A complaint by Adnan Oktar (also called Harun Yahya) led to the banning of another internet site yesterday (September 24). This time, the 2nd Civil Court of First Instance of Gebze in Istanbul banned the internet site of the Union of Education and Scientific Workers, Egitim-Sen, egitimsen.org.tr. [The Nigde branch website is still available, […]
Mustafa Akyol’s take on the recent “anti-Crusader” incident in Kayseri (click for full article):
The most tragic-comic news story of this week came from the central Anatolian town of Kayseri. A film crew was shooting a documentary about the medieval past of the town, and they decided to use the city’s ancient castle as a stage. […]
(click here for the full article, which also discusses Turkey’s only female Ramadan drummer). Excerpts:
…Each morning during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, an hour and a half before dawn, drummers tour the streets, hammering out a repetitive beat to wake people up to have their suhoor (pre-dawn meal) before dawn, when those who are […]
From a Spiegel article about Adnan Oktar aka Harun Yahya, the creationist cult leader in Turkey whose libel lawsuit recently led to the blocking of the world renowned scientist Richard Dawkins’ website in Turkey (click for entire article):
“In 20 years,” [Yahya] says in serious tone, “humanity will enter a golden age.” Yahya says that he […]
A storeowner in the secular Çankaya area of the capital was beaten by three people over the weekend for selling alcohol during the holy month of Ramadan. After purchasing bread, three people broke the nose of storeowner Müslüm Göksu for selling alcoholic drinks during Ramadan and tossed the alcohol bottles inside the shop, which was only […]
The Education Ministry’s announcement about changes to school uniforms has caused debate among secular segments of society, who have found the new “tie-free” uniforms to be “not modern.”… Istanbul’s provincial director of national education, Ata Özer, announced that students could wear t-shirts instead of shirts and they did not have to wear ties until the […]
An excerpt from the article “Without God” by Steven Weinberg, in The New York Review of Books. Weinberg was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics. (click here for full article)
…A third source of tension between science and religious belief has been more important in Islam than in Christianity. Around 1100, the Sufi philosopher Abu Hamid […]
Excerpt from an article on the rise of Turkish soap operas, not only in Turkey, but the entire region (click for full article):
Turkish soap operas have lately become so popular in Middle Eastern countries that in this upcoming season, 18 soap operas will be airing in 22 countries in the Middle East and North Africa, […]
Some results about Turkey from the new Pew Global Attitudes Survey (click here for survey):
There is a struggle between modernizers and fundamentalists. 2007: 52%, 2008: 68%
Opinions of Jews: Unfavorable 2004: 49%, 2008: 76% (most of the rise, from 65% to 76% occurred over the past two years). 2008 Favorable opinion of Jews 7%.These opinions are […]
Nineteen people, including … five lieutenants and [a] military student, were detained on Thursday in police operations… as part of an investigation into Ergenekon, a neo-nationalist gang believed to be the extension of a clandestine network of groups with members in the armed forces that planned to overthrow the government…
Land Forces Lt. Mehmet Ali […]