Recently in Turkey Category

Below is a credulous article summarizing the group's "findings." Western support of the "Arab Spring" has depended a great deal on wishful thinking, and continues the previous administration's pattern of repeated attempts to prop up a "moderate" Islamic regime to serve as a model for the Muslim world. It keeps not working, because policymakers keep underestimating or denying the actual substance of Sharia law is it is practiced in Muslim societies, and not what it could, would, or should be according to apologists or academic exercises.

Another common tactic is to credit developments that happen in spite of Islamic law as occuring because of it. A prominent example is the existence of Turkey for some time as a modern, secular state, which was possible because a competing ideology kept Sharia in check, as was the case to some extent via Indonesia's Pancasila principles. In both cases, the resurgence of interest in Islamic rule has led to the erosion of tolerance and free speech by increasingly aggressive Islamic groups.

Turkey's "moderate Islamist democracy," as it is described below, is not a static entity, but has been undergoing a slow-motion revolution of its own, and that process is not leading toward "moderation." Nor will it in Egypt, Libya, or Tunisia. "Turkey 'a useful model for new Arab regimes'," by Michel Sailhan for Agence France-Presse, February 5:

For many in the Arab world, Turkey embodies something of an elusive ideal: an Islamist-based democracy with a strong economy.

A survey published Thursday by the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation, a non-governmental think-tank, found almost 80 percent of respondents in the Middle East had a favourable view of Turkey, and three out of five considered the country a model for a modern Islamic state.

Following last year's Arab Spring uprisings, an unprecedented wave of popular revolt that swept the Arab world and led to the ouster of a string of dictators, many analysts are wondering if Turkey serves as a useful example of what a moderate Islamist democracy looks like.

The country is seen as having "reconciled two dynamics: economic growth and a democratic system put in place by an Islamist-derived party," Turkish foreign policy expert Sinan Ulgan said.

Turkey, a secular Muslim-majority country that straddles Europe and Asia, is viewed especially favourably by many in Libya, Tunisia and Egypt, countries in which Ankara backed the sprawling Arab Spring protest movements which led to the toppling of their dictators.

Turkey's economy has staged a strong recovery after a severe recession, with gross domestic product (GDP) growing 8.9 percent in 2010 following a contraction of 4.7 percent the previous year.

GDP rose by a record 9.6 percent during the first nice months of 2011.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's AKP party, the Islamist-based party that has been in power since 2002, won a broad victory in June parliamentary elections, gaining 50 percent of the votes.

But some analysts temper the notion of Turkey as a model democracy, pointing to clampdowns on journalists and ongoing problems with the country's sizable Kurdish population.

About 15 million Kurds live in Turkey, which has a total population of 73 million. The Kurdish population has for decades been trying to establish an independent state in Turkey.

Since 1984, the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has led an armed rebellion in the Kurdish-majority southeast that has claimed some 45,000 lives.

A 2009 attempt to grant more rights to Kurds and sap support for the PKK went nowhere, and fighting has resumed along with mass arrests.

Critics also point to what they call the "Putinisation" of Erdogan, referring to the Russian prime minister's at-times hardline stance against opponents.

"The number of those who are filling jails because of their opposing views and actions and those who are agonized by legal proceedings is increasing," wrote university professor Ahmet Insel in the daily Radikal newspaper. "(The) number of arrested university students is increasing and except a few weak voices, academia is silent." [...]

For Tunisian academic Amor Boubakri, Turkey's successes would not be easily replicated in Tunisia, which last year saw the overthrow of its president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, because the country has an increasingly vocal radical Islamist sector.

Naturally, this report did not address religious persecution in Turkey at all; nor did it mention Turkey's fits over acknowledgement of the Armenian Genocide.

When we look closely at the current situation in the Middle East and the Iranian issue, we can see some parallels with the situation of the world community before the Second World War.

At that time, the Nazis, without any significant resistance, had seized power in Germany and Austria, and Italy was their Fascist ally. Islamic supremacists are now also easily seizing power in North Africa, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

Then, and today, Turkey adopted a wait-and-see attitude. During World War II, Turkey signed a non-aggression treaty with Hitler, and only in 1945, when it was clear that the Nazis were defeated, did it declare war on Germany. Today, Turkey is friendly with Iran and the jihadists, as if she is waiting to share in Ahmadinejad's nuclear achievements.

The proof of Turkey's loyalty to Iran and the jihadists is the recent speech of the Prime Minister of that country, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, about the State of Israel. In addition to denouncing Israel for possessing a nuclear bomb, he accused Israel of state terrorism.

Also noteworthy were his words about the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire. Erdogan, foaming at the mouth, insisted before the global community that the killing and expulsion of 1.5-million Armenians in modern Turkey was not an act of genocide.

Long ago, after the Islamic revolution in Iran, its leaders chose the path of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, the Koran and Sharia. They are threatening to destroy the U.S., Israel and the Jewish people. If we compare the Ayatollah Khamenei and other leaders of Iran to Adolf Hitler and other Nazis, we will find similar words and phrases -- and not only similar words, but similar actions.

Many of us ask ourselves: when will the war start? Is it even going to begin? Maybe the international sanctions will help the world and civilization, and bring the Iranian mullahs and president to their senses, so that they will give up their nuclear ambitions. Maybe they will move jihad terrorist organizations to take up the path of the genuinely righteous, such that they will renounce violence.

Those were the same kinds of things that our ancestors were thinking in the thirties, when the Nazis gained power in Europe. And we all know what sacrifices humanity had to make in order to eradicate Nazism.

Do we really need to wait for the coming of the new Fuehrer, the caliph, to understand what is wrong with our analyses and hopes today?

It is certain that the leaders of Muslims worldwide, a significant number of them, are praying and working for one and the same goal: a jihad against the infidels. The Mufti of Jerusalem during World War II called for the destruction of Israel and Jews. Abu Mazen wants to expel Jews from the so-called east Jerusalem, and from Judea and Samaria. Muslim leaders around the world supported the Mufti and support the "Palestinians" now.

Once, at a regular meeting with the leader of the Jihad in the Caucasus, I asked the question: how are you going to win the war, when there are so many differences among various sects in Islam? He replied: "Allah loves diversity. We have our differences, but we all believe in Allah and the Prophet Muhammad and recognize Sharia, and we know that we are waiting for the terrible meal, if we abandon jihad." He was referring to the Koran's description of the people in hell being tortured with, among other things, food that is disgusting and painful to eat.

I hope that the administration of President Barack Hussein Obama will remember the story of Pearl Harbor: that slowness and hesitancy in the face of a regime that is willing to use brutal force, such as the Iranian regime, only plays into the hands of the enemy.

"Islamist daily Vakit called it 'homosexual propaganda' by a gay lobby bent on 'legitimizing perversion through their so-called art.'" Remember, they're talking about a film about an honor killing. Vakit doesn't seem to mind the honor murder; it's the immorality that upsets them.

"Gay 'honor killing' movie shakes Turkey up," by Ece Toksabay for Reuters, January 20 (thanks to Anne Crockett):

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - On a hot summer's day in 2008, 26-year-old physics student Ahmet Yildiz was shot dead when he popped out from his Istanbul apartment to buy ice cream.

The main suspect in the killing, a fugitive still wanted by Turkish police, is Yildiz's father, who could not accept that his only son was in a homosexual relationship.

The case, widely believed to be Turkey's first gay "honor killing", has inspired a movie "Zenne", which opened on January 13 and explores gay sexual identity and prejudice in overwhelmingly Muslim Turkey.

"We had the movie idea in mind right after our dear friend Ahmet was killed," said Caner Alper, writer and co-director of the movie. "His story needed to be told."

Yildiz was born into a wealthy religious family in the ancient city of Sanliurfa, in Turkey's impoverished and conservative southeast, but moved to cosmopolitan Istanbul during his university years, seeking more freedom as a gay man.

In Istanbul, Yildiz started a new life and made new friends; he also began a gay relationship and eventually moved in with his boyfriend, who witnessed Yildiz's murder from the window of their apartment on the Asian side of the city divided by the Bosphorus Strait.

In the movie, Yildiz's character is encouraged to come out of the closet by a male belly dancer, or zenne, and a German photographer who has moved to Istanbul after a personal crisis in Afghanistan, where he accidentally caused the death of several children during a photo shoot. Both are fictional characters.

In real life, Yildiz's coming out as a gay man was seen as an affront in his deeply patriarchal and tribal family, even though his parents adored him, a cousin, Ahmet Kaya, told the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey.

LOOKING FOR A "CURE"

Yildiz's father had urged him to return to their village and to see a doctor and an imam to "cure" him of his homosexuality and get married, but Yildiz refused.

"Ahmet loved his family more than anything else and he was tortured about disappointing them," Kaya was quoted as saying in the foundation's report.

After he was killed, the family did not claim Yildiz's body for a proper Islamic burial -- an indication of the deep shame the family felt and that they had ceased to consider him one of their own. He was buried instead in a "cemetery for the nameless."...

Remember this? Pamela Geller and I dedicated the Aqsa Parvez Memorial Grove in Israel, in memory of a girl whose father and brother murdered her in an honor killing and who was then buried in an unmarked grave.

Islamist daily Vakit called it "homosexual propaganda" by a gay lobby bent on "legitimizing perversion through their so-called art."

Despite being the only suspect, Yildiz's father is still at large and is being tried in absentia.

Friends and activists, who have attended some of the hearings wearing masks bearing Yildiz's portrait, say the authorities lack the will to find the perpetrator.

Alper and Mehmet Binay, co-directors of the movie and together as a gay couple for 14 years, said they heard their friend Yildiz receive death threats from his family over the phone.

Yildiz filed an official complaint but failed to receive any protection, they said.

"Honor killings," or crimes carried out against mostly women and young girls seen to have tainted the family's name, are not uncommon in Turkey, particularly in poor and rural areas.

The European Union, which Turkey wants to join, has repeatedly urged Ankara to take a tougher stance against such crimes.

MILITARY PRACTICES

Turkey is often held as an example in the Middle East for marrying Islam and democracy, but Turkish gay activists say Ankara's human rights record is far from perfect.

One practice particularly abhorred by rights groups is the method by which gay men can be exempted from the required 16-month military service: they have to prove their homosexuality in medical tests and are compelled to provide photos of them having sex with other men.

In the movie, two characters undergoing one such examination are forced to wear make-up and dress in women's clothes, while doctors perform anal examinations.

According to Article 17 of the health regulations of the Turkish Armed Forces, homosexuality is considered a "psychosexual deviance."

"Turkey is going through a democratization process, and the army needs to enter this phase, too," said Binay.

"We don't live in a dream world and we don't expect it to happen all of a sudden in such a deep-seated institution, but at least they could stop the humiliating practices against gay men."

Turkish rights groups reported 24 killings of gay and transsexual individuals in the last two years. In most cases, courts reduced the sentences or the perpetrators were not found....

As I said here, "Rick Perry is woefully unfit to be president of the United States." It is satisfying to see him bringing up the rear in the polls, especially once the Perrybots, including some former friends and allies, made it personal with their false claims and smears after Pamela Geller and I exposed Perry's close ties to Islamic supremacist enabler Grover Norquist and his foolish sponsorship of a whitewashed curriculum on Islam for Texas public schools. How's your boy doing now, fellows?

Anyway, Turkey is not ruled by Islamic terrorists. Turkey is ruled by Islamic supremacists who are working to dismantle Kemalist secularism and transform Turkey into a Sharia state. That is not at all the same thing, although Erdogan certainly shares the goal of jihad terrorists worldwide, which is to impose Sharia.

"Perry: Turkey ruled by 'Islamic terrorists'?," by David Jackson for USA TODAY, January 17:

We wonder if Turkey will be filing any protests with the State Department after presidential candidate Rick Perry labeled it a virtual terrorist state during last night's Republican debate.

Asked if Turkey belongs in NATO, Perry said: "Well, obviously when you have a country that is being ruled by, what many would perceive to be Islamic terrorists, when you start seeing that type of activity against their own citizens, then yes."

The Turkish government is run by an Islamic party, but it remains a U.S. ally.

Turkey's press has already responded to Perry -- angrily.

"The debate that the Republican candidate Rick Perry attended on American Fox TV turned into a scandal that contained very ugly statements about Turkey," reported TRT state television.

Mustafa Akyol, a columnist with the English-language Hurriyet Daily news, tweeted: "Rick Perry: what an idiot."...

Indeed so. It is also interesting to note, however, that some time ago I had an interesting exchange with the self-described "liberal Muslim" Mustafa Akyol, after he declared his support for the jihad flotilla that Turkey sent against Israel. The Turkish columnist Burak Bekdil has characterized the "liberal" Akyol as a pro-Sharia, pro-Erdogan Islamic supremacist. But undoubtedly a sly one. Bekdil says that Akyol is working to further "Islamists' global ambition to play the modern day, Muslim Trojan Horse at the gates of western civilization."

Consistent with that, Akyol also says that an Islamic Turkey is coming and that Turkish secularism cannot be salvaged, but that Israelis shouldn't be concerned: as long as they stop defending themselves against the Gaza jihadists and jihad flotillas, all will be well.

A more "honest" Santa?

If it weren't for the stonings, beheadings, amputations, declarations of imminent conquest, suicide bombings, and all the rest of it, these guys would be great comedians. "Turkish imam says Santa Claus 'dishonest,'" from RIA Novosti, December 28 (thanks to Twostellas):

The imam of the Turkish town of Kuzan has issued a warning to Muslims about Santa Claus, who he called a dishonest person, Italy's Corriere della Sera wrote.

Imam Suleiman Eniceri said it was suspicious that Santa Claus brings presents into a house by climbing down a chimney or through windows. “If he was an honest person he would come through the door as we do,” the imam said. The imam cited a passage in the Koran that calls on the faithful to enter houses through doors.

“Christmas is not our festival,” he said, and warned Turkish Muslims against drinking alcohol....

I don't know -- sounds as if Imam Suleiman Eniceri has been knocking back a few on the sly...

It is ironic, but perhaps not unforseeable, that societies which are increasingly obsessed with "feelings," both as an inviolable matter of respect and as a motivation to act or believe, have at the same time become increasingly brutish and crass. Perhaps it is because everything is a bigger deal and in need of a reaction. It is fashionable to be "traumatized" by this or that and wear it as a badge of honor, at once puffing oneself up with pride for the arduous climb to the summit of the mountain one has made out of a molehill, and demanding "respect" and restitution for the trouble.

Combining that complex with a supremacist political agenda creates an explosive mix.

The other major consideration here is that Turkey's entrance into the EU has not been relegated to its proper place, in a priority spot in the "round file." This is how Turkey is behaving even without full membership in the EU. If it joins the EU, it will continue to attempt to make the EU's protections a suicide pact toward its own purposes.

There are more red flags than a May Day parade, but will the EU heed them? "Turkish court accepts online blasphemy case, ECtHR ruling precedent," from Today's Zaman, December 27:

A Turkish court has accepted an indictment filed against a man who allegedly insulted Islamic values online by a prosecutor who cited an earlier ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

The lawsuit was filed against A.M.S. over his remarks allegedly insulting Islamic beliefs on Ekşi Sözlük (Sour Times), a website on which contributors share their comments on various issues and incidents in Turkey. In the indictment she prepared over a criminal complaint filed against A.M.S. by an individual, İstanbul prosecutor Nurten Altınok referred to a 1994 decision of the ECtHR in the Otto-Preminger-Institut v. Austria case. The case concerns an application by the Austria-based Otto-Preminger-Institut at the European court over the ban of a movie by the Austrian government in 1985, on the grounds that it insulted the Christian religion.

The applicant claimed a violation of their freedom of speech under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which provides the right to freedom of expression. The court, however, found no violation of the convention and said the interference with the applicant association's freedom of expression was prescribed by law but the seizure and forfeiture of the film were aimed at “the protection of the rights of others” -- namely, the right to respect for one's religious feelings, and at ensuring religious peace. The court assessed the conflicting interests of the exercise of two fundamental freedoms guaranteed under the convention and concluded that the Austrian authorities did not overstep their margin of appreciation.

Prosecutor Altınok, who says the suspect went beyond the limits of freedom of speech by ridiculing Muslim prayer rituals and the Islamic belief that the universe was created by God, seeks up to one-and-a-half years in jail for A.M.S., who said in his testimony that he did not intend to commit a crime nor to target a group or individual with his comments.

The Armenian genocide was a fact, and the Turkish refusal to admit its existence is of a piece with the consistent Islamic supremacist tendency never, ever to admit wrongdoing, and to project their faults upon others. As a believer in the freedom of speech, I believe that the antidote to lies is truth, not censorship, and so I oppose France's new law, but there is no doubt that its foundation is correct and its intention is good. And Erdogan's reaction is the quintessential Islamic supremacist response to the truth about Islamic jihad: evasion, finger-pointing, projection, and claiming of victim status.

"Turkey Accuses France of Genocide After Armenian Bill," from Reuters, December 23 (thanks to all who sent this in):

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan accused France of genocide in Algeria in the 1940s and 50s, in his latest response to a French parliament vote to make it a crime to deny that the mass killings of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey was genocide.

Erdogan also said President Nicolas Sarkozy's father might have direct knowledge about French "massacres" in Algeria.

"In Algeria from 1945, an estimated 15 percent of the population was massacred by the French. This is a genocide," Erdogan said on live television.

15 percent of the population? Ridiculous and unsupportable historically -- unlike the Armenian genocide.

"If the French President Mr Sarkozy doesn't know about this genocide he should go and ask his father, Paul Sarkozy.

"His father served in the French Legion in Algeria in the 1940s. I am sure he would have lots to tell his son about the French massacres in Algeria," the Turkish premier said.

Parliamentarians in France's lower house of parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of a draft law outlawing genocide denial Thursday, which the Senate will debate next year.

If passed, the bill would make it illegal to deny the 1915 mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks amounted to genocide. The issue has caused outrage in Turkey, which argues killings took place on all sides during a fierce partisan conflict.

Erdogan condemned the bill shortly after the vote, recalled Ankara's ambassador to France for consultations and cancelled all joint economic, political and military meetings. Friday, he vowed to take more steps....

"The vote in the French parliament has shown how dangerous racism, discrimination and Islamophobia have become in France and Europe."

Although nearly a century has passed since the killings in the middle of World War One, successive Turkish governments and the vast majority of Turks feel the charge of Armenian genocide is an insult to their nation.

Turkey's ruling establishment seems to have decided Turkish secularism isn't for Turks, either. But here, we have the odd case of Shi'ite Iran telling Turkey what's best for Arabs. Surely the budding Sunni, Muslim Brotherhood-backed regimes of the "Arab Spring" are diligently taking note.

"Senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader says Turkey’s secularism not suitable for Arab states," from Al-Arabiya, December 14:

Turkey’s Western-like secular political structure is not suitable or compatible for Middle Eastern countries in the post-Arab Spring era, Ali-Akbar Velayati, senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said at a news conference.

Turkey’s model of “secular Islam” was a version of western liberal democracy and is unacceptable for countries that are going through what he said was an “Islamic awakening,” the Financial Times reported Velayati as saying on Tuesday.

Turkey’s Western-like secular political structure is not suitable or compatible for Middle Eastern countries in the post-Arab Spring era, Ali-Akbar Velayati, senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said at a news conference.

Turkey’s model of “secular Islam” was a version of western liberal democracy and is unacceptable for countries that are going through what he said was an “Islamic awakening,” the Financial Times reported Velayati as saying on Tuesday.

Also on Tuesday, the Turkish foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu, demanded an explanation from his Iranian counterpart, Ali Akbar Salehi, about a threatening statement made by an Iranian lawmaker, state-run Anatolia news agency reported.

“It is Iran’s natural right to target the missile defense shield system in Turkey in case of an attack, and we will definitely resort to that,” Hussein Ibrahim, the vice president of the Iranian parliamentary national security and foreign policy panel, reportedly said in an interview with the Iranian daily Shargh on Sunday.

A senior commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard also threatened Turkey's missile shield.

The U.S. and its NATO allies are building an anti-ballistic missile in the Black Sea region, including the installation of NATO radar systems in Turkey and Romania.

But Salehi, who met with Davutoğlu in Jeddah on the sidelines of a gathering on Syria organized by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), said he does not share these views and that they don’t reflect the official Iranian position.

Meanwhile, an Istanbul-based newspaper, Today’s Zaman, reported that Iran’s foreign ministry had given insurance to Turkey that the Islamic republic does not back such threats and that the threats do not reflect the ministry’s policy.

The Iranian officials also emphasized that Turkey should acknowledge statements only from officials in charge, including the Iranian president and the foreign ministry.

Iran and Turkey have close trade and economic relations, as both countries are members of the Economic Cooperation Organization. It is thought that the bilateral relations between the nations are increasing. In 2005, their trade increased to $4 billion from $1 billion in 2000.

But both countries, which have long enjoyed collegial relations, are now going through a rough patch, aggravated by the tightening of sanctions against Iran....

Turkey's Ottoman dreams continue to advance under Erdogan. The praise for Libya is noteworthy in light of the al-Qaeda involvement and hardline pro-Sharia character of the new Libyan regime.

"Turkey to restore Ottoman mosques in Middle East," from Today's Zaman, December 4 (thanks to Joshua):

Turkey is taking steps to restore and renovate mosques that were built by the Ottomans in Libya and Gaza.

The Turkish government is planning to restore an Ottoman mosque in Libya, a Turkish company executive said on Saturday.

Hilmi Özkazanç, an executive with Nurol Construction, said Turkey is planning to start renovating the Murad Agha Mosque in the town of Tajura near the Libyan capital of Tripoli. “We will come to Tajura again next week to see what we have to do to the mosque,” Özkazanç told an Anatolia correspondent.

Özkazanç said restoration would probably begin by the end of this year.

Özkazanç visited Tajura together with Turkey’s Ambassador to Libya Ali Kemal Aydın. During the visit Aydın said, “The Libyan people will establish a country that will be a model for the region, and we will help them.”

The Murad Agha Mosque was constructed in Tajura approximately 16 kilometers east of Tripoli in 1552 by Agha -- one of the three commanders who joined the conquest of Tripoli Province during the Ottoman era. Agha later served as governor of the province. The mosque has 48 marble columns topped by a series of arches that support the vaults.

During his visit to Libya in September, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited the mosque together with Mustafa Abd al-Jalil, the chairman of Libya’s National Transitional Council, and addressed people who gathered around the mosque to see him.

The administration of Palestine’s Gaza City has requested assistance from Turkey in the construction of several mosques after they were destroyed or severely damaged in the 2008-2009 Gaza War, the Anatolia news agency reported last week. According to a report released by government officials in Gaza, there is an urgent need for mosques in the city due to rapid population growth and also because most mosques were damaged during the Gaza War, which broke down the infrastructure of the coastal city.

During the war, 34 mosques were destroyed. Another 161 were damaged and need to be renovated. The cost of such renovation projects has pushed officials in Gaza to seek outside assistance.

The reconstruction of the 34 destroyed mosques will cost nearly $15 million, which exceeds the means of the city administration, especially at a time when economic sanctions imposed by Israel have begun to be felt. Thus, city officials have turned to Turkey, asking for help. Gazan officials said they presented a project to Turkey that includes the construction of 15 new Ottoman-style mosques and the repair of those damaged in the war....

Here is still more Islamic supremacist evasion of responsibility and finger-pointing. Erdogan, like every other Muslim spokesman in the West and elsewhere, refuses to acknowledge that "Islamophobia," insofar as any suspicion of Muslims actually exists, is due to Islamic jihad terror. If Islamic jihad terror and supremacist attempts to impose Sharia on the West were to end definitively, "Islamophobia" would disappear. The fact that Muslim spokesmen like Erdogan never admit this is indicative of their true agenda: to deflect attention away from the global jihad and Islamic supremacism and to claim protected victim status for Muslims, so that the jihad can advance uncriticized and unimpeded.

"Erdogan blasts anti-Islam propaganda," from Iran's PressTV, November 21 (thanks to Benedict):

Turk [sic! -- unless they mean "the Turk," i.e., Erdogan] has censured anti-Islam propaganda and called on the Muslim world to show solidarity against rising Islamophobia across the Western world, Press TV reports.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that there is a vicious propaganda campaign against Islam by some Western circles, Press TV's Ankara correspondent reported.

Erdogan was addressing the Second Meeting of Leaders of African Continent Muslim Countries and Societies which opened in Istanbul on Monday.

“There are those who use some marginal cases, to equate Islam and Muslims with terrorism, clashes, intolerance and poverty,” Erdogan stated.

“A mistake by a member of a religion or society should not be attributed to the religion or society,” he added.

“This means that Islamophobia should be condemned as much as racism and anti-Semitism is [condemned],” the Turkish premier stressed....

A snapshot of the 7th ecumenical council, in the Aghia Sophia of Nicaea

The Seventh Ecumenical Council, the Second Council of Nicaea, held in the Aghia Sophia of Nicaea in 787, declared the orthodoxy of icons and images. It was the last meeting of all the world's bishops that included representatives of both the Church of Rome and the Church of Constantinople, the leaders of Western and Eastern Christianity, respectively. The church was turned into a mosque when Islamic jihadists conquered Nicaea in the fourteenth century; then, like its more famous namesake in Constantinople, it was made into a museum by the secular Turkish regime. Now that Turkey is rapidly re-Islamizing, it is a mosque again. "Erdogan's religious acrobatics: Nicaea council church back to being a mosque," by NAT da Polis for Asia News, November 11 (thanks to C. Cantoni):

Istanbul (AsiaNews) - The specter of Aghia Sophia continues to plague the Islamic world of Tayyip Erdogan’s Turkey. Not the most famous symbol of the church of Constantinople, but another church, Aghia Sophia in Nicaea (now Izmit), which predates the Constantinople church, having been built in the fourth century. It passed into history in 787 AD, when it was the last church to host a united Christendom drawn to discuss the iconoclastic question, in a truly ecumenical synod, before the fatal schism of 1024 [actually 1054 -- ed.].

This Christian church, the Aghia Sophia in Nicaea (Izmit), was transformed into a mosque in 1331 by Orhan Gazi who led the Ottomans and which was later made a museum in 1920, has returned once again to being a mosque.

All that was needed was a directive from the Directorate General for Religious Affairs led by Mehmet Gormez, appointed by Erdogan instead of Ali Bardakoglu, the man behind the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Turkey, since retired. The move has elicited several considerations in Turkey and abroad in a period in which much importance and emphasis is placed on religious freedom. It is also noted that this decision by the Directorate for Religious Affairs, made in accordance with the Directorate General of Religious Foundations, to which the church of Aghia Sophia in Izmit belongs, is in complete contrast with the decisions of the Ministry of Culture in Ankara, which granted permission for religious celebrations in Christian monuments that have since been transformed into museums....

"Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued." -- Qur'an 9:29

Under heavy pressure from the European powers, the Ottoman Empire abolished the payment of the jizya, which is the cornerstone of the system of dhimmitude, in the 1850s. But even the secular Turkish state found a way to reestablish it under another name. As the Islamization of Turkey continues to advance, eventually this pretense will no longer be needed.

Meanwhile, how many of the learned analysts who invoke Turkey as a prime example of Islamic moderation (even though Kemalist Turkey was established by means of active and conscious restriction of political Islam) know that in secular Turkey non-Muslims pay a special tax from which Muslims are exempt, just as is directed in the Qur'an?

"Non-Muslim minorities protest wealth tax, expect apology," by Ilyas Koç for Today's Zaman, November 10 (thanks to Twostellas):

Victims of the discriminatory wealth tax, who are all non-Muslim minorities, demand an apology from the state 69 years after legislation was passed by Parliament on Nov. 11, 1942, requiring non-Muslims to pay a much higher rate of tax to the state.

Many well-known families in Turkey are among the victims. One such victim is the prominent Turkish Jewish businessman Hayim Alaton, the father of Alarko Holding’s executive board chairman İshak Alaton. Hayim Alaton was sent to Aşkale in the province of Erzurum to perform manual labor because he had failed to pay two separate taxes imposed on him.

Within the scope of wealth tax payment requirements, 1,229 non-Muslims were sent to Aşkale via the Haydarpaşa railroad station in İstanbul to perform the jobs assigned to them.

İshak Alaton and a group of his friends have stated that they will visit the Haydarpaşa railroad station on Nov. 11 in order to keep the memories of this tragic incident alive. He will be accompanied by lawyer Cem Murat Sofuoğlu, Professor Serap Yazıcı, Professor Ergun Özbudun and others.

Even a casual observer can see that Iran and Turkey are not honest about their actions in the international arena.

These two states have long been preparing for jihad worldwide.

The Turks have long supported the jihad in the North Caucasus, and Iran supports Hizballah.

Most recently a partner of Iran and Turkey in the Caucasus-Azerbaijan has announced the construction of a new road linking Azerbaijan with Turkey. And the establishment of a branch of the "Pasha Bank" in Tbilisi. ”Pasha Bank” is the largest bank in Azerbaijan. The other day in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku there was a conference in the hotel "Europe" of the terrorist organization IHH, which addressed the topic of establishing relations with other similar organizations. And it all took place against the background of the construction of a railroad connecting Iran, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey.

There is further evidence that Iran, Azerbaijan and Turkey are increasingly trying to expand their influence in the region. The Azerbaijan oil company "Sokar" intends to build a refinery in Turkey for 5.5 billion in U.S. dollars. It should be said that the company "Sokar" has an excellent relationship with the Iranian President.

Azerbaijan and Turkey have put many millions of dollars into Georgia's economy to create projects that will help Iran legitimize its finances in the West.

These projects are long-ripened in the minds of jihadists. In 1997, after the war in Chechnya, there came to Tbilisi in Georgia from Iran via Azerbaijan one of the Vice Chairmen of the Anti-Terrorist Center of the Chechen Republic, Hunkar Pasha Israpilov. He ostensibly came on business.

At a meeting with representatives of law enforcement bodies of Georgia, and several businessmen, he showed a few hundred-dollar bills, said that the money was from Iran and asked law enforcement officials to verify their authenticity. In Georgia, they were convinced that the notes were genuine.

Grinning, the "guest" of Iran said that they were actually fake bills that were printed in Iran on a printing press that the Iranians had seized during the war with Iraq, taking it from supporters of Saddam Hussein. The "guest" also said that similar banknotes were available in Turkey. Chechens now have to aid the country's economy by laundering this money.

I do not know whether the treaty took place then, but the fact is that today many branches of Iranian and Turkish banks have opened in Georgia and the Caucasus. And through them comes the funding for projects such as railway and auto lines connecting Iran and Turkey, and many other economic projects.

A few days ago, Turkey and Iran refused to purchase Russian gas. There are reasonable conditions to ensure that Turkey will receive Iranian gas through the territory of Georgia.

Two Israeli businessmen, Ronn Fuchs and Zeev Frenkel, who wanted to recover ownership of the Baku-Supsa pipeline, which was illegally confiscated from them in 1996, went to court against the Georgian authorities. And they won their case in the International Court of Arbitration. They were then illegally arrested and have spent the last year in a Georgian prison.

According to them, Georgia prison officials jeered at them and fed them pork (which is contrary to their religion). They awakened them several times at night to search their cell, and did not give them drugs that had been prescribed by a physician. In prison Zeev Frenkel had a myocardial infarction.

These two elderly businessmen repeatedly asked the President, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Israel for help. But despite support and letters from senior officials, their position is still unchanged.

In its attempt at psy-ops, the Turkish side initially claimed the names were leaked to flotilla organizers by Israeli soldiers who "regretted" the raid. It later emerged that many names "were recycled from previous lists, [and] belong to soldiers who already completed military service" at the time of the 2010 raid, including "a Golani maintenance officer, a Paratroopers' company command and an Artillery battery commander." The names were "from previous lists that were published on anti-Israeli websites following Operation Cast Lead."

Way to go, CSI Ankara. "Turkey seeks Israeli arrests over flotilla raid," from Reuters, October 13:

A Turkish prosecutor is seeking the arrest of 174 Israelis allegedly involved in the naval commando raid that killed nine Turks on a ship carrying aid to the Gaza Strip last year, broadcaster CNN Turk reported on Wednesday.

Ties between the two regional powers have deteriorated sharply since IDF naval commandos raided the Mavi Marmara in May 2010.

Despite the fact that the president, prime minister and other members of the Turkish Government have repeatedly stated their opposition to the State of Israel and its government, many of the leaders of the Western world still are trying to perpetuate the image of Turkey as Israel's ally and friend.

Some justify their actions by saying that Turkey is a counterbalance to Iran in the region. Supposedly the spread of Turkish influence counteracts the aggressive Iranian influence in the region.

These people think that the expansion of Iranian-Shiite power in Syria, Egypt and other Islamic countries is more dangerous than the Islamization of Turkey and the transformation of that country into an aggressive Sunni-Muslim state with ambitions of hegemony in the region.

Flirting with Turkey on the part of NATO and its allies only strengthens the position of that country in the region, but it may not reduce Iran's role; rather, it could have just the opposite effect.

Moreover, it is more and more evident that the supposedly moderate Islamic countries and their leaders are using the words Israel, Jerusalem, and Jews more often in their statements, and certainly not in a positive context.

There are frequent meetings of the foreign ministers of Iran and Turkey. The leadership of those countries sometimes criticize each other, but afterward they are reconciled. But there is an increasing number of economic agreements involving these countries, increasing their economic and military potential.

The relations between Islamic countries and their leaders are similar to the relationship of lovers who sometimes quarrel with each other, but really love each other and will do anything for the sake of their loved one.

The Turks are trying to consider the interests of Iran, Syria, Egypt, and the Palestinian Authority, and to counter the influence of Iran in Azerbaijan and the northern Caucasus. Some countries enjoy the protection of both Iran and Turkey.

This "love couple" -- Erdogan and Ahmadinejad -- are synchronized in most areas of foreign policy.

By establishing close political and economic ties with their neighbors, thus creating around their own countries fertile ground for development, Iran and Turkey have laid the foundation for their possible dominance, and not only in the Islamic world.

And God forbid if Iran's nuclear bomb project comes to fruition. This would be the fruit of the devil's love. One of the parents is well known: the terrorist and killer Ahmadinejad. The other parent can be considered to be the Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan, who so passionately and fervently aspires to the throne of the Caliphate.

Other Islamic leaders want to become parents, too.

In general, leaders of Islamic countries compete with each other on whose hatred for the state of Israel is stronger. And it's not politics. They were engaged in politics when they swore friendship with Israel; now they're saying the Islamic truth. Hatred toward Israel, Jews and non-Muslims is their faith.

Although Turkey is a NATO member, she has always supported the jihad in the North Caucasus.

The Turks have never openly supported the jihad, but always tried to use the jihad and jihadis for their own interests. And many Muslims made their way from Turkey to the Mujahideen, joining the jihad in Chechnya and Dagestan.

Many of the wounded jihadists received treatment in Turkish hospitals. And for many of them, that country became a refuge from persecution. There has been a great deal of Turkish emigration to Europe and other countries.

Confirmation of all this are certain telling facts. Three official representative of the leader of the Caucasus jihadists, Doku Umarov, were killed in Istanbul on September 16, 2011.

Until recently, Turkey tried to pursue a balanced policy between NATO and the Islamic world. However, Prime Minister Recep Tayip Erdogan and his team are now seeking new contacts and relationships in the Islamic world.

Turkey had to enlist the support of its neighbors in order to begin openly to promote its ambitions in the Islamic world and the region.

Over the last year the Turks have made great strides in the region. They rendezvoused with Georgia and Iran, securing a secure Eastern border. They started a few ambitious energy projects. And they began to build a railroad that will connect them with Georgia, Azerbaijan and Iran. This railroad completely changes the balance of power in the region.

I remember that I was told about a meeting that was supposed to ensure a steady supply of arms to the North Caucasian Mujahideen. A former military man, a Turkish citizen, promised to give the Mujahideen weapons seized from the Kurdish fighters. This project failed. The Mujahideen were wronged by the Turkish military, and said that as long as Turkey does not become an Islamic state, the Turkish military cannot be trusted.

After Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan openly began the Islamization of Turkey, the jihadists found fertile ground there. Turkey appeared ambitious to become the leader of Islam in the region.

Prime Minister Erdogan and Foreign Minister Davidoglu began to make up for lost time, and to prove their commitment to Islam, they began to support a terrorist organization, IHH. They began to advocate for the recognition of Palestine and began to speak openly against Israel.

An interesting fact is that Turkey has a problem of separatism, and not in its interest to support separatists elsewhere. In spite of this, the Turkish establishment is exacerbating relations with its former partner, Israel.

Turkey, like Iran, now has a real chance after the "Arab Spring" to gain prestige and influence extending to northern Africa.

The trend that we observe in the Caucasus, Turkey and North Africa, clearly proves that what has happened in these regions should not be called "Arab Spring"; it should be called "Islamic Spring," or better, as it says in the Qur'an, Jihad.

Hundreds of Muslims from Pakistan, Bangladesh and many Asian countries are now being sent to Turkey under the guise of being tourists. The bulk of these so-called tourists are men between the ages of 18 and 40. According to them, they're going to rest on the Mediterranean Sea, close to the border with Israel.

Earlier, Turkey had threatened to attempt to prosecute the personnel on this list for "torture and premeditated murder."

They have been caught in a bluff, having claimed they got their information from IDF soldiers who opposed the raid, but this report says the names were "from previous lists that were published on anti-Israeli websites following Operation Cast Lead."

"War is deceit," but getting caught in it is embarrassing. "Turkish list of flotilla soldiers a sham?" by Sa'ar Haas for YNet News, September 27:

Reports in Turkish media claimed IHH compiled list of 174 soldiers, security officials who took part in raid on Gaza-bound ship, but closer glance reveals that names were recycled from previous lists, belong to soldiers who already completed military service during 2010 naval operation

The Turkish media called a list of 174 names of soldier and security officials allegedly connected to the IDF raid on the Gaza-bound ship as "extremely valuable," but a deeper examination reveals that the IDF personnel appearing on the list have no direct link, if at all, to the flotilla raid.

The list is headed by former IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, Navy Commander Eliezer Marom and former Commander of IDF Intelligence Branch Major General Amos Yadlin, but the rest of the names are of soldiers who already completed their military service at the time of the 2010 raid.

Among the 174 names listed, many belong to low-ranking officers and soldiers who had nothing to do with the raid, such as a Golani maintenance officer, a Paratroopers' company command and an Artillery battery commander.

According to the report in Turkish media outlets, "almost all the soldiers who killed the nine activists and injured 30 people were identified," but the Turkish government denied ever asking its National Intelligence Organization (MIT) to confirm the identities of Israeli commandos involved in the raid.

Istanbul's deputy prosecutor said that a lawyer for the IHH submitted a list of soldiers' names to his office and said it will be examined.

'Psychological warfare'

The IDF Spokesperson's Office stated in response: "After examining the reports in the Turkish press, it is clear that the names do not belong to soldiers who were involved in the Marmara raid incident, but were rather recycled from previous lists that were published on anti-Israeli websites following Operation Cast Lead.

"The IDF and the relevant governmental offices are closely following these attempts to launch legal proceedings against those who acted on behalf of the State of Israel as part of its war on terror, and are taking the necessary steps," the statement said.

Military officials noted that the report is part of a psychological warfare conducted by the Turks, following Israel's refusal to apologize over the flotilla raid and in wake of the Palmer Report, which recognized the legality of the naval blockade on Gaza.

More threats from the would-be caliph. "Erdogan warns Israel: Turkey can send warships to east Mediterranean at any time," from Reuters, September 15 (thanks to Wimpy):

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday Israel could not do whatever it wanted in the eastern Mediterranean and that Turkish warships could be there at any moment.

Erdogan's comments, made during a visit to Tunisia as part of a tour of Arab countries, were the latest in a war of words between the two regional powers, whose relations have deteriorated since Israel killed nine Turks aboard an aid ship headed for Gaza last year.

"Israel cannot do whatever it wants in the eastern Mediterranean. They will see what our decisions will be on this subject. Our navy attack ships can be there at any moment," Erdogan told a news conference shortly after arriving in Tunis....

Remember that the peaceful, humanitarian folks on the flotilla were actually armed -- and were chanting the genocidal jihadist chant, "Khaybar, Khaybar, O Jews, the army of Muhammad will return."

Erdogan's claim that Turkey showed "patience" is a deft inversion of reality: by saying that it was a "cause for war" at all, he is substantially escalating the war of words, and creating the foundation and pretext for an actual war.

"Turkey says flotilla raid was 'cause for war,'" from The Associated Press, September 12 (thanks to Bill):

ANKARA, Turkey—Turkey's prime minister has said Israel's raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla last year was "cause for war" but that his country showed "patience" and refrained from taking any action.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Al-Jazeera television in a recent interview that the Israeli attack that killed nine activists occurred in international waters and was therefore "unlawful." His comments were carried by Turkey's state-run Anatolia news agency late Sunday.

Erdogan said "It is a cause for war, but we decided to act in line with Turkey's grandeur and showed patience."

Israel insists its naval commandos acted in self-defense after being attacked by some of the activists.

A U.N. report into the raid said Israel's naval blockade was legitimate but that it used "excessive and unreasonable" force.

The State Department has told both Turkey and Israel to "cool it," even as Israel has largely reserved comment and tried to downplay the crisis while Ankara continuously escalates its rhetoric and threats. The saber-rattling has gone in one direction.

And now, this. The charges are ridiculous, and are an attempt to intimidate and blackmail Israel by now making threats not only as one state to another, but threatening to attempt to ruin individuals' lives, and possibly to endanger them by publicizing their identities and leaving them vulnerable to individual acts of revenge.

"Report: Turkey obtains names of flotilla raid soldiers," from YNet News, September 9:

Amid rising tensions between Israel and Turkey over the Palmer Report, Istanbul's chief prosecutor approached the Turkish intelligence services in a request to reveal the identities of the Israeli soldiers involved in the May 2010 raid on the Mavi Marmara ship, in which nine Turkish civilians were killed.

The request came after the prosecutor approached Israeli authorities for the information last May, but did not receive a reply.

Meanwhile, a lawyer affiliated with IHH– the Turkish group that organized the flotilla – claimed the organization handed the prosecutor a list with over ten names of IDF soldiers that were onboard the vessel, Turkish newspaper al-Zaman reported on Friday.

Appalling, if true:

"We have handed the list to Istanbul's prosecutor and are now waiting for arrest warrants," said Attorney Ramzan Turk, adding that the list is based on information received by other IDF soldiers who "regretted the incident and gave me the names of the soldiers."

Ramzan noted that the soldiers who provided the names did not take part in the raid.

In addition Zaman's claims, the prosecutor reportedly also approached the intelligence services for a list of names, a move which would enable to start proceedings against a long list of Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, former IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, Navy Commander Adm. Eliezer Marom and other officials involved in the flotilla raid.

The soldiers that participated in the takeover may face charges of premeditated murder and torture, as well as restricting the passengers' freedom of movement, the report said.

Meanwhile, Ankara diplomats on Friday stressed that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's north African tour will not include a visit to the Gaza Strip.

"Turkey doesn’t want to enrage the Egyptian authorities," an Ankara official explained the move.

This ongoing episode should give Turkey's EU application special priority to be transferred to the "round file."

Turkish Temper Tantrum Update. "Turkish president calls Israel 'ungrateful burden'," from the Jerusalem Post, September 9:

Turkish President Abdullah Gül said on Thursday that Israel is an ungrateful burden to its allies, Turkish newspaper Hurriyet Daily News reported.

On his way to a multicultural conference in Russia, Gül accused Israel of offering to apologize four times for the Mavi Marmara incident, but then reneging each time.

Israel's deputy foreign minister said in this report that the Turkish side was "not ready for a compromise and kept raising the threshold."

According to the Turkish president, Israel should consider an "honorable peace" with its Arab neighbors and stop acting as if the world, especially Turkey, owes it favors, the report said.

He also criticized what he called Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's inability to receive as warm a welcome to the his own Knesset as he does when he speaks before the American Congress, referring to a speech he gave in the United States earlier in the summer.

The Turkish president's comments came after on Thursday he stated that Turkey never harassed Israeli tourists at the Istanbul Ataturk Airport, despite reports that some 40 passengers were singled out and underwent more stringent security procedures than other travelers.

Gül said that the deterioration of ties between Ankara and Jerusalem was not being directed towards "individuals."

Speaking to pan-Arab Al-Arabiya, Gül also restated Turkish plans to head to the International Criminal Court to determine the legality of the blockade on the Gaza Strip adding that Ankara rejected the UN-backed Palmer report which legitimized the IDF blockade.

Erdogan continues to push for jihad against Israel as he works to destroy Kemalist secularism and reestablish Sharia at home. "Turkish PM to address the Arab League," by Sevil Küçükkoşum for the Hürriyet Daily News, September 8 (thanks to Joshua):

ANKARA – Turkey’s prime minister has been invited to speak next week at the meeting of foreign ministers of the Arab League, his second address to the group as a non-Arab politician, amid high tensions with Israel.

Arab League Secretary-General Nabil al-Araby invited Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to address the Council of Foreign Ministers meeting during his official visit to Cairo next week, Mohammed Al-Fatah Naciri, the Arab League’s ambassador to Turkey, told the Hürriyet Daily News on Thursday.

In his speech, Erdoğan will touch on the wave of popular unrest hitting the region in the “Arab Spring” and will also hit out against Israel, the Daily News has learned. His address to the Arab League will be part of Turkey’s ongoing campaign in the international arena against Israel, which has intensified since Tel Aviv refused to apologize for killing nine Turks last year aboard a Gaza-bound aid ship.

Erdoğan’s upcoming trip to Cairo coincides with the Peace Initiative Group of the Arab League’s meeting at the foreign-ministerial level. It will be the second time Erdoğan will address the Arab League, following a speech he delivered to an Arab League summit in 2010 in Libya.

The Turkish prime minister is also expected to address Israel’s blockade on the Gaza Strip and call on Arab countries to give their strong support to the Palestinians’ statehood-recognition bid at the United Nations and Turkey’s pledge to take the Gaza blockade to the International Court of Justice.

Although Erdoğan has expressed his intention to cross into the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip through the Rafah border during his visit to Egypt, Cairo’s reluctance makes this unlikely to happen, a diplomat told the Daily News....

The Turkish-born Professor Yisrael Chanatoglu speaks about Turkey's plan to reestablish the caliphate. "Video: Expert in Knesset - PA Part of Global Jihad," from Arutz Sheva, September 8:

"Islam intends to conquer the world, It is already doing so through immigration to France, England and more slowly to the rest of the Western world. The threats to march on communities in Judea and Samaria on September 20th and the recognition bid at the UN are all part of this global Jihad", says Professor Yisrael Chanatoglu of the Association of Professors for a Strong Israel....

Read it all.

The latest escalation in the Turkish Temper Tantrum. Erdogan has also publicly considered visiting Gaza, and clearly does not care on either point how he is bolstering Hamas. "Turkish warships will escort aid vessels to Gaza: Erdogan," by Sami Aboudi for Reuters, September 8:

CAIRO (Reuters) - Turkey said on Thursday it would escort aid ships to Gaza and would not allow a repetition of last year's Israeli raid that killed nine Turks, setting the stage for a potential naval confrontation with its former ally.

Raising the stakes in Turkey's row with Israel over its refusal to apologize for the killings, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Al Jazeera television that Turkey had taken steps to stop Israel from unilaterally exploiting natural resources in the Mediterranean.

"Turkish warships, in the first place, are authorized to protect our ships that carry humanitarian aid to Gaza," Erdogan said in the interview, broadcast by Al Jazeera with an Arabic translation.

"From now on, we will not let these ships to be attacked by Israel, as what happened with the Freedom Flotilla," Erdogan said.

Referring to Erdogan's comments, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said: "This is a statement well-worth not commenting on."

Relations between Turkey and Israel, two close U.S. allies in the region, have soured since Israeli forces boarded the Gaza-bound Mavi Marmara aid ship in May 2010.

Ankara downgraded ties and vowed to boost naval patrols in the eastern Mediterranean in the escalating row. Israel says it acted legally against ships that tried to breach its blockade on the Palestinian enclave which is ruled by the Islamist Hamas group.

Israel has said it will enforce the blockade, which it says is needed to prevent arms smuggling to Hamas.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said earlier on Thursday that Israel and Turkey will eventually mend fences rather than become foes, describing their unprecedented dispute over Gaza as "spilled milk."

Noting that an inquiry commissioned by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had vindicated the blockade, Barak predicted that wider Middle East upheaval would help bring Israel back together with its Muslim ex-ally.

"Ultimately this wave will pass. We recognize reality. They recognize reality," Barak told Israel Radio. "We are the two countries that are most important to the West in the region ... I am certain that we can overcome these (disagreements)."

But Erdogan appeared to raise the heat, saying NATO member Turkey has taken steps to patrol the Mediterranean, and vowed to stop the Jewish state from exploiting natural resources in the area.

"You know that Israel has begun to declare that it has the right to act in exclusive economic areas in the Mediterranean," Erdogan said, apparently in reference to Israeli plans to exploit offshore gas reserves found in areas that are also claimed by Lebanon.

"You will see that it will not be the owner of this right, because Turkey, as a guarantor of the Turkish republic of north Cyprus, has taken steps in the area, and it will be decisive and holding fast to the right to monitor international waters in the east Mediterranean," he said.

Turkish-occupied Cyprus. Only Turkey recognizes the "republic of North Cyprus."

The decision "raises the risk of a naval confrontation between the two powers," and that's exactly the idea. One must remember that all of this high-stakes brinkmanship stems from Turkey's demand for an apology, though it's not really about the apology. It is about boosting Turkey's credentials among Islamic countries, and attempting to isolate and de-legitimize Israel.

More on this story, as the irony of Erdogan's calling Israel a "spoiled boy" continues to mount.

"Turkey raising naval presence amid tension with Israel," by Pinar Aydinli for Reuters, September 6:

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey is freezing defense trade with Israel and stepping up naval patrols in the eastern Mediterranean, highlighting a potentially destabilizing rift between the two major U.S. allies in the Middle East.

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's threat on Tuesday to send warships into waters where Israel's navy operates raises the risk of a naval confrontation between the two powers.

"The eastern Mediterranean is not a strange place to us. Aksaz and Iskenderun -- these places have the power and opportunity to provide escorts," Erdogan told reporters in Ankara, referring to two Turkish naval bases. "Of course our ships will be seen much more frequently in those waters."

Ties with Israel began to unravel after Erdogan voiced outrage at an Israeli offensive against the Gaza Strip, ruled by the Palestinian Islamist Hamas group, in late 2008 and early 2009.

Before that Turkey and Israel had worked closely together on military cooperation and intelligence sharing, as both had sought reliable partners in a volatile neighborhood.

The increasing Islamization of Turkey has correlated with a dimmer outlook for its long-term stability, and an increase in the rash, confrontational policy-making we are observing now.

Asked about Erdogan's remarks, an Israeli government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: "Israel does not want to see further deterioration in its relationship with Turkey."

On Friday, Turkey announced it was expelling Israel's ambassador and other senior diplomats, downgrading relations after the release of a U.N. report on the killing of nine Turks during an Israeli commando raid on an aid flotilla that aimed to break Israel's naval blockade of Gaza last year.

Israel's refusal to apologize for the deaths has angered Turkey, a NATO member with the bloc's second biggest military....

No kidding.

Another escalation of the Turkish Temper Tantrum, in which Erdogan has now also called Israel a "spoiled boy." "Erdogan: Turkey suspends all defense ties with Israel," from the Jerusalem Post, September 6:

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that Turkey was "totally suspending" defense ties with Israel, after downgrading diplomatic relations with the country.

While it was initially reported that Erdogan had also suspended all trade ties between the two nations, this was later clarified to refer to defense-related trade only.

"Trade ties, military ties, defense industry ties - we are completely suspending them. This process will be followed by different measures," Erdogan told reporters in Ankara.

But an official at Erdogan's office later told Reuters the prime minister was referring to military and defense trade ties only, not overall trade, which last year reached a total bilateral volume of $3.5 billion.

Erdogan also said that Turkey would implement further sanctions against Israel and said that "our ships will be seen more frequently in [the Eastern Mediterranean]."

Turkey may attempt to broaden the conflict:

Some Turkish and Israeli commentators have suggested Turkey might use the feud with Israel to build up naval patrols in seas between the Israel and the divided island of Cyprus.

Turkey has bitterly complained about recent Cypriot-Israeli energy deals and the presence of Turkish ships would have a menacing effect.

Turkish-occupied Cyprus:

Turkey and Cyprus have been at odds for decades over the ethnically split island, whose internationally recognized Greek Cypriot government is an EU member. Turkish Cypriots live in a breakaway state in northern Cyprus only recognised by Turkey.

Asked about exploratory drilling for natural gas by Greek Cypriots, Egemen Bagis, Turkey's European Union minister, told Turkish media last week: "It is for this (reason) that countries have warships. It is for this (reason) that we have equipment and we train our navies."

Erdogan's announcement Tuesday came as diplomatic relations between Turkey and Israel were severely strained following the release of the Palmer Commission report on the raid of the Mavi Marmara and Israel's refusal to answer Ankara's insistence that it issue an apology for the incident.

Erdogan also told reporters that he may visit Gaza and would decide whether to do so after talks with Egypt. Erdogan is planning to visit Cairo later this month.

A senior Israeli official on Sunday warned that it would be a diplomatic mistake for Erdogan to visit the Gaza Strip.

Channel 2 quoted the official as saying Erdogan would damage Turkey's relations with the United States by visiting Gaza. He added that the move would also weaken Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, presumably because a trip to Hamas-controlled Gaza would challenge him as the legitimate representative of the Palestinians.....

The above video is more or less where Turkey wants Israel, but Israel isn't playing Archie to Turkey's Otto. More on this story. "Turkey tells Israeli diplomats to leave," by Suzan Fraser for the Associated Press, September 5:

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey deepened its rift with Israel on Monday by vowing to work for the recognition of a Palestinian state at the United Nations and by saying it has notified high-level Israeli diplomats they have two days to leave the country. Late last week, Turkey expelled the Israeli ambassador after Israel refused to apologize for the botched Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound protest flotilla that killed nine pro-Palestinian activists last year. Israel has expressed regret for the loss of lives.

A U.N. report released last week called the Israeli raid "excessive and unreasonable," but also said Turkey and flotilla organizers contributed to the deaths.

The dispute has brought relations between the once-close allies to the verge of collapse, and injected a new element of instability into an already volatile region.

Turkey said Monday it has notified Ella Aphek, the Israeli Embassy's deputy head of mission, that she and other senior Israeli diplomats must leave by Wednesday now that Turkey has decided to downgrade its diplomatic ties with Israel to the level of second secretary.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Monday that Turkey will work to lobby other nations "until we obtain the highest number of votes" for a plan by Palestinians to seek recognition as a state at annual meeting of world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly beginning on Sept. 20.

On Saturday, Davutoglu said Turkey would start procedures to challenge Israel's naval blockade of Gaza at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands.

The United States has indicated it will veto any Palestinian statehood vote in the absence of a negotiated Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.

Palestinians hope a U.N. vote in their favor would isolate Israel and put heavy pressure on the Israelis to withdraw from captured territories.

That's exactly right. They want a land grab, a do-over for the wars they and the Arab states surrounding Israel could not win.

"Obviously this was done intentionally in order to create an unpleasant feeling." Now that the generals are out of the way, it is only a matter of time before Turkey throws off the last vestiges of Kemalist secularism and abandons all remaining pretense of friendliness toward Israel.

"Israelis held in Istanbul airport," by Attila Somfalvi for Ynet News, September 5 (thanks to Joshua):

About 40 Israeli passengers on board a Turkish Airlines flight from Tel Aviv to Istanbul were held for several hours by local police on Monday after their passports had been taken away from them. The passengers said that the Turkish police officers were disrespectful, claiming that such an incident was unprecedented.

"I think that the police officers didn't even know what they were looking for," one of the passengers told Ynet. "They apparently got an order to detain us, one by one. Everyone was in shock; we didn't know what they were going to do to us. Obviously this was done intentionally in order to create an unpleasant feeling."

"They asked us why we came here, opened our bags, checked how much money we have and what we have on our laptops," he added.

Authorities in Jerusalem estimate that the detention of the Israeli passengers came in response to a recent incident during which Turkish citizens were detained for questioning by border police at Ben Gurion Airport.

Foreign Ministry officials said that no directive was issued regarding a change in the policy that concerns the reception of Israelis, and that there was no intention to single out Israelis that arrive in Turkey. "It was a mid-rank initiative that apparently came in response to the incident at Ben Gurion Airport," they said....

Israel's deputy foreign minister observed that Turkey seems to want to raise tensions for its own reasons. Indeed, relations have deteriorated to a point where it will be difficult ever to trust Turkey as an ally again -- it is rather more of a "frenemy," at best. More on the Tantrum in Turkey. "Gaza flotilla: Turkey to take Israel to UN court," from BBC News, September 3:

Turkey has said it will challenge Israel's blockade of Gaza at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

It is the latest sign of strain between the countries since last year's Israeli action against ships heading for Gaza, in which nine Turks were killed.

Foreign Minister Ahmed Davutoglu said Turkey did not accept the findings of a UN report which said Israel's blockade of Gaza was a legal security measure.

His comments came a day after Turkey expelled the Israeli ambassador.

It also halted military co-operation with Israel.

Report 'not endorsed'

Speaking on state-run Turkish TV, Mr Davutoglu said the UN report, prepared by former New Zealand Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer and former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, had not been endorsed by the UN and was therefore not binding.

"What is binding is the ICJ," he went on. "This is what we are saying: let the ICJ decide."

Turkey, he added, would start the necessary legal procedures in the coming week.

Based in The Hague, the ICJ is a permanent UN court set up to rule on state-to-state disputes.

Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon insisted his country had nothing to apologise for and had done all it could to avoid a crisis with Turkey.

He said the Turks seemed to want to raise tensions with Israel for its own reasons.

They were not ready for a compromise and kept raising the threshold," Mr Ayalon said on Israeli TV....

Yasser Arafat would be so proud.

Tantrum in Turkey. Ann Landers used to pose the question to women doubtful of long-term commitments: "Am I better off with him or without him?" With regard to Turkey under Erdogan, Israel's answer to this question ever more open to debate. If nothing else, their relationship is no longer a friendship, or a partnership, but a matter of managing Ankara's posturing and brinksmanship, and its Islamization. Turkey is a "frenemy," at best.

And for that matter, the European Union should be asking itself that same question about Turkey. "Turkey expels Israeli ambassador," from YNet News, September 2:

Israel-Turkey relations sink to a new low: Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu announced on Friday that following Jerusalem's adamant refusal to apologize over the 2010 Gaza flotilla raid, Ankara will be downgrading its diplomatic relations with Israel and suspending key military agreements.

In a dramatic turn of events, Turkey announced that it was expelling Israeli Ambassador Gabby Levy from Ankara. Davutoglu said Turkey's diplomatic representation in Israel would be further reduced to second-secretary level. In accordance, all lower Israeli diplomatic personnel above the second-secretary level have also been expelled.

The announcement followed a press conference, in which Davutoglu said that some of the UN's Palmer Report findings on the raid were "unacceptable," adding that it was "time for Israel to pay the price... The highest price it can pay is losing our friendship."

"Today, we reached a point where Israel has, in fact, spent all of the chances that were given to them. The Israeli government, on the other hand, see themselves (as being) above international laws and human conscience," the Turkish FM said.

Turkey withdrew its own ambassador to Israel immediately after last year's raid.

Davutoğlu's stated that Ankara views the Israeli government as responsible for the situation, and that Turkey will not revise its position on the matter until Israel reconsiders its stand on the flotilla incident. Davutoğlu added that despite the Palmer Report findings, Turkey does not recognise the legality of the Israeli blockade on Gaza.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul reportedly said Friday that as far as Turkey was concerned, the Palmer Report was "null and void." Ankara is also said to be exploring its options against Israel with the International Court of Justice.

Earlier Friday, Turkey vowed that its demand for an apology from Israel would remain unchanged, stating that it is powerful enough to protect the rights of its citizen. The statement was made in Ankara's first official reaction to a leaked United Nations panel report on the Mavi Marmara incident....

Of course Israel should not apologize. Remember that the peaceful, humanitarian folks on the flotilla were actually armed -- and they were also chanting the genocidal jihadist chant, "Khaybar, Khaybar, O Jews, the army of Muhammad will return."

An update on this story. "'Netanyahu tells Clinton he won't apologize to Turkey,'" from Reuters, August 17 (thanks to Cowardly Link Troll):

Officials say they're waiting on Palmer report; comes after Clinton calls PM; Turkish PM says no closer ties without 'Marmara' apology. Israel will stick to its refusal to apologize to Turkey for killing nine of its citizens aboard a Gaza-bound ship, an official said on Wednesday, dampening any prospects for reconciliation between the former allies.

The decision, which the official said Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu conveyed to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a telephone call, was made days before the publication of the findings of a UN inquiry into the seizure of the Mavi Marmara last year.

The so-called Palmer report was repeatedly delayed to allow for Israeli-Turkish rapprochement talks amid concern in Washington at the rift between two countries that had been strategic partners in an increasingly stormy Middle East.

Officials, citing advance copies of the report, have said it would vindicate Israel's blockade on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. Turkey, which like Israel had a delegate on the UN panel headed by former New Zealand prime minister Geoffrey Palmer, has said it would not accept such a finding.

The Mavi Marmara was part of an activist flotilla bringing humanitarian aid to Gaza when it was boarded by Israeli marines on the Mediterranean high seas on May 31, 2010. The marines shot dead nine Turks, including a dual US citizen, during fierce deck brawls.

Netanyahu voiced regret over the killings. But Turkey insisted on a formal apology and compensation for those bereaved and injured, which Israel initially rejected as tantamount to admitting culpability for an action it deems self-defense.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday it would be impossible for Turkish-Israeli ties to improve unless Jerusalem apologized and paid compensation for the killing of nine Turks.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak, a centrist in Netanyahu's conservative coalition government, has since stirred debate inside the cabinet by proposing Israel offer a diluted apology in hope of restoring ties with what was once a rare Muslim ally of the Jewish state.

"We're firm on not apologizing," the official said.

Asked if Israel might change tack after the Palmer report's publication, the official said: "Why would we do that? We know the report supports our position."...

Kemalist secularism in its death throes. Nothing now stands between Erdogan and the Sharia state he wants to establish. "İstanbul court issues arrest warrant for propaganda website generals," from Today's Zaman, August 8 (thanks to Joshua):

An İstanbul court on Monday issued arrest warrants for 14 suspects, including seven senior generals, as part of an investigation into allegations that the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) had set up websites to disseminate anti-government propaganda.

An indictment in the case was accepted by the İstanbul 13th High Criminal Court late last month and the prosecutor requested an arrest warrant for the 14 suspects implicated in the case immediately after the indictment was accepted by the court.

The court on Monday accepted the request and ordered the arrest of the suspects, which include former 1st Army Commander retired Gen. Hasan Iğsız, Maj. Gen. Mustafa Bakıcı, the General Staff's legal counsel Maj. Gen. Hıfzı Çubuklu, Lt. Gen. Mehmet Eröz, Vice Adm. Mehmet Otuzbiroğlu and Lt. Gen. İsmail Hakkı Pekin. Aegean Army Corp Commander Gen. Nusret Taşdeler, who was recently appointed head of the Education and Doctrine Command (EDOK) in Ankara, is also among the suspects. A total of 22 suspects are implicated in the indictment.

The court also decided on a request by the prosecutor of the case, Cihan Kansız, to merge the case with another trial on an alleged coup d'état plot, which its creators dubbed the Action Plan to Fight Reactionaryism. The court ruled to merge the two cases.

The content of the websites indicates that they were used as part of the Action Plan to Fight Reactionaryism allegedly drafted by Çiçek. Çiçek's suspected plan of action details a military plan to destroy the image of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the faith-based Gülen movement in the eyes of the public, play down the Ergenekon investigation and gather support for members of the military arrested as part of the investigation into Ergenekon, a clandestine organization nested within the state and bureaucracy accused of plotting to overthrow the government. The plot is believed to have been prepared by Col. Dursun Çiçek, who is currently in prison on coup charges.

Col. Çiçek, whose signature appears both on an order concerning illegal military websites and on the action plan, said recently that he had been ordered by higher-ranking officers to create the anti-government websites....

A rapidly Islamizing Turkey is unlikely to respond with contrition and generosity. "House Panel Approves Resolution Calling on Turkey to Return Confiscated Christian Churches," by Tierney Smith for CNSNews.com, August 5 (thanks to Weasel Zippers):

(CNSNews.com) – The House Foreign Affairs Committee recently voted 43 to one in support of a resolution that calls upon the Republic of Turkey “to safeguard its Christian heritage and to return confiscated church properties” – a step the Turkish Embassy described as “deeply regrettable.”

The resolution (H.Res. 306), introduced by Reps. Edward Royce (R-Calif.) and Howard Berman (D-Calif.), cites the “Ottoman Empire’s oppression and intentional destruction of much of its ancient Christian populations, including over 2,000,000 Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, Pontians, and Syrics,” and adds that Turkey “has been responsible for the destruction and theft of much of the Christian heritage within its borders.”

The Ottoman Empire, from 1300 to 1922, was an Islamic-governed empire that covered much of southeastern Europe and parts of North Africa and the Middle East. In 1923, with the empire’s official dissolution, Turkey became one of its successor states.

According to the congressional resolution, which was passed on July 20, Turkey, “through official and unofficial acts of discrimination, intolerance, and intimidation, has hindered the remaining Christians on its territory from freely practicing their ancient faiths.”

The resolution urges the Turkish government to “end all forms of religious discrimination” and, among other related issues, “return to their rightful owners all Christian churches and other places of worship,” and “allow the rightful Christian church and lay owners of Christian church properties, without hindrance or restriction, to preserve, reconstruct, and repair, as they see fit, all Christian churches and other places of worship … within Turkey.”

According to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), a bipartisan federal commission that reviews violations of religious freedom, “The Turkish government continues to impose serious limitations on freedom of religion or belief, thereby threatening the continued vitality and survival of minority religious communities in Turkey."

The USCIRF also says, “Over the previous five decades, the [Turkish] state has, using convoluted regulations and undemocratic laws to confiscate hundreds of religious minority properties, primarily those belonging to the Greek Orthodox community, as well as Armenian Orthodox, Catholics, and Jews. … The state also has closed seminaries, denying these communities the right to train clergy.”

Aram Hamparian, director of the Armenian National Committee of America, told CNSNews.com that Turkey’s human rights violations “are far-reaching and widespread, having been extensively documented by the U.S. State Department, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and many others.”

He added, “The Turkish Government must sincerely accept responsibility for the genocidal crimes that led to the confiscation of these churches, and then work – in partnership with Christian churches, minority communities, and key stakeholders in the international community -- to restore their rightful ownership.”...

Don't hold your breath, Hamparian. Outrage is a much more likely response.

Koşaner was a hardline secularist. Traditionally the military has been the guardian of Kemalist secularism. But now several military officers have been arresting for plotting to overthrow the government. Erdogan has won, and Turkey is on its way to becoming an Islamic state. "Necdet Özel becomes acting Chief of General Staff after mass resignations," from Today's Zaman, July 29 (thanks to Joshua):

Former Gendarmerie General Commander Gen. Necdet Özel was appointed as Land Forces Commander and acting Chief of General Staff after Chief of General Staff Gen. Işık Koşaner and the commanders of the air, navy and land forces all resigned from their positions amid controversy over the appointment of generals.

Özel, who is the only commander who did not request retirement, came to the Prime Ministry to meet with Erdoğan late on Friday. Erdoğan met with Özel - the highest-ranking commander who remained in office. Özel was widely expected to become the next head of the military and Koşaner's resignation might speed up the process.

According to Turkish laws, 24 hours must pass for Özel to assume powers of Chief of General Staff.

“The Turkish Armed Forces will continue to do their duty in a spirit of unity,” the office of Prime Minister said in a statement issued after the military's top four commanders quit.

The statement also named Özel as acting Chief of the General Staff. It also said a key Supreme Military Council meeting to decide promotions would go ahead as planned on Monday.

Özel and Erdoğan later went to Çankaya Presidential Palace to have three-way talks with President Abdullah Gül.

By tradition, the head of the land forces replaces the armed forces chief when he retires.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan earlier ruled out any prospects of tension between the government and the military at a Supreme Military Council (YAŞ) meeting slated for Monday, saying that the decisions to be made at the meeting will be in accordance with the law.

The resignation of so many top commanders for the first time ever in Turkey signals a deep rift with the government, which has been confident in confronting a military that once held sway over Turkish political life. The arrests of high-ranking military officers would once have been unimaginable.

The resignations of Turkey's top generals came hours after a court charged 22 suspects, including several generals and officers, with carrying out an Internet campaign to undermine the government....

Koşaner, who took over as head of the armed forces in August 2010, is regarded as a hardline secularist, but he has kept a lower profile than previous chiefs of the general staff.

Alongside Koşaner, the land forces head Erdal Ceylanoğlu, air forces chief Hasan Aksay and navy commander Uğur Yiğit have also sought retirement....

The government denies the coup cases are politically motivated and says it is just trying to work to improve democracy.

Erdoğan's ruling party, which won a third term in elections on June 12 in a landslide victory, has said its key goal is to replace a military-era constitution with a more democratic one.

The Turkish military has staged three coups and forced an former prime minister to quit. Coup leaders drew on the support of Turks who saw them as saviors from chaos and corruption, but they were often ruthless.

In a 1960 takeover, the prime minister and key ministers were executed. In a 1980 coup, there were numerous cases of torture, disappearance and extrajudicial killing....

See the previous entry below for a detailed discussion of how chapter and verse help explain why the problem is so widespread in Turkey as well as Gaza. If only Turkey's current establishment were so fixated on women's rights in these areas as in securing their rights to wear the veil. "Marchers demand better protection for women in Turkey," by Jeremiah Bailey-Hoover for CNN, July 24:

Istanbul (CNN) -- Hundreds of people in Istanbul called on Sunday for the Turkish government to be more proactive about protecting women from domestic abuse.

People in the crowd carried mock coffins and wedding dresses as they marched down one of the busiest pedestrian thoroughfares in Istanbul. Protestors also carried signs bearing the names and faces of murdered women.

Demonstrators urged the Turkish government to be more accountable for violence against women.

"We struggle with the government's laws because the government is the first responsible for the women's murders, because they don't protect," said Funda Koc, a 28-year-old teacher and activist.

"We want the government to make strict laws" against harming women, she said.

The organizers of the protest, the Platform to End Women's Murders, say women are murdered every day in Turkey.

According to a 2009 report released by the Turkish government, 42% of women surveyed said they had been physically or sexually abused by their husband or partner.

Turkey has adopted several progressive laws to protect women in the past 15 years, including the 1998 Protection Order against Domestic Violence. Reform of Turkey's Civil Code in 2001 gave women equal legal status to men in the family.

A constitutional referendum last September allowed for affirmative action in favor of women. But critics say the Turkish state has lapsed far behind in implementing these laws.

"Gaps in the law and implementation failures by police, prosecutors, judges, and other officials make the protection system unpredictable at best, and at times downright dangerous," Human Rights Watch said in a recently released report titled, "He Loves You, He Beats You."

To review: the flotilla participants were armed, and filmed participating in the genocidal chant, "Khaybar, Khaybar, O Jews, the army of Muhammad will return." They were spoiling for a fight, and attacked the Israelis, beating them with poles and chairs. Nevertheless, Turkey's demands to enshrine the narrative of victim-hood as fact are an integral part of its proposal for normalized relations with Israel.

Islamic supremacists who are not in a position to demand material tribute have shown a pattern of seeking tribute in the form of demanding apologies. "Israeli ministers mull apology to Turkey over Gaza flotilla," from Haaretz, July 24 (thanks to Weasel Zippers):

A forum of the senior-most Israeli eight ministers will meet today in Jerusalem to decide whether to accept the draft of an agreement for ending the diplomatic crisis with Turkey.

As part of the proposed deal, Israel will apologize for operational failures that led to the deaths of nine Turkish citizens during the stopping of a Gaza-bound flotilla in May 2010.

Ministers Avigdor Lieberman and Moshe Ya'alon are opposed to the apology, while their colleagues Ehud Barak and Dan Meridor support it. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will risk a coalition crisis with Yisrael Beiteinu if he favors the apology.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated over the weekend his position that, in order for relations between Israel and Turkey to thaw, Israel will have to apologize, pay compensation to the families of the casualties and lift the siege on the Gaza Strip.

The Turkish leader hinted yesterday that if the efforts at reconciliation with Israel fail, he will visit the Gaza Strip from Egypt.

"Turkey is not interested in stirring tension by my visit to Gaza," he said, during a press conference with the Jordanian prime minister, Marouf Bakhit. "It will be wrong to ask for an apology and at the same time visit Gaza. There are those in the Israeli government who support an apology and there are those who are opposed. I will wait for their decision and then I will carry out plan B [to visit Gaza]."...

Turkey has decided that now is the time to play hardball over Cyprus; inclusion in the E.U. would mean having to deal with Cyprus as a fellow member state and complicate efforts to legitimize the Turkish land grab and occupation. And so Ankara is attempting to blackmail the E.U. by threatening to deprive the union of its presence. The only problem is, plenty of Europeans don't think that would really be such a bad thing.

"Turkey says EU ties will freeze if no Cyprus solution," by Tulay Karadeniz for Reuters, July 13:

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish relations with the European Union "will freeze" if Cyprus takes over the EU presidency in July 2012 without a solution to the divided island's future, Turkey's foreign minister said on Wednesday.

Ahmet Davutoglu made his comments as the European Union's enlargement chief said in a visit to Ankara that he wanted to see "a new momentum" in Turkey's membership process now that Turkish parliamentary elections were over.

Muslim Turkey started accession talks in 2005 but progress has been slow, largely because of a conflict with Cyprus over a breakaway state on the island recognized only by Turkey.

U.N.-sponsored peace talks between the two communities on Cyprus have stumbled since they were relaunched in 2008.

"If the Greek Cypriot side stalls negotiations and takes over the presidency of the European Union in July 2012, this means not only a deadlock on the island, but also a blockage, a freezing point in Turkey-European Union relations," Davutoglu told a news conference.

"Unfortunately there is one thing standing between me and that property: the rightful owners." - Hedy Headley Lamarr, Blazing Saddles

EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele, in an apparent response to Davutoglu, said all sides should remain focused on a long-term solution to the Cyprus dispute.

"This is not the moment to speculate on any other outcome than a comprehensive settlement," Fuele told reporters, adding that it was time for Turkey to focus on its relations with the EU and reforms needed before it can join.

Cyprus was divided by a Turkish invasion in 1974 that was triggered by a brief Greek-inspired coup. Its Greek Cypriots represent the island internationally and in the European Union, while Turkey is the only country to recognize the Turkish Cypriot state.

The Cyprus dispute is a major obstacle for Turkey's EU bid, in addition to opposition from EU heavyweights France and Germany.

Greek Cypriots say Turkey cannot join the bloc until the Cyprus conflict is resolved.

"We should take measures now to prevent this blockage," Davutoglu said, adding that such measures should be taken before the end of this year.

The EU says Ankara must meet a pledge to open up traffic from the Greek Cypriot part of the island under a deal known as the Ankara protocol. Turkey says the EU should end its blockade of the Turkish Cypriot enclave.

"We want to see a new momentum in Turkey's EU membership process now that the Turkish elections are over," Fuele told a news conference with Turkey's EU Minister Egemen Bagis....

This should be taken as an instructive preview of how Turkey would behave within the E.U.

Don't these guys know that all true Muslims abhor bin Laden and everything he stood for? "Turkish police detain 14 people in al-Qaida raids," from Reuters, July 13 (thanks to Twostellas):

ISTANBUL - Turkish police have detained 14 people in raids targeting the al-Qaida militant group across western Turkey after the discovery of explosives and weapons, the Interior Ministry said.

Police ceased 700 kg (1,500 lb) of ammonium nitrate, a key ingredient in improvised explosives, in a raid on a house in the province of Ankara, Milliyet newspaper said on Wednesday.

The detainees, linked to a group active in Afghanistan, were detained on Tuesday on suspicion of planning attacks on US installations in Turkey to avenge the killing of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden by US forces in Pakistan on May 2, the paper said....

Some time ago I had an interesting exchange with the self-described "liberal Muslim" Mustafa Akyol, after he declared his support for the jihad flotilla that Turkey sent against Israel. The Turkish columnist Burak Bekdil has characterized the "liberal" Akyol as a pro-Sharia, pro-Erdogan Islamic supremacist. But undoubtedly a sly one. Bekdil says that Akyol is working to further "Islamists' global ambition to play the modern day, Muslim Trojan Horse at the gates of western civilization."

Consistent with that, Akyol here says that an Islamic Turkey is coming and that Turkish secularism cannot be salvaged, but that Israelis shouldn't be concerned: as long as they stop defending themselves against the Gaza jihadists and jihad flotillas, all will be well.

It would be refreshing if the many, many Americans who were taken in a few years back by Akyol's "moderate" act would reconsider now. But I am not holding my breath.

"Which Turks hate Israel most," by Mustafa Akyol in Hürriyet Daily News, June 17 (thanks to Joshua):

[...] The Turkish picture about Israel, in other words, is not black-and-white. We are not divided between Israel-hating Islamics and Israel-loving seculars.

Erdoğan’s party, for that matter, is somewhere between the Saadet and the Gülen Movement, if we put these in a spectrum and closer to the latter rather than the former. Most Israelis, who really are not in a love affair with Erdoğan, might find that hard to believe, but they should recall that the AKP leader had pretty good relations with the Jewish State until the end of 2008, when “Operation Cast Lead” began killing hundreds of innocents in Gaza. Erdoğan and his team passionately care for their Muslim brethren in Palestine, just like many American Jews care for theirs in Israel. Besides, they can not just sleep over the killing of nine Turks in international waters by Israeli soldiers, which has become a matter of national pride. But they ultimately support a two-state solution, and can be quite helpful in building it.

So, here is a friendly advice to Israeli policy makers and their advisors: Stop dreaming about the days when Turkey will become hyper-secular again. Those days are gone and Turkey’s Muslim identity is here to stay. But it might not be as bad as you fear, especially if you try to build bridges and reconsider some of your hawkish and intimidating policies.

Shouldn't the Palestinian jihadists try to build bridges and reconsider some of their hawkish and intimidating policies? For some reason, Akyol doesn't get around to calling for that.

Turkish secularism, and its onetime reasonably cordial friendship with Israel, on the ropes. "Overwhelming victory of Erdogan’s party in the parliamentary elections in Turkey," by Sandeep for Pisqa, June 13 (thanks to Joshua):

The party emerged from the Islamist Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan won a landslide victory in Sunday’s parliamentary Turkey, ensuring a third consecutive term, after the counting of nearly all ballots.

After counting 99% of the votes, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of Prime Minister Erdogan, in power since 2002, won 50% of the vote, according to the TV.

This party will be able to form a government only because it has largely absolute majority of 550 seats in parliament with 326 deputies.

This party won 47% of the vote in 2007 parliamentary and won 341 seats in Parliament. In 2002, his score was 34%.

“Today once again democracy, national will have won,” shouted Mr. Erdogan, accompanied by his wife Emine, from the balcony of his party headquarters in Ankara to address a crowd of several Thousands of people waving the flags of the AKP.

Erdogan, a former Islamist activist, also said that with the victory of the AKP, “Gaza, Palestine and Jerusalem were also won,” showing once again his sympathy for the Muslim world, especially because PA. [...]

Erdogan didn't say "Jerusalem"; he said "Kudüs" -- that is, "al-Quds," the Islamic name for Jerusalem.

The head of AKP party accused the media of wanting to lay Islamization of Turkish society in secret, has also assured that it “was the guarantor of all different lifestyles and beliefs” in Turkey. [...]

Torn by unstable coalitions, the country has stabilized politically and economically, under the leadership of the AKP, which has also managed to confine to barracks the army, formerly a leading political player.

The army has historically been the guarantor of Turkish secularism.

But the prospect of joining the European Union is in limbo.

Let's hope so.