Posted on 10/31/2001 10:23:21 PM PST by Pericles
Monday October 8, 5:18 PM
Turkey's Islamist press fumes at US for 'crusade' against Islam
ANKARA, Oct 8 (AFP) - Turkey's Islamist newspapers on Monday heavily denounced the US and British strikes against Afghanistan, describing them as the Christian West's all-out onslaught to destroy Islam.
"And the ninth crusade," read the headline of the hardline Islamist Akit daily, calling the air strikes a "war under the leadership of the Great Satan", a reference to the United States.
The newspaper, which has a small readership compared to the secular mainstream press, claimed that the operation started on the "holy Christian day of Sunday" and that some US officials had "sadistically cried out in happiness" when the strikes began.
In his column in Akit, leading Islamist intellectual Abdurrahman Dilipak accused Washington of bringing its own woes by once helping the hardline Taliban regime against Soviet forces occupying Afghanistan.
"The United States is leading a war for its own prestige out of anger," he wrote. "It is making the Afghan people pay for its own mistakes".
The Yeni Safak daily, on the other hand, ran the headline "War of Revenge" on its front page and said that the air strikes were launched to "save the United States image which was tarnished" after the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.
One of the paper's editorials claimed that the aim of the US-led operation was not to fight terrorism, but to "crush Islam and end its potential to challenge the world order."
"The United States is putting on a real show and mocking the whole world," Yusuf Kaplan wrote.
"The leading actors on the world stage know very well that if they cannot prevent Islam from once again playing a determining and active role in history, their world system -- based on injustice, selfish interests and inequality -- will crack," he added.
The Milli Gazete, known for its closeness to Islamist leader and former prime minister Necmettin Erbakan, said the West was "killing innocent people" in its strike against Afghanistan and that there were no "plausible grounds" for the attacks.
All three newspapers also came down hard against Ankara, the only Muslim member of NATO, for supporting Washington in the international struggle against terrorism.
Predominantly Muslim but strictly secular Turkey has put its airspace and airports at US disposal and agreed to share intelligence on Afghanistan with Washington.
In stark contrast to the Islamist press, mainstream newspapers did not question the legitimacy of the air strikes, but underlined the need to minimize the civilian loss of life.
"Civilization should not take a step back before those who shed blood, but care should be taken not to hurt civilians and innocent people," Guneri Civaoglu said in the liberal Milliyet daily.
The Turkish General Staff (the real rulers of Turkey) are staunch allies of NATO, but evidence points to them are losing their grip on the Turkish people.
A few years ago the Islamist Welfare Party had the largest number of seats in the Turkish parliament when it was shut down, and its leader, Necmettin Erbakan, was a former prime minister. These parties have gone underground to hide their activities from the military.
Muslims Demonstrate in Asia, Turkey
HYDERABAD, India (AP) - Muslim anger against the United States and the airstrikes in Afghanistan flared in violence and protests across Asia and in Turkey following Friday prayers.
Police in Istanbul, Turkey, also fired tear gas to disperse 2,000 anti-U.S. protesters who gathered at a square after prayers chanting ``Down with America'' and ``We will strike at the hand that reaches Afghanistan.''
Pericles, you're not getting Smyrna back. ;)
Your Smyrna comment shows that you can not come to terms with a story that contradicts your view. I understand, Clinton milk fed most Americans on a steady diet of black and white foriegn policy viewpoints.
Eternal God and creator of all things, and thou O Mahomet his sacred and divine prophet. We beseech thee let us not dread the Christians, who are so mean and silly to rely on a crucified god.
By the power of thy right hand, so strengthen ours that we may surround this foolish people, on every side, and utterly destroy them.
At length fulfill our prayers and put these miscreants into our hands, that we may establish thy throne for ever in Mecca, and sacrifice all those enemies of our most holy religion at thy tomb.
Blow us with thy mighty breath like swarms of flies into their quarters, and let the eyes of these infidels bedazelled with the lustre of our moon. Consume them with thy fiery darts, and blind them with the dust which they themselves have raised. Destroy them all in thine anger.
Break all their bones in pieces, and consume the flesh and blood of those who defile thy sacrifice, and hang the sacred light of circumcision on their cross.
Wash them with showers of many waters, who are so stupid to worship gods they know not: and make their Christ a son to that God who ne're begot him.
Hasten therefore their destruction we humbly entreat thee, and blot out their name and religion, which they glory so much in, from off the face of the earth, that they may be no more, who condemn and mock at thy law.
Amen.
The Turkish General Staff (the real rulers of Turkey) are staunch allies of NATO, but evidence points to them are (I NEED STRONG TURKISH COFFEE FOR TYPOS TO GO AWAY) losing their grip on the Turkish people.The real rulers of Turkey are its population, who vote periodically to fill around 80,000 public posts at all levels of government.
The Turks' Prayer against the ChristiansThat's your silliest attempt to discredit us so far Pricles. Usually we'd watch a comedy for this sort of entertainment. Why don't you make it a thread of its own?
Turkey's Islamists are irrelevant.
Even more empty bluster and posturing than your average Muslim country.
Ataturk made sure of that after World War I.
Why do those clowns get any press mention is beyond me.
They are irrelevant until the Islamist parties win pluralities in elections every time. The Mayors of the largest Turkish cities are Islamists. Just because the military suppresses them does not mean they are irrelevant, and as the generals bungle and steal from the collapsing economy, more and more Turks turn to Islamists as the only viable political party.
It seems in comparison millions more Turks support the Taliban. Turkey's generals have much to fear from the Islamists.
You see that BBC slur article shows that the leaders of these Greek demonstrations are actors and soccer fans! Berkley and Hollywood, not serious players.
While Turkey has a whole underbelly of intellectuals, charities and newspapers that support politiucal parties with an anti Western agenda.
Remember, Algeria and Iran were secular once too.
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