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May 31, 2009
Fascism, Anti-Semitism and All Sorts of Turks
[Originally published in Hürriyet Daily News]
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is a man full of surprises. He surprised the world four months ago in Davos by bashing Israeli President Shimon Peres for "killing children" in Gaza. The way he stormed the international forum came as a relief to most Middle Easterners, but raised eyebrows among many Westerners. Last week Erdoğan made another surprise move, defending the right of an Israeli company to invest in Turkey, and criticizing the history of his own country, and his own political tradition, for having a "fascist mindset." While this comment came as a relief to Turkey's liberals, it not only raised eyebrows, but also prompted heated protests among the country's more numerous nationalists.
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Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 4:00 PM | Comments (3)
May 17, 2009
Revisiting Kemalism's 'Western Orientation'
[Originally published in Hürriyet Daily News]
One of the narratives about Turkey that we hear very often these days is the "Western orientation" of its Kemalist revolution. After the fall of the Ottoman Empire, we are told, Mustafa Kemal and his followers emerged as the saviors of the country by recreating it as a modern republic and turning its face to the West. This story is often followed by alarmist comments about the current destination of Turkey under its current government. The Kemalists are not in power anymore, we are warned, and the new non-Kemalist elite is changing its orientation from the West to the East.
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Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 6:13 AM | Comments (4)
May 9, 2009
Islam, Apostasy and 'Erdoğanists' In Malaysia
[Originally published in Hürriyet Daily News]
KUALA LUMPUR - It is my first time in this fascinating city, and I just hope that it won't be the last. Thanks to the invitation from Malaysian Think Tank, a pioneering organization dedicated to popularize classical liberal ideas in Malaysian society, I had the chance to come here all the way down from Istanbul. And I was impressed by not just Malaysia's common tourist attractions (gorgeous nature, great food, and diverse society) but also for the lessons it tells us about the interaction between Islam and modernity.
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Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 2:11 PM | Comments (4)
May 7, 2009
A More Radical Government? ... Not Really
[Originally published in Hürriyet Daily News]
One of the great things about the Hürriyet Daily News is that it opens its pages to differing, opposing and even battling views. If you are a regular reader, you might have already noticed this diversity in the paper's opinion pages. But today I will take another step and explain you why I strongly beg to differ from one of our recent headline stories.
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Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 12:06 PM | Comments (2)
