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January 30, 2010
The Shariah of Love
[Originally published in Hurriyet Daily News]
One of the popular themes in our popular culture is that peculiar feeing called love, and the way it sometimes torments people. Love stories with unhappy endings are quite common, and the heartbreaks they cause are quite bitter. No wonder so much music has been devoted to this trouble. "Love hurts," a famous song warns, "love scars."
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Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 10:06 PM | Comments (0)
January 26, 2010
Kemalism Needs to Be Disarmed - and Privatized
[Originally published in Hurriyet Daily News]
Turkey's latest national controversy over the alleged coup plan codenamed "Sledgehammer" will probably remain as just that: a controversy. The generals who seem responsible will probably not face any trial, for the military remains as an untouchable institution, especially after being saved last week by the Constitutional Court from civilian scrutiny. A bit like the ancient legal maxim, "The prince is above the law," Turkish laws place the generals above the justice system that we, the lesser mortals, are subject to.
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Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 10:11 PM | Comments (0)
January 23, 2010
Does The Turkish Military Make Plans to Kill Turkish People?
[Originally published in Hurriyet Daily News]
Have you taken a look at the recent exposure about the amazing adventures of Turkey's Dr. Strangelovish generals? It is a must-see.
What I am referring to is the action plan called "Balyoz" (Sledgehammer) that the liberal daily Taraf published a few days ago. The extensive document, whose full name is the "Sledgehammer Security Operation Plan," was apparently drafted in 2003, a little after the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, came to power.
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Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 11:37 PM | Comments (1)
January 19, 2010
Toward a Liberal 'Political Islam'?
[Originally published in Hurriyet Daily News]
Political Islam, as you probably have noticed before, is a dirty term. It often refers to angry men who impose veils on women and ban anything that is fun. It even reminds us of the horrific reign of the Taliban, whose heaven on Earth in Afghanistan looked rather like hell for most of us.
There is a good reason for this notoriety of political Islam. Its main proponents, such as the Pakistani thinker Abul A'ala Mawdudi (1903-1979), defined it as the effort to create an "Islamic state," whose main mission would be the imposition of shariah, or Islamic law, within its most rigid and medieval interpretation.
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Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 11:33 PM | Comments (0)
January 18, 2010
An Open Letter to Israelis (From a Concerned Turk)
[Originally published in Hurriyet Daily News]
Dear friends,
I hope all is well in the Holy Land. Things are not too bad here in Turkey. Yet one thing that certainly does not look great is relations between our countries, which hit an ugly low this week.
In fact, since the beginning of your government's "Operation Cast Lead" in Gaza, which happened a year ago, a continual war of words has been going on between your leaders and ours.
Continue reading "An Open Letter to Israelis (From a Concerned Turk)"
Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 12:32 AM | Comments (9)
January 13, 2010
The Trouble With Islamo-Tribalism
[Originally published in Hurriyet Daily News]
Nasty things are happening in Malaysia. Nine Christian churches have been vandalized or burnt just over the last weekend. Thank God, nobody has been hurt, yet, but the terror unleashed is terrifying enough for the Christian minority of this overwhelmingly Muslim nation.
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Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 11:47 AM | Comments (4)
January 11, 2010
Ahmet Davutoğlu: Yet Another Crypto-Armenian?
[Originally published in Hurriyet Daily News]
Ahmet Davutoğlu, the former academic who has been mastering Turkish foreign policy since 2003, is a remarkable man. First as an adviser to the prime minister, and recently as foreign minister, he really transformed the way Ankara does business in the world. His strategies of "zero problems with neighbors," "pro-active engagement," or "multi-lateral foreign policy" made Turkey a much more influential actor in its region. You might like or dislike the results of this new paradigm, but it would be only fair to acknowledge the depth and creativity of its vision.
Continue reading "Ahmet Davutoğlu: Yet Another Crypto-Armenian?"
Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 2:26 PM | Comments (0)
January 6, 2010
Should Muslims 'Slay The Mockers of Islam'?
[Originally published in Hurriyet Daily News]
Alas, it happened again. An extremist Muslim attacked a Westerner to punish him for "mocking Islam." This time, the victim was the Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard, whose controversial caricature of the Prophet Mohammed had sparked a worldwide storm five years ago. A 28-year-old man of Somali origin broke into the cartoonist's home last Friday, wielding an axe and a knife. "We will get our revenge," he reportedly yelled, before being shot by the police and taken under custody.
Continue reading "Should Muslims 'Slay The Mockers of Islam'?"
Posted by Mustafa Akyol at 12:30 PM | Comments (4)
