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March 31, 2007
Render Unto ‘Akdamar’ What Is Ahtamar’s
[Originally published in Turkish Daily News]
One of the commonly used quotes from Jesus Christ is his words that put an equal share between the divine and temporal authorities. “Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's,” he said according to the New Testament, “and unto God the things that are God's.” Some political theorists think that this particular phrase in the gospels opened the way for the separation of church and state in the West. The state, which we finance by our taxes and serve us in return with earthly goods and services, can have our material loyalty. But it has neither the power nor the right to interfere in our spiritual beliefs and practices. It should, in other words, simply respect the church, the synagogue or the mosque.
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Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 10:13 AM | Comments (9)
March 28, 2007
American Neo-Conservatives and the AKP
[Originally published in Turkish Daily News]
Since the beginning of the Iraqi War, the neo-conservatives, an ideological circle influential on the Bush Administration, has been the focus of global interest. They also became quite famous in Turkey and it has been very customary to read opinion pieces in the Turkish press about them. However, much of these comments were based on very little information. People knew that the neo-conservatives (or, the “neocons”) have championed the Iraqi War and continue to argue for an aggressive U.S. foreign policy. But beyond that, there are other facts that have gone unnoticed.
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Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 1:45 PM | Comments (2)
March 25, 2007
'300': Orientalism (and Fascist Aesthetics) for Beginners
[Originally published in Turkish Daily News]
This week I went to see the new chic movie, "300," which tells the story of the ancient Spartans' last stand against an invading Persian army. Yet what I have found in the film was, besides all the spectacular photography, a crude Orientalism and a thinly veiled fascism.
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Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 10:02 AM | Comments (29)
March 17, 2007
Open Turkey and Its Enemies
[Originally published Turkish Daily News]
In his highly influential work, “The Open Society and Its Enemies” (1945), Sir Karl Popper made a historical overview of political thinkers who opposed the “open society” and instead preferred authoritarianism in various forms. From Plato to Marx, many influential theorists have argued for a political order in which the state and the elites “guide” the people and suppress their “wrong” ideas, beliefs and even identities. Yet such trials of social engineering created not the perfect societies they proposed, Popper noted, but rather brutal tyrannies.
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Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 8:07 PM | Comments (12)
March 3, 2007
Reflections on Islam & the West—at Wilton Park
[Originally published in Turkish Daily News]
Last week I was at a truly exceptional meeting. First of all, the spot was quite interesting: A medieval manor surrounded by grass, sheep, and, well, more grass and sheep. ... That might sound a bit dull, but the gothic mansion was interesting enough in itself. It was supplemented by a small but charming chapel, whose floor was also the place of the tombs of its 16th century owners and even the bones of an 12th century knight, whose carved image looked very much like a gallant crusader.
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Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 11:44 AM | Comments (3)
March 1, 2007
Turkey’s First ID Conference—Accomplished
The first conference bringing Intelligent Design to the attention of the Turkish public took place on Feb 24, 2007, in Istanbul’s second biggest hall, the Cemal Resit Rey Concert Hall. An audience of approximately 500 hundred people, which included many university students, scholars, scientists, and journalists, joined the event and listened to the four-hour long program on "The Origin of Life On Earth."
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Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 10:05 PM | Comments (4)
