Billah encouraged them to migrate to Iraq and he used them in his army. During the construction of the Samara city, Al_Muetasam Billah established a huge stable for approximately 160,000 horses and the Khatlan tribe was used for maintenance of the stable and care of the horses, since they have knowledge and experience in this field and, over time, have integrated with the Arab tribe in the area.[12]
3.4.2 Bender tribe
The Bender tribe is one of the Turkmen tribes that have settled in Tuz Khormatu. The name of the tribe derives from the name of the chief of the tribe, Bender Ali. The tribe is originally descended from Azerbaijan, but has migrated to Iraq and settled in Tuz Khormatu in different stages and their numbers have increased gradually and peaked at the period of the Shah Ismail al_Safewi.[13]
3.4.3 Chayir tribe
The Chayir tribes originated from Azerbaijan and the Khazer Sea: they settled in Tuz Khormatu before the rule of the oldest Turkmen tribes that have settled in Iraq and Shah Ismail Al_Safewi to Iraq. The word Chayir in the Turkmen language means "green grass and fertilized land". The name of the tribe is derived from Sheik Chayir Qanber, who was the main chief of the tribe.[14]
3.4.4 Kara Ulus tribe
The Kara Ulus tribe is one of the most famous Turkmen tribes: it has settled in Mandeli, Khaniqin, Kirkuk, Telafer, Mosul, Tuz Khormatu and western regions of the Hamrin Mountain. The name of the Kara Ulus tribe consists of two words: Kara, meaning black in the Turkmen language, and Ulus, meaning nation, thus the name of Kara Ulus means "black nation".
According to the historian, the Kara Ulus migrated to Iraq from Central Asia during the Mogul conquest of Iraq. The tribe is famous in the utilisation of archery and horse riding, and over time they have integrated into Arab society. Some of the Chayir tribe leaders obtained the title of Pasha during the Ottoman Empire rule and one of the Chayir tribe leaders is Hayder Pasha and thus all the descendants of Hayder Pasha were given this title as well.[15]
In addition, the clans have several tribes, such as Kaytul, Kajani and Neftachi, and the tribes have several branches, such as Jermu, Selal, Hawa Siya and Wet Koker.[16]
3.4.5 Wali Ali "DAlalwa" clan
The Wali Ali clan is one of the derivatives of the Bayat tribe; this tribe has settled in Tuz Khormatu, Suleiman Bag and Hufriya. The name of the tribe originated from the grandfather of the tribe, Wali Ali.[17]
3.4.6 Asaffi clan
The Wali Ali clan is one of the derivatives of the Bayat tribe and the tribe have settled in Tuz Khormatu and Suleiman Bag. They originated from the region of Azerbaijan and the Khazer Sea.
3.4.7 Musawi clan
The Musawi clan settled in Tuz Khormatu and branched into the following tribes: Sayid Riza, Sayid Nazim, Sayid Mohammed and Sayid Hussein.
3.4.8 Deffa clan
The Deffa clan is settled in Tuz Khormatu and one of the tribe is the branch of Kuzle, which has settled in Halle and Kuffa City in Iraq. In addition, one of the Oghuz Turkish tribes, known as the Gulami tribe, has also settled in Tuz Khormatu; they are originated from Azerbaijan and the name Gulami is derived from the name of their chief, Dervish Ali.
3.4.9 Sarayli tribe
The Sarayli tribe is one of the Turkmen tribes that settled in Tuz Khormatu. The tribe had originally migrated from Azerbaijan. The Sarayli tribe has integrated with the Ilkhanids Tatran tribe and the name "Sarayli" was derived from the name of the chief of the tribe, Sarayli, who was employed as a Janderma (Turkish army) in the Ottoman Serray. The Sarayli tribe still speaks the Turkmen language and, in addition, there are large numbers of the tribe living in Tal Afar and surrounding villages. Also, the tribe have settled in Kara Tepa, which is the birthplace of the well known writer and researcher, Mustafa Jawad. In his correspondence with the Turkmen writer and researcher, Wahdadin Bahaddin, Mustafa Jewad stated, "I am from Kara Tepa: my ancestors are Turkmen and from the Sarayli tribe".[18]
3.4.10 Al Wandiwi clan
The Al Wandiwi tribe is one of the Turkmen tribes that have settled in Diyala city, Kifri and the surrounding region and Mansuriyya. There is some speculation that the current name of Mansuriyya is derived from Mansur Bag, the chief of the tribe. The root of the tribe is descended from two brothers, Mansur Bag and Helaw Bag; the tribe originated in Turkey.[19]
However, there are other Turkmen tribes that are settled in Amerli, such as the Albayat tribe. The Albayat tribe in Amerli is divided into Begler, Zerbilli, Abushli, Kahyale and Kermeli and they number a few thousand. Moreover, the Muradli tribe is one of the Bayat tribes that settled in Tuz Khormatu and according to the well known Arab historian and researcher, Alamerri, in the past, the Muradli tribe was named Kahyaler but the name was changed to Muradli by the chief of the tribe Murad.
In addition, the Muradli were a well known tribe among the other tribes in the Tuz Khormatu district and they exerted a heavy influence during the Ottoman Empire rule in Iraq.
Besides the Muradli, there are other Turkmen tribes who settled in the Tuz Khormatu, such as Koja, Kulawen, Kush Kawan, Albu Hayder, Albu Khan, Chayir, Royzat, Qanber Agha, Asifli, Sarayli and Ghulamli.
In the meantime, one of the Bayat tribes, known as the Kushchler tribe has settled in Tuz Khormatu, Kara Tepa and Kifri. However, the overwhelming majority of the Kushchler tribe is Turkmen and they have preserved their mother tongue to the present time. Incidentally, a significant number of this tribe are settled in the village Yenkija.[20]
The Kushchler tribe also lives in the Sandij village, Jamanjal village and buyuk Kushchi and Kucik Kushchi that is attached to the district of Kifri. In the meantime, large numbers of tribes have settled in villages around the city of Mosul. In the meantime, some of the Bayat clan such as Kretliya, Kahler and Zurbekya have settled in a village surrounding the Salahuddin city.
Notes
1. Dr Hamide Demirel, The Poet Fuzuli, Ministry of culture, Ankara 1991, Printed by Feryal Press, Ankara, Turkey , 1991.
2. Abbas Al-Azawi, Al_Iraq under Ihtilalin, part I, page 49.
3. Aziz Kadir Samanci, Political History for the Iraqi Turkmen, page 33, first edition, 1999 Published by Dar Al-Alsaqi, London, United Kingdom.
4. Iraq Turkmen Lahcasi, Baku, Azerbaijan, 2004.
5. Professor Qazanfer Pasayev, Kirkuk Dialektinin Fouetikkasi, Baku, Azerbaijan, 2003.
6. Mohammed Koja, the editor of Turkmen times on line, Bizturkmeniz website and Turkmen Times website, 2006
7. Salahaddin Najioglu, Tuz Khormatu Kadiman and Hadithin, published in Tuz Khormatu, Iraq, 16/3/1972, page 59.
8. Salahaddin Najioglu, Tuz Khormatu Kadiman and Hadithin, published in Tuz Khormatu, Iraq, 16/3/1972, page 70.
9. Ibid, page 8.
10. Salahaddin Najioglu, Tuz Khormatu Kadiman and Hadithin, published in Tuz Khormatu, Iraq, 16/3/1972, page 32
11. Al ashaeir Al-Turkmenia in Kirkuk, by Solicitor Habib Hurmuzlu and Dr Akram Pamukchi, page 49, Kirkuk, August 2004
12. Ibid, page 50, Kirkuk, August 2004
13. Al ashaeir Al-Turkmenia in Kirkuk, by Solicitor Habib Hurmuzlu and Dr Akram Pamukchi, page 50, Kirkuk, August 2004
14. Ibid, page 50, Kirkuk, August 2004
15. Ibid, page 51, Kirkuk, August 2004
16. Abbas Al-Azawi, Alashaeir Al-Iraqiyya, part 2, page 371
17. Al ashaeir Al-Turkmenia in Kirkuk, by Solicitor Habib Hurmuzlu and Dr Akram Pamukchi, page 27, Kirkuk, August 2004
18. Al ashaeir Al-Turkmenia in Kirkuk, by Solicitor Habib Hurmuzlu and Dr Akram Pamukchi, page 30, Kirkuk, August 2004.
19. Ibid, page 28, Kirkuk, August 2004
20. Ibid, page 28, Kirkuk, August 2004
Note
Picture: Shia Turkmen on the Holy Feast of Ashura (1960)
By Prof. Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
Published: 11/9/2008
www.buzzle.com/articles/iraq-turkmenia-to-merge-with-turkey-primary-concern-of-all-turks-and-muslims.html