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| Islamist-Dictator Erdogan of Turkey. |
I’ve
referred to Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan as the “king of the Islamists”
because of his ability to swoon the West, make Israel bend and maintain
popularity while implementing Sharia using the doctrine of“gradualism.” He now
faces his biggest internal challenge as protests against him enter their fifth
day in what one expert compares to the “eruption of a volcano.”
The
unexpected spark was Erdogan’s plan to redevelop Gezi Park in Taksim Square.
Reuters explains that Taksim honors the secular legacy of Ataturk, while the
other squares in the capital reflect upon the days of the Ottoman Empire. When
Erdogan planned to transform the park into an Ottoman-theme shopping center
with a mosque, apartment complex and model of Ottoman-era barracks, it was seen
by secularists as a washing away of Ataturk.
Opponents
of Erdogan had been looking for an opportunity, angered over the government’s
new restrictions on alcohol sales and advertising, the morning-after pill, the
rejection of a gay rights law, and other moves towards Sharia governance. About
100 Turks publicly kissed in a subway station after officials said passengers
must “act in accordance with moral rules” regarding public displays of
affection.
A
recent poll found that 35% of Turks consume alcohol, an act that is forbidden
in Islam. It did not flatly ask respondents whether they oppose the new
restrictions, but 61% felt it was an intervention in personal lives.
Interestingly, a 2009 poll that found high levels of hostility towards
Christians, Jews and atheists also found that 54% of Turks don’t want “Sharia
supporters” for neighbors.
The
protest at Gezi Park began as a small sit-in at the park, with participants
planting trees and reading books. It quickly grew as the demonstration took on
broader meaning. Tens of thousands joined and protests spread to 67 of Turkey’s
81 provinces.
“We
are Mustafa Kemal’s soldiers,” chanted some protesters, referring to Ataturk.
The
police’s reaction, by Erdogan’s own admission, was excessive. At least two have
died, one at the hands of an unidentified gunman, perhaps a police officer.
About 1,700 have been arrested and thousands more injured, including a young
boy who lost an eye because of a plastic bullet. The Turkish opposition
claimsthat detainees have been forced into signing testimonies and are being
refused access to lawyers.
The
protests are bound to get larger in the coming days as they garner
international attention. One of the country’s four major unions, the
240,000-strong Public Workers Unions Confederation, is launching a two-day
“warning”strike on Tuesday.
Erdogan
reacted as Islamists usually do. He claimed that the protestors are extremists
allied with terrorists and are part of a foreign conspiracy. He said, “The
thing that is called social media is the biggest trouble for society now,”
setting the stage for restrictions on the Internet.
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| Mustafa Kamel the founder of secular Republic of Turkey. |
Contrary
to Erdogan’s insistence that the protesters are part of a fringe group,The
Atlantic observes that “all of Turkey was represented: the young and the old,
the secular and the religious, the soccer hooligans and the blind, anarchists,
communists, nationalists, Kurds, gays, feminists and students.”
Erdogan’s
Islamist agenda has become more aggressive as he’s tallied up political
victories since coming to power in 2002.
Recently, the Turkish governmentsentenced
writer Sevan Nisanyan to one year in prison for allegedly “denigrating the
religious values.” This comes shortly after the conviction of pianist Faisal
Say for his exercising of free speech. In July, the governmentsuggested limits
on free speech for the sake of “public morality,” “public order” and to
“prevent pro-war propaganda, discrimination and hate.”
Under
Erdogan, anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism has skyrocketed. The government is
said to have bought 40% of the media and has more imprisoned journalists than
any other country. It also has the highest rate of honor killings; 17,000 new
mosques have been built. Erdogan has overseen the largest crackdown on the
military in the country’s history, protecting himself from being the next
example of a Turkish leader overthrown in a coup.
Turkey’s
move into the Islamist camp does not only have strategic implications for the
West. It has direct affects for America. The Turkish Fehtullah Gulen network is
under FBI investigation. The Turkish government is building ties with Native
American tribes. And, most recently, Erdogan spoke at an event celebrating his
government’s construction of a $100 million Ottoman-themed mega-mosque in
Maryland.
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| Turkish Islamist-Police killing a secular protester. |
Yet, President Obama calls Erdogan a
“friend.” If you go to the websites of the major Muslim-American organizations,
not a word is said about Erdogan's crackdown on human rights; a sharp contrast
to their rapid responses to the “offenses” of “Islamophobes” and Western
governments, especially Israel.
Just
as they were when Muslims challenged the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, these
groups are absent. Turkish activists even had to fundraise online to take out a
full-page advertisement for their cause in the New York Times. A group like the
Council on American-Islamic Relations or the Islamic Society of North America
could cut a check for it without skipping a breath.
Dr.
Daniel Pipes reacted to the landslide victory of Erdogan’s Islamist party in
2011 with a dire warning: “Elections taking place today are likely to be the
last fair and free ones in Turkey. With Turkey’s leading Islamist party
controlling all three branches of the government and the military sidelined,
little will stop it from changing the rules to keep power into the indefinite
future.”
We shouldn’t be surprised when an Islamist acts like an
Islamist.
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| Turkey Islamist Dictator: Erdogan's Way or Highway. |