Whenever your GetReligionistas get together — face to face, as opposed to cyberspace — one of the things we bemoan is that our readers — that would be you guys — really don’t seem to respond much whenever we go out of our way to praises stories in the mainstream press.
You can add to that the fact that readers — that might be you — seem to much more interested in domestic issues than foreign issues (which is normal for American readers, alas).
Thus, if one of us wants to make sure that a post is totally ignored by readers — that might be you — then all one has to do is write a post praising a story about religion coverage in some other part of the world. Got that?
But I don’t care.
This Washington Post story by Ellen Knickmeyer ran back on A-14 and I didn’t see it until I was headed home on the train at the end of a long day. But the minute I saw it, I said to myself, “Duh! Now there is a great hook for a story!” I realize that I am really interested in stories about Turkey, after my second trip there last summer, but this is a really important story linked to modernity and Islamic faith.
It focuses, of course, on head scarves (yet again).
But the story has a strategic twist this time, a kind of “Wag the Dog” angle. The key question: Why did Turkish troops cross into Iraq the other day?
Did the Islamic-oriented government, some Turks ask, use the start of the largest offensive into northern Iraq in more than a decade to divert attention from its controversial decision to legalize head scarves in universities?
“There’s an obvious connection,” said retired Gen. Haldun Solmazturk, an administrator at Ahmet Yesevi University in Ankara, the capital.
In founding modern Turkey in the 1920s, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk encouraged Western attire and restricted religious dress in public as principles of the republic. Turkey’s military, which has long viewed itself as the enforcer of Ataturk’s secular vision, was angered by recent legislation aimed at lifting the long-standing head scarf ban at public colleges. But the religiously observant president, Abdullah Gul, signed the amendments into law late last Friday, the first full day of the military’s strike into northern Iraq.
At the time, “the attention of the Turkish public was firmly focused on the operation,” Solmazturk said. For the observant Muslims who lead Turkey’s government, “it was a very clear and very successful strategy.”
Does the story prove that this is what happened? I don’t know how it could do that, other than getting a BCC of a secret Turkish government email confessing all.
But there are suspicions in Turkey and they have, of course, shown up in the national media.
On the front pages and in opinion columns of Turkish newspapers this week, the two battles were linked.
A cartoon in the national daily Milliyet depicted Gul rallying ground troops rushing into northern Iraq. “Onward!” he shouts, thrusting an arm into the air. Another panel of the cartoon showed the president rallying legions of female Islamic activists in head scarves to storm Turkey’s universities. “Onward!” he shouts again.
Read it all.
It’s really hard for us, here in America, to understand just how emotional this issue is in Turkey. You risk a war in order to distract attention from head coverings? In Turkey, maybe.
By the way, for more info on the scarves offensive, check out this Reuters blog item with lots of links.
Feel free to leave a comment on this. I dare you.
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Comments (18) |
February 29, 2008, at 2:00 pm
The Reuters blog item is one I had suggested because it as well as the main story shows how something can be so symbolic and such a big deal to another culture and how big an issue this is from many perspectives. Just one:
February 29, 2008, at 2:04 pm
And, thus, semi-threatening the women who do not wear them?
Thus, the cycle begins. Will the army act? Again.
February 29, 2008, at 2:06 pm
This does sound like a wag the dog tail tale. Perhaps Turkish politicians have been watching too many western movies, or maybe they have been studying American politics.
February 29, 2008, at 2:41 pm
The scarf in the second photo is pretty. I like the bright colors.
February 29, 2008, at 3:10 pm
Keith:
Thanks! Any other opinions about the pretty scarves?
February 29, 2008, at 3:19 pm
If women will be permitted to wear scarves to university, will Christian and other clerics be permitted to wear clerical attire in public?
Don’t hold you breath….
February 29, 2008, at 5:35 pm
I wish I had more time to read and respond to your story, but I am far too busy reading stories that criticize the press here in America.
February 29, 2008, at 6:52 pm
JOE:
And your point?
February 29, 2008, at 7:44 pm
This whole issue should be seen in the context of this article about a “modern translation/application” of the Hadith that is being worked on in Turkey. Whither Islam? It will be interesting to see, and if the press will be able to understand the general direction.
February 29, 2008, at 8:13 pm
[…] Going To War - Over Head Scarves? Terry Mattingly at Get Religion points us to a story that’s been ignored - not by the press, but by us. Did you know that Turkish troupes crossed into Iraq this week? Well, I did, but by the same token, I didn’t have the slightest clue as to why they did. The answer, he thinks, is linked to another story that I vaguely remember - The Turkish government just recently lifted a ban on wearing head scarves. […]
February 29, 2008, at 11:40 pm
I think Joe and Keith were being snarky, Terry. I think it’s funny that you took the sarcasm so seriously.
I don’t know why this is so unbelievable (if one thinks it is.) Bill Clinton bombed an asprin factory in Sudan just to distract us from the Lewinsky scandal. Why not this?
It also may be a coincidence. The PKK surely didn’t wait until this issue was about to come up to increase their cross-border attacks inside Turkey, after all.
Has any reporting gone on about how this latest act in the Muslimisation of Turkey will affect its standing in the EU? (note the Euro spelling. See, I’m an internationalist, not just a couch-hugging Yank!)
March 1, 2008, at 7:49 am
Oh, I was joking back with Keith. Joe sounded serious.
Joe, and your point?
March 1, 2008, at 9:46 am
You know, head scarves can be quite stylish!
Watched Penelope with Christine Ricci. Now there was a lady who could have worn a burka!
Hmmm, ONLY in Turkey? Does William Jefferson Clinton, Monica Lewinsky, and the bombing of a Sudanese aspirin factory (or a poor farmer’s mule) ring a bell?
Has anyone ever done a historical treatment of Turkey? I’m guessing the formation of a secular state may not have been all to smooth. Or was Ataturk one who used despotic means to force a democratic system?
March 1, 2008, at 12:13 pm
[…] The headscarf issue and this hadith story have put a spotlight on Turkey and that’s a good thing, even if there are misunderstandings. Islam has many faces — just look at these recent Reuters stories and blog posts from Malaysia, Lebanon, India, United States and France — and the Saudi version is not the only one around. Turkey is at the cutting edge of some important trends in contemporary Islam. Bookmarking Akyol’s blog The White Path is a good way to keep up with what’s happening there. […]
March 1, 2008, at 5:19 pm
I don’t comment on this blog much ever, but I *really* don’t comment on the non-US stories, not because they aren’t good, but because it’s not my area of knowledge. I don’t have anything useful to add, usually.
However, Kevin should be careful about his accusations. For one thing, clerical collar wearing isn’t a symbol of piety, it’s a marker of status. Taking off your collar isn’t a compromise, it’s a choice. For another, how do you know those things are disallowed now?
March 2, 2008, at 7:15 am
[…] Re: Turkey in radical revision of Islamic texts - 1 Minute Ago Listening to Turks explain Turkey’s Islamic reform plan March 1st, 2008, filed by Tom Heneghan Still confused about Turkey’s plan to review the sayings of the Prophet Mohammad and reclassify the sexist and superstitious ones as unauthentic? Unsure whether this is a revolution, a reform or a revision of Islam? I gave my take on it here yesterday, but I’ve since found two explanations that shed a lot more light on what’s going on. The better of the two is a column in today’s Turkish Daily News by Mustafa Akyol, a young Istanbul journalist with a knack for explaining Turkish Islam clearly. I won’t summarise it — just go read it, it’s not long. IslamOnline did a good job on this, too, in an interview that gave Mehmet Görmez, deputy head of Diyanet (the government’s religious affairs department shown in the logo above) more space than he got in other reports to explain what’s being done. Akyol and Görmez both make an important point. Many Western journalists approach Islam from a starting point vaguely based on Christianity (hence the misguided quest for an “Islamic Reformation”). They don’t have to be Christians or believers or even know much about Christianity to do this; it’s as much a part of our cultural baggage as our native languages. Conversely, Muslims approach Christianity from a square one closely linked to Islam, their primary religious reference. Nobody starts out tabula rasa in this exercise. The gap can be bridged, but to do this we have to report what is actually happening, rather than just what we think is going on. Listening to these two Turks is a good place to start. Akyol says of the Koran: “Westerners who haven’t read this book generally assume that it must be something like the New Testament – i.e., a book which reports the life and works of the religion’s founder. Yet that is not the case at all. The Koran actually hardly speaks about Prophet Mohammed. It rather speaks to him.” Görmez says: “The Western media have read what we are doing from a Christian perspective and understood it in line with their Christian and Western cultures.” Diyanet made the same point in more official jargon in a communique it put out on Friday. The headscarf issue and this hadith story have put a spotlight on Turkey and that’s a good thing, even if there are misunderstandings. Islam has many faces — just look at these recent Reuters stories and blog posts from Malaysia, Lebanon, India, United States and France — and the Saudi version is not the only one around. Turkey is at the cutting edge of some important trends in contemporary Islam. Bookmarking Akyol’s blog The White Path is a good way to keep up with what’s happening there. Source […]
March 3, 2008, at 11:46 am
In my experience as a journalist, the lack of comments on positive stories parallels the lack of comments on stories that readers like. How rarely do journalists get notes or phone calls saying “good job”?
March 3, 2008, at 1:13 pm
FWIW Two comments on good journalism:
1) I checked out The Turkish Daily News reporter named Mustafa Akyol, “a young Istanbul journalist with a knack for explaining Turkish Islam clearly” mentioned above at #14 and #16. He is truly outstanding. His articles are collected at a blog The White Path where you can check out what he has to report about various happenings and issues in Turkey. I learned a lot. Here’s his article on the 84 Islamic scholars who are re-evaluating the Hadiths with a great explanation of the background history.
http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=97795
2) I sent the recent GR positive review of an article in the Memphis Commercial Appeal to my brother who is also a reporter at the paper. He intended to call it to the attention of the writer. My bro says reporters are rarely complimented on their stories and he’s sure the guy will appreciate knowing some peers thought he did good.