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December 27, 2008
A Nation of Illiberals
[Originally published in Hurriyet Daily News]
Is there a "neighborhood pressure" on people with secular lifestyles in Turkey's conservative towns? Are they, for example, harassed for drinking alcohol or wearing shorts?
You bet. Most Anatolian cities have a pretty illiberal culture in which everybody is expected to subscribe to norms of "appropriate" dress code or behavior. That's one reason why I rather live in Istanbul -- which is not a beacon of liberty, too, but at least much more diverse.
Continue reading "A Nation of Illiberals"
Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 10:26 AM | Comments (10)
December 25, 2008
Is Christmas Really Un-Islamic?
[Originally published in Hürriyet Daily News]
Every year, toward the end of December, warnings come from some of the conservative Islamic voices in Turkey. They advise their co-religionists to avoid indulging in New Year's Eve celebrations, which they see as a "Christian tradition." Some of them, especially the most orthodox, even go as far as saying that Muslims will be betraying their faith if they sympathize with Santa Claus or Christmas trees.
Continue reading "Is Christmas Really Un-Islamic?"
Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 9:25 AM | Comments (13)
December 21, 2008
Is President Gül a Crypto-Armenian?
[Originally published in Hurriyet Daily News]
The bizarre question in the headline does not come from me. It comes from a member of the Turkish Parliament on the ticket of the main opposition People's Republican Party, or CHP. Mrs. Canan Aritman, who represents the "most progressive city" in Turkey, Izmir, actually not curiously inquired but passionately argued that President Gul was a secret Armenian. "Look at his ethnic origins from his mother side," she said to journalists three days ago. "And you will see why he supports the Armenians."
Continue reading "Is President Gül a Crypto-Armenian?"
Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 10:43 PM | Comments (1)
December 17, 2008
Now Ergenekon Makes Even More Sense
[Originally published in Hürriyet Daily News]
On May 17, 2006, a horrible incident took place in Ankara. A 29-year-old lawyer named Alparslan Arslan stormed into one of Turkey's legal strongholds, the Council of State, took his gun out and shot five senior judges.
One of them, Mustafa Özbilgin, died. The killer was caught by the police and everything suggested that he was an Islamist fanatic. He reportedly shouted "Allahu Akbar!" (God is great) as he fired his weapon. When got caught, he said that he was "a soldier of Allah." He also said that he shot the judges because of their stance against the right to wear headscarves. He even left a copy of the Islamist daily Vakit in his car, a paper which had strongly bashed the Council of State.
Continue reading "Now Ergenekon Makes Even More Sense"
Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 10:49 PM | Comments (0)
December 13, 2008
Why Turkish Cities Are Washed With Blood Every Bayram?
[Originally published in Hürriyet Daily News]
If you live in Istanbul, or any other major Turkish city, and have toured around a bit during the recent Kurban Bayramı, or the Feast of Sacrifice, you might have seen some carnage. For hundreds of thousands of sheep have been slaughtered in the four days of the religious holiday and some of this bloodshed took place right on the streets or near the highways. Many in the Turkish media criticized these "uncivilized scenes," and, they were right to do so. The practice of slaughtering animals in public space indeed looks, and is, uncivilized.
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Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 10:58 AM | Comments (0)
December 8, 2008
Obama’s Turkish Partners
[Originally published in Newsweek]
For years Ankara's foreign policy was fixated on a few narrow topics—how to handle the Greeks, the Kurds and Armenians—and Turkish policymakers seemed unable to solve even these chronic problems, let alone the problems of others. But these days Turkey has tackled such regional concerns with a new gusto—making the first real headway on the Cyprus issue in decades, for instance—while playing a far larger role in global affairs. In May Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government mediated indirect peace talks between Syrian and Israeli officials in Istanbul. The talks are now ongoing, and further meetings have reportedly been scheduled.
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Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 1:09 PM | Comments (1)
December 6, 2008
Oh My God, Is the CHP Questioning Kemalism?
[Originally published in Hürriyet Daily News]
Deniz Baykal, the leader of the main opposition People’s Republican Party, or CHP, has been surprising us for a while. For years, he had slashed his sword for all the ultra-secularist causes you can imagine, including the ban on the Islamic headscarf in the "public square." But just a month ago, he made a surprising move by blessing the acceptance ceremony of a group of veiled women in his party. And, alas, these ladies were the most orthodox of all: they wore the all-black, all-covering chador. "We can’t push these people to the AKP’s ranks," he mind-bogglingly said. "They, too, deserve a place under the CHP roof."
Continue reading "Oh My God, Is the CHP Questioning Kemalism?"
Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 10:30 AM | Comments (3)
December 4, 2008
Conservative Islam With a Smiling Face
[Originally published in Hürriyet Daily News]
For most people, especially westerners, the all-covering black chador is a sign of the repression of women. And it often really is. Authoritarian Islamist regimes such as Saudi Arabia force their female citizens to wear these "niqabs," which turn the latter into BMO’s, i.e., "Black Moving Objects," as tourists sometimes call them. The shapeless veil deprives women of their personality and turns them into exiles from society.
Continue reading "Conservative Islam With a Smiling Face"
Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 11:24 AM | Comments (2)
