Secularism under attack in Turkey
Photo courtesy of the BBC
A gunman has shot dead a prominent judge and wounded four others in an attack in Turkey's highest court, in the capital, Ankara.
Judge Mustafa Yucel Ozbilgin died despite six hours of surgery to remove a bullet from his brain.
One of the wounded judges had been criticised for ruling against teachers wearing Muslim headscarves, and had reportedly received death threats.
The attacker, believed to be a lawyer, was detained by police.
Identified as Aslan Alpaslan, 29, he is being questioned to determine his motive.
But the BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Istanbul says many here already see this as an attack on secularism itself - the founding principle of the Turkish republic. Judge dies in Turkey court attack
Turks protest over judge shooting
Mark Alexander
8 comments:
One would hope this would wake-up the Turks. I remember reading about Turks worried about the election of the Islamic party. Attaturk, to make room for secularism, had to suppress Islam. It was clearly an either/or situation in his view and he proved to be right.
This is hard for some people here to understand this since we have religious and non-religious people accepting each other and going their own ways on spiritual matters. Indeed, we're willing to fight and die to protect each other's freedom of conscience. There’s something about freely choosing one’s deepest values that makes them that much more authentic and precious. But Islam can’t accept that.
Turkey is the proof-of-concept for all those who believe Islam can change (but they always omit the cost.) Can it last? Or are we seeing that it was only a passing phase?
Wow, Forrest! What can I say? I'm dumbfounded! Flapdaddled! Bemused! And just, well, flabbergasted! :-)
Jason:
One would hope this would wake-up the Turks. I remember reading about Turks worried about the election of the Islamic party. Attaturk, to make room for secularism, had to suppress Islam. It was clearly an either/or situation in his view and he proved to be right.
I doubt that it will wake them up, somehow. There is more fundamentalism in Turkey than many people would like to admit to.
This is hard for some people here to understand this since we have religious and non-religious people accepting each other and going their own ways on spiritual matters. Indeed, we're willing to fight and die to protect each other's freedom of conscience. There’s something about freely choosing one’s deepest values that makes them that much more authentic and precious. But Islam can’t accept that.
No, it can't. And many in the West can't comprehend that it can't, either!
Turkey is the proof-of-concept for all those who believe Islam can change (but they always omit the cost.) Can it last? Or are we seeing that it was only a passing phase?
In my opinion, Jason, and I mean this most sincerely: Islam cannot be changed. This is all wishful thinking on the part of Westerners. Islam is deeply ingrained in the psyche. Nothing's gonna change that!
Bld:
They are enchained, enslaved, imprisoned by their own fallacious thoughts. In a way, one can but pity them.
Maybe! :-)
True, but can they quarantine Islam in Turkey? If I remember correctly, most Islamic countries that tried to marginalize Islam reduced its influence in cosmopolitan centers but it retained a grip on the population in rural areas and city slums. With modern communications the separation or containment, if you wish to call it that, can’t be maintained. Khomeini regained his following in Iran under the Shah by sending audio cassette tapes of sermons. The day of autocratic control, ala Attaturk, seems to be long gone. It looks grim for the Turks but one hopes the EU can wake up before they let the camel into the tent.
Once again, the message is clear: These death-cult killers are savages with twisted minds trapped in seventh century. It is inconceivable to all clear thinking humans that the culture that produces and nurtures these barbarians is in ANY SENSE equal to Western civilized culture. In this light, it is high time we cast out multiculturism as it is a pathetic failure invented by naive dreamers.
Jason:
...The day of autocratic control, ala Attaturk, seems to be long gone. It looks grim for the Turks but one hopes the EU can wake up before they let the camel into the tent.
Khomeini is the one who set the ball rolling. His movement to get back to the fundamentals of Islam seems to be quite unstoppable now, even in Turkey.
When I worked in Saudi, I noticed how bad Attatürk's reputation was. Most of them certainly didn't hold him in high esteem!
I certainly hope the EU does wake up in time before, as you say, "letting the camel into the tent". That they might do this is a big worry.
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