Turkish opposition's anti-refugee stance threatens all of us

It is no secret that the opposition Good Party (IP), the Victory Party (ZP) and the Republican People’s Party (CHP) fueled xenophobia in Türkiye with reference to Syrian asylum-seekers and illegal migration ahead of the May 2023 elections. The opposition’s joint presidential candidate and CHP chair, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, built his campaign around anti-refugee sentiment – which effectively triggered the negative side effects of the cost of living. It seems highly likely that the CHP and the rest will resort to the same tactics for next year’s municipal elections.

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Turkish opposition's anti-refugee stance threatens all of us
Western attacks on Islam will backfire

Western attacks on Islam will backfire

Western countries, including politicians, business circles, academia and media, have been insistently and deliberately otherizing and alienating Islam and Muslims for the last three decades. Immediately after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the end of the Cold War and the elimination of the communist threat, influential Western circles began to consider Islam and Muslims the main threat to the Western-dominated world hegemony.

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Sweden made headlines in Türkiye again this week by permitting yet another Quran burning under police protection on the first day of Qurban Bayram, also known as Eid al-Adha. That heinous act took place near a mosque in Stockholm, as had another burning in January, and had absolutely nothing to do with freedom of expression. Quite the contrary, it was a hate crime targeting Muslims and an obvious act of provocation.

Lies on social media, racist accusations and destructive political allegations are what consist of the 3 radical discourses that have emerged right after the disaster

The recent Quran burning has shown that European governments are sensitive about crimes committed against one religion, but not against another

How Rasmus Paludan could burn the Holy Qur’an as the Swedish police simply watched.

Türkiye's place in NATO questioned amid provocations in Europe

It is no secret that some Western governments have been unhappy with Ankara's autonomous foreign policy in recent years, so some have questioned Türkiye's NATO membership and policies

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Türkiye's place in NATO questioned amid provocations in Europe
Sweden allows insulting Islam and Muslims

Sweden allows insulting Islam and Muslims

'It is unfortunate to see how European governments, directly or indirectly, pave the way for the ultranationalist and xenophobic circles to dominate European politics'

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President Erdoğan's agenda reflects a mixture of integration and repatriation of refugees in Turkey against the xenophobic discourse proposed and promoted by opposition voices

'The opposition has a democratic right to criticize the Turkish government’s refugee policy. That right, however, should be exercised without poisoning the country’s democratic culture'

Turkey, which assumed more responsibility than any other nation when it comes to asylum-seekers, is compelled to engage that question very actively.

This issue of Insight Turkey aims to present and to provide the verity to its readers through an extensive and rich framing that includes four commentaries and six research articles covering anti-Islam practices worldwide.

Historically, Western governments prefer liberal values and principles in their foreign relations only when they enjoy a competitive advantage. When the governments experience crises and find themselves in a disadvantaged position, hatred, alienization and otherization increases. This has been the case recently with the Western world knee-deep in political, social and economic crises.

A French high school teacher, Samuel Paty, was brutally murdered by a young, Russian-born Muslim of Chechen descent, Abdoullakh Abouyedovich Anzorov. This heinous terrorist attack caused outrage in French society. The murder of Paty was not the country's first such incident. France had also previously suffered Daesh violence and the 2015 Charlie Hebdo attack. Many leaders, including those from Muslim countries, demonstrated solidarity with France in the aftermath of those acts but Muslim communities and institutions were still put under surveillance and heavy pressure.

People trying to put labels on President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s strong reaction to French President Emmanuel Macron’s Islamophobic provocations make plenty of accusations – all part of a broader, ideologically charged campaign to distort the truth. Critics accuse Erdoğan of waging a "culture war" and contributing to the radicalization of Muslims by promoting an atmosphere of violence. Others question why the Turkish president seeks to write a new, anti-Western story.

French President Emmanuel Macron is in a dangerous tailspin. His government not only turned a blind eye to offensive depictions of Prophet Muhammad, an insult against Muslims’ sacred values but projected them on public buildings in the name of free speech.

The current European governments and politicians who face many political, social and economic problems try to use other states, peoples and civilizations as a tool for their own interests. They try to instrumentalize them for their own good, no matter how it might harm others.

It’s a joke when President Macron says ‘We are one’ while excluding Muslims, human rights activist tells Anadolu Agency

The Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA) is calling for a collection of scholarly or scientific chapters contributed by authors to compose a book on the “Institutional Racism and NSU Murders in Germany,” which will be edited by its editors who are experienced and highly-esteemed experts in the field of the proposed book.

The outrage over George Floyd’s death at the hands of a racist police officer, which triggered riots in 140 cities across the United States and forced President Donald Trump to threaten military action against protestors, highlighted the importance of "the streets." Attempts to reshape politics through street protests have repeatedly captured the world’s attention over the last three decades. The Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia, along with other anti-communist uprisings across Eastern Europe, was hailed as a new wave of democratization. Although that revolution resulted in Czechoslovakia’s partition, most observers celebrated its peaceful nature.

The events that have unfolded in the wake of the killing of George Floyd will surely take their place in the history books. The nature of the demonstrations and the violence will likely be pored over by academics for years.