If Only We Could Say Well Done, Mr. Sezer
This columnist was in London for the past week meeting Turks of all beliefs and sensitivities, and upon my return this last weekend I saw with sorrow that the same old idea of a "Muslim fundamentalist threat" is being reheated and served to us yet again.
What is this threat? Is there anyone in Turkey trying to use religion for political gain? Is there anyone in Turkey trying to impose their views on others by force?
This is all very wrong. There is an overwhelming majority of Turks who have deep religious sensitivities and they want to be respected. They have been looked down upon by their so-called "secularist" counterparts for several decades now. Even their rights have often been seriously curbed, and yet they have remained calm.
Now we have a government whose members are devout Muslims, but who are making a great effort not to give the impression that what they do is use religion for political purposes. As everyone has openly seen in the past three years, they are not fundamentalists but they do have Islamic sensitivities which they expect others to respect. Can't the minority elite secularist establishment of Turkey bring itself to respect these people's sensitivities?
During our stay in London we visited several Turkish communities around the city. In the south of London we attended Friday prayers where moderate religious Turks close to Fethullah Gülen had taken over a mosque from Islamic hardliners and turned it into a center where only the brotherhood of man, peace, tolerance and goodwill is preached. We were told that in the old days, many people were put off by these hardliners and would not attend Friday prayers. But after the moderates came in and started managing the mosque, the picture changed. Although south London is not one of the Turks' favorite places, Turkish and other Muslims have established such a large congregation there that even the local church would be envious
Turks in this congregation and in north London, where they constitute the majority of the population in some districts, complain that the Turkish Embassy disregards them when they are a majority and creates divisions within the Turkish community. Why this enmity and disrespect for our own people, especially in London where, in stark contrast to extremist Muslim groups formed by Asian migrants who preach discord and violence, Muslims are so moderate and contribute so much to British society?
Below the surface we can see a disturbing state policy that considers Islam a threat and those who believe in it all as potential troublemakers who, if given the opportunity, would immediately turn the system into an Islamic republic. This is all wrong.
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer has broken his long silence in the past week and has spoken up about several issues. But we feel while he discussed various matters, the so-called threat of Islamic fundamentalism should not have been high on his agenda. The military led a postmodern coup in 1997 under the pretext that Turkey had fallen into the hands of Muslim fundamentalists and that there was a threat that Turkey would become a religion-based state.
The Turkish state system has never been under any serious Islamic fundamentalist threat and never will be. Those who say all this are only trying to preserve their system of plunder and corruption.
The president has to realize that he is also the president of the huge masses with religious sensitivities and should address the needs and wishes of these people. He should end his term in office by encouraging the mending of fences between the masses with religious sensitivities and the secularist elite instead of creating new artificial divisions.
THE NEW ANATOLIAN
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