Tag: Islamophobia

  • Journalists to discuss Islamophobia in İstanbul

    Journalists to discuss Islamophobia in İstanbul

    Turkish Ministry of Youth and Sports will bring young people and well-known journalists together in İstanbul to discuss Islamophobia over the weekend of Jan. 26-27, Trend news agency reported referring to Today`s Zaman newspaper.

    Istanbul_171212

    The event, hosted by Maltepe University at the Marma Congress Center, will include journalists from the BBC, the Guardian, The Huffington Post, the Daily Telegraph and The Independent as well as journalists and academics from Turkey.

    The deputy undersecretary of the Prime Ministry, Dr. İbrahim Kalın, will deliver the opening speech of the event, which is sponsored by the Media Association of Turkey (Medya Derneği).

    The event aims to create awareness of the Islamophobia that is on the rise as a result of the 9/11 attacks in the US and the financial crisis in Europe. Islamophobia, which is defined as “the lack of knowledge, negative thoughts and fears about Islam and prejudices against it,” finds wide coverage in the media due to events such as the Danish cartoon crisis. The discussion also targets finding ways to fight against the discrimination of Muslims that is fed by Western media.

    Some of the titles of the panels include “What is Islamophobia?” “Islamophobia in the Western Media,” “Suggestions for Solutions to Islamophobia” and “Islamophobia and Journalism.” The two-day event will also include a photo exhibition.

    Ahmet Boken (TRT), Bulent Kenesh (Today’s Zaman), Gema Martin-Munoz (University of Madrid), Jarome Taylor (The Independent), Mehdi Hasan (The Huffington Post UK, Al Jazeera English), Sandeep Hundal (the Guardian, The Times of London, the Financial Times), Mohamed Madi (BBC News Channel), Wajahat Ali (the Guardian, Salon, The Huffington Post and The Washington Post) are among the expected participants.

    via Journalists to discuss Islamophobia in İstanbul – AzerNews.

  • Why Turkey can’t lead a ban on Islamophobia?

    Why Turkey can’t lead a ban on Islamophobia?

    Before Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan decided to cancel his visit to the U.N. General Assembly in New York, he was planning to talk about adopting international legislation on insults to religion. He confirmed that he would while commenting on the 14-minute trailer mocking the Prophet Muhammad, which sparked violent riots across the Muslim world. He said Turkey could lead on this issue.

    This betrays the typical Turkish mentality of “banning.” We don’t like something? Then ban and get rid of it!

    Well, things just don’t work like that in the “Western hemisphere” – the democratic standards of which Turkey has been aspiring to reach.

    Now Erdoğan is not going to New York, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu will no doubt talk about the issue when he speaks at the U.N. However, introducing international legislation for insulting religion is basically mission impossible.

    I am guessing that Turkish diplomats would remind him of the experience in 2006 when a similar crisis broke out over the Danish cartoons.

    At that time – already extremely concerned about the rise in “anti-immigrant,” Islamophobic” and “racist” rhetoric in Europe – Turkish diplomats tried to raise awareness of this issue. They simply tried to convey the message that there should not be a hierarchical relationship between freedom of expression and freedom of religion, as Europeans tended always to put the former above everything else. Every time Turks tried to talk about freedom of expression being abused against Muslims, they hit the wall as Europeans told them: “freedom of expression is a core right!”

    It took several months of intense negotiations to have a resolution adopted in the 2006 ministerial meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The decision underlined the importance of states enacting a sound legal framework “ensuring equality before the law and adequate judicial protection” and called on political leaders to speak out against hate-motivated acts and incidents. This is as far as the OSCE went, but even that made the Germans and the Americans quite nervous.

    There is a limit to freedom of expression also when it comes to insulting religion, according to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which decided in favor of the Austrian government that confiscated a film about Christianity in the Otto Preminger vs. Austria case. But the ECHR leaves a wide margin of oppreciation to the governments and national courts to resolve cases of conflict between freedom of expression and the “rights of others,” in particular the right to respect for one’s religious feelings.

    Most Western countries do have the necessary legal framework that regulates hate crime. But they need to strike a balance between freedom of expression and respect for religious feelings. The problem is, more often than not, the prosecutors and the judges tend to favor the principle of freedom of expression, underestimating the consequences of a discourse that borders on the incitement of hatred. Turkey should therefore spend its energies devising a strategy that encourages member countries to use the legal tools at their disposal.

    Finally, as a country that has a bad international reputation for limiting freedom of expression, Turkey could indeed be the champion of the “censorious” cause. But it cannot lead any attempt to have an international legislation to ban Islamophobia, and at any rate that would be a futile attempt.

    via BARÇIN YİNANÇ – Why Turkey can’t lead a ban on Islamophobia?.

  • Turkey Concerned on Islamophobic Poster

    Turkey Concerned on Islamophobic Poster

    Turkey Concerned on Islamophobic Poster

    Tuesday, 11 September 2012

    A poster campaign by Germany’s Interior Ministry to advertise a hotline for those worried that a friend or family member may be turning to radical Islam has met with strong criticism from Turkish officials.

    Citing German Prime Minister Angela Merkel’s decision to disable a court decision prohibiting circumcision, the Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ has called on her to again take steps against her interior ministry’s latest initiative. “I hope she will not let this campaign be launched,” Bozdağ told reporters yesterday, adding that the law of the state should stand against real criminals and terrorists, “instead of incriminating innocent people.” The campaign has been founded under the “Security Partnership Initiative” by Germany’s Interior Ministry. Bozdağ said the campaign was an affront to Muslims “since it sees Muslim people as a security concern.”

    “On the one hand you say you will fight against Islamophobia, on the other hand you take steps that result in Islamophobia capturing all parts of society,” he added. The posters read “Missing” above a portrait of a young man or woman, and read: “This is our son Ahmad. We miss him, because we don’t recognize him anymore. He is withdrawing more and more, becoming more radical every day. We are afraid of losing him altogether to religious fanatics and terrorist groups. If you think like us, get in contact with the radicalization counseling centers.”

    Meanwhile, officials from Turkey’s Turks Abroad and Relative Communities Directorate, the Foreign Ministry, the Justice Ministry, the European Union Ministry, and the Directorate-General for Religious Affairs (Diyanet) held a meeting yesterday in order to discuss precautions related to the negative repercussions of such a campaign.

    Report on Possible Attacks

    In a separate development, German law enforcement agencies have warned in a secret report that attacks by neo-Nazi elements “should be expected” against foreigners, Jewish institutions and state representatives, “such as politicians, public figures, and police officers,” Der Spiegel reported Sept. 9.
    A secret report issued by the Federal Office of Criminal Investigation in July warned that the attacks could come from neo-Nazi individuals or groups and may include arson attacks, possibly on refugee hostels and Jewish community buildings.

  • Turkey Warns Against Rising Racism In Europe

    Turkey Warns Against Rising Racism In Europe

    5/9/2012 2:18 AM ET

    (RTTNews) – Turkish President Abdullah Gül has warned that xenophobia, racism and Islamophobia are threatening Europe’s own values and advised the 27-member European Union bloc to continue with an open vision.

    no racism“It’s my sincere wish that this threat will be prevented from gaining more ground that will lead the EU to turn further in on itself and to harm the universal values that it pioneers,” Gül said in a statement on the occasion of ‘Europe Day’ on Tuesday.

    He urged EU countries to free themselves of “baseless worries” about Turkey’s EU negotiations and to remove “the artificial barriers” raised on its road to accession as he reaffirmed Turkey’s objective of full membership.

    Describing Turkey’s aspirations to join the EU as part of the country’s strategic vision, Gül said it was for both sides to crown Turkey’s half-century long journey with this end. A potential Turkish membership in the EU will strengthen the bloc’s global position in the fields of energy, economy, foreign policy and security, Gül was quoted by Turkish media as saying.

    Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan also issued a statement saying that the government’s efforts at raising democratic norms through a set of reform packages were evidence of its will to join the EU.

    by RTT Staff Writer

    via Turkey Warns Against Rising Racism In Europe.

  • Should Europe fear Islamic extremists?

    Should Europe fear Islamic extremists?

    Should Europe fear Islamic extremists?

    With EYP – the European Youth Parliament

    Masha from France:

    I’d like to know if Muslim extremism is a real issue in Europe.

    Michaël Privot, Director of the European Network Against Racism, responds:

    Reports from Europol on terrorism threats since 2006 show that, out of roughly 2,150 attacks in Europe, half of one percent were carried out by Muslim extremists, which is to say precisely 10. It’s important, in relation to that, to see the resources devoted to controlling this threat.

    In reality, 50% of Europe’s counter-terrorism resources have been used just for the 0.5 percent of terrorism called ‘Islamic’.

    So, how can this outright disproportion between the real threat and the means used be justified? You have to look at the political context. Since the attacks in London and Madrid especially, politicians have lived with a dread that an attack might take place in their voting area and therefore they do not scrimp on means, in order to show that they are taking things in hand.

    And then there’s the economic context today. Counter-terrorism, especially against Islamic terrorism, involves hundreds of thousands of jobs in Europe, whether it’s in the public sectors of law and order, security services — but also smaller private offices that draw ample benefit from this — all, obviously, in a context where the Muslim is seen as the absolutely different ‘other’, as the threat for our civilisation and our values.

    What we are especially interested in now is to see the impact on communities. Today we can say that minorities, Muslims in particular, are victims of this situation in three ways.

    Firstly because they are singled out as the scapegoat within the social majority — these minorities all the problems come through. The second thing is that with such a disproportionate attribution of means Muslims, notably young men, are often the victims of extra sharp scrutiny by the forces of order. And thirdly, given that the forces of order concentrate half their personnel on the fight against the Islamist terrorist who represents almost nothing, they do not take care of the much worse threats such as the terrorism of the extreme right such as we see in Germany, or recently in Italy, where there are certainly Muslim communities who are victims, along with black people, Roma and Jewish communities.

    Here I think it’s time we might learn some lessons from this, and return to our common sense and change radically, if we can say that, the policy being followed at European level and in the EU member states.

    Video:

  • E-mail from an Israeli about Turkey …

    E-mail from an Israeli about Turkey …

    Note: Here is an Email I received earlier this morning, from a friend living in Israel.  I thought what he had to say was something all should hear and with his permission, here is his letter  Please note that I have taken the liberty to highlight some of his comments, and that the letter is a translation from Hebrew.
    Flag of Jerusalem realistic colors
    !Shalom
    Turkey announced yesterday to Iran, on the subject of Iran’s claim against Turkey that Turkey, an American radar sets, on the soil of Turkey: “Turkey will not allow for radar, give warning, ON Iran’s missile”. It was message from Turkey to Iran.
    So I ask the United States: – – What are you doing? Turkey, not your friend – they’re Muslims., sharing all that you give her with other Muslim countries.  Turkey says the message to Iran, even after Iran is threatening U.S. aircraft carrier .  There is nothing rational, … Why? Why do the United States not react against Turkey, on that Turkey does not make the ban on Iran – they do not make economic sanctions – against Iran. Turkey trades with Iran. Most of the produce of Iran comes to Turkey, and there, it replaces the flag, with “Made in Turkey”.
    Turkey announced yesterday – to Iran, that Turkey would not allow the U.S. or any country, to attack Iran, from an area of ​​Turkey.

    Very ridiculous to me, that the U.S. bases, are in Turkey. Therefore, a reason why the U.S. is limited in giving a reprimandor looking unhappyto Turkey?

    I will not ask, “Why are not your bases in Israel?” – It’s your decision. But we promise, – that Israel is the basis of one single force loyal to the United States. We in Israel, we are “not a military base in the country”. We are’one country in a military base.”  So we are defined , and laugh at how we see ourselves.

    You are the U.S.Turkey would give to F35 aircraftbefore you are interestedgive it to IsraelWe do not know  what to tell you about itTurkey – like our enemy. She threatened a few months ago about a war with us, you remember?

    Turkish prime minister this weekmet with Hamas leader in the Gaza StripRemind you  Hamas is set to a terrorist organization – by the United States own definition. You did not  say anything about it and we wonderwhyThat you believe that your friend is Turkey?!

    Turkey, may one day betray the U.S. and in large. I tell you. Betrayal of Turkey in you, you will be very painful. Turkey with Islam. Do you think that they do not share your technology all the time – to your enemies? …

    I say now, you are arming your enemy. They snake under the tap. They will not let you operate from your base, against the enemies – the best case. In the worst case -they might give Americans a trap, then make my words – in your best English.

    I say this, that everything has a consequence. Everything starts from something, but here, it’s not just something you do not see, read between the lines of the Turks. They are not a friend. They are not friends. Turkey not only against Israel, known to the world that Israel is like a brother, a state of the U.S. overseas. Here in the area, that want to know what do the U.S., so we are small attempts of this. So they question you, the real tests on Israel. If you like it or not.
    Take all my words – and understand that I am a person who cares very much for peace for the United States.

    Sincerely, with best wishes,
     ___________________________

    Bee’s Note:
    Here is one Israeli very concerned about one thing – his loyalty towards the USA and the thought that perhaps the U.S. does not understand the consequences of arming the very enemies of both the U.S. and Israel.  He asks, “What are you doing?!”  Don’t you see that Turkey is wearing the skin of a snake, and is loyal not to the U.S., but to Iran, our enemy sitting in the very Gulf of Homez threatening U.S. naval ships?!  

    That being said, how many watched or listened later to the speech and announcements made by both BHO and Panetta at yesterday’s Pentagon press conference?  I wondered if anyone in the Press would ask the right questions, such as the ones being asked by our Israeli friend – none were asked that could possibly explain the down-sizing of our military, while up-grading our enemies!  

    ADD IT UP!  Add up all the “gifts” of taxpayer monies to the Palestinians (not even a state/country); the military equipment and training to the Palestinians, Egypt and Saudi Arabia; the billions to Pakistan, Afghanistan; Iraq; …. all under the guise of humanitarian needs; nation building; etc. given to our “allies”, when to accept the hand of friendship from such countries, would they first not have to be of “like-minded” and not just holding their hands out to receive our money, while telling our other, more worrisome enemies that they would prevent the US from attacking those who threatening us?!

    Why, when you actually put pen to paper, adding up the BILLIONS of DOLLARS shared with the countries mentioned (above), you can bet it amounts to more than the amount this administration has decided to decrease from the budget of America’s Defense Department.  And, more than the amount contributed to the hospitals and medical treatment of our own troops.

    To Congress and everyone in Washington, DC – your hypocrisy is showing!  Your blindness about aiding America’s enemies, for the sake of oil, or whatever else it is you think these enemies will give back, is outrageous!  They will not give you one night of sleep; not one grain of peace of mind; but they will, when opportunity strikes, give all of us a rocket up our own A##s and by our own weapons!  Israelis are not the only only folks attempting to warn us of harm directed our way … see Allen West’s comments (below).


    Peace will never be obtained through bribes, military equipment and cash, as long as Islam sees us as their enemies, and according to the teachings of the Koran, we are the enemy of Islam!  That is an ideology – not a religion – and time the United States woke up and accepted that bit of history as fact, not fiction.

    Congress, and all who refuse to accept the truth, 


    Here’s your sign ………..