Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has made no secret of his religious and, frankly, sectarian agenda. “We will raise a religious generation,” he told parliament. With the military under Erdoğan’s boot—one-in-five Turkish generals are now imprisoned for offenses emanating from Erdoğan’s fevered imagination—the prime minister is now pushing a transformative social agenda even harder.
Last month, Hürriyet Daily News reported that the government was forcing students seeking vocational education to instead enroll in religious academies. Adding insult to injury is the fact that many of the students forced to enter the schools which are, in effect, Sunni indoctrination centers are members of the Alevi religious minority. Just as Pakistani Islamists, for example, target the Ahmadi sect, so too does NATO member Turkey now target its Alevis.
Amidst the backdrop of the murder of the U.S. ambassador to Libya and the attacks on U.S. embassies throughout the region, Erdoğan took the lead on pushing for international legislation that would make it illegal to affront the sensitivities of Muslims. As noxious and hateful as the “Innocence of Muslims” video was, prioritizing religion above free speech is a very slippery slope for any democracy.
Now comes word that alcohol will now be banned from university campuses. So much for going to a campus bar to watch the football game or enjoy a glass of wine in the faculty club. The rule has nothing to do with tolerance or plurality, and instead has everything to do with Erdoğan’s desire to raise a religious generation.
Turkey’s turn from a democracy into something approaching an Islamist state has not been sudden: Erdoğan has pushed a slow and steady agenda. Rather than sound alarm, American diplomats have bent over backwards to exculpate bad behavior. With the Turkish government not shy about its blacklist, former ambassadors who seek to do business in Turkey or academics and analysts who wish to preserve access will publicly apologize for what privately they condemn. Almost a decade into Erdoğan’s rule, though, it is no longer possible to deny his intent or, indeed, the nearing fruition of his goals.
Erdogan's main opposition are the very ardent Kemalists amongst the Alevis, who are not officially designated as heretics like Pakistan's Ahmadis, but continue to be forced to conform to Sunni theology in public school mandatory religious education. n nThe really odd point is "…the government was forcing students seeking vocational education to instead enroll in religious academies. …" nTurkey's economy is already strained – do they really need more students memorizing the Koran instead of learning how to build earthquake-proof buildings or the good manufacturing practices that support Turkey's food processing industries? Contruction and food are two of Turkey's main exports. n nThe good news is that Greece, and Israel, and Italy, definitely should get even more tourism, now that Egypt is a "no way" destination, and Turkey might be banning alcohol in hotels next.
I wonder what Edogan would say if best bud Obama called up and told him to knock off the Islamic shtick, or at least tone it down. n nProbably something along the lines of: n n 'Listen Barack, let me lay it out for you. If we were alive during the Ottoman Empire, I would be Sultan and you would be a castrated harem slave, so piss off. While you're at it, take the Jews, I mean Israelis, with you.'
Tyrannies which hollow themselves out by replacing competence with political reliability ultimately implode on their own. One in five generals in jail, you say? Fine, replace them with unskilled political hacks and ideologues. It will take no more than 5 years to destroy the armed forces from top to bottom. To see this look at Saudi Arabia or Pakistan Saddam's Iraq which has no NCOs, no training, no maintenance, and the 'good' jobs, like F-16 pilot, go to the ruling princes and political flunkies and whomever has the biggest mustache. n nWhen the schools begin to close because 'secular' subjects like science, math, engineering and medicine are frowned upon, then the middle class will simply start to leave. They will emigrate and Turkey won't have to bother with politically re educating them in religious schools anymore. In fact, literacy in pure numbers will start to drop as it's no longer imperative. This will accelerate when they start to ban women from most education. Women, who, will be told to stay home and make more Turks. n nSo – technology starts to crumble, knowledge, literacy and skills start to fade, population growth accelerates, civic institutions become less functional and finally irrelevant. Turkey slides back 50 or a hundred or more years. n nThis is a good thing, something to be encouraged not fought.
I like the way you think. n nStupid enemies are better than smart ones, I always say. n n
I spent 2 semesters as a visiting professor in the Engineering School at Marmara University, in Istanbul, teaching statistics. I attempted to use examples from Turkey, to maintain the students' interest. I recall on example, using census data, on literacy rates by age bracket. The issue was to test whether there was a statistically significant difference in literacy rate among age groups. Of course there was. The older the age bracket, the lower the literacy rate. My students were at the peak of a long-term trend toward higher literacy. I am sorry to see that trend turning back down. I liked the Turkish people, and don't want to see them return to a dismal past.
In Syria the Turks favor the rebels because they're Sunni extremists, the Iranians favor the government run by Alawis, a Shia offshoot. n nBottom line–let them kill each other without interference!
Mary is right. Edogan is an idiot. How many expats from Germany and England have property and pay goods in Turkey, esp Anatalya, which is also where American students from GWU go for Study Abroad? They will be going and taking their dollars and euros with them…and Iran will not be sending them a dime (assuming it doesn't implode due to the hyperinflation). Then what happens inhouse…and if Edogan thinks this will put him in league with the big boys in Iran, they will do him what the nazis did to Quisling (replace him with someone else)
fwiw, the US Navy stopped shore visits to Turkey after an unpleasant 'welcome' maybe in 2010. nLast time I read about USN shore leave, it was in Haifa, and a big hit because the crew was able to visit Jerusalem. n
With time the fanaticism of Erdo will become more obvious. There are good reasons why Turkey cannot enter the EU. He will soon or later, if given the opportunity, undermine NATO.
I was in Turkey about 6 years ago and enjoyed it. The army was very helpful in allowing our medical tour to visit Florence Nightingale's quarters in the Scutari Barracks, an active army headquarters. I doubt that helpful attitude will last very long. I won't be back.