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Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Sinem Tezyapar
This article by Turkish writer and TV producer Sinem Tezyapar, written last October, was just translated to Arabic and published in Al Quds.
Whenever a calamity falls upon Muslim-majority countries, there is always “others” to blame. There is no need to look for any other reason. Is there a revolution against a tyrant regime subjugating its people? Is there a clash between Sunni and Shia groups? Who else can be responsible? The West.
This irrational inclination to blame Judeo-Christian Western world for every failure going on in the Middle East has been the trend for quite some time. A wide-spread variety of people from different countries, ethnicity, ideologies, sects—even enemies of each other—invariably point to one direction. This madness of putting the blame on “others” is such a knee-jerk reaction that there is no logical explanation to this evasion of responsibility.
Now let’s look at what is really going on in the Islamic-Arab world. There is a continuous and unending stream of hate; hate the Shia, hate the Wahabbi, hate the Sunni, hate the Alawi, hate the Christians, hate the Jews, and so on ad infinitum. Hatred is deeply ingrained in their tradition, in their culture, in their own education and this fierce, venomous style is what is tearing the Islamic world apart; this is exactly what is happening in Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Pakistan and others—Muslims killing Muslims.
So it is illogical and unreasonable to put the blame on Judeo-Christian world for some Muslims’ ignorance, bigotry, cruelty, lovelessness, and involving themselves in brutal sectarian fanaticism. This is an outcome of the intense efforts of some Muslim clerics themselves. There is a serious deterioration in their ideology and belief system. We find this hatred in Muslims’ own books. We find this hate in their own speeches; are these clerics Rabbis or Priests? Of course not. This occurs entirely within their own jurisprudence. They educate hatred of the “other” thoroughly. No one says, “Both sides are brothers, let’s love each other”; do we ever see them talk about love and compassion? Since we see many Muslim clerics inciting violence, since we see them in their own words explain the reasons for the need to hate thoroughly, why do we put the blame on others? We only see Muslims massacring each other.
Muslims killing each other, and both sides then turn around and blame the West. How does the West make Muslims kill other Muslims? Muslim clerics hand out fatwas (Islamic rulings) calling for sectarian violence like candy. Wahabbi scholars say that all Sunnis are unbelievers and should be destroyed: Sunni scholars say Shias are unbelievers and their death is obligatory: Shias say that it is obligatory to kill Sunnis, as they are enemies. These are Muslim clerics who are promoting the most violent brand of sectarianism, preaching hatred and calling upon their followers to commit massacres. When their followers then heed these calls for violence, these same clerics turn around and promptly blame the Jews and Christians; that is disgraceful. What about Muslims’ not killing each other? What about Muslims’ being united without declaring each other as unbelievers and solving their own problems without resorting to violence? What about the Organization of Islamic Cooperation with its 57 member states or the League of Arab States with its 22 states which are utterly helpless to bring about any solutions?
...
So—as Muslims—let’s stop pointing the finger at others for our problems: Now it is time for the Muslim world to take responsibility and to ponder upon what has gone so horribly wrong with the Muslim world; why is there so much bloodshed. An Islam based on the Qur’an is not being lived at all; superstitions, innovations, localized traditions and bigotry have replaced the Qur’an in some Islamic countries, and their religiosity is a deeply artificial one. This hatred has to stop and Muslims must embrace the true spirit of the Qur’an which is love, compassion and brotherhood for all.
(Al Quds does translate opinion articles even from Zionists in Israeli newspapers, to its credit.)This irrational inclination to blame Judeo-Christian Western world for every failure going on in the Middle East has been the trend for quite some time. A wide-spread variety of people from different countries, ethnicity, ideologies, sects—even enemies of each other—invariably point to one direction. This madness of putting the blame on “others” is such a knee-jerk reaction that there is no logical explanation to this evasion of responsibility.
Now let’s look at what is really going on in the Islamic-Arab world. There is a continuous and unending stream of hate; hate the Shia, hate the Wahabbi, hate the Sunni, hate the Alawi, hate the Christians, hate the Jews, and so on ad infinitum. Hatred is deeply ingrained in their tradition, in their culture, in their own education and this fierce, venomous style is what is tearing the Islamic world apart; this is exactly what is happening in Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Pakistan and others—Muslims killing Muslims.
So it is illogical and unreasonable to put the blame on Judeo-Christian world for some Muslims’ ignorance, bigotry, cruelty, lovelessness, and involving themselves in brutal sectarian fanaticism. This is an outcome of the intense efforts of some Muslim clerics themselves. There is a serious deterioration in their ideology and belief system. We find this hatred in Muslims’ own books. We find this hate in their own speeches; are these clerics Rabbis or Priests? Of course not. This occurs entirely within their own jurisprudence. They educate hatred of the “other” thoroughly. No one says, “Both sides are brothers, let’s love each other”; do we ever see them talk about love and compassion? Since we see many Muslim clerics inciting violence, since we see them in their own words explain the reasons for the need to hate thoroughly, why do we put the blame on others? We only see Muslims massacring each other.
Muslims killing each other, and both sides then turn around and blame the West. How does the West make Muslims kill other Muslims? Muslim clerics hand out fatwas (Islamic rulings) calling for sectarian violence like candy. Wahabbi scholars say that all Sunnis are unbelievers and should be destroyed: Sunni scholars say Shias are unbelievers and their death is obligatory: Shias say that it is obligatory to kill Sunnis, as they are enemies. These are Muslim clerics who are promoting the most violent brand of sectarianism, preaching hatred and calling upon their followers to commit massacres. When their followers then heed these calls for violence, these same clerics turn around and promptly blame the Jews and Christians; that is disgraceful. What about Muslims’ not killing each other? What about Muslims’ being united without declaring each other as unbelievers and solving their own problems without resorting to violence? What about the Organization of Islamic Cooperation with its 57 member states or the League of Arab States with its 22 states which are utterly helpless to bring about any solutions?
...
So—as Muslims—let’s stop pointing the finger at others for our problems: Now it is time for the Muslim world to take responsibility and to ponder upon what has gone so horribly wrong with the Muslim world; why is there so much bloodshed. An Islam based on the Qur’an is not being lived at all; superstitions, innovations, localized traditions and bigotry have replaced the Qur’an in some Islamic countries, and their religiosity is a deeply artificial one. This hatred has to stop and Muslims must embrace the true spirit of the Qur’an which is love, compassion and brotherhood for all.
Sinem Tezyapar seems to be a true Muslim peace activist. Her Facebook page and personal website look to be quite good. Here is an excerpt from a more recent article:
Today one of the most common views among the Islamic world is that one cannot be a Muslim and endorse Zionism at the same time, as if they are somehow mutually exclusive. However the truth is that affirming the concept of Zionism is not conflictive with one’s being a Muslim at all: The Zionist conception of the Jewish people, who simply wish to live in peace and security in Israel alongside Muslims, to worship in the lands of their forefathers and to engage in business, science, art is perfectly normal from an Islamic perspective.
In fact according to the Koran, God wants the Jewish people to live in the Holy Land:
...Although Zionism is simply the right of Jews for self-determination in Israel as their national homeland, it has been associated with the most derogatory concepts and negative sentiments, not permitting anyone to speak fairly about it. Especially in the widespread political arena of the Middle East, being opposed to Zionism or Israel in general has long been a classical right-wing position.
In other words, when someone takes an anti-Zionist stance, blames Israel for the calamities in the Islamic world and utters anti-Jewish statements, then he rapidly gains “trust”, popularity and political power; the same goes for a writer or a leader of a religious group. Therefore, anti-Israelism becomes a “necessity” to be seen as “pious”, to gain acceptance and to cling to power in the Islamic world.
As an outcome of this outlook, there are a substantial number of misguided people who falsely believe being anti-Zionist is a precondition of justice and an obligation of conscience. Hence, no one dares to counter the narrative and speak out impartially about Israel or to be affiliated with it in any positive context.
As a matter of fact, anyone who speaks in a friendly manner on the subject would promptly find himself labeled as a traitor or a supporter of oppressors, racists, world hegemony seekers and so on. Thus even those who are neutral to Israel would just simply evade the subject so as to avoid public pressure—and in some cases, even more severe intimidation.
Among the Muslim community, there are also huge numbers of people who say that they are not against Jews, but only against Zionists. At first glance, this suggests no hostility towards the Jews as a people, nation, or as a follower of a religion but only seems like opposition to an ideological policy. However, when one scratches the surface and questions why only the six million Jews of Israel—out of some 14 million Jews throughout the whole world—are singled out, one can clearly see that anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism are intertwined. That anti-Zionism is often used as a cloak for anti-Semitism.
In fact according to the Koran, God wants the Jewish people to live in the Holy Land:
“Remember Moses said to his people: ‘O my people! Call in remembrance the favor of Allah unto you, when He produced prophets among you, made you kings, and gave you what He had not given to any other among the peoples. O my people! Enter the Holy Land which Allah hath assigned unto you, and turn not back ignominiously, for then will ye be overthrown, to your own ruin.’” (Koran, 5:20-21)
It is also stated in the Koran that God has “…settled the Children of Israel in a beautiful dwelling-place, and provided for them sustenance of the best…” (Koran, 10:93), hence disproving the allegation that the people of Israel have no connection to the region where they reside today.
...Although Zionism is simply the right of Jews for self-determination in Israel as their national homeland, it has been associated with the most derogatory concepts and negative sentiments, not permitting anyone to speak fairly about it. Especially in the widespread political arena of the Middle East, being opposed to Zionism or Israel in general has long been a classical right-wing position.
In other words, when someone takes an anti-Zionist stance, blames Israel for the calamities in the Islamic world and utters anti-Jewish statements, then he rapidly gains “trust”, popularity and political power; the same goes for a writer or a leader of a religious group. Therefore, anti-Israelism becomes a “necessity” to be seen as “pious”, to gain acceptance and to cling to power in the Islamic world.
As an outcome of this outlook, there are a substantial number of misguided people who falsely believe being anti-Zionist is a precondition of justice and an obligation of conscience. Hence, no one dares to counter the narrative and speak out impartially about Israel or to be affiliated with it in any positive context.
As a matter of fact, anyone who speaks in a friendly manner on the subject would promptly find himself labeled as a traitor or a supporter of oppressors, racists, world hegemony seekers and so on. Thus even those who are neutral to Israel would just simply evade the subject so as to avoid public pressure—and in some cases, even more severe intimidation.
Among the Muslim community, there are also huge numbers of people who say that they are not against Jews, but only against Zionists. At first glance, this suggests no hostility towards the Jews as a people, nation, or as a follower of a religion but only seems like opposition to an ideological policy. However, when one scratches the surface and questions why only the six million Jews of Israel—out of some 14 million Jews throughout the whole world—are singled out, one can clearly see that anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism are intertwined. That anti-Zionism is often used as a cloak for anti-Semitism.
She is definitely worth following.
UPDATE: A Turkish Jewish commenter is far more skeptical.
UPDATE 2: I looked a little more into this. She is definitely a fan of Adnan Oktar, quoting him often in her Facebook page, and Oktar is a complete nutcase (claiming to be the Jewish messiah!) - and possibly far worse according to some blogs.
I was never a fan of damning anyone by association, however, so if Sinem writes good stuff, I care far more about the content than the motivation - especially if her audience is meant to be Muslims who do not even want to pretend to accept Jews as humans. And the articles I've seen so far are impressive, even if she follows a crazy messianic Muslim.
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