When asked why the Turks are protesting, my professor, a native of - TopicsExpress



          

When asked why the Turks are protesting, my professor, a native of Turkey, said the following: "You are wondering why Turks are rising against the government and its dividing policies? You probably know Turkey as a moderate Islamic country but we do not. We were founded secular and grew up in a culture that was tolerant to differences. Our women voted and elected to leadership before yours. Religion was not a tool for politics. Our grandfathers went to mosques to pray but also drank Raki with their friends and never judged others for their lifestyle. Islam has not been our defining identity until this government. What Europe and US sees is a strong government, a good example of a predominantly Muslim nation as a shining beacon to Middle East and a growing economy. What we see is our journalists being prisoned, our army dispersed and a government who single handedly changes the constitution to serve their purpose with the intention of slowly taking away our freedoms. We are being pitted against each other based on our heritage, lifestyle or religious beliefs. This is why we are protesting. We want our original founding principals back. We want the whole world to know: The people on the streets are not the TURKS or MUSLIMS or LIBERALS- they are the PUBLIC that claim their uniting identity back. That identity is SECULAR and UNITED as a nation." Ayse Akincigil
Posted on: Thu, 13 Jun 2013 21:10:44 +0000

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