Newsweek declares the end of secularism in Turkey!
Our Mr. Cagaptay is now at work in Newsweek. After deciphering what AKP is in WSJ, he now moves to Newsweek and declares the end of secularism in Turkey. He concludes as such:
The AKP is unlikely to end Turkish secularism overnight. Gradually, however, religion will assume a larger and larger place in the country's politics and society. Turkey will become a more Islamic society in its foreign-policy outlook and culture. Anti-Western sentiments will grow. Headscarves, religious education and the rejection of alcohol will become more common. The Turkey of old will slowly disappear, leaving in its place a profoundly different—and potentially much more unstable—nation.
And check out the MEMRI blog. The way it reports from Turkey looks like it is one of the sides in the political struggle in Turkey. It is supposed to inform the American public but what it does is to scare the lay public by framing any Islam-related issues into a question of security... A secularist Turkish guy maybe at work there, too. Who knows. MEMRI recently started Turkey watch blog here.
[i.e. Turban: Symbol of Political Islam; Headscarf: What Most Traditional Turkish Women Wear ]
Finally, there is Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis and his American Chronicle. One of his posts finally got our Hans: "The Impossibility of Muslims’ Integration in Europe" and he noted his style in his post. By that time I had given up following his resentment fuelled ranting despite the insistence of Turkish Digest and Turcopundit linking to his writings regularly... Well, being a Turkey origined Greek explains most, i don't mind him much.
But the first two sources are informing the American public and global public in a very limited and resentment filled manner and I don't believe they really capture the complicated developments going on in Turkey. At best what they do is to be a side in a supposed class-warfare in which they represent the most narrow minded etatist elites in Turkey...
A more informative approach: Düşünce Kahvesi: Conservative Globalists versus Defensive Nationalists in Turkey
And also: JTW News - Lessons from the Turkish Experience for the US’ Fight against ‘Global Terrorism’:
Sedat Laciner: The US naming the religionist terrorists ‘Islamic’, ‘Islamist’ or ‘Jihadist’, includes many innocent Muslims into the terrorists networks. ‘Islamic’ for example means ‘something according to Islam’, or ‘something has no problem with Islam, OK for the Islam’. If you name Al Qaeda ‘Islamic’, you lose the vital public support against terrorism, because ‘Islamic’ covers all the Muslims yet Al Qaeda is a marginal group. The US has to separate very well the terrorists and the ordinary Muslims. Even ‘Islamist’ is a name of a group which is bigger than terrorists. Islamism is a political movement and all members of the Islamist group are not violent or terrorist. ‘Extremism’ or ‘radicalism’ also cannot reflect the real threat."
And in other developments:
Gul Fails in 2nd Ballot for President - washingtonpost.com
Tolerance and tradition in Turkey - International Herald TribunePublic not worried over Gül presidency, poll shows
Abdullah Gül becoming the next president will not pose a threat to Turkey's secularism and there will be no military coup in response, believe most Turks, a poll released Friday found....Military denies any deal with Gül on his presidency
The Office of the Chief of General Staff yesterday denied press reports that alleged a meeting took place between Chief of General Staff Gen. Yaşar Büyükanıt and presidential candidate Abdullah Gül....Leave the military alone
By MUSTAFA ÜNAL, ZAMAN
Although the presidential election is continuing on its regular course, there are non-political dynamics that are trying to intervene.President of moderate Islam by MÜMTAZ'ER TÜRKÖNE
A new period…
By MEHMET ALTAN, STAR
It is obvious that Abdullah Gül will become president by the end of August. The new Cabinet, the government roadmap and the vote of confidence will serve as insight into the future of the new era.367 decision was a mistake
By ASLI AYDINTAŞBAŞ, SABAH
An interesting bit of news was that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who met with the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) deputies just two days ago, relayed an important conversation that took place between him and acting President Ahmet Necdet Sezer.Why parliamentarianism?
By TOKTAMIŞ ATEŞ, BUGÜN
Parliamentarianism is a political system wherein legislative power, namely the power to make laws, belongs to a parliament elected by people's votes.Democracy gains ground, despite you...
By ALİ BAYRAMOĞLU, YENİ ŞAFAK
It has just been a month since the elections. What should Turkey discuss? Should it not discuss the meaning of the new wave of legitimacy, the new democratization program and how the alliance that has emerged from the ballot box will influence the political decision process?...Social democracy, Kemalism and the CHP
Sabancı University lecturer Sinan Ciddi's doctoral dissertation, titled "Social Democracy, Kemalism and the Republican People's Party" defended and approved at the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies, aims to respond to one of the basic questions of Turkish politics -- Why has the "center-left" Republican People's Party's (CHP) share of the vote been consistently lower than center-right parties?...Turkish lesson number one: centers and peripheries in Turkey
Discussions around the recent election results have shown that some of the elite were caught ostensibly by surprise. In addition to being unable to digest the democratic results, they still find the results enigmatic....."Gul's election will not affect Armenian-Turkish relations" - Politics - Panorama | Armenian news
By Grassroots
""Gul's election will not affect Armenian-Turkish relations" "Today's Turkey isn't the same as five or ten years ago. Today there are strong movements there, which we can use to our advantage." Thus stated Lebanese-Armenian political scientists Asbed Koochigian today at a meeting with journalists at the "Friday" club. In his words, the Islamic Party is represented by Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, whose victory could leave the impression that Turkey is looking eastward, but more important is the relation Gul will have with the military. The speaker says that in the case of a lack of cooperation between the two, the danger of a military revolution exists, yet in the case of cooperation, the contents will be what count, which will determine the progress of the country."....Europe should celebrate milestone in Turkey's transition « In Pursuit of Justice
Comments
No surprise about MEMRI blog; it's an islamophobic, Israeli-propaganda tool. Check out this link:
http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/article.php?ar=605&pg=11
Thanks for the great post!
Posted by: inpursuitofjustice | May 27, 2008 06:07 PM