5-10-07 News
News Synopsis - Great numbers of moderate Muslims see danger where so many
non-Muslims are blind, Developments and Demonstrations in Pakistan and Turkey confirm that
radical Islam is the problem and moderate Islam the solution,
A Million Moderate Muslims on the March
by Daniel Pipes New York Sun
"Moderate Unicorns," huffed a reader, responding to my recent plea that Western
states bolster moderate Muslims. Dismissing their existence as a myth, he notes that
non-Muslims "are still waiting for moderates to stand and deliver, identifying and
removing extremist thugs from their mosques and their communities."
It's a valid skepticism and a reasonable demand. Recent events in Pakistan and
Turkey, however, prove that moderate Muslims are no myth.
In Pakistan, an estimated 100,000 people demonstrated on April 15 in Karachi, the
country's largest city, to protest the plans of a powerful mosque in Islamabad, the Lal
Masjid, to establish a parallel court system based on Islamic law, the Shari‘a.
"No to extremism," roared the crowd. "We will strongly resist religious
terrorism and religious extremism," exhorted Altaf Hussain, leader of the Mutahida
Qaumi Movement, at the rally.
In Turkey, more than a million moderate Muslims in five marches protested the bid of the
Justice and Development Party (AKP) to take over the presidency of the republic, giving it
control over the two top government offices (the other being the prime ministry, currently
filled by Recep Tayyip Erdogan).
The Ankara march of April 14, 2007.
The first march took place in the capital city, Ankara, on April 14, organized by Sener
Eruygur, a former general who is president of the Atatürk Thought Association. An
estimated 300,000 secularists (i.e., moderate Muslims) held up banners with pictures of
the republic's founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, chanting slogans along the lines of
"We don't want an imam as president," "We respect belief, but not
radicalism," and "Turkey is secular and will stay secular!"
A young woman carrying a huge Turkish flag, Muge Kaplan, explained that the crowd is
Muslim and believes in Islam, but it doesn't want Islam "to become our whole way of
life." A farmer, Bülent Korucu, asserted that the crowd is defending its republic
"against religious fundamentalists."
Repeating these themes, a second march on April 29 in Istanbul boasted 700,000
marchers.
On May 5, smaller marches took place in the western Anatolia towns of Manisa, Canakkale,
and Marmaris.
Nor are the masses alone in resisting AKP's Islamists. President Ahmet Necdet Sezer warned
that, for the first time since 1923, when the secular republic came into being, its
pillars "are being openly questioned." He also inveighed against the imposition
of a soft Islamist state, predicting that it would turn extremist. Onur Öymen, deputy
chairman of the opposition Republican People's Party, cautioned that the AKP's taking the
presidency would "upset all balances" and create a very dangerous situation.
The military – Turkey's ultimate powerbroker – issued two statements reinforcing
this assessment. On April 12, the chief of staff, Gen. Mehmet Yasar Buyukanit, expressed
his hope that "someone who is loyal to the principles of the republic—not just
in words but in essence—is elected president." Two weeks later, the military's
tone became more urgent, announcing that the presidential election "has been
anxiously followed by the Turkish Armed Forces [which] maintains its firm determination to
carry out its clearly specified duties to protect" secular principles.
This resolute stand against Islamism by moderate Turkish Muslims is the more striking when
contrasted with the cluelessness of Westerners who pooh-pooh the dangers of the AKP's
ascent. A Wall Street Journal editorial assures Turks that their prime minister's
popularity "is built on competent and stable government." Dismissing the
historic crossroads that President Sezer and others perceive, it dismisses as "fear
mongering" doubts about Prime Minister Erdogan's commitment to secularism and
ascribes these to petty campaign tactics "to get out the anti-AKP vote and revive a
flagging opposition."
"Even if Erdogan walked on water, the secularists wouldn't believe him,"
observes a former American ambassador to Turkey, Morton Abramowitz. Olli Rehn, the
European Union's "enlargement commissioner," instructed the Turkish military to
leave the presidency election in the hands of the democratically-elected government,
calling the issue "a test case" for the armed forces to respect its political
masters, a position the U.S. government subsequently endorsed.
Is it not telling that great numbers of moderate Muslims see danger where so many
non-Muslims are blind? Do developments in Pakistan and Turkey not confirm my oft-repeated
point that radical Islam is the problem and moderate Islam the solution?
And do they not suggest that ignorant non-Muslim busybodies should get out of the way of
those moderate Muslims determined to relegate Islamism to its rightful place in the
dustbin of history?
http://www.danielpipes.org/article/4497 |
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