Turkey: 42% of women suffer abuse from husband or partner

Image via Wikipedia

Somedays ago, there was a poll saying that “60 percent, both male and female, think women should obey men, while 33 percent think women deserve to be beaten by their husbands if they do not obey – compared to 19 percent in 1996“. Here we see the results:

A study has found that 42 per cent of Turkish women suffer physical or sexual violence at the hands of their husband or partner, despite tough laws designed to protect them.But women’s advocate and researcher Gauri van Gulik says the laws are rarely enforced.
Our reporter Ashley Hall spoke to her from Berlin.
GAURI VAN GULIK: The main thing that I have to say about the abuse in Turkey is that the level is quite extreme. Now we see abuse everywhere we work but what we encountered in Turkey was really not just the daily beatings or just sexual abuse but also very severe kinds of abuse like poisoning, we encountered cases of stabbings, gunfights as well, horrible cases of abuse, very, very sickening frankly. And we encountered that throughout the country in different areas of the country.

via Nearly half of Turkey’s women suffer abuse « Dalit News from Kerala.

Turkey: Top Military chiefs resign

Actually, this is not surprising at all. And so, the last secular Turkish bastion falls and now Erdogan can appoint someone who is more supportive of his view of democracy (1, 2):

Turkey’s top military officer stepped down from his post Friday, a surprise move that exposed growing tensions between the country’s military and Islamic-leaning government.

Gen. Isik Kosaner, Turkey’s chief of the general staff, retired a year ahead of schedule. His decision came as a shock in Turkey and rattled its currency.

Security analysts widely saw the move as a confirmation that Turkey’s military—the second-largest in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization after the U.S.’s, and long seen as the country’s dominant power—has had its wings clipped amid a lengthy power struggle with the ruling Justice and Development Party.

Turkey: the new Turks are very similar to the old ones

Turkish people. Not a lot of prospects that their descendants will look like them, if we consider the results of this poll, Image via Wikipedia

In the year 2011, 23 percent of Turks think men should be able to marry up to four wives, but not the opposite – against 10 percent in 1996. Interestingly, 60 percent, both male and female, think women should obey men, while 33 percent think women deserve to be beaten by their husbands if they do not obey – compared to 19 percent in 1996. And, naturally, 70 percent think children may be damaged if mothers work. The political findings of the survey are no less interesting. Seventy-five percent of Turks think the West is at fault for poor relations with Muslim nations. And 53 percent blame the U.S. and West for poverty in Muslim countries. Unsurprisingly, 82 percent have a negative opinion of Christians while only 4 percent have a favorable opinion of Jews. Forty-five percent and 41 percent think that the most violent religions are Christianity and Judaism, respectively. And only 9 percent of Turks believe Arab groups carried out the attacks on 9/11.

via Enjoy your New Young Turk – Hurriyet Daily News.

Anyway, let them enter the European Union… as a “gesture of conciliation with the Islamic world”… 😯

TX to MFS.

Related articles

• Pew Global Poll: Muslims, Westerners retain stereotype views (teaandpolitics.wordpress.com)

Spain: Zapatero wants Morocco and Turkey in the EU as a “gesture of conciliation with the Islamic world”

You know, the only problem Spain has nowadays is, of course, that Turkey and Morocco (an autocratic Monarchy in which the King is also the “Commander of the Believers…) aren’t members of the European Union. Absolutely appalling.

Image by Guillaume Paumier via Flickr

That the only casualties of the twin bombings of Norway are European origin and people outside the Islamic religion has not prevented the Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, calling on EU leaders for Morocco and Turkey to be allowed entry into the European Union as a gesture of reconciliation with the Islamic world.

The Spanish Government’s President spoke about that support in phone calls to both to the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the Alawite ruler of Morocco (what do Erdogan and King Mohammed VI have to do with Norwegian murder? No Muslim was murdered, no Moroccan or Turkish citizen was murdered or hurt…), in which he reiterated his commitment to the alliance of civilizations as the only way possible for a north-south agreement. Zapatero argues that both Turkey and Morocco meet the requirements set by the EU to join their project.

Australia: Turkish Vandalism Forces Name Change in Assyrian Memorial Plaque

Bodies of Christians who perished during the Assyrian genocide. Image via Wikipedia

A controversial plaque commemorating Australian and Assyrian forces fighting side by side is set to be recast with a word change in an effort to quell ethnic tensions and constant vandalism.

The Assyrian Levies Association plaque in Fairfield Park, which was removed by vandals in March and splashed with paint last September, will be replaced next month with the word “Turkey” changed to “Ottoman” after a complaint was made to council.

Assyrian Levies Association president Gaby Kiwarkis said the Assyrian community were up in arms after the latest act of vandalism in March but wanted to keep the situation calm.

“They wanted to demonstrate,” he said. “I had to tell people to calm down and do it the right way.

“It’s not about politics when you are remembering the dead.”

Mr Kiwarkis, who helped negotiate the change, said the Turkish community originally asked for several changes but eventually agreed on the one.

via Turkish Vandalism Forces Name Change in Assyrian Memorial Plaque.

Turkey’s U-turn over Libya: a new Ottomanism?

Ankara’s weeks-long attempts to convince Gadhafi to accept a political solution did not bear any fruit. The dialogue with Tripoli was broken off once Turkey rallied behind the NATO-led military operation, while the hesitant approach toward Benghazi created huge frustration among the Libyan rebels.

In a U-turn triggered by concerns that it would be excluded from shaping a post-Gadhafi Libya, Turkey recognized Benghazi and said it would give $300 million in support for the National Transitional Council.

Turkish officials say the closer engagement with Benghazi aims at reaching peace and stability in Libya and that economic interest are only a secondary issue. Senior diplomat Selim Yenel dismisses claims that Turkey and some Western powers are competing on the future of the country and its economic resources.

“Turkey is pursuing a more active foreign policy. But it would be wrong to describe it as neo-Ottomanism. We never have had such a dream,” Ambassador Yenel told Deutsche Welle. “We are not in competition with anybody. We really want to see stability in Libya. What is important is the end of military conflict, Libya gaining stability and prosperity.”

via Turkey’s U-turn over Libya | World | Deutsche Welle | 14.07.2011.

Related articles

• U.S. formally recognizes Libya rebels (edition.cnn.com)

Turkey: from honor killing to honor suicide

Related articles

• Turkey Grapples With Dramatic Rise In ‘Honor’ Killings (huffingtonpost.com)

Erdogan wins… but not enough

Image via Wikipedia

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) won Turkey’s parliamentary elections with around 50 percent of the vote, a resounding victory that forces the country’s pluralistic democracy to face some cold hard facts.

With voter participation exceeding 84 percent, the results are a democratic legitimation of the AKP’s third consecutive election victory since 2002. Over the course of the past three elections, the AKP’s support among voters has grown from 34 percent to just under 50 percent, leaving the opposition well behind.

The rest were also-rans: the secular Republican People’s Party (CHP) garnered around 25 percent of the vote while the right-wing extremist Nationalist Action Party (MHP) came in with a meager 13 percent. In contrast, independent candidates, many of them supported by the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), managed to secure a respectable 35 parliamentary seats. Among the independents are also non-Kurdish critics of Erdogan, who are currently in prison awaiting trial on charges of plotting a coup.

More here.

Related articles

• Recep Erdogan wins by landslide in Turkey’s general election (guardian.co.uk)

Islamic countries: Poll shows growing majority favor Sharia Law, more Islam in public life

A majority of Muslims around the world welcome a significant role for Islam in their countries’ political life, according to a new poll from the Pew Research Center, but have mixed feelings toward militant religious groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah.

According to the survey, majorities in Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan and Nigeria would favor changing the current laws to allow stoning as a punishment for adultery, hand amputation for theft and death for those who convert from Islam to another religion. About 85% of Pakistani Muslims said they would support a law segregating men and women in the workplace.

Indonesia, Egypt, Nigeria and Jordan were among the most enthusiastic, with more than three-quarters of Muslims polled in those countries reporting positive views of Islam’s influence in politics: either that Islam had a large role in politics, and that was a good thing, or that it played a small role, and that was bad.

Turkish Muslims were the most conflicted, with just more than half reporting positive views of Islam’s influence in politics. Turkey has struggled in recent years to balance a secular political system with an increasingly fervent Muslim population.

Many Muslims described an ongoing struggle in their country between fundamentalists and modernizers, especially those who may have felt threatened by the rising tides of conservatism. Among those respondents who identified a struggle, most tended to side with the modernizers. This was especially true in Lebanon and Turkey, where 84% and 74%, respectively, identified themselves as modernizers as opposed to fundamentalists.

In Egypt and Nigeria, however, most people were pulling in the other direction. According to the poll, 59% in Egypt and 58% in Nigeria who said there was a struggle identified with the fundamentalists.

via MUSLIM WORLD: Poll shows majority want Islam in politics; feelings mixed on Hamas, Hezbollah | Babylon & Beyond | Los Angeles Times.

Austria: Turkish ambassador in Vienna sparks diplomatic row

Diplomatic tensions have flared up between Austria and Turkey after the Turkish ambassador in Vienna publically criticized Austria’s stance towards integrating Muslims. The Austrian chancellor is said to be “outraged.”

Austria has protested to Turkey after the Turkish ambassador suggested Turks living in Austria were treated “like a virus” and were denied the chance to integrate.

Ambassdor Kadri Ecved Tezcan also told Die Presse daily newspaper in an interview published on Wednesday that Austrian politicians were not doing enough to counter the rise of the far-right movement.

The row erupted in the wake of elections in the Austrian capital Vienna in October, when the far-right Freedom Party won 26 percent of the vote on a xenophobic and anti-Muslim platform.

via Turkish ambassador in Vienna sparks diplomatic row | Europe | Deutsche Welle | 10.11.2010.

So, is he going to apologize for the appalling mistreatment of non-Muslims in Turkey? I don’t think so, do you? 😦

Background:
Turkey: the Islamist danger.
Turkey: a Christian bookshop is vandalised while several “Islamic scholars” call for “Global Jihad” against Israel.
Creeping Islamism in Turkey.
Turkey: alleged torturers and killers of three Christians don’t attend court hearing again.
Cardinal Joachim Meisner: “restrictions on Christians in Islamic nations have led to aversion against Muslims“.
Turkey: Human Rights Court Rules in Favor of Church.
Turkey: European Court rules Religion ID, against Human Rights.
Turkey: Europe asks Ankara to recognise the Ecumenical Patriarchate and other religious minorities.
Erdogan Calls Israel ‘Principal Threat’ to Middle East Peace.
Report: Iran aggrees to give $25million to Erdogan’s AKP.
Turkey: demographics and Govt’s policy could cause the end of Constatinople’s Patriarchy.
Turkey: Mob attacks art galleries’ parties allegedly for “alcohol consumption”.
Turkey: Nationalist Party holds prayer in Armenian Cathedral.
Synod: “Turkish extremists were behind Bishop Padovese’s murder”, Bishop Franceschini charges.
Turkey: Senior Minister calls Christian “Kuffar”.
Germany: President Wulff urges Turks to ‘actively integrate’ in Germany in his visit to Turkey.
Turkey: Christians Acquitted of ‘Insulting Turkishness’.
Turkey: Christian graves vandalised on the island of Imvros.
Turkey: Commission for education proposes mandatory Islamic values in Turkish schools.

UN: Iran, Turkey could be frontrunners for nuclear disarmament

No, don’t laugh, this is true:

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said the Islamic Republic and Turkey have potentials to be forerunners of international nuclear disarmament, the local English language satellite Press TV reported on Thursday.”Iran and Turkey can be flag-bearers of nuclear disarmament in the globe to establish a world free from nuclear weapons,” Mottaki said in a meeting with head of Turkish Parliament’s Commission for Foreign Relations Murad Marjan in Tehran on Wednesday.

As part of this European stockpiling, Turkey, which is a partner of the US-led coalition against Iran along with Israel, possesses some 90 thermonuclear B61 bunker buster bombs at the Incirlik nuclear air base. (National Resources Defense Council, Nuclear Weapons in Europe , February 2005)

via Report on Arrakis: Joke of the Day..

Well, yes, this is joke, but it surely isn’t funny… 😡

Erdogan: Israel must apologize

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called again on Wednesday for Israel to apologize and pay compensation to his country for its May 31 raid of a Gaza-bound flotilla, in which nine Turkish citizens were killed.

Asked by the France 24 television channel of a possible reconciliation between Israeli and Turkey, Erdogan replied that “Israel should apologize and pay compensation; then we can begin to negotiate“.

“Israel is responsible for the current state of Turkish-Israeli relations,” he said. “How can we forget the air and sea attacks against Turkish-flagged ship carrying passengers around the world seeking to help other people?“

via Erdogan: Israel must apologize – Israel News, Ynetnews.

What should Israel apologize for? Because there are some stricking photos about people “travelling” in the “flotilla” line that some people didn’t want us to see:

Turkish asshole activist with Islamic Jihad terrorists

One of them, for example, dressed in a military uniform and well armed, harangues Al-Quds Bataillons, armed wing of Islamic Jihad: “I am proud of being here with you who are sacrificing so much in favour of the Muslim nation. Turkish people, the Arabs and worldwide Muslims are praying for your victory. You are the first front of the fight against Zionists“.

This happened just after the flotilla Viva Palestina 5 docked in the Egyptian port of Al-Arish. Palestinian Jihad erased the photos after they had uploaded them on their webpage.

Yeah, now we see how they were “trying to help other people”… 😯

Turkey: Commission for education proposes mandatory Islamic values in Turkish schools

As the majority of Islamic scholars say, secularism is not possible, as that would be against “Allah’s decree”:

The values taught in Turkish schools should be based on “faith in God” and delivered using the terminology of Islam, said a committee of the Board of Education, creating concern among educators in the country. Several committees within the Council have announced proposals for reform that would affect the length of compulsory education, and the fact that classes are or are not mixed. Although the proposals must then be adopted by the General Council, many fear the tendency to impose an Islamic ideology on the national education system.Among the various proposals under discussion is one to change the current system (eight years of uninterrupted primary education) into one divided into two parts, to allow younger students to attend religious vocational school (iman-hatin).

The current system of eight years of uninterrupted compulsory education is a consequence of the unarmed military intervention, 28 February 1997, which led to the closure of schools for religious vocations. If this proposal passes the General Assembly of the Council for national education and is approved by the Ministry of Education it will return the situation to its former structure, breaking it in two the periods of compulsory education. Ministry officials have defended the proposal, saying it could solve the problem of having of a very different age students in  the same class. But critics argue that by breaking it in two the period of compulsory education, it will be possible to argue in future that in reality only the first five years will be obligatory”.

via TURKEY Commission for education proposes mandatory Islamic values in Turkish schools – Asia News.

Turkey: Christian graves vandalised on the island of Imvros

On the night between 28 and 29 October the feast day of the Republic founded by Kemal Ataturk, unknown assailants entered, in the cemetery of the island of Panagia Imvros (Goikocea in Turkish) and seriously vandalised 78 graves. A similar act had been committed in these parts 20 years ago.

The incident, it is rumoured on the island, indicates an attempt to create panic among about 350 Christians left on this island.

The island of Imvros, where the current ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew was born, along with the nearby island of Tenedos, were 99% inhabited by the Christian Orthodox population, but with the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923 granted them to Turkey under the condition that the Ankara government allow their full administrative autonomy.

But neither then nor in the years to follow did the Kemalist regime respect the agreements signed at Lausanne, suspending the autonomous regime provided for in this Treaty and with various methods of coercion such as the forced expropriation of property, school closures and suspension of teaching the Greek language, encouraged the shift of populations from Anatolia – which has altered the demographic structure of the island – and the creation of a prison for convicts with a license to commit acts of violence against the Christian population, this forced their final abandonment of their lands to seek refuge first in Istanbul and then across the five continents.

According to Nikos Maginas, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, on hearing about the serious incident that occurred on his own native land, charged this act of vandalism to the “usual known-unknown suspects”. Bartholomew himself in his sermon in the parish of St. Demetrius in Kurtulus Istanbul, referring to the incident said: “Ours is a continuous struggle for our survival and our ancient traditions in these lands. After much difficulty we started to see some glimmer of light, of hope for our long-standing problems. But again unpleasant facts emerge, such as those that occurred in the cemetery of the island of Imvros, where the usual known-unknown suspects were responsible for breaking the crosses on the graves of the cemetery. Our battle will never end .. But always with the grace of our Lord – concluded the Ecumenical Patriarch – with perseverance, with Turkey’s European perspective and the efforts of its leaders, we are confident that those long desired results will one day arrive“.

via TURKEY Christian graves vandalised on the island of Imvros – Asia News.

That “religious freedom” in Turkey… 🙄

Background:
Europe asks Ankara to recognise the Ecumenical Patriarchate and other religious minorities.
Demographic and Govt’s policy could cause the end of Constantinople’s Patriarchy.

Turkey: Army Chiefs boycott celebration of secular Turkey because President’s wife wore a headscarf

Turkish army chiefs boycotted an official ceremony at the Presidential Palace because the President’s wife wore an Islamic headscarf, the Press reported today. The army’s top brass were conspicuous by their absence late yesterday, at a banquet thrown by President Abbdullah Gul to commemorate the creation of the modern, secular Turkey in 1923.

via Infidel Bloggers Alliance.

And now a brilliant piece: Jihad is sweet, Jihad is fun, in which Erdogan plays an important part. Yes, I know that Erdogan is not the President but Abdullah Gül, but that makes very little difference.

(found).

Turkey: Judges caution about “relaxation of burqa ban”

The Supreme Court warned Turkey that the country’s political progressive relaxation of restrictions on women wearing headscarves violates the constitution’s secular principles.
The statement comes after a series of meetings on the issue between the opposition parties and the ruling AK Party, which two years ago lost a battle with the judges over the veil.
In principle, women are forbidden to cover their heads at many universities and in all government offices, but few universities follow the prohibition, and the Ministry of Education has said it will support any student who disobeys the ban.
The main opposition party, a strong supporter of the ban, now says he wants a commitment.

Source.

Background:
“Headscarf ban is against freedom of believe”, Erdogan says.
Chief of Religious Affairs Directorate asks politicians to solve headscarf’s problem by themselves.
Erdogan’s party loses key vote on headscarf.

Germany: Turkish hackers attack CDU websites

Turkish hackers attack CDU websites – The Local:

Foto: Imago (Msn).

“Police and domestic intelligence agencies are now investigating in both the city-state of Hamburg and the northern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after CDU officials said their party sites were paralysed overnight when hackers replaced their homepages with a black background featuring a Turkish crest and critical comments.

Hackers “GHoST61” and “Emre Y” had left their mark claiming responsibility for sabotaging the site, with the comment, “Hi Hamburg: We are from Turkey.”

In Hamburg the CDU took its website offline by mid-morning on Tuesday, spokesperson Anna Christina Hinze said.

The Mecklenburg-Western Pomeranian arm of the CDU had a similar experience, discovering that their website had been replaced with an Ottoman Empire crest and some pointed questions about the party’s immigration policies. Their site was repaired by afternoon.

The hackers left a message asking: “Where is the money for integration? Where is the money for mosques?” and “Where is the tolerance? Where is the freedom of religion?“”

Does Turkey pay for non-Muslim temples? That’s somewhat strange if we consider that not a week ago Turkish Minister Faruk Çelik called Christians “kuffar“. And they have a policy absolutely contrary to, for example, Constantinople’s Patriarchy, Turkish nationalists prayed in an ancient Armenian Cathedral and, lastly, there are some questions about Catholic priests murdered in the country, which haven’t been addressed.

That is called reciprocity and you can’t make others do what you aren’t prepared to do yourself.

Note: In the image it’s written “Between West and East. How well do you know Turkey?“.

Background:
Germany: 69% against Turkish entry in the EU, poll shows.
CDU politician calls to stop Muslim immigration.
“Muslims should obey Constitution, not Sharia”, Merkel says.
Conservative leaders reject Wullf’s remarks on Islam.
Germany agrees in making easier for Turks to get visas.
President Wulff will visit Turkey on Monday, while Merkel criticizes multiculturalism.
President Wulff urges Turks to ‘actively integrate’ in Germany in his visit to Turkey.

Turkey: Christians Acquitted of ‘Insulting Turkishness’

Compass Direct.org:

“After four years of legal battle in a Turkish court, a judge acquitted two Christians of insulting Turkey and its people by spreading Christianity, but not without slapping them with a hefty fine for a spurious charge.

Four years ago this month, Turan Topal, 50, and Hakan Tastan, 41, started a legal battle after gendarmerie officers produced false witnesses to accuse them of spreading their faith and allegedly “insulting Turkishness, the military and Islam.”

At the Silivri court an hour west of Istanbul, Judge Hayrettin Sevim on Thursday (Oct. 14) acquitted the defendants of two charges that they had insulted the Turkish state (Article 301) and that they had insulted its people (Article 216) by spreading Christianity. Sevim cited lack of evidence.

He found them guilty, however, of collecting information on citizens without permission (Article 135) and sentenced them to seven months of imprisonment each. The court ruled that the two men could each pay a 4,500 lira (US$3,170) fine instead of serving time, said their lawyer Haydar Polat.

At the time of their arrests, Topal and Tastan were volunteers with The Bible Research Center, which has since acquired official association status and is now called The Association for Propagating Knowledge of the Bible. The two men had used contact information that individuals interested in Christianity had volunteered to provide on the association’s website. “

Found.

The reason why they were accused of “insulting Turkishness” is based on three witness, identified as Fatih Kose, 23, Alper, 16, and Oguz, 17, claimed the two Christians had called Islam a “primitive and fabricated religion” and had described Turks as a “cursed people.”

Background:

Senior Minister called Christians “Kuffar“.

Germany: President Wulff urges Turks to ‘actively integrate’ in Germany in his visit to Turkey

Christian Wulff

President Wulff urges Turks to ‘actively integrate’ in Germany | Germany | Deutsche Welle | 19.10.2010:

“In his speech, Wulff stressed immigrants need not give up their cultural identity or background. But those living in Germany should respect and protect the values of the German constitution, including freedom of speech, equality and the right to a religiously and ideologically neutral state.

‘Those who wish to live in Germany must follow these rules and accept our way of life,’ he said.

Wulff also touched on the subject of religion, calling on Turkey and other Islamic countries to be more open to Christianity. ‘We expect Christians in Muslim countries to have the same right to live their faith publicly, to educate their youth in theology and build churches [as Muslims do in Germany],’ he said.

‘Without a doubt, Christianity belongs to Turkey,’ he said, recalling his Unity Day speech from earlier in October, in which he stated that Islam had become part of Germany.”

Has he actually considered what Minister Faruk Çelik said only two days ago?

Background:
Germany: 69% against Turkish entry in the EU, poll shows.
CDU politician calls to stop Muslim immigration.
“Muslims should obey Constitution, not Sharia”, Merkel says.
Conservative leaders reject Wullf’s remarks on Islam.
Germany agrees in making easier for Turks to get visas.
President Wulff will visit Turkey on Monday, while Merkel criticizes multiculturalism.

Turkey: Senior Minister calls Christian "Kuffar"

Members of the Christian community in Turkey have called on State Minister Faruk Çelik to make an apology over his remarks which they said had insulted their religion.

Faruk Çelik

“The minister has scorned Christians just to suppress rightful demands of the Alevis in Turkey,” Yuhannas Aktas, head of the Syriac Culture Association in Midyat, who was referring to Çelik’s labelling of Christianity as the religion of the ‘gavur’ (‘kafir’), a word meaning “infidel” in Turkish, which is often regarded as a degrading expression by non-Muslims.

Maybe you’re still a little unsure of what Turkish ruling élites really think of us infidels, after the smear campaign to delegitimise Israel, currently being waged by Turkey’s Prime Minister Erdoğan and President Gül?

Or unswayed after hearing that they had recently set up the headquarters of Turkey’s EU Membership bid campaign in a church confiscated from the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate?

Somewhat on the fence after seeing the substantial (and growing) evidence of systematic persecution and harassment of Christians in Turkey?

Well now you can relax. Minister of Work and Social Security Çelik has just made it abundantly clear for you.

Source.

I’m delighted with the Alliance of Civilizations. It means that Mr. Zapatero can say to the Arab League that “Islam is a pacific and tolerant element of identity” and someone from the same Alliance calls Christians kuffar. What was tolerance then?