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  • Turkey’s Religious Merchants

    Turkey’s Religious Merchants

    Newfound Riches Come With Spiritual

    Costs for Turkey’s Religious Merchants

    Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

    Ferhan Kadiroglu played with her 3-year-old daughter, Ayse, in their Istanbul home. Their family is part of Turkey’s powerful new class of wealthy Muslims.
    By SABRINA TAVERNISE
    Published: December 25, 2008

    ISTANBUL — Turkey’s religious businessmen spent years building empires on curtains, candy bars and couches. But as observant Muslims in one of the world’s most self-consciously secular states, they were never accepted by elite society.

    Now that group has become its own elite, and Turkey, a more openly religious country. It has lifted an Islamic-inspired political party to power and helped make Turkey the seventh largest economy in Europe.

    And while other Muslim societies are wrestling with radicals, Turkey’s religious merchant class is struggling instead with riches.

    “Muslims here used to be tested by poverty,” said Sehminur Aydin, an observant Muslim businesswoman and the daughter of a manufacturing magnate. “Now they’re being tested by wealth.”

    Some say religious Turks are failing that test, and they see the recent economic crisis as a lesson for those who indulged in the worst excesses of consumption, summed up in the work of one Turkish interior designer: a bathroom with faucets encrusted with Swarovski crystal, a swimming pool in the bedroom, a couch rigged to rise up to the ceiling by remote control during prayer. “I know people who broke their credit cards,” Ms. Aydin said.

    But beyond the downturn, no matter how severe, is the reality: the religious wealthy class is powerful now in Turkey, a new phenomenon that poses fresh challenges not only to the old secular elite but to what good Muslims think about themselves.

    Money is at the heart of the changes that have transformed Turkey. In 1950, it was a largely agrarian society, with 80 percent of its population living in rural areas. Its economy was closed and foreign currency was illegal. But a forward-looking prime minister, Turgut Ozal, opened the economy. Now Turkey exports billions of dollars in goods to other European countries, and about 70 percent of its population lives in cities.

    Religious Turks helped power that rise, yet for years they were shunned by elite society. That helps explain why many are engaged in such a frantic effort to prove themselves, said Safak Cak, a Turkish interior designer with many wealthy, religious clients. “It’s because of how we labeled them,” he said. “We looked at them as black people.”

    Mr. Cak was referring to Turkey’s deep class divide. An urban upper class, often referred to as White Turks, wielded the political and economic power in the country for decades. They saw themselves as the transmitters of the secular ideals of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Turkey’s founder. They have felt threatened by the rise of the rural, religious, merchant class, particularly of its political representative, Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

    “The old class was not ready to share economic and political power,” said Can Paker, chairman of the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation, a liberal research organization in Istanbul. “The new class is sharing their habits, like driving Mercedes, but they are also wearing head scarves. The old class can’t bear this.”

    “ ‘They were the peasants,’ ” the thinking goes, Mr. Paker said. “ ‘Why are they among us?’ ”

    Ms. Aydin, 40, who wears a head scarf, encountered that attitude not long ago in one of Istanbul’s fanciest districts. A woman called her a “dirty fundamentalist” when Ms. Aydin tried to put trash the woman had thrown out her car window back inside.

    “If you’re driving a good car, they stare at you and point,” Ms. Aydin said. “You want to say, ‘I graduated from French school just like you,’ but after a while, you don’t feel like proving yourself.”

    She does not have to.

    Her father started by selling curtains. Now he owns one of the largest home-appliance businesses in Europe. Ms. Aydin grew up wealthy, with tastes no different from those of the older class. She lives in a sleek, modern house with a pool in a gated community. Her son attends a prestigious private school. A business school graduate, she manages about 100 people at a private hospital founded by her father. Her head scarf bars her from employment in a state hospital.

    Her husband, Yasar Aydin, shrugged. “Rich people everywhere dislike newcomers,” he said. In another decade, those prejudices will be gone, he said.

    The businessmen describe themselves as Muslims with a Protestant work ethic, and say hard work deepens faith.

    “We can’t lie down on our oil like Arab countries,” said Osman Kadiroglu, whose family owns a large candy company in Turkey, with factories in Azerbaijan and Algeria. “There’s no way out except producing.”

    Fortunes were made, forming new patterns of consumption. Istanbul, Turkey’s economic capital, is No. 4 in the world on the latest Forbes list of cities with the highest number of billionaires. Luxury cars stud its streets. Shopping malls, 80 at last count, are mushrooming.

    “Now, unfortunately, there is a taste for luxury, excessive consumption and comfort, vanity, exhibitionism and greed,” said Mehmet Sevket Eygi, a 75-year-old newspaper columnist, who has written extensively about Muslims and wealth.

    An Islamic concept called israf forbids consuming more than one needs, but the line is blurry, leaving rich Muslims struggling with questions like whether luxury cars can be offset by donations to charity, a central tenet of Islam.

    “You have money, but do you buy whatever you want?” said Recep Senturk, a sociologist at the Center for Islamic Studies in Istanbul. “Or should you keep a humble life? This is a debate in Turkey right now.”

    Islam requires that the wealthy give away a portion of their income to the poor. In the Ottoman Empire, it paid for everything from hospitals to dishes broken by maids in rich houses.

    Donations to Deniz Feneri, one of the largest charities in Turkey, jumped almost 100-fold in the six years ending in 2006, when they topped $62 million.

    Even house designs take charity into account. Mr. Cak described a multimillion-dollar house whose design included an industrial-size kitchen where food was cooked daily and distributed in trucks.

    Ms. Aydin, for her part, supports 25 families. The real problem is not finding a place to pray on a busy day out (mall fitting rooms work), but being truly charitable and putting others first when the frenzied pace of life pushes in the opposite direction. She holds onto traditions, like Muslim holidays, tightly.

    “The world is changing but I don’t want to lose this,” she said.

    Sebnem Arsu contributed reportin

  • Luminious Movement of the Dialog Universe

    Luminious Movement of the Dialog Universe

    The dark Islam image on Occident infuriates and infuriates Eastern-Muslims. When I went to Mecca . I said to the Muslims who were angry about that image that they were the guilty of the things like that. Because, as they haven’t explained Islam enough, unfortunately the ones who listens to these made up things can think that they are true. The looseness , even quietness, of Eastern Muslims about explaining the real Islam has created such a blank of knowledge that in Occident a religion explaiter can come out and lead our people to a wrong way.

    Fourty years before that Malcolm X who had reflected the dark Islam image to us had explained the deterioration of reputation which Islam was going to experience and he had warned us at that time and adviced us, Muslims, to show the real Islam to the Occident by creating a close dialoge with them.

    Malcolm X was the asistant of Elijah Muhammad, the leader of Nation of Islam, who told that the real religion of black race was Islam and he was the most renowned one to explain Islam in United Nations. But the Islam which Elijah presented to Americans was wholly untrue and it was presented to people as a religion interpereted by himself. As there han’t been any religious leader, any Muslim country or any Muslim communty to explain Islam to America until that time, Elijah, who told that he could adjust an imported religion , was consedering himself a savior who was sent by Allah to Occident and was stating this as a condition to be accepted by people who are converting to Islam.

    Working hard in the way of his religion by aiming Allah, even without being in the right way, Malcolm X had learned that only truth from Elijah: “Black race is superior to the other races, white people are the Devil, and Islam is peculiar to them, the African black people.”

    After years, Malcolm X goes to Mecca for the duty of piligramage and when he sees that people white,blonde,reddish and black from every color, from every race come together and perform the namaz in the same order and have meal on the same dinner table, he experiences a great shock. From then on, his opinions,his beliefs and point of view on the world nations had exactly changed. In such a conditin he realizes the Islam spreading in America is in a wrong style and in interviews he reproaches not to the ones spreading Islam in a wrong style in America but to the Islam community:

    The dark Islam image on Occident infuriates and infuriates Eastern-Muslims. When I went to Mecca . I said to the Muslims who were angry about that image that they were the guilty of the things like that. Because, as they haven’t explained Islam enough, unfortunately the ones who listens to these made up things can think that they are true. The looseness , even quietness, of Eastern Muslims about explaining the real Islam has created such a blank of knowledge that in Occident a religion explaiter can come out and lead our people to a wrong way.

    Due to the people trying to impose their own ideologies by using Islam in first half of 20th century the spreading of Islam had become harder, a wall of prejudice had been erected and that important happening had got late until years later. Constitutions with wrong mentality have a share of guilt but biggest share of guilt is the Islam community’s in this situation.

    When we look at the world thoroughly the religion dominating the Continent of America is christianity. In these territories the proclamation of Islam hasn’t been achieved, contrary to that the ideology of “the dislike of Islam” has spread out from here. As to the Far-East, by Europeans a hundred years ago priests were sent by ships to the Far-Easterns who were already in an emptiness and to fill that empitiness with critianity was aimed. As a matter of fact official numbers show that cleary: In Japon and South Korea %25 of people are christian. But there is such a strange situation that, when we look at the history books, in this direction, last century we will come across an opportunity which shouldn’t have been missed. In short, in the times we priests were sent to the Far-East… In the reign of Sultan Abdulhamid IInd Japan wants hodjas from us to learn Islam. Japan’s prince says that “You send seven persons for us to learn Islam and we shall send officers to you to be assigned in your defence.” Sultan Abdulhamid who was extremely sorry for not being able to response positively to this dialoge says this: “I would send not seven persons but seven hundred persons if it wasn’t for the matters of Anatolia which is full of disorder like a den of gossip.”

    The ideal of ancestors was “to enter to the entered place for human” As a matter of fact at the moment when we look at the territories where our ancestors conquered centuries ago and ruled for centuries; it can be seen that the inhabitants of these places weren’t harmed and important protection acts were made and cities have been kept alive until that time, saving their name exactly the same.

    Allah has created human in such a beatiful way that, He tells us in every case of univers(sas) regards human as such an important being that he goes to Ebu Cehil for hundred times, of whose disbeliefs we are sure in order that he would not be in the ones who suffre the sage of Allah. He says that when entering Mecca the ones who enter Kaaba and the hause of Ebu Sufyan will be saved. That means, then, he gives such a value to a person who orders who doesn’t believe, ith the hope that his last would be saluation. We are the community of a Prophet  who orders a companion of him, not to perform a behiviour which will offend his mother who tries to stop his unbelieving mothers hinderings. How meaningful those lines of Ahmet Yesevi are:

    “It is Sunna; don’t offend anyone even if he is an infidel

    Allah is complaining about the heartless and offender ones.”

    In this century, in which the humanity is being polorized, in which the anarchy and terrorism has become daily happenings and the value of humanity is being tried to be lost; the acts of tolerance on the way of which Muslims, already realizing some beauties tries hard, has started to blossom and the groud for acting collectively has been completed. Having attended the symposium named “Recontruction of Islam ideology in 20th century and Bediüzzaman” in 1992, Assit. Prof. Visula Spuler states the scene which she sees and wants to see about that subject like this: “Turks in Koln sent a worthy greeting message, the influence of the Pope who is originally Polish, on the liberation of East Black from communism was stated. And as a collective strugle against communism, Muslims getting Russians out of Afghanistan was stated. The massage was continuing like that: “At the same time, we know that our duty hasn’t come to on and after all these happenings. As you have stated humanity needs faith and the new world order.” That Easter greeting was written with the thinking system of Said Nursi sent a very beatiful handwriting work of himself to the Pope of that time in 1951. Spuler, who was grateful for Muslims’ beatiful impessions, continued her speech like that: “Again Bedüizzaman, in his work Munazarat, states that friendships can be achieved with the Jews or Christians by remaining Muslim. He saw christians and Germany, who was shaped with a good christian tradition, as a great friend in, against the all religion enemies troughout the world.

    The explanation of Safa Mursel, who was in the same syposium, will enlighten us about what to do: “if uniting of religions will be thought, Christianity can be firstly expected to need that. These statements are enough to give required opinions:

    The Christianity will either fade out or give up his weapon against the Islam. The Christianity broke up several times, transformed to the Protestantism. Protestantism broke up too. It approached to unification. It prepares to break up again. It will either profit and fade out or see the truth of Islam who is connective for the principal of the Christianity opposite of his himself and surrender. And the real religion of Christians, who converted to Islam and who will give up his superstitions, agree and help to Islam.

    Timely, we are in a very important position. We are in a more important position from the point of view of the happenings which humanity experienced. We have all opportunities, to say shortly by thinking all the world history in the “Golden Period of Time” with the all opportunities we have, we can conduct to the integration of all of the subjects that is signed by from our Master to the last savant in a unique way. In the “Golden Period of Time”, Allah removes all obstacles against the people, what they intend to do. As long as our intention is pure. “The intention of Muslim is better than his act.”

    Mehmet Fatih ÖZTARSU

    Qafqaz University – Interes Club

  • Muslims in Europe: A Short Introduction

    Muslims in Europe: A Short Introduction

    Justin Vaisse, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, Center on the United States and Europe

    The Brookings Institution

    September 2008 —

    Introduction

    This paper aims to briefly present the basic facts and issues concerning Muslims in Europe, from a political and sociological perspective, and to offer elements of comparison with the US.1 There will be a slight emphasis on France, due to author’s area of specialty – and to the fact that France is home to the largest Muslim population in Europe.

    A few popular myths about Islam in Europe should first be dispelled, in order to grasp the real issues and challenges:

    Myth #1: Being Muslim constitutes a fixed identity, sufficient to fully characterize a person.

    When it comes to Muslims, people wrongly assume that religion – rather than nationality, gender, social class, etc. – necessarily trumps other identities. To take just a few examples, the Washington Post, in an article on migration to the EU (June 2008), writes about “Muslims arriving from the Middle East and Africa, and Eastern Europeans moving west”, even though a) not all of the migrants from this region are Muslims, b) “Eastern Europeans” would never be labeled “Orthodox” or “Catholics”, and c) that is not the issue anyway, since the article is about immigration. For a couple of weeks in November 2005, the media used the term “Muslims riots in France” to describe the wave of urban violence that resulted in burnt cars and property damage. But these riots had nothing to do with Islam, and everything to do with the social and economic conditions of largely immigrant communities. Muslim groups, who tried to play a mediating role, discovered themselves to be irrelevant and powerless.

    Myth #2: Muslims in Europe are, in one way or the other, inherently foreign, the equivalent of visiting Middle-Easterners who are alien to the “native” culture.

    European culture, however, has always included Muslim elements, as early as the 8th century. Moreover, the approximately 15 to 17 million persons of Muslim background currently in the EU-27 countries (population: 500 million) include both citizens and non-citizens of European member states, but a majority of them hold French, British, German, etc. nationality. Many of them are proud of this fact and would never think of themselves as anything else than Europeans (even while honoring their heritage). Indeed, there is more difference in political culture and social codes between a French Muslim and a German Muslim than there is between a French Muslim and a French of other religious orientation.

    Myth #3: Muslims in Europe form a “distinct, cohesive and bitter group,” in the words of a 2005 Foreign Affairs article.

    In reality, they are anything but a cohesive group. Not only is there no unity to be found at the European level, but when one looks at the national level, what predominates is the profound divisions, either between countries of reference and their specific culture and brand of Islam (e.g., Belgians of Turkish origin vs. Belgians of Moroccan origin), between visions of religion and affiliation (e.g., German Turks associated with Milli Görüş vs. those affiliated with Diyanet), or between social status, political views, ethnicity, etc. In other words, to speak of “a Muslim community” is simply misleading.

    Myth #4: Muslims are demographically gaining on the “native” population.

    The implicit assumption behind this very widespread myth is that Muslims form a distinct demographic bloc defined by religion, a bloc which will never blend into the rest of society (another possible assumption is based on ethnicity, “Muslims” being surrogate for “people of color” vs. white people). This assumption is contradicted by the significant rates of intermarriage and conversions (in both directions) and, more importantly, by the reality of integration in many countries, where Muslims are simply patriotic, law-abiding citizens – in this case, worries about demography have no basis, why would one count them apart? But even accepting the assumption they are a demographic bloc, “Muslims” are not actually significantly gaining on “natives.” True, European birthrates are generally low, and birthrates among immigrant groups are often high. But in the latter group, they actually fall rapidly after their arrival and among subsequent generations, as they tend to conform to the national norm. And in some countries like France or Ireland, general fertility rates are comparable to that observed in the US, around 2 children per woman. Last but not least, immigration to the EU is more and more tightly controlled. It is doubtful that from about 15-17 million in the 500 million EU-27 today (3 to 4 %), potential Muslims could number more than 6 % in the coming decades.

  • McCain: No Muslim president, U.S. better with Christian one

    McCain: No Muslim president, U.S. better with Christian one

    BY HELEN KENNEDY
    NEWYORK DAILY NEWS

    STAFF WRITER

    Saturday, September 29th 2007, 4:00 AM

    John McCain

    GOP presidential candidate John McCain says America is better off with a Christian President and he doesn’t want a Muslim in the Oval Office.

    “I admire the Islam. There’s a lot of good principles in it,” he said. “But I just have to say in all candor that since this nation was founded primarily on Christian principles, personally, I prefer someone who I know who has a solid grounding in my faith.”

    In a wide-ranging interview about religion and faith with the Web site Beliefnet, McCain said he wouldn’t “rule out under any circumstance” someone who wasn’t Christian, but said, “I just feel that that’s an important part of our qualifications to lead.”

    A Mormon such as rival candidate Mitt Romney, he said, would be okay.

    “The Mormon religion is a religion that I don’t share, but I respect.

    “More importantly, I’ve known so many people of the Mormon faith who have been so magnificent,” he said.

    McCain later clarified his remarks, saying, “I would vote for a Muslim if he or she was the candidate best able to lead the country and to defend our political values.”

    A Muslim rights group ripped the Arizona Republican’s remarks.

    “That kind of attitude goes against the American tradition of religious pluralism and inclusion,” said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

    He urged McCain to “clarify his remarks” and “stress his acceptance of political candidates of any faith.”

    The Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish advocacy group, could not be reached for comment because its offices were closed for the Sukkoth holiday.

    In the interview, the senator also said the “Constitution established the United States of America as a Christian nation.”

    There is no mention of God, Jesus or Christ in that entirely secular document.

    The interview, which included the revelation that he’s talking to his pastor about undergoing a full-immersion baptism after the campaign, sent Beliefnet’s irreverent “God-o-meter” spinning.

    “How can the religious right hate this guy?” the site asked.

    Beliefnet columnist David Kuo said McCain was “pandering to what he thinks the Christian conservative community wants to hear” and predicted he “will have a lot of explaining to do about this interview.”

    The remarks came as he was starting to show gains in the polls.

    McCain alienated evangelical voters in 2000 when he branded the Revs. Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell “agents of intolerance.”

    hkennedy@nydailynews.com