The limits of Europe | 64 comments (64 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

Turkey is officially Islamic (none / 1)

Well, as an English-reading-only American, I get most of my info about Europe from the Economist. I know that it is strongly biased in the liberal direction, and that it is strongly biased in the British direction. But, I'm not sure how an article like this one [June 25] reflects either bias, since Britain and the Economist both support Turkish membership in the EU.

"Some 3000 Syriacs [Orthodox Christians] in the south-east say their land and houses have been seized, not just by Kurds, but also by the state... the state institution that micro-manages religious life in Turkey, when it issued a sermon on March 11th to be preached at some 75,000 officially registered mosques. The sermon talked of the dangers posed to the national unity by missionaries who "work as a part of a plan to cut the ties of our citizens with the faith."

Doesn't exactly sound like freedom of religion to me...

by asdf on Tue Jul 5th, 2005 at 09:20:23 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Turkey is officially Islamic (none / 0)

I get most of my info about Europe from the Economist.

LOL! That explains much. (Hint: The Economist is the cheerleader of neoliberalism.)

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Tue Jul 5th, 2005 at 09:54:33 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Turkey is officially Islamic (none / 0)

From the same article: It matters little that only 300 souls have defected in the past eight years--or that proselytising is legally permitted.

Sounds like the USA. Or, for that matter, Russia (where the big enemy is Catholic proselytizers). Or, for that matter, in my home country or in Germany by the Catholic Right.

(BTW, I have no sympathy at all for proselytizers - but the allegedly expelled Syrians is another matter; only The Economist has not much detail on the issue.)

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Tue Jul 5th, 2005 at 10:08:20 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Turkey is officially Islamic (none / 0)

I tried to track down some of this from other sources. Of all places, I find the following at a Christian website:

"There's a reaction against Christianity by Islamists and nationalist groups," observed Ihsan Ozbek, chairman of the Alliance of Protestant Churches (APC). "The missionary issue is being used by them to spoil the relationship between Turkey and the EU."

...and then on the sermon, I was right to mistrust The Economist again:

Back in February, the Turkish Daily News had reported that a sermon prepared by the Religious Affairs Directorate would be read in all the nation's mosques on March 11, portraying Christian missionaries as the "new Crusaders." Reportedly this came "as a reaction to missionary activities in Turkey and EU demands for religious expression."
But in an apparent backdown, the directorate's website indicates that a different sermon was preached in its place.

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Tue Jul 5th, 2005 at 10:19:33 AM EST
[ Parent ]

The limits of Europe | 64 comments (64 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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