Paranoia of 'religion is dangerous’

Yalçın Akdoğan, Star

The other day in The New York Times, there was an article entitled “Turkey Feels Sway of Reclusive Cleric in US.”

Beyond being a general analysis and criticism of the Hizmet [Gülen] movement, the article also included libel and accusations against the movement. I would like to focus on some of the points in this article that made me uncomfortable: Interpreting the developments in Turkey through the lens of “the danger of Islamization” really means preparing the groundwork for incorrect policies. What this situation really reflects is the placing into an alarm state all sorts of different factions, and not just against the Hizmet movement itself, but against a Turkey currently being led by a conservative government. It should now be clearly understood that everyone has had enough of the rhetoric along the lines of Turkey’s “rising up to challenge secularism” or “secularism is in danger.” Just as these sorts of debates over the state of secularism have lacked success on the national front, efforts to this end on the international front will also come up empty.

Published on Today's Zaman, 27 April 2012, Friday