"Like The Lamp That Glitters In Full Bloom
Before Being Extinguished, The Remaining And Defeated Secularists Are
Peeping Out Through Their Coffin … And Are Sabotaging Their Own
Established Democratic Norms"
The following are excerpts from Dr. Sajid Khakwani's article:
[1]
"Ever since the artificial and conspiratorial ending of the Ottoman
Caliphate, [Turkey's] secular leadership kept its tyrannical claws
pierced the necks of Turkish Muslims, and for about three-quarters of a
century military generals used gunpower to protect the secular rulers in
the garb of democracy. After a long time, as the stinking ideology of
secularism became unbearable to the Turkish people and their patience
boiled over, and [in view of] the huge countrywide support that the
Justice [and Development] party of the orthodox Tayyip Erdogan received
in the last three elections, it would not be wrong to call it the last
nail in the coffin of secularism.
"Like the lamp that glitters in full bloom before being extinguished,
the remaining and defeated secularists are peeping out through their
coffin with the blessings from internal and external elements, and are
sabotaging their own established democratic norms against the Islamist
leaders. These secular people have many complaints, and the biggest
among them is that the present orthodox rulers have tarnished Turkey's
secular image. They should first answer: why has secularism sullied the
Islamic identity of Turkey, and who has given this right to the traitors
of the Ummah to deprive the entire Muslim Ummah of the soothing shadow
of the Islamic caliphate, and chain them with the tyrannical and brutal
shackles and handcuffs of European secularism and hereditary monarchy?
"Allah gave power to the Justice party in Turkey for their services
to the people. Najmuddin [Necmettin] Erbakan, and after him Tayyip
Erdogan, won the hearts of the people during their rule. Urban areas of
Turkey which were filled with filth during the rule of secular leaders
are now clean like mirrors, because cleanliness and neatness is among
the first teachings of Islam. Turkey, which was economically the sick
man of Europe during the times of secular rulers and whose currency was
touching the lowest ebb, is now being considered among the top countries
of Europe under the Islamists' rule, due to their best economic
policies….
"The secular rulers had maintained Turkey's foreign policy under [the
influence of] the most notorious fascist state of the world, Israel,
while the Islamist rulers gave Turkey a respectable status among the
world community by maintaining a balanced foreign policy despite being a
NATO member. The Turkish leadership not only raised its voice globally
in favor of Burmese Muslims [following the recent killings by majority
Buddhists], but also visited that country and put ointment on the
running sore of the helpless Burmese Muslims. The secular rulers lived
their tenure with military support, while Islamists drove away the
military generals from the highest educational and administrative
institutions of the country. Besides that, strengthening national and
democratic institutions, including peace and security, educational
development, safeguarding of human rights and religious freedom, instead
of individual rules, have been the hallmark of the Islamist rulers. "
"Now The Writing Is On The Wall That
Secularism Will Be Buried Beside The Grave Of Communism And The Future
of The Human World Will Remain Attached To The Crown Of Prophethood
[Muhammad]"
"The defeated secular elements are not able to digest these successes
of Turkey's orthodox Muslim rulers because the path of secularism would
be broken forever not only in Turkey but also in other Islamic
countries due to these epoch-making successes, and the difference
between secularism and the virtues of the Islamic way of life will
become evident before the world…
"Turkey's secular elements have taken to the roads from the end of
the past month against the reconstruction of a park in Istanbul. They
object that this would destroy the city's greenery and pollution will
increase in the atmosphere, etc. However, these objections are nothing
more than the traditional hypocrisy and duality of secularism.
"The fact is that the Turkish government wants to bring a change in
the map around this park to deal with the traffic rush and problems
faced by pedestrians, which involves the construction of a mosque along
with other works. How could the secular elements, which have been taught
the freedom of Christianity by their lords in the name of the freedom
of religion, tolerate the construction of a mosque? There stood military
barracks near this park in 1909, constructed by the Ottoman caliphate.
The secular governments demolished those barracks in 1940 and
constructed the Ataturk Cultural Centre in its place, and all those
things which are done in the secular world take place there. The Tayyip
Erdogan government decided to rebuild those barracks of the Ottoman
period by demolishing the so-called cultural center because the ills
that are there have no place in Islamic culture. This is the real reason
of the secularists' problem.
"The secular element's protest has proved to be the last straw [that
broke] the camel's back, because making such a nationwide hue and cry on
the reconstruction of a park does not hold any meaning. The fact is
that the secular forces are terribly frightened over the paths that the
enlightened orthodox Muslim leadership of Turkey has opened for
implementing Islamic sharia in a short span of past ten years, despite
the secular constitution. Only some time ago the government passed a law
in the parliament according to which the sale of alcohol was prohibited
at night. This is a clear indication that alcohol would be banned
completely. The Islamist government lifted the ban on women wearing the
scarf just after coming to power, while during the reign of the secular
government police had order to snatch away scarves from the heads of
veiled women….
"Now the wife of the prime minister, who is the country's first lady,
is seen wearing a scarf. The present government has put a ban from the
very beginning on kissing and other immoral activities at public places.
Beside that, the Erdogan government not only sidelined the great
hereditary generals with much precision and made them ineffective, but
also put them behind bars by bringing cases of corruption against them.
How could such actions be acceptable to the secular forces and their
foreign lords? That is why all the rage is being vented against the
development of Islamic values in the name of Gezi Park and Taksim
Square.
"At present the world media in general, especially European media …
while the Jewish media has raised the sky on their heads about these
protests. The world media is so concerned about the alleged destruction
of the greenery of a garden that it has created a global storm.
Thousands of Muslims were killed in Burma and their innumerable
properties and prayer houses were turned into ashes, and Buddhists slew
Muslims by knives, but the Jewish and Christian media played the role of
mute spectators by becoming blind, dumb, and deaf. Is this the standard
of freedom of expression under secularism? This very attitude of the
secularists will become the cause of the drowning of secularism, and now
the writing is on the wall that secularism will be buried beside the
grave of communism, and the future of the human world will remain
attached to the crown of Prophet-hood [Muhammad] … from the beginning
until the end, Allah willing."
"Turkey Is Still A Secular Country
Constitutionally, But Now This Notion Has Become Popular That Forceful
Implementation Of Secularism Is Against Human Rights"; "Hundreds Of
Thousands Of Trained Activists [From Religious Seminaries] Proved To Be
Very Effective In Creating Political And Religious Consciousness In
Villages, Towns, And Cities"
Following are excerpts from Maulana Mohammad Azhar's article:
[2]
"For the past few days in Turkey, protest demonstrations have
continued in Istanbul along with in some other provinces on a limited
level. Apparently these protests started against the cutting down of
some trees at Gezi Park in Istanbul, where the government wants to
construct a shopping plaza; but in fact the catalyst of this protest and
violence is the law under which open immoral activities and the sale
and purchase of alcohol has been prohibited.
"Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party,
which has been victorious three times consecutively in general
elections, enjoys the people's support as usual. AKP (the short for
Justice and Development Party in Turkish) got 37% vote when it first
came into power [in 2002], but due to its performance it got more that
54% of the vote in the last elections. AKP has prepared an army of
volunteers by including hundred thousands of youth and women in its
election strategy who are busy in the efforts of [establishing] the
system of justice in the country with purity of intention. The Justice
party is carrying forward its agenda with prudence and wisdom. Along
with education, unemployment, health, distribution of wealth, social
security, industrialization, freedom from debt-based economic burden,
and civil facilities, the anti-Islam reminiscence of Kemalism [the
ideology of Turkish ruler Mustafa Kamal Pasha, who brought an end of
Ottoman caliphate in Turkey] is also being controlled without any
oppression.
"There was a time when Kemalism had brought the country completely on
the lines of Western atheism. The onslaught of Western culture and
civilization, the change in Turkish script, ban on the original Arabic
words of Azan [calling for prayer from mosques], adoption of Western
dress code, ban on
hijab [veil], etc., were steps which had
changed the national culture. This was the time when [20th century
Turkish Islamist scholar] Badiuzzaman Said Nursi started his [Islamist]
movement and tried to spread the teachings and explanations of the holy
Koran to the greatest possible extent. Ustaaz Said Nursi's movement kept
spreading despite the government's power and the influence of Kemalism,
and the effect of his message became evidently visible in the '70s, ten
years after his death.
"Turkey is still a secular country constitutionally, but now this
notion has become popular that forceful implementation of secularism is
against human rights. Education, and especially religious education, is
the basic right of every human being. Therefore, the trend of religious
education in Turkey is astonishing. There has been increase in the
Koranic [study] circles at the rate of more than 135 every year from
1983 to 1990. In 1990, there were about 5,000 Koranic circles active in
providing courses on Koran. About one million youth completed courses on
the Koran from these circles.
"Similarly, the numbers of the graduates from the [religious
seminaries] Imam Khatib schools were 29,000 in 1975, reached 201,000 in
1981, and by 1991 it reached 3,009,000. These hundreds of thousands of
trained activists proved to be very effective in creating political and
religious consciousness in villages, towns, and cities. Parents got
their wards admitted to the Imam Khatib schools to save their children
from narcotics, smoking, and other moral ills. When these children
reached the universities, there started a clear change."
"The Secular Groups Accuse The Present
[Erdogan] Government Of Curbing People's Civil Liberties"; "Some People
Are Comparing The Protests Emanating From Taksim Square With Those Of
Egypt And Other Arab States, As If These Protests Are The Logical End Of
The Government"
"However, secular forces did not remain silent during this period.
These forces are against the process of seeping in of Islam into the
society. Therefore, these people keep organizing protest demonstrations
on one or another pretext against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
who has unflinching faith in Islam, and his government. This time there
seems to be comparative severity in these protest. But this does not
mean that … Erdogan's popularity has gone down or people are against the
act of purification [policies by the government]. The fact is that he
is not seen as a politician only, but as a statesman. Most of the
present progress of Turkey is the result of his intelligence and hard
labor.
"The secular groups accuse the present government of curbing people's
civil liberties in the name of implementing ethics. The evidence they
give are about government orders, including fixing the time of alcohol
sale, banning young couple from meeting in parks, and a ban on use of
sharp-color lipsticks and nail-polishes by stewardesses in
government-run airlines. However, the Turkish people appreciate these
things and call it in accordance with their cultural and religious
traditions.
"Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan went on a four-day visit to North
America. He is so popular that when he came back, there were tens of
thousands activists at the airport to welcome him, without any
announcement. This was a message to the anti-government protestors that
the people of Turkey support the policies of Tayyip Erdogan.
"Addressing his supporters [at the airport], the prime minister
called the protests unjustified. At that moment his enthusiastic
supporters demanded that he suppress the protestors, but the thinker and
moderate prime minister asked them to remain peaceful and return
peacefully to their homes. Replying to the demands of his resignation,
he said that he is not only the PM of t50% of the people, but he is
working for 76 million Turkish citizens.
"The foreign media has acknowledged that the passionate welcome of
the PM suggests that he remains popular among the masses. Some people
are comparing the protests emanating from Taksim Square with those of
Egypt and other Arab states, as if these protests are the logical end of
the government. The clear difference between Turkey and the Arab states
is that while the protests were due to the dictatorship and lack of
democratic set-up [in Arab countries], in Turkey not only is democracy
strong and established, but the ruling party enjoys the absolute support
of the people. Therefore, there is no such threat of temporary turmoil
or limited protest demonstrations. It is hoped that the Justice party
would make a new record by being victorious for the fourth time."
