By Oğuzhan Bilgin
If a foreigner who does not know Turkey very well were to read this headline, he/she would probably be astonished and ask “what do you mean?”. Because having to discuss Islamophobia in such a Muslim-majority society is indeed a cause for bewilderment…
Anti-Islamism, Islamophobia or Islamophobia… Whichever it is, we know that these terms are mostly discussed in relation to Western countries, and later on discussions about countries like India and China emerged.
So, what are we talking about when we say anti-Islamism in Turkey?
First of all, it is necessary to understand that the so-called caricature of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), the Lord of the Worlds, is not an isolated incident.
Unfortunately, Islamophobia in Turkey has his
Unfortunately, Islamophobia in Turkey has historical, class, cultural, ideological and political dynamics. In some respects, it is even necessary to recognize that Islamophobia in Turkey has structural and institutional qualities.
Islamophobia in Turkey is so structural that it must be taken seriously, and we have a history of military coups whose biggest (ideological) motivation is Islamophobia. So much so that during the February 28th period, we were faced with an anti-Islamic regime that was imposed not only on politicians but on the entire society. An apartheid regime similar to that of South Africa was established, which usurped the rights of headscarved women, who make up at least half of all Turkish women, to study, work and be elected, jailed Erdoğan for reciting a poem with religious and national references, prevented those who attended imam hatip schools from going to university, and openly discriminated against and oppressed anyone who was perceived to have an Islamic lifestyle or dress.
Islamophobia in Turkey is so structural that it must be taken seriously, and we have a history of military coups whose biggest (ideological) motivation is Islamophobia. So much so that during the February 28th period, we were faced with an anti-Islamic regime that was imposed not only on politicians but on the entire society. An apartheid regime similar to that of South Africa was established, which usurped the rights of headscarved women, who make up at least half of all Turkish women, to study, work and be elected, jailed Erdoğan for reciting a poem with religious and national references, prevented those who attended imam hatip schools from going to university, and openly discriminated against and oppressed anyone who was perceived to have an Islamic lifestyle or dress.
Before February 28th, many military coups were motivated by anti-Islamism. Because these military coups had an ideological ground to legitimize themselves. Since the early periods of the history of Turkish modernization, the defenders of the understanding that Islam was a “hindrance to progress” came from among many people who identified themselves as leftists, socialists, liberals or Kemalists. Some summarized this as “religion is opium” while others spoke of “the oppressiveness of religion”. Of course, by “religion” they were not talking about Christianity or Buddhism.
Turkish cinema, on the one hand, and Turkish literature, on the other, were used in a great propaganda of discrediting religion and especially religious people through their stories. The most disgusting characters in the stories were often portrayed as religious characters.
On the night of July 15th, when FETÖ members staged a coup d’état, history has also recorded those who heard the salaams from mosques calling for resistance against the coup and raided more than 60 mosques and beat up imams.
Today, we know the level of harassment, discrimination and mobbing against religious women and men in daily life, especially in white-collar jobs.
We also see the intensity of insults and threats against Muslims on social media or in the name of so-called humor.
We also know those in academic life or in schools who think it is a good deed to turn the tables on Islam and Muslims in the end.
In addition to their ideological side, a significant part of the anti-Islamists think that they will make a premium by being anti-Islamic in order to compensate for their inferiority complexes in the face of the West during the Westernization process and with the psychology of a slave trying to be good to his master. We also know those who think they are “intellectuals” when they say something to discredit Muslims.
As a result, that immoral cartoon sits on an accumulation of Islamophobic military coups, Islamophobic terrorist organizations (primarily PKK), Islamophobic popular culture productions, Islamophobic insinuations and references in social media and academic life.
It is also necessary to think carefully and be prudent about the foreign intelligence mind that had the cartoon drawn and the provocation carried out, and what this mind may plan in the future.
Source: aksam.com.tr
