Ahmet Hakan Coskun: Nothing

Yesterday, one of my readers called me."There is a giant panel with Arabic writing on it that's been hung on the outside wall of a building in Karakoy. Please write about this provocation." I put down the telephone. I thought to myself "no doubt we once again are facing ridiculous antics by Hizb-ut Tahrir." But...Before long, the truth came out: It turned out that these giant panels, which concerned citizens at first thought were the work of radical elements, were in fact calligraphic pieces by Turkish artists. What was written on them in Arabic translated to "This too shall pass" and "Come forth pleasure." I guess the citizens who looked up and thought the panels said something like "The Caliphate will be formed again in Istanbul" were wrong. Because that is sure different than "Come forth pleasure." The request to the Municipality that these giant panels be taken away is like something from a comedy. What can I say? Should I talk about how distant we've become from the ancient art of Turkish calligraphy? Or about the rise of paranoia in society? Maybe the best thing I could do would be to write about the Arabic letters hung on the wall of my house, which spell out the word "nothing" in Turkish. But then what if that leads me to be judged as a nihilist?Â