Kemal Öztürk
What can prevent countries whose rivers converge from forming political alliances? Thesecountries, nourished by the same religion, the same culture, and the same history, should nowestablish the Dicle-Fırat Alliance (Tigris-Euphrates) in light of the changing geopoliticallandscape. This alliance should unite the nations of the three countries that drink from thesame water, feed on the same soil, and share their destiny in the same geography. By forminga small circle, it should pave the way for the establishment of larger circles.
President Erdoğan frequently quotes poets in his speeches. One of them, and perhaps the onehe emphasizes the most, is Sezai Karakoç. Passing away in 2021, Karakoç contributed to theformation of Islamic thought in Türkiye by writing numerous books on philosophy and ideas.
Sezai Karakoç was a thinker from Diyarbakır, an advocate of Islamic unity, and a poet whoproduced influential works in this regard.
In his 1975 book “Sur”, he argues that regional federations should be established to achievethe ideal of Islamic unity. As an example, he proposes the name “Tigris-Euphrates IslamicFederation (Dicle-Fırat İslam Federasyonu)” for Türkiye, Syria, and Iraq.
After the Syrian revolution, the ideas presented in this book resurfaced in Türkiye’sintellectual discussions. Intellectuals close to AK Party circles have reopened the debate on Sezai Karakoç’s vision of Islamic unity and have been publishing articles on the topic. (Youcan find an article on this subject at this link: https://kritikbakis.com/en/the-dicle-firat-federation/ )
TIME TO ESTABLISH REGIONAL UNIONS
Undoubtedly, ideas such as “Islamic unity, unity of the Ummah, and unity of Muslimcountries” are widely discussed across different regions and circles. While some argue thatsuch unity is impossible or unnecessary, the majority actually believe in its necessity.
Personally, I am among those who believe that the idea of unity is essential and that thelikelihood of its realization has grown even stronger in this new geopolitical era.
Remember, after World War II, despite the mutual killing of millions, European countriesquickly established the European Union as soon as the war ended. If European nations couldunite despite such a history, why shouldn’t Muslim countries, where historical blood feuds aremuch less severe, form a similar union?
I believe that this is a psychological barrier created by negative propaganda. In my opinion, the only way to overcome this mental blockade is through the establishment of regionalalliances and unions.
Now is the perfect time to put the theory of intertwined rings into practice.
INTERTWINED RINGS
Looking at the current picture, some may wonder how Iran and Morocco or Saudi Arabia andSudan could ever unite. Instead of focusing on such a broad perspective, let’s consider a smaller circle—for example, the Türkiye-Iraq-Syria triangle.
Last week, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan visited Baghdad and took important stepsto strengthen relations between the three countries. In fact, discussions are underway in Ankara about the possible inclusion of Syria in the Development Corridor Project, which wasinitiated by Iraq, Türkiye, Qatar, and the UAE.
Would it be too difficult for these three countries to form an alliance or a union amongthemselves? I am sure that many of you now see this as quite possible. Doesn’t it seem logicaland easy that the understanding of unity, which starts from a small circle, could later expandand form a larger ring?
The motivation behind forming these rings of unity should be purely technical—centeredaround development, economic cooperation, and defense industry collaboration. Reachingconsensus on sects, beliefs, or jurisprudence is far more challenging in the Islamic world.
Therefore, such matters should be left to scholars, while alliances and interconnected circlesshould be established in more practical and publicly beneficial areas.
TIGRIS-EUPHRATES ALLIANCE
Two rivers originate in central Türkiye and flow southward, creating fertile lands and citiesalong their paths. The Tigris River originates in Elazığ, Türkiye, and flows through the citiesof Batman, Diyarbakır, and Mardin before entering Iraq. In Iraq, it passes through Mosul andBaghdad, eventually merging with the Euphrates River in Basra, before emptying into thePersian Gulf.
The Euphrates River (Fırat Nehri) originates in Ağrı, Türkiye (the city where I was born), flows through Elazığ, Gaziantep, and Urfa, and enters Syria. In Syria, it passes through Aynal-Arab, Raqqa, and Deir ez-Zor, then crosses into Iraq, where it meets the Tigris River (Dicle Nehri) and takes the name Shatt al-Arab, before ultimately flowing into the Persian Gulf.
As Ibn Khaldun famously said, “Geography is destiny.” If rivers merge, blend, and flowtogether into the sea, then nations and cultures in the same geography will also merge, interact, and move toward unity.
This is why cities such as Gaziantep and Aleppo, Mardin and Mosul share strikingsimilarities. The people living in these regions have historically blended, influenced oneanother, and formed deep cultural ties.
The “Tigris-Euphrates Islamic Federation (Dicle-Fırat İslam Federasyonu)”, emphasized bySezai Karakoç, is founded precisely on this idea.
What can prevent countries whose rivers converge from forming political alliances? Thesenations, nourished by the same religion, same culture, and same history, should now establishthe Tigris-Euphrates Alliance (Dicle-Fırat İttifakı) in response to the shifting geopoliticallandscape. This alliance should unite the peoples of these three countries, who drink from thesame water, are sustained by the same soil, and share their destiny in the same geography. Byforming a small circle, they should pave the way for the emergence of larger circles.
Today, we establish the Tigris-Euphrates Alliance (Dicle-Fırat İttifakı); tomorrow, we take a step toward a Tigris-Nile Alliance (Dicle-Nil İttifakı). The only obstacle in the way of realizing this vision is psychological barriers.
If we fail to eliminate these barriers, these psychological barricades, and the meaninglesshostilities imposed upon us, we cannot survive in this geography.
Those who govern our states must now understand this reality.
Source: https://aja.ws/xvleac