- Pontos Kültürü
"Pontos Kültürü" (ISBN 975-344-220-3 for the 2nd edition) (Pontos Culture in English) is a Turkish book by Turkish author
Ömer Asan . The book was published by "Belge Yayınları" ofRagip Zarakolu in1996 . It made a Greek edition ("Ο Πολιτισμóς του Πóντου" by "Kyriakidis Publishers",Thessaloniki ) in1997 , followed by a second Turkish edition in2000 ."Pontos Kültürü" is about the
Greek Muslims who live inTrabzon Province . It is, to a great extent, the result of the ethnographic fieldwork by Asan in his native village Çoruk (Τσορούκ, official Turkish name "Erenköy") in Of district. It contains a rich collection of oral traditions, local legends (such asAncomah ), and documentation of elements of material culture in Çoruk and its vicinity. The book is also a study of Pontic in its Of dialect. As the author asserts in its foreword, "the book does not reach the Pontos Culture but approaches it." In its entirety, the book is also a polemical text against the mainstream nationalist currents offolklore andhistoriography that are dominant in Turkey.In January
2002 , following a programme televised on the Turkish TV ATV, the book became the centre of controversy. Asan, accused for treason by nationalistic circles, was threatened by supporters of MHP. The book was banned the same month due to a verdict by the State Security Court inIstanbul [http://dosyalar.hurriyet.com.tr/almanak2002/news_detail.asp?nid=59&sid=16] . Asan was charged with allegations of the breach of Anti-Terrorism Law by "propagandating separatism" [http://www.savaskarsitlari.org/arsiv.asp?ArsivTipID=5&ArsivAnaID=8272&SayfaNo=1] . The author, the book, and the publisher were eventually acquitted in2003 [http://web.archive.org/web/20041114200231/http://www.englishpen.org/writersinprison/bulletins/acquittalforomerasan/] Dead link|date=September 2008.External links
* [http://www.pen.org/freedom/oasan.html Ömer Asan, a writer before the Courts]
International PEN notice on Asan's trial
* [http://www.e-grammes.gr/2002/02/pontos_en.htm The Pontian muslims at the target of Turkey] Article about the book, controversy, and its impacts, by Nikos Doukas
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