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The Arab Other in Turkish Political Cartoons, 1908—1939
support to the revolt in Palestine until it became actively involved (Khoury 1985:
324-348). The Turkish cartoonists were more interested in Syria’s involvement in
the revolt than in the Palestinian cause. The “revolt” theme attracted the attention
of the cartoonists, who launched a serious propaganda campaign against the Syrian
Arabs, tending to comply with the government’s policies. In October 1936, the
Syrian Arab reappeared as a dark-skinned, swarthy, villainous barbarian lurking
at the gates of civilization. In the cartoon shown in Figure 11, the main theme
refers to the French agreement that promised Syria its independence with the in¬
clusion of Antakya (Antioch) and Iskenderun (Alexandretta) within its borders.
The Arab’s monstrous look was decorated with the symbolic ornaments: a red fez
with a pendulous tassel; a long, striped robe; a short coat; and slippers to create the
visual metaphor of the hybrid Arab in the minds of the Turkish audience.'? The
vulgar Arab was illustrated forcefully holding a beautiful woman (depicted similar
to previous ones) against her will. Her European-style looks, as contrasted with the
Arab’s backwardness, juxtapose the civilized with the savage. The Arab’s viciousness
is amplified by his drooling as an enraged animal would. The woman is tied tight
to him through a coiled snake labelled “France-Syria concord”. The woman's skirt
is labelled “Antakya/Iskenderun”. The Arab says to the woman: Look, darling! We're
bound together!
All the negative components of the Ethiopian zenci/kara Arab as a savage and
inferior race were depicted to create a dehumanizing and isolating effect on the
hated Syrian Arab, who emerged as the enemy, and the ultimate Other in the new
Turkish Republic. Its recombinant form is indebted to its “parent” cultures but
remains assertively and insubordinately a bastard. It reproduces neither of the sup¬
posedly anterior purities that gave rise to it in anything like its unmodified form.
The nation as a social construct relies on a continuous construction of national
identity. The latter consists of organized perceptions of basic human behaviours
in an effort to group together collectives who are willing to accept various sets of
values and particular positions. Political elites who lead projects of nation con¬
struction tend to emphasize emotional attachment to the nation and its territory
while blurring or even negating the territorial or political claims of other groups.
At the same time, the effort of nation construction often involves an intense effort
of othering.
Apparently, the previously two archetypes of the Arab of Karagéz plays, ak Arab
and kara Arab merged to become a single ultimate Other. The historical imagery
of the Arab Other in the cartoons was incorporated as a hybrid image, denoting
the mixture of races that signified the antithesis of national “purity”. In cartoons
5° While Turkey discarded the fez with its republican reforms, the Arab public under mandate control
kept using it as part of the daily attire. Thus, its depiction suggests the regions of Syria and Lebanon
personified through physical features. Ahmet Emin Yalman, “Litbnan istiklali ve Antakya” (“The Future of
Lebanon and Antioch), Zan Gazetesi, November 1, 1936: 1.
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