A dead cow killed in the fires engulfing woodlands in the coastal tourism province of Antalya lies on the ground August 2, 2008. Firefighters worked through the night to bring under control a forest fire which engulfed 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) in the Turkish province of Antalya, the state Anatolian news agency said on Saturday.
REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY)After reading in
Sabah today that 16 million trees are probably destroyed in Antalya wildfires, a Quranic verse came to my mind. I remembered it vaguely and did some net search to find the exact statement. It is the 205th verse from Al-Baqarah (in three different English translations):
002.205
YUSUFALI: When he turns his back, His aim everywhere is
to spread mischief through the earth and destroy crops and cattle. But Allah loveth not mischief.
PICKTHAL: And when he turneth away (from thee) his effort in the land is to make mischief therein and to destroy the crops and the cattle; and Allah loveth not mischief.
SHAKIR: And when he turn,s back, he runs along in the land that he may cause mischief in it and destroy the tilth and the stock, and Allah does not love mischief-making.
Allah talks about the infidels. I have no intention to start a theological argument as I am not very knowledgeable. It is a sort of abstract portrayal of some infidels. However, the section I highlighted, now I argue, can be applied to Turks. Now Article 301 -Insulting Turkishness article of Turkish Penal Code- will crush me but I don't intend to insult and I myself a Turk anyway. It is really heartbreaking to see these within a week:
a) Massive forest desctruction in Antalya,
b) 16-19 female students are killed in Konya because of weak building structure of the dorm they were staying,
c) Construction work on the highway between Cevizlibağ to Mecidiköy which might be good for Istanbulites in the end but now creates a stupidly dangerous site to drive through. Lanes stop or change abruptly. Sometimes too much lighting that kills your eyes or no lighting at all. I can't believe people in charge can be so free of responsibility for our lives and places. But dammit. They live with impunity.
Anyway, we are such a nation that after draining a whole continent (Central Asia), had settled in heavenly Anatolia and after spreading the tragedy we are now moving forward to Europe... This post is written after driving back from airport: I was about to start a fight with two separate mean cab drivers on my way back in two separate contexts. (I wasvery glad to see that before these happened, I saw one guy stopping his car, getting out, going back towards the cab that was harassing him and start to kick the cab driver. Policemen intervened immediately -it was the airport area- but the surprised cab driver had already received some fists). On my way, the usual exit to Dolapdere was closed without notice so i had to find a different route. No, I am not depressed at all. I am fine. I have had another productive day before i got into this temporary anger and frustration. Please take my ideas cautiously and not much seriously:)
In the mean time, here is our new Chief of Staff, İlker Başbuğ. He is known to be as tough as the previous one:
by John Swain The next chief of the armed forces is being chosen this weekend at the end of a tumultuous week. Two PKK terrorist bombs exploded last Sunday night in Istanbul, killing 17 people, including five children whose bodies were riddled with shrapnel. Sandhurst-trained Basbug, 65, will have the top job for the next two years. He is a formidable military figure and an ideological hardliner who will ensure that Erdogan’s government - which was elected last year with 47% of the vote but is mistrusted by the military, which sees itself as guardian of a secular society - walks a narrow political line.
Continue reading "Erkan comments on a Quranic verse (al-Baqara, 205) and a roundup follows" »