A Toronto Star reader corrects Harpoon Siddiqui's pro-Islamist misinformation:
Re: Turkey is no caliphate, Erdogan no dictator, Column, June 6
Haroon Siddiqui begins his column with the simple statement: “Unlike the Bibles blessing hotel rooms in the U.S., you won’t find Qur’ans in hotels across Turkey.” I beg to disagree. Last October, I travelled in Turkey for three weeks, spending time in more than 10 cities. In every hotel room from Istanbul to Ankara to Izmir there was a Qur’an. Everywhere I observed the increasing influence of religion in a nominally secular state.
E. Robert Langford, Toronto
Oh, and Turkey is no caliphate--yet--and Artie Erdogan is no caliph--ditto.
1 comment:
hmmmm.....The following are excerpts from a compilation of some of the statements made by PM Erdogan during his terms as Istanbul’s mayor and as Turkey’s prime minister: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKaO_dyKIpA&mode=related&search=
"Elhamdulillah [by Allah’s grace] we are sharia-ists" (Milliyet, Nov. 21, 1994)
"I am against [celebrating] the [Christian/Gregorian] New Year" (Sabah, Dec. 19, 1994)
"I went not just to tekke [a prayer house] but to dergah [Islamic learning center]" (Gozcu, Jan. 22, 1997)
"There is no need to stand up to honor Ataturk" (Hurriyet, May 12, 1994)
"They [secular Turks] make such a big fuss every November 10th [the anniversary of Ataturk’s death] (Hurriyet, Nov. 14, 1994)
"Alcoholic drinks must be banned" (Hurriyet, May 1, 1996)
"We will turn Istanbul into Madina" (Akit)
"All the schools will become [madrassa-like religious] Imam Hatip schools" (Cumhuriyet, Sep. 17, 1994)
"I am the Imam of Istanbul" (Hurriyet, Jan. 8, 1995)
"Swimsuit ads are exploitation of lust" (Hurriyet, Mar. 6, 1996)
"National Lottery is atrocity" (Hurriyet, Sep. 29, 1994)
"Insh’allah [i.e. Allah’s willing] we will begin the construction of the mosque in Taksim [Istanbul’s largest and most central square]" (Jul. 1, 1994)
"Days that Turkey will have a president from imam hatip [school] are near" (Akit, Feb. 5, 1996)
"[Islamic color] Green is civilization" Istanbul painted in green color] [in Istanbul municipality June 25, 1994]
"Only imams should officiate all the marriages" [Milliyet, May 9, 1995]
"Our reference [guide] is Islam. Our only goal is an Islamic state. They can never intimidate us. If the skies and the earth open up, if storms blow on us, if the lava of volcanoes flow on us, we will never change our way. My guide is Islam. If I cannot live according to Islam, why live at all? [Turk], Kurd, Arab, Caucasian cannot be differentiated; because these peoples are united under the roof of Islam." [from his Dec. 6, 1997 speech], [Hurriyet, Sep. 24, 1998]
"I vouch for Yassin [Al Qadi]. I trust him the same way I trust my father. I know him like I know myself." (defending on national TV the UN black-listed Saudi millionaire Yassin Al Qadi who was declared by the UN [and U.S.] as a financier of terrorism for which he was wanted everywhere) [NTV, July 11, 2006; Hurriyet, July 16, 2006]
and: “Thank God Almighty,” said Mr. Erdogan in 1994, when he was the mayor of Istanbul. “I am a servant of Shariah.”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/oct/19/turkeys-abrupt-about-face/
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