Opinion is honor, column is dignity. Thinking is a strong and tough mission that Allah assigns to us. In the process of writing, the writer has to think and act carefully so that he will not be embarrassed. History will ask for an answer to every single line that is written; it questions your courage, patience and prudence. And then the people’s conscience grades your performance. That grade determines your overall caliber.
And there will also be time when you will have to answer to Him. Your tongue does not speak there, but instead, your heart will talk, your acts are replaced by your intentions. You will not be held responsible for instant thoughts or intentions; but a single letter that has been published will be sufficient for you to be held accountable. For this reason, writers and columnists who are fearful that this day will come need to feel this obligation in their hearts. These journalists are men of faith who can contribute to the media. Violation of rights and freedoms by relying on the voids and loopholes in the universal professional code and ethics should not be something that these journalists would rely on to advance their cause.
In fact, virtual space accelerates and facilitates communication between the people. However, as in many other issues, some irregular tendencies are observed in the Internet communication. Ungrounded information, rushed comments, unethical accusations, rude statements, cursing and others. …
Some people use the Internet recklessly in sharing their opinions and writing. Without considering the repercussions, without paying particular attention and without subjecting what they write to a thorough review. … If the Internet and virtual space is used as an opportunity to give response to everything without interruption, this country will eventually end up a dark labyrinth.
Once the oxygen is so depleted in this environment, even big men will run out of breath and violate the minimal ethical rules, leaving no shred of honor or dignity associated with being a responsible writer. In the face of this grave situation, knowledge becomes insignificant. Thinking is shelved and wisdom is forgotten. In such a case, nightmare becomes inevitable for the people.
I am telling you there is no other place in the world where Twitter is being used for evil purposes. In this environment invented for the people to share their emotions and knowledge, the users communicate their individual thoughts and views to others. However, you cannot see ideological obsessions, psychological warfare lies, slandering and insults in any other parts of the world; this is a case that is peculiar to our country alone.
In our country, every issue is converted into a matter of clash and disagreement. Insult and slandering is everywhere. There are many people who insult others in the Internet environment whereas they would not do that in person. Because of the courage associated with masked communication, illegal organizations are eager to use the virtual space. They are engaged in different operations including lynching the people and running ungrounded propaganda. Is this not a waste? Is this not shameful?
Take a look at this absurd discussion. First, they fabricated a lie out of organized propaganda, suggesting that the Gülen movement was seizing control of the Fenerbahçe sports club. And then, they called the people to defend themselves against this so-called initiative. There is a nice old saying: “Nonsense does not carry interpretation.” This is nonsense; what would the movement do with a sports club? But even if you try to explain this, some are not satisfied or convinced. And they want additional explanations. However, they should be aware that there are many Beşiktaş, Galatasaray and Trabzonspor fans in this movement.
But sadly, the propaganda works and influences even the columnists. When Fener lost the championship, some strongly insulted the movement, which they praised before for its services. And some others relied on propaganda tools to raise suspicions against people who had nothing to do with this whole thing. The lines of tolerance were violated and breached; and attempts were made to keep a culture of lynching alive. Writing without reading, and talking without thinking, is to avoid historical and ethical responsibility.
No need to be pessimistic; the virtual space will be normalized as Turkey becomes normal. The current frenzy will be a matter of forgotten past in the future. Otherwise, this beautiful country will be like a mental institution. Of course, responsible figures of this country will not allow this to happen.
What can I say?
Recently, a newspaper parted its ways with one of its columnists, in its decision it referred to his Twitter messages. Ergun Babahan has made a horrible mistake recently; he put himself and his institution into a difficult position. It appears that such problems will remain for a while. Unfortunately, some people forget that they have a column and that they produce a program on TV. They rush in writing about some delicate issues. Every statement made without thorough analysis and deliberations hurts everybody. There are also some who are not aware that their message is attributed to a large group of people and that this message raises a misleading image. What can I say? May Allah grant prudence and wisdom to all of us.
A person, a so-called “expert of the Gülen movement,” wrote about the Fenerbahçe-movement issue. He even took this discussion into virtual space where he sent constant messages. And then he called this weird practice a series. Is this journalism? What part of this attempt by which he offered ungrounded analyses and violated the rights of people could be called journalism? If somebody else launches another virtual platform about the writer of this series and admits every argument and allegation against him, would this be fair? If the objective stance of a writer or columnist who has raised suspicions in more than 100 columns on a particular issue is compromised, the responses of other people should be viewed normal. How could the reactive statements and remarks be considered as objective and reasonable?
Published on Sunday's Zaman, 20 May 2012, Sunday
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