20 September 2001, Copyright © Turkish Daily News
Editorial by Ilnur Cevik
Turkish leaders have created a mistaken identity for Islam in our own country... When they oppose the West for talking about Islamic terrorists do they expect to be taken seriously?
Respect for Islam at home
We are now up in arms in Turkey voicing concern that the anti-Islamic sentiment in the West, which has increased with the attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in the United States, could lead to a conflict between religions and even civilizations.
Turkish officials are going to pains to explain that Islam means peace and thus forbids violence and murder.
It is good to see such pro-Islamic voices in Turkey especially after the all out offensive against political Islam...
After the campaign to oust the pro-Islamic Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan we saw an increase in the anti-Islamic offensive in Turkey, which did not really serve to promote the secular system but actually directly attacked religion.
Whether the officials who led this campaign realized the harm they were doing to our religion remains to be seen.
Under the disguise of attacking political Islam some people in high places actually lambasted religion and religious values. Today the very same people are trying to teach lessons of Islam to the West. Isn't that interesting?
Unfortunately much harm has been done to religion and those who have religious sensitivities in Turkey. Today, after the attacks in the United States, we see that our officials are clearly differentiating between terrorists who hide behind religion and those who are true believers.
But the very same people did not differentiate between those who used religion for their political and social aims and those who were simple practicing Muslims. When the Hizbullah terrorist gang was smashed our officials talked about Islamic terrorists and fundamentalists. So when these same gentlemen try to preach the virtues of Islam to the West can they expect to be taken seriously?
President George W. Bush talked about the "crusades" recently and soon realized he had offended the Muslims so he immediately visited a mosque and praised Islam and distances our religion from terrorism.
Did Turkish leaders show the same sensitivity? Not even the conservative Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) that is supposed to have pro-religious sentiments. Today the leaders owe moderate Muslims in Turkey an apology. Maybe that would be advisable to create national solidarity in these times of crises.
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