Turkey Upholds Hijab Ban

Disappointing and concerning. Banning the AKP seems like the next step.

Excerpts below (and photo above) from TIME:

Turkey's pro-Islam governing party was handed a devastating legal defeat Wednesday when the country's top court ruled that a constitutional amendment to allow women in headscarves on university campuses was anti-secularist and hence unlawful.

The government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan pushed through the amendment in February to make it possible for pious women to attain a higher education. But the case has even greater ramifications. Turkey's secularist establishment considers the government's campaign to lift the headscarf ban as key grounds for outlawing the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) for its alleged Islamicizing agenda; that case will be decided in the next few months by the same Constitutional Court. A ban is being sought not just against the party but also against 71 party members, including Erdogan, who face being barred from all political activity for five years.

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As this NYT article points out, it is the voice of the college women most affected by this law that is forgotten; may Allah (swt) find a way for them to continue their education and be a force of positive change in their society:

All but lost in the debate have been the voices of the women whose futures are caught in the political cross hairs. Neslihan Akbulut, 26, a sociology graduate student, said she cried when she heard the verdict.

“There is no way for me in Turkey now,” she said. She was waiting to see if the changes would take effect so she could start work on a doctorate degree in Turkey. “When I see this result, I feel that I don’t need to wait. I would need to wait for a long time.”

The Turkish Experiment

Defeating Al-Qeada One Democracy at a Time

This American Muslims thoughts on the Turkish election.

Iraq is not leading to any peace, let alone piece of mind for this administration. What sway there was in genuine development of democracy in the Middle East was lost during the destruction of Lebanon by Israel and its dismal state of détente that now exists on the streets of Lebanon. Then there is the push for democracy in the rest of the Middle East which began with putting the feet of dictator’s under fire, to only have the fire sizzle down to a sputter as the Iraqi quagmire and rhetoric of invasion in Syria and more so Iran gained momentum.

Nor do we have much in the way of democracy building in the Occupied Territories, where effectively we have destroyed the possibility of a Palestinian state, into three pieces- Gaza, West Bank and millions of refugees- by our refusal to take into account the will of the people, instead we have effectively stamped the will of the Palestinian people with a radioactive sticker.

Where does democracy stand? Well, the results in Turkey are a key indicator. With the AKP taking a significant gain in seats and a dismal turnout of the “secularist” parties, democracy has a strong viable chance in the Muslim world, but can the West stomach that?

Unfortunately in the past what we have seen is the unraveling of Middle Eastern countries because of the legitimate win or illegitimate stuffing of ballots by Western supported political parties against popular Islamic (Muslim) oriented parties. Turkey is no Iranian revolution, yet its consequences are a blow to the very doctrine espoused by Al-Qaeda.

The reason Al-Qeada has any message that is viable is because there is no access to Muslims in their countries to express the pent up frustration of lack of representation, growth and access to common, basic needs as well as rights. Al-Qaeda’s message is that Democracy, in any form, has no place in Islam and that political parties under Islamic sway carry no pull. These parties are thus just tools to appease the masses.

The Hamas win as well as the AKP election are examples that Al-Qaeda’s world view is not shared by all. If the West takes into account that part of the Al-Qaeda’s appeal is the lack of access to power and development then we are one step closer to understanding how Al-Qaeda can gain recruits. Now it is time for Muslims to really step up to the plate and recognizes that political involvement is possible, that it is viable.

This will discredit and undermine the Al-Qaeda worldview, but it will take more then just political involvement, it will also take campaigns to reduce illetracy, to decrease unemployment and to bring in development- and it will take an investment in cultivating religious understanding so that those who skew Islam to fit their agenda's (even though governments can skew Islam to fit their agenda's as well) are not able to access a population that is marginalized and illiterate when it comes to religious practice and principles.

What other movements and parties need to understand is best stated in this article:

Islamic movements and states must realize that what happened in Turkey has created a platform for measurement and a test for merit. The Islamic world will not be measured against a ceiling that stands lower than the Turkish level. Based on that, everything below that threshold is deemed aberrant and unacceptable.

There is a lot of work yet to be done, but Democracy, Muslim style is still possible.

Blair 'will fail unless he talks to Hamas'

The following article is actually something I will be referencing in a piece I am working on regarding the importance of the Turkish election victory of the "Islamist leaning" AKP. RUN WHITE FOLKS RUN, the ISLAMISTS are on the way- just kidding. Seriously it's nothing like that. We like democracy too. No seriously, I love living in America, and I love the freedoms we have. Why don't you believe me, okay, no you do not have to be skeptical, you will like what I have to say. Please do not judge me because I am a Muslim, brown and, okay, its true I am naturalized, not a born American.


By Tim Shipman in Washington, Sunday Telegraph

Last Updated: 11:56pm BST 21/07/2007

Tony Blair's effort to revive the Middle East peace process will be doomed unless the West begins talking to the militant group Hamas, according to the man expected to advise the former prime minister. Daniel Levy thinks Hamas could find a way of accepting the reality of Israel In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Daniel Levy warned that al-Qaeda could win new supporters among disaffected Palestinians unless Hamas - regarded by Israel, America and other western countries as a terrorist group - is allowed "inside the tent". Mr Levy, 39, a former Israeli peace negotiator and the son of Mr Blair's former Middle East envoy, Lord Levy, said the West's effort to bolster the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, could not work if it ignored Hamas's control of Gaza, part of the Palestinian territory. He claimed that Mr Blair's record in Northern Ireland meant he understood the need to talk to extremists. "For any process to have sustainability, legitimacy, and to guarantee security, it will have to be inclusive, not divisive, and to bring in Hamas over time," he said. "Mr Blair, with his Northern Ireland experience, may understand this better than most." This week Mr Blair will make his first trip to the region since he was appointed envoy by the Quartet of powers - America, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia - who are overseeing the peace process. Announcing plans for a new Middle East peace summit, President Bush last week called on Hamas to renounce violence and recognise Israel, and repeated his refusal to deal with it until it did so. But Mr Levy, director of the Prospects for Peace Initiative at The Century Foundation, a Washington think-tank, said Mr Bush's stance was "bound not to produce results". Instead, he said, America must "try and construct a process where Hamas are inside the tent". He said the decision to shun the group was a "misguided" gift to al-Qaeda recruiters. "Al-Qaeda accused Hamas of selling out when they decided to run for election," he said. "The al-Qaeda position is that this electoral process is a western colonial implant, an abomination to Islam. Hamas goes in, wins and sees this boycott slapped on it. Al-Qaeda said, 'See, you played by their rules and you paid the price.' " Mr Levy said America would be better off emulating its policy in Iraq, where its soldiers are working against al-Qaeda with Sunni insurgents "who were shooting Americans two months ago". Calling Hamas a potential "bulwark against al-Qaeda", he said he thought Hamas could find a way of accepting the reality of Israel. "We don't need them to be Zionists," he said. Mr Levy spoke out amid growing doubts about Mr Blair's mandate. Last week Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of state, said that America alone would lead on the "political track", leaving Mr Blair to focus on building up the Palestinian economy and institutions. Mr Levy made clear that as yet he has "had no conversation" with Mr Blair since he left Downing Street, and would not act as a formal adviser. But a spokesman for Mr Blair said that he did expect to talk to Mr Levy about the Middle East in the future.