Is Egypt More Liberal Than France?

An Egyptian court has overturned the decision of Egypt's leading Islamic educational institution to ban the niqab, or full face veil, among its female students and teachers.

Now...

Is Egypt getting to be more liberal than France, which is about to ban the same clothing in public places?

What about Denmark, which seems deviously more clever than France, as it started to ban the niqab without a new legislation?

And where is Turkey on this cloth-liberalism scale?

It is a time that liberties and democracy are being redefined, revealing centuries-old hypocrisies of some Western European and Muslim countries.

Not A Fox, Conan

As his Turkish fan who followed the bitter NBC drama with sadness, I'd like to keep watching Conan O'Brien anywhere but Fox, especially after the worrying news...

Hagia Sofia Unleashed

Exactly a year ago, I had written here that the long-awaited restoration of Hagia Sofia's dome was about to be completed.

I don't know if it's related to the European Capital of Culture 2010 events, but the ugly in-door scaffolding which was over 17 years was completely removed just three days ago.

A perfect excuse to visit Hagia Sofia once again...

I'm Not Swearing, B*TCH

We, Turks -and Muslims in general-, have got an interesting characteristic. Probably because of our emotional nature, most of the times we react in a way that justifies the action that we rightfully oppose.

Complicated? I'll give you two examples.

Take the latest televised address of General Ilker Basbug, the head of Turkey's armed forces.

Responding angrily to a newspaper report accusing the military of plotting to overthrow the government, Basbug simply told: "We aren't organizing a coup d'etat. But if you keep testing our patience like this..."

Basbug's fill-in-the-blanks sentence reminded me of the Cartoon Crisis. A racist cartoonist in Denmark had insulted Prophet Mohammed by portraying him as a terrorist.

He should certainly be condemned, but how did a significant portion of the Muslim world react?

By ravaging neighborhoods and threating the cartoonist with death, while still chanting slogans like "Islam is a religion of peace."

So it's the same story. The systems and the institutions (like Islam and the Turkish army) are generally OK, but not the mentality of some individiuals, whether they're Islamist fanatics or secularists...

Ban the Burqa, Down With Darth Vader

Several European countries, including France, the Netherlands, Denmark and Austria, consider to ban the burqa.

I believe that such a ban will eventually force the EU to lose its democratic moral ground.

I don't have a strong position on this subject anymore, but how will the EU keep preaching about freedoms after such a ban?

Maybe it is the Turkification of the EU.

The EU may finally be accepted as a member of Turkey now, because finally all the Turkish bans, including the headscarf ban in the university campuses, make sense.

By the way...

For God's sake, what is an Islamic veil?

For example, will France also ban the following head gear?

Four Seasons In Turkey

It is said that you can experience all seasons at once in Turkey.

Currently, it is being realized again.

While Istanbul, one of the proud holders of the title of European Capital of Culture 2010, is fighting the deadly snow storms with black outs, Antalya is enjoying the sun with half-naked beach joggers and blossomming flowers...

Istanbul, January 23rd

Antalya, January 23rd

The Sledgehammer Coup and Its Dislike of Gourmet

Emre Aköz, the columnist, busy with doing research for his fiery, political writings

On top of the Turkish news agenda, there is the alleged coup plan to bring the country into disorder in 2003. The coup, allegedly codenamed as the Sledgehammer Operation, included bombings of mosques during the Friday prayer, crashing a Turkish jet plane and warplanes flying over the parliament should lead to martial law and a coup. The army rejects the claims.

As it is the Taraf newspaper that reported the claim (with the signature of a shadowy correspondent), I'm cautious. I don't rule out the very realistic possibility that there are many, many anti-democratic idiots in the army (as it is like in any large institution in the world) who can make such plans. Though, I still don't want to make rushed conclusions as this is another sensationalist story which doesn't seem like a well-intended, honest journalism.

Here is an example about the suspicious allegations of Taraf:

The newspaper claims that Emre Aköz, a Sabah columnist, would be among the journalists who would be arrested according to the coup plan. It is true that Aköz is a mouthpiece of the AKP government nowadays. However, the situation was not like that seven years ago.

As Oray Egin, an Aksam columnist, has reported today, Aköz was busy writing restaurant reviews in 2003. Egin said that he scanned all the articles of Aköz and found out that he has written about a political subject only once in 2003.

Even Aköz is surprised now. Why was he in the blacklist of the coup planners?

The answer could be something about the imagination of the Taraf correspondent.

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love AKP

Meet Turkey's next Prime Minister: Mustafa Sarigul.

The current mayor of a major Istanbul district, Sisli, has founded the Turkish Movement for Change (TDH). TDH has held 524 rallies since 2004 and has 705,000 members. It had over 8 percent voting potential, yet the number was going beyond 16 percent when people were asked, “Will you vote for Sarigul’s party?” in questionnaires.

Who is Sarigul? Cuneyt Ulsever, a liberal Hurriyet columnist, has recently written two articles about him (here and here). Though, I don't believe that you have to write 1000 words to describe Sarigul.

Firstly, Sarigul is the hope governing AKP with his realistic potential to divide the left. The surprising coverage of some pro-government newspapers prove this point.

However, one should not think that Sarigul is the Obama of the Turkish left, falling for his motto of change. In fact, he is as leftist as Silvio Berlusconi is.

As a populist politician who can defend anything for some more votes, Sarigul, with his polarizing charisma, has also got the talent to dodge corruption cases in a similar fashion with Berlusconi.

* * *

AKP leaders may regret for their silent support for Sarigul when he becomes the next Prime Minister or -at least- the next kingmaker of a looming coalition.

Because the Gulen Movement, which is the current power-broker of the establishment, is supporting Sarigul not only to steal CHP's votes, but also to control AKP more tightly. When it's needed, AKP would indeed be chucked out and TDH, as a fresh popular movement, would replace them.

Unfortunately, it seems that the fate of Turkey is to be ruled by incompetent, corrupt politicians with shadowy social and financial links. Today's Turkey shows that a civil democracy may even be less democratic than a junta regime in representing the nation as a whole.

To summarize, Sarigul is such a leader that I, as a social democrat, may opt to vote for the Islamist AKP, instead of his leftist TDH. Maybe because I always feel sympathy for the underdogs...

Two Must-See Events of Istanbul 2010

Enough praise...

After Erdogan's speech, the opening ceremony of European Capital of Culture 2010 was a disaster.

Does the government describe the Turkish culture as a cocktail of Tarkan, Kirac and Mor ve Otesi?

Isn't it too pop?

Meanwhile, I've finished reviewing the program.

I believe that there are just two activities that everyone MUST see:

The first one is Estonian composer Arvo Pärt's special piece for Istanbul, entitled "Adam’s Lament", which will be premiered on 7 June 2010. Last year, I had met Tõnu Kaljuste, the Estonian maestro who will also conduct Pärt's piece in Istanbul. Such a prestigious event wouldn't be possible without the title of European Capital of Culture. Hurriyet's jury of culture, too, voted the Pärt concert as the best event of the calendar.

The second must-see event is a dance and music production about the life of Kaptan-i Derya (Fleet Admiral of the Ottoman Navy) Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha and Mediterranean sailors of the 16th century. I'm impatient to watch the dancers of the Turkish State Opera and Ballet.

Some may argue that there are many more interesting events, including a concert by U2 and the opening of the Museum of Innocence, inspired by the eponymous novel by Nobel Prize-winning Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk. Simply, I don't believe that these are as cultural as they should be; but I would love to see them as well.

From Constantine to Ataturk

A few minutes ago, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has spoken at the opening ceremony of Istanbul European Capital of Culture 2010 events. You can't hear these words from my mouth frequently, but I like his speech.

While talking about the cultural heritage of Istanbul, Erdogan mentioned not only Mehmed II and Suleyman the Magnificent, but also Emperor Constantine and Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. He honored not only Sinan the Architect, but also Anthemius of Tralles.

"Istanbul is a bit of Sarajevo, a bit of Vienna, Madrid, Rome, Paris," said Erdogan, continuing with several former Ottoman cities in the Near East. Then, he recited the following verses of the Ottoman poet Nedim:

O city of Istanbul, priceless and peerless,

I would sacrifice all Persia for one of your stones

After finishing the sentence, Erdogan paused. Then, while smiling, he uttered:

"I hope the translator didn't make a mistake with my last phrase as we also have visitors from Iran here!"

The last quotation may not be the best choice, but I still congratulate Erdogan for this open-minded, balanced speech which was completely in line with the spirit of European Capital of Culture title.

Istanbul as a European Capital

Istanbul is going to be a 2010 European Capital of Culture with the opening ceremony today.

I've liked the introduction of the AFP story:

"Istanbul will launch this weekend a year of art events as it becomes one of the three Cultural Capitals of Europe for 2010, giving Turkey an occasion to reaffirm its European anchor."

I don't really believe that Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality has prepared the events as good as it should be, but I'm happy about that anchor.

I was convinced that Istanbul's programme lacks a lot, especially after seeing the fabulous opening ceremony in Pecs. With the opening that cherished the whole cultural history of the country, including the Ottoman ages, Hungary showed that it will be the integral part of the future of New Europe. An open-minded society with a history that it proudly embraces as a whole... After all, it means more cooperation between cultures that are the branches of the same tree...

And what does Nicholas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel do tonight?

Pope's Assassin and Two Terrorists

Turkish gunman Mehmet Ali Agca wants to meet Pope Benedict and visit the tomb of Pope John Paul II, whom he tried to kill in 1981, after his release from prison next week, he said in comments faxed to Reuters.

As a criminal who probably lost his mental health during his long imprisonment, I doubt if Agca's words are still news-worthy. He has been talking nonsense for a long while now and the Turkish media basically ignore him nowadays.

On the eve of his release, several international news outlets, including the competitors of Reuters, may find Agca's words interesting enough to publish and I respect their choice. What I can't understand is the good old double standard about the terrorist label, which is also being put into practice by Reuters.

Just take a look at two paragraphs from the Reuters report on Agca:

* "In a statement issued by his lawyers earlier on Wednesday, Agca had called for a 'new American Empire' championing democracy, peace and freedom. The 52-year-old failed assassin condemned terrorism, especially al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden."

* "Agca went on to name bin Laden, Adolf Hitler, jailed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrilla leader Abdullah Ocalan and Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot as 'the common enemies of all religions and all nations in the world.'"

So...

We see that Reuters feels comfortable to label someone as a terrorist (Bin Ladin). I don't have any objection here, but I just want to emphasize that Reuters doesn't refrain from using such a wording.

However, in the second paragraph, the same Reuters should have felt an urge to put to tuck in two words, party and guerilla, when it comes to describing another person, PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan.

Shortly, the Reuters editor has managed to push the word terrorism away from Abdullah Ocalan as much as possible.

OK, I still want to believe that Reuters doesn't have any bad intention here.

Then why don't they at least remind another very important fact in their report?

The fact that PKK is a terrorist organization according to Turkey, the United States and the EU..

Is Reuters scared of PKK and their supporters in the EU?

Maybe...

But is it really unbiased journalism then?

Can You Trigger A World War With A TV Show?

The latest crisis between Israel and Turkey is triggered after a Turkish TV show portrayed Mossad agents as baby-snatchers.

The name of the serial is "Valley of the Wolves: Ambush." The cinematic prequel of the same franchise, "Valley of the Wolves: Iraq", was also quite controversial because of its alleged anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism.

So...

On one side, there is an increasingly autoritarian Islamist government...

On the other side, there is a weak government with racist elements in charge...

And a wanna-be Godfather, a superficial, populist and provocative TV show as the dangerous catalyst...

* * *

A few months ago, Israel had officially criticized another Turkish serial, TRT's "Ayrilik" (Departure), for its portrayal of Israeli soldiers as ruthless killers.

Ayrilik was even a more stupid, cheaper travesty and the Israeli government was right to criticize it as it was being broadcast by the Turkish state television; but come on, what can Ankara do for a TV production like Valley of the Wolves, which is produced and broadcast by a private channel?

Isn't it a bit like the infamous cartoon crisis, the emergent questions about the freedom of speech and the controlling role of the government?

* * *

While a few Turkish serials damage Ankara's relationship with Israel, another bunch of them keep seducing other audiences in the Arab world, the Balkans and Central Asia, helping a social transformation there.

It cannot be denied that the flourishing cultural products of Turkey started to dominate the Middle East and beyond, following the footsteps of Ankara's new, but still questionable foreign policy with some neo-Ottomanism.

I don't know yet if it's good or bad, but I do know that it is neither propagandist politics nor a purely social realist art...

It is the Zeitgeist.

And I have a fear about a future, a new world where wars can not only be watched on the TV, but also be ignited by it...

Could Polat Alemdar be the new Gavrilo Princip one day?

Revealed: Bin Laden is an Ergenekon Agent

Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the terror organization PKK, has claimed that Humam Khalil Abu Mulal al-Balawi, the CIA-Al Qaida double agent who blew himself up inside a US intelligence base in Afghanistan, was actually the agent of the Turkish deep state, Ergenekon!

"Al-Balawis's wife is a Turkish woman. I've listened from the radio that five CIA agents came to Turkey for the investigation. The link with the Turkish Ergenekon is obvious here," Ocalan stated.

So even Ocalan has discovered the silver bullet: You can put the blame on the Ergenekon for anything.

Using the name of this group, which was actually created in the minds of some Turkish police chiefs who try to undermine the reputation of the army, is the easiest way of mystification and manipulation now.

Cyclical Democrats

I'm talking about some details in Turkey today. That's where the devil in.

* * *

Taraf is the most interesting newspaper in Turkey.

They sell around 60.000, so they're just a detail in the vast panorama of the Turkish media.

But Taraf's influence has been much bigger than their sales.

They had several bombshell stories, especially about the Ergenekon and the PKK.

Coincidentally, these stories which are either based on Xerox documents or shadowy correspondents, have served only one purpose: Tarnishing the image of the Turkish army.

But why and how?

Because Taraf is the incognito mouthpiece of the leading Islamist brotherhood in Turkey, which is coiling itself up in the police organization.

The people with pro-government Islamist tendencies are the owners of Taraf. However, the showcase of the newspaper hides this fact. In order to do it, they employed many unbiased journalists and atheist columnists as well.

Sevan Nisanyan, a controversial Turkish-Armenian author, was one of them (above).

Nisanyan put his own feces in a jar and poured it over his ex-wife's head. Taraf didn't fire him, because he was still praising the AKP government.

He wrote fiery articles, insulting Ataturk without uttering one reasonable opinion. Taraf didn't fire him, because he was still praising the AKP government.

However, according to his own blog, Nisanyan is kicked out of the door after his latest article.

In that article, all he was doing was questioning the existence of God, which was contradictory to the AKP populism. That was where the newspaper administration started to censor Nisanyan and ultimately fired him.

So Nisanyan's bosses who welcomed his stance against his ex-wife and Ataturk, didn't tolerate even one word against the sanctity of their religions.

* * *

Taraf is just a devious detail in this puzzle of power struggle in Turkey.

And Nisanyan's dismissal is not a surprise for anyone who knows what Taraf actually is.

What more important is the big picture:

In that picture, Taraf is the perfect signifier of the nature of post-modern Islamism.

Just like the European far-right has transformed themselves into more politically correct entities today, the Islamists in Turkey, who revolted in military means in the past, have also changed.

They are cyclical democrats now, who are trying to seize the system from inside, instead of destroying it...

Remember: Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan had once announced that minarets are their bayonets, but then he proclaimed that he changed.

The Nisanyan incident may hint that there is still an uncompromising detail in the Erdogan puzzle.

As Prime Minister more recently said:

"Democracy is just a vehicle. You use it to go somewhere. And then you get off."

Turkey Between France and Iran

I'm nagging at the EU, complaining about the anti-Turkish, anti-Muslim double standards of the Western European leaders, etc...

And I'm doing it as if the Turkish government really deserves to be in the grand family of Europe...

No, it is not and I know that. The Turkish nation is the member of that family, whether Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel like or not. The AKP government, on the other hand, is more Iran and Saudi Arabia than France and Germany.

Take Turkey's EU negotiator Egemen Bagis, a pro-American Islamist. He was speaking at Bahcesehir University in Istanbul today. While he was giving his speech, around thirty students stood up and started to protest him. "According to the EU standards, you have two minutes for this protest. Then you'll listen to me," Bagis reacted as he showed his fist.

When two minutes passed, security staff violently attacked those leftist students, kicking them out of the conference hall, injuring one of them. The EU negotiator didn't stop the guards who used excessive force. Democratic tolerance was short-lived, as Bagis had foreseen.

Shortly, in AKP's Istanbul, it is Paris for two minutes and Tehran for the rest of the day. You decide if it is worse for Tayyip Erdogan to be like Nicolas Sarkozy or Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

CDU is Germany's AKP

There is a good article in the Guardian today, written by David Cronin.

Cronin argues that the way that Nicolas Sarkozy in France and Angela Merkel in Germany keep Turkey out of Europe is "tantamount to racism."

That's what I've been criticized for telling it loudly, but now it's good to see that it's pronounced in the mainstream Western European press as well.

Many things changed in shape in the last century. The racists are naturally transformed into xenophobic conservatives and the sharia-supporting fanatics are transformed into moderate Islamists.

But the political force of the common-sense should remain equally strict against these two reactionary forces, which pose us as democrats nowadays... To have a united, multicultural and democratic Europe....

The Bulgarian Price For Turkey's EU Membership

According to a report by EUobserver, "Bulgaria is threatening to block Turkey's application to join the European Union unless it pays out billions of euros in compensation for displaced people, in a case dating back to the days of the Ottoman Empire."

Didn't we see similar blackmails during the Slovenia-Croatia, the Cyprus-Turkey and the Greece-Macedonia disputes? Isn't it the EU itself who obstructs and delays the accession of the Southeast Europe?

With its shrinking prestige and castrated global power, the EU is only a blackmail tool now. That's how the Sarkozy-Merkel duo has managed to create a conflicting Europe. That's small belonging, but well, it is at least theirs...

With this newest farce, the xenophobic Bulgarian government relies on the implicitly anti-Turkish rhetoric of Merkel and Sarkozy, even though the Bulgarian leaders know very well that their claim is historically absurd, especially if you consider the principle of reciprocity.

This is actually an opportunity, because absurdity can be the best method to reveal the truth. Maybe the upcoming debate between Bulgaria and Turkey can remind us the Turks who were forced to leave Bulgaria where they lived for centuries without their billions of dollars-worth properties.

But you know, the Turks just forget. Like my ancestors had done when they had left everything they had in Bulgaria as they return to Turkey in the 19th century... Like the remaining Turks, who couldn't resist for a long time while being violently assimilated by the Bulgarian government in the 20th century...

Because in their hearts, all Turks feel ashamed to ask for something, especially from a foreigner, even when they would demand something back that they undisputedly owned. I follow their moral trail, never applying to the Bulgarian or the European courts by showing off some century-old land registries...

And does the far-rightist Bulgarian PM also have such a document? Edit on 06.01.2010: Semi-official Anatolian News Agency reported today that some Turkish NGOs that were related to the issue think like me. Referring to their research, they announced that over 200 billions dollar worth Turkish properties were seized by Bulgarian authorities in the last century.

Tiresome Journalism in Turkey

In the end of the year, another tired Hurriyet editor-in-chief was David Judson, who is in charge of the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.

"I have often remarked that courage is in the DNA of Turkish journalists. It surely is. Wading through floodwaters. Donning gas masks to cover a protest. Talking their way out of police stations or into refugee camps. Each day I have borne witness to sheer fortitude," he writes.

Please read the rest of the article here and have a happy New Year! That's what we hope for 2010 as Turkish journalists...

Istiklal Avenue of Istanbul on New Year's Eve