Desem Öldürürler Demesem Öldüm is an essay book by Turkish poet and writer İsmet Özel, published by TİYO Yayınları in 2012. The work is a compilation of Özel's column writings from 2011-2012 and texts published on istiklalmarsidernegi.org.tr.

The book offers a critical perspective on Turkish identity, Islam, and the social and political issues of modern Türkiye. Written in İsmet Özel's characteristic style, the work stands out for being published in both Ottoman Turkish and Turkish, which positions it uniquely in Turkish publishing. The book's title symbolizes Özel's dilemma between speaking out and remaining silent against historical and cultural falsehoods in Türkiye, and the work deeply questions this dilemma.

Content and Structure of the Book

Desem Öldürürler Demesem Öldüm is a collection of essays in which İsmet Özel addresses his thoughts on Türkiye's recent history, the concepts of Turkishness and Islam, and the ideological contradictions imposed on Türkiye by the modern world. The book is the first work by TİYO Yayınları and Özel's second book published in Ottoman Turkish after his work Küfrün İhsanı Olmaz.

Themes and Core Theses

The book centers on İsmet Özel's critiques of Turkish society's perception of identity, religion, and history. Özel emphasizes the following in his work:

• Turkish Identity and Islam: Özel advocates the thesis "A Turk is a Muslim," asserting that Turkishness and Islam are an inseparable whole. The book emphasizes how this identity has eroded in modern Türkiye and how Westernization processes have imposed falsehoods on Turkish society.

• Religion and Patience: The work highlights Islamic concepts such as patience and prayer. For example, Özel defines Ramadan not as an "ordeal" but as "the month of patience," and states that Muslims owe everything to Allah.

• Critique of the Modern Age: The book argues that the modern world is a kind of "Age of Ignorance," particularly questioning the contradictions between secularism and Islam. Özel states that the patterns of expression imposed on people have lost their validity.

• Historical Falsehoods and Contradictions: Özel conveys what he has learned in his sixty-eight years about "what lies have been told and what deceptions have been perpetuated" in Türkiye. According to him, those who have harmed Türkiye know the extent of these harms better than the public, and this situation is expressed through a "smirk" metaphor.

The book does not claim a definitive truth; Özel states that his words neither endangered his life nor did he owe his survival to them. This emphasizes the introspective and paradoxical nature of the work.

Author and Approach

İsmet Özel (b. 1944, Kayseri) is one of the leading poets and thinkers of Turkish literature. Özel, who graduated from Hacettepe University's French Language and Literature Department, studied for a while at the Faculty of Political Sciences, worked as a French instructor at the State Conservatory for 18 years, and founded the magazine Halkın Dostları with Ataol Behramoğlu. Özel, whose poems have been published since the 1960s, evolved from a socialist to a Muslim and Turkist worldview. Desem Öldürürler Demesem Öldüm is a work from Özel's mature period of this ideological transformation and reflects his style.

Reception and Impact of the Book

Desem Öldürürler Demesem Öldüm was met with interest by İsmet Özel's readership upon its publication, but was found difficult to understand by some readers due to its complex and dense style. The book has contributed to ideological debates in Türkiye, especially with Özel's emphasis on Turkish and Muslim identity. According to reader comments, the work requires patient and unbiased reading; although Özel's ideas were considered "fierce" and challenging by some, the historical accuracy and sharpness of his observations were appreciated. As the first publication of TİYO, the publishing organ of the İstiklal Marşı Association, the book serves as a manifesto reflecting the association's ideological line.