Rethinking The East
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Friday, July 8th, 2011
[Originally published in Hurriyet Daily News, with readers' comments]
Last week, Turkey’s visionary foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu, visited Benghazi, the stronghold of the Libyan opposition. Crowds were waiting for him at Tahrir Square, which was quite very reminiscent of its more famous namesake in Cairo. When Davutoğlu merged into the crowd with a smile and a hand in the air, he was welcomed with two interesting slogans. “Thank you, Turkey,” people began to chant, adding, “Erdoğan, Turkey, Muslim!”
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Posted in Islam & Muslims, Rethinking The East, Unveiling Turkey | 5 Responses »
Sunday, July 3rd, 2011
[Originally published in Public Discourse]
Predicting history is always a tough, if not risky, business. Hence to a big question such as “How do you think the Middle East will be a decade from now?”, my answer would normally be, “Well, we will see.” And yet I am tempted to agree with Michael Novak’s “not-so-bold prediction” that we will see a much freer and more democratic Muslim Middle East by the year 2020. Let me explain why.
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Posted in Change within Islam, Faith Matters, Fundamentalism (Islamic), Fundamentalism (Secular), Highly Recommended, Islam & Muslims, Rethinking The East | 1 Response »
Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011
[Originally published in Hurriyet Daily News, with readers' comments]
I spent a couple of hours writing and reading messages on Twitter last Sunday night. And it turned out to be one of the most educating discussions that I recently had.
The topic was Libya and the air strikes on Gadhafi forces. Right after this operation began, under the auspices of the United Nations Security Council, I received an email in Turkish that denounced “this latest imperialist war against Libya.” With a few dozen signatories, the manifesto-like text condemned the NATO, and the West in general, for its “new Crusade” on the North African nation.
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Posted in Islam & Muslims, Rethinking The East, Rethinking The West, Unveiling Turkey | No Responses »
Friday, February 25th, 2011
[Originally published in Hurriyet Daily News, with readers' comments]
The Arab Spring, which began in Tunis and continued with Egypt, is spreading in a perfect domino effect. Of course, every Arab country has its own conditions, and its unique form of dictatorship. Some dictators are more rational, even reasonable, whereas some, such Libya’s Col. Gadhafi, are absolute lunatics. That’s one reason, along with the lack of strong political organizations and civil society in Libya, which has made the revolt in this country very chaotic and bloody.
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Posted in Change within Islam, Fundamentalism (Islamic), Islam & Muslims, Rethinking The East | No Responses »
Friday, February 18th, 2011
[Original published in Hurriyet Daily News, with readers' comments]
MECCA – The Kaabah, the holiest shrine of Islam, is a breathtaking place – even through secular eyes. Millions of Muslims flock here every year to venerate this ancient building, which they believe to be the world’s first monotheist temple built by Abraham and his son Ishmael.
The Kaabah is most crowded during the Hajj, with millions of pilgrims, but it is filled with thousands of worshippers at any given moment.
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Posted in Change within Islam, Faith Matters, Fundamentalism (Islamic), Highly Recommended, Islam & Muslims, Rethinking The East | 2 Responses »
Tuesday, February 8th, 2011
[Originally published in Hurriyet Daily News, with readers' comments]
The stamina of the brave people of Egypt, who are entering their third week of pro-democracy demonstrations, makes it clear: The days of Hosni Mubarak, the country’s long time dictator, are numbered. That’s why the nature of the post-Mubarak era, which is uncertain, is the real big question.
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Posted in Change within Islam, Fundamentalism (Secular), Islam & Muslims, Rethinking The East | 1 Response »
Friday, February 4th, 2011
[Originally published in Hurriyet Daily News, with readers' comments]
The uprising in Egypt against the country’s decades-old dictatorship is truly historic. The almost 2 million people who rallied in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, and elsewhere, are certainly on the right side of history. They demand freedom, democracy and bread – to which they have every right.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan stood on the right side of history as well, with his slightly belated yet still-inspiring speech of last Tuesday. Calling on Egyptian ruler Hosni Mubarak to “listen to the wishes of the people,” and respect their yearning for liberty, Erdoğan gave the right message.
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Posted in Islam & Muslims, Rethinking The East | No Responses »
Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011
[Originally published in Hurriyet Daily News, with readers' comments]
It began in Tunis, with the unexpected fall of the country’s 25-year dictator. Then, in a perfect domino effect, came Egypt. The country’s oppressed masses raided the streets, protesting Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year rule. That “pharoah” is still in office, but he probably won’t be able to hold onto power for much longer.
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Posted in Fundamentalism (Islamic), Islam & Muslims, Rethinking The East | 4 Responses »
Friday, January 28th, 2011
[Originally published in Hurriyet Daily News, with readers' comments]
I was at Istanbul’s Neve Şalom synagogue the other night, in the midst of almost a thousand people. Some were Jews, some were not. But at that particular moment, we were all Jews – for we all shared the sorrow for the 6 million Jews who perished in the Holocaust.
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Posted in Fundamentalism (Islamic), Fundamentalism (Secular), Islam & Muslims, Rethinking The East, Rethinking The West | 1 Response »
Friday, January 21st, 2011
[Originally published in Hürriyet Daily News]
“What collapsed in Tunisia is the Kemalist model.” So read the headline of Yeni Asya, a Muslim Turkish daily, last Tuesday. And it summed up the doomed fate of the modern Muslim Middle East, and its erratically unfolding future.
What just happened in Tunisia, the smallest of all North African states, is a popular uprising dubbed the “Jasmine Revolution.” The fallen dictator, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who fled the county last week with one-and-a-half tons of gold, had been in power since 1987. Yet the country was no freer before: Ben Ali was just a sequel to Habib Bourguiba, another dictator, who had ruled the country single-handedly since its independence from French colonial rule in 1957. Click to continue »
Posted in Change within Islam, Fundamentalism (Secular), Highly Recommended, Islam & Muslims, Rethinking The East | 6 Responses »
Friday, October 22nd, 2010
[Originally published in Hurriyet Daily News]
BEIRUT – Anybody old enough to recall the 1980s would probably also recall the horrific fate of Sabra and Shatilla. These two adjacent Palestinian camps just outside of Beirut had become the setting of the massacre of more than two thousand people in September 1982. Not just men but women and children were mercilessly slaughtered by the Christian Maronite militias, while their Israeli allies watched uncaringly at arm’s length. It was a truly dark episode for mankind.
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Posted in Islam & Muslims, Rethinking The East | 3 Responses »
Friday, July 9th, 2010
[Originally published in Hurriyet Daily News]
My column neighbor Burak Bekdil had an interesting piece yesterday titled, “Would Mr. Erdoğan kindly care for this Muslim woman?” While Mr. Erdoğan probably needs no introduction, “this woman” was Sakineh Mohammedie Ashtiani, an Iranian citizen who reportedly faced a threat of being executed by stoning. Mr. Bekdil was wondering — rhetorically, I guess — if the Turkish prime minister could use his prestige in Tehran to save the poor lady from such an unfortunate end. Besides that, he was also making tongue-in-cheek references to the Quran to imply how upholding that book can lead Muslims to “barbaric” acts such as stoning.
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Posted in Change within Islam, Faith Matters, Fundamentalism (Secular), Highly Recommended, Islam & Muslims, Rethinking The East, Unveiling Turkey | 4 Responses »
Tuesday, June 15th, 2010
[Originally published in Hurriyet Daily News]
I once read a comment by an Israeli author that most people in his country do not want to recall the historic significance of the Horns of Hattin. That place, which is in modern-day Israel, takes its interesting name from the twin peaks that overlook the lower Galilee. But its real fame comes from the 1187 Battle of Hattin, in which the Islamic army led by the legendary Saladin crushed the Crusaders, opening the way to the Muslim re-conquest of Jerusalem.
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Posted in Highly Recommended, Islam & Muslims, Rethinking The East, Rethinking The West | No Responses »
Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010
[Originally published in Hurriyet Daily News]
Two days ago, Israeli forces attacked a humanitarian aid flotilla in international waters. The whole purpose of the activists on the raided Turkish ship, the Mavi Marmara, and several others around it, were to bring aid and supplies, including playgrounds for children, to Gaza. They paid the price by being the targets of Israeli machine guns.
At least 10 unarmed civilians, most of whom are Turks, were killed. Dozens of others were injured. Click to continue »
Posted in Islam & Muslims, Rethinking The East, Rethinking The West, Unveiling Turkey | 13 Responses »
Friday, May 21st, 2010
[Originally published in Hurriyet Daily News]
Turkish diplomacy just had one of its most mind-boggling weeks. First, on Monday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu showed up in Tehran with their Brazilian counterparts, for a “historic” deal with their Iranian hosts. After an 18-hour-long negotiation, they held hands with Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and smiled for the cameras.
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Posted in Islam & Muslims, Rethinking The East, Rethinking The West | No Responses »
