Electoral developments in Turkey belie propaganda
Tuesday, 31 July 2007
M M Haque from Jeddah
THE stunning victory of Justice and Development (AK) party in Turkey with 47 per cent votes defied the false fear created by the western media and the elite republicans, who enjoy the majority in the establishment and in the judiciary, that the country would return to the Ottoman rule or 'Islamism' and 'Shariah' law. It should have been the real battle for the soul of democratic polity and the pervasive influence of the country's armed forces who have been staging coup to oust democratically elected governments.
Despite the onslaught of a biased media, that is mostly fed by the opposition and its backer, the Turkish voters have risen to the occasion and decided not to bite the hand that has fed it well over the last five years. The Turks have decisively rejected the false dichotomy between 'political Islam' and 'democracy' that paralyses politics in so many Muslim countries. A false fear was created that the AK party was just a front for ignorant hordes of rural Muslim fanatics who wanted to shove Shariah law down the nation's throat. And as sensitised, if it was a 'test of Turkish secularism', then secularism lost.
When our incompetent governments in a successive manner failed to deliver the expected services, religiously fanatical issues were raised. Our media successfully created a sensations on the issue, when economic and social matters always found a dubious or ambiguous presentations. This also gave rise to the thinking what the trans-boundary interests playing a dominant role to influence and twist our governments' policy-making process. A section of media and their henchmen, as religious fanatics, managed very well sensitising the issue. In '60s and' 70s, anti-communism and arms sell issues mainly dominated bilateral relations, today replaced by anti-terrorism Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or treaties.
Muslims can not be so short-sighted to play in the hand of alien interests, against the feeling and values of their people. Rather, they should concentrate their efforts on improving the life of millions who suffer due to tyranny and misrule, whether in the name of secularism or religious fanaticism or authoritarian.
Misinterpretation and lies against the pristine values of Islam should be defended in favour of freedom and free franchise to pursue a good living what has been preached and practised by its founders, albeit, with its own limitations.
We should successfully create the environment against what is dominant in world media and politics that mainly subjugate our economic and social power.
The largest significance of the AK Party's success in Turkey is that it demonstrates that devout Muslims can coexist with their less devout fellow-citizens in a democratic constitutional order, upholding religious values (like Christian Democratic Party in Germany) while delivering economic goodies.
THE stunning victory of Justice and Development (AK) party in Turkey with 47 per cent votes defied the false fear created by the western media and the elite republicans, who enjoy the majority in the establishment and in the judiciary, that the country would return to the Ottoman rule or 'Islamism' and 'Shariah' law. It should have been the real battle for the soul of democratic polity and the pervasive influence of the country's armed forces who have been staging coup to oust democratically elected governments.
Despite the onslaught of a biased media, that is mostly fed by the opposition and its backer, the Turkish voters have risen to the occasion and decided not to bite the hand that has fed it well over the last five years. The Turks have decisively rejected the false dichotomy between 'political Islam' and 'democracy' that paralyses politics in so many Muslim countries. A false fear was created that the AK party was just a front for ignorant hordes of rural Muslim fanatics who wanted to shove Shariah law down the nation's throat. And as sensitised, if it was a 'test of Turkish secularism', then secularism lost.
When our incompetent governments in a successive manner failed to deliver the expected services, religiously fanatical issues were raised. Our media successfully created a sensations on the issue, when economic and social matters always found a dubious or ambiguous presentations. This also gave rise to the thinking what the trans-boundary interests playing a dominant role to influence and twist our governments' policy-making process. A section of media and their henchmen, as religious fanatics, managed very well sensitising the issue. In '60s and' 70s, anti-communism and arms sell issues mainly dominated bilateral relations, today replaced by anti-terrorism Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or treaties.
Muslims can not be so short-sighted to play in the hand of alien interests, against the feeling and values of their people. Rather, they should concentrate their efforts on improving the life of millions who suffer due to tyranny and misrule, whether in the name of secularism or religious fanaticism or authoritarian.
Misinterpretation and lies against the pristine values of Islam should be defended in favour of freedom and free franchise to pursue a good living what has been preached and practised by its founders, albeit, with its own limitations.
We should successfully create the environment against what is dominant in world media and politics that mainly subjugate our economic and social power.
The largest significance of the AK Party's success in Turkey is that it demonstrates that devout Muslims can coexist with their less devout fellow-citizens in a democratic constitutional order, upholding religious values (like Christian Democratic Party in Germany) while delivering economic goodies.