Abdullah Gul has been elected President of Turkey, where the Prime Minister is Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Both are members of the Islamist AKP; they are in no sense "former Islamists", and would not have been elected if they were. At least unless there is a military coup, look out for polygamy, shrouded women, limb amputations, the lot in Turkey from now on.
All inside NATO, putatively inside the EU, and with a governing party affiliated to the same European People's Party as the Tories (not to mention several parties of ostensible "Christian Democrats" on the Continent), the same Tories who are planning to make Eid a public holiday wherever the mosque committee shouts loudly enough for it and agrees to deliver the votes for the Bullingdon Boys. That and what else into this bargain?
Walking through Istanbul with my Turkish friend last year, a secular woman, I watched as she was shunned by women with scarves who turned their backs on her.
ReplyDeleteThe rise of the AK party is giving the more religious Turks the support and impetus to force the country into an Islamist state.
The election of Gul will only split the country further. He may be a moderate but he encourages and emboldens the more fundamental elements.
It could have the effect that the military will feel the need to step in again to change the government. Look at the harsh language in the warning the military issued just yesterday. That would be a disaster to their EU hopes and for the economy.
If you live in an area with an unusualy high number of Muslims (although they ceratinly won't be anything like the majority), then prepare for this in Cameron's Britain, whether you like it or not, and indeed whether the local Muslims like it or not, which a lot of them probably won't.
ReplyDeletePublic holiday for Eid sounds great. Why not? And if it is a choice between a caliphate (I'm using a small c deliberately) and a McDonaldate I can understand the predeliction of voters for "better the fat crook you know".
ReplyDeleteAnd I don't believe for a minute that Turkey will be anything more than a nominally Islamic State.
This line of thinking is rather BNP-esque I think and seems unlikely to lead to happiness for anyone, surely the aim of our politics.
It's about time we bring bac the Islamic Empire, you westerners have been meddling in our countries for too long, and now you will have a taste of your own medicine.
ReplyDeleteYour brutal actions and occupations are causing the middle east to move from secularism to islamic theology. Islam is growing in the world and we will be the next superpower.
While the USA is on the decline because of financial and social problems. They will collapse soon enough, they are a declining empire and will never bother the world again.
Victory to Islam is around the corner and Turkey is just one front of many that are changing.