The staunchly secular elite of Turkey
May 21, 2007, 12:58 pm |
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By Andrew L. Jaffee
…The staunchly secular elite of Turkey believes a president whose wife wears an Islamic headscarf would have Ataturk turning in his grave.
“Elite?” Hmmm… Approximately 50,000 Turks attended a rally yesterday to voice their support for secularism. All elitists? On April 29, “More than a million Turks rallied here [Istanbul] Sunday in support of secular democracy.” Daniel Pipes doesn’t use the term “elite” to describe the protesters. Rather, he calls them “moderate Muslims.” More specifically, Pipes asks:
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?
I conclude that we can add the BBC’s writers to the category of “ignorant non-Muslim busybodies” (apologists for terror, appeasers, nincompoops, etc.).
Related: Islam, Turkey
May 21st, 2007 at 2:50 pm
The BBC is off its elitist rocker. To talk about demonstrating elites in the same article in which quotes from demonstrators are from truck drivers, students and retired teachers is nuts. The BBC has always been a busybody, but alas is becoming both less knowledgeable and relevant.
May 21st, 2007 at 3:02 pm
Good catch. Here are the “elitists:”