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Turkish Daily News
Sept 6 2008
This is no Armenia, you giaour!
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Yusuf KANLI
A lawyer, in the heart of Ankara in the morning hours of the day,
tried to warn a dolmuÅ? driver to stop dangerous driving. The
dolmuÅ? driver stopped his taxi. Get off. With a knife in his
hand, engaged in a heated verbal fight with the lawyer. How dare the
lawyer advise him about good manners! He noticed that the lawyer was
smoking a cigarette. It was 10:30 in the morning. The holy month of
Ramadan, the month of fasting, started several days ago. `This is no
Armenia, you giaour!' shouted the dolmuÅ? driver as ` thank God
he managed to control his outburst to that extent ` he started to beat
the lawyer with the handle of the knife ¦ It was of course an
isolated and definitely an individual case that should not be
generalized to the entirety of the pious Muslim people of Turkey.
The lawyer, Erdal Güzel was shocked ¦ He just wanted to
warn the dolmuÅ? driver that he must stop changing lanes
dangerously and virtually violating all traffic rules as if he was the
lord of roads¦ But, after making a dangerous abrupt stop in front
of the lawyer's car -- so abrupt that the lawyer hardly managed not to
hit the back of the dolmuÅ? -- the dolmush driver got oit of his
taxi and seeing that the `other driver' who challenged his `reign on
the roads' was smoking a cigarette on a Ramadan day `in violation' of
the sunrise to sunset fasting practice of the practicing Muslims, he
shouted `This is no Armenia, you giaour!' and beat him up.
The lawyer could not understand what had happened. He was thinking
that he was living in a secular democracy where there were no
`religious police' beating up people disobeying rules of religion in
the streets with their sticks and where people could decide themselves
what to do and what not to do within the limits of civil laws. And, as
a lawyer, he of course believed that he was living in a country where
the use of the word `giaour', a degrading and insulting reference to
non-Muslims, was banned and classified as a serious offense back in
1856 with the Reform Degree.
Flurry of isolated cases:
What lawyer Güzel lived through was of course an individual
and isolated case¦ The municipal police beating up shop owner in
the Keçiören district of Ankara two weeks ago on grounds
that he did not close down his grocery shop -- where he was selling
alcoholic products as well -- as he was ordered to, at 23:00
hours. That grocery was one of the remaining few shops in that area
selling alcoholic products. The grocer, who because of the trauma he
was subjected to has since than has been suffering from a speech
disorder, must have, of course, taken into consideration that the
prime minister's house was several hundred meters away and the
municipal police would undertake everything possible to make the prime
minister happy¦ What happened to the grocer, was of course, not an
act of `peer pressure' but just an `isolated incident, which should
not be generalized¦'
In Istanbul, a group of boys in their 20s were sipping beer and
exchanging jokes on a summer night as they walk through one of the old
bridges of the city. Municipal police intervened `to save the honor
and pride of the neighborhood.'
The young boys did not give up ¦ They refused to stop as they
believed they had not committed any crime. Nearby shop owners and some
citizens who just happened to be around, tried to soothe the tension
between the boys and the municipal police. They were all beaten up,
while shops were devastated ¦ Of course, that was as well an
individual case, which should not be generalized.
A nice fish restaurant overlooking the Maiden Tower ¦ It is a
facility owned by municipality and which until recently was run by a
private company. Now, Istanbul municipality has taken it over, is
renovating it and soon will open it back into service as a `municipal
fish restaurant open to public.' But, are other restaurants not open
to public? Why there was need to say it would be a `municipal fish
restaurant open to public'? That was the catch phrase ¦ If it is
`open to public' that means at that facility alcohol will not be
served ¦ While the government is engaged in privatizing whatever
the state has, municipalities administered by the representatives of
political Islam are `nationalizing' restaurants and converting them
into places `open to public.' And, of course, there is nothing in
generalizing such practices ¦ Individual cases, that's all.
Anyhow, let's hope the trip of President Abdullah Gül to
`Giaour Armenia' today will serve something good; further than the two
presidents watching a soccer game together.
Sept 6 2008
This is no Armenia, you giaour!
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Yusuf KANLI
A lawyer, in the heart of Ankara in the morning hours of the day,
tried to warn a dolmuÅ? driver to stop dangerous driving. The
dolmuÅ? driver stopped his taxi. Get off. With a knife in his
hand, engaged in a heated verbal fight with the lawyer. How dare the
lawyer advise him about good manners! He noticed that the lawyer was
smoking a cigarette. It was 10:30 in the morning. The holy month of
Ramadan, the month of fasting, started several days ago. `This is no
Armenia, you giaour!' shouted the dolmuÅ? driver as ` thank God
he managed to control his outburst to that extent ` he started to beat
the lawyer with the handle of the knife ¦ It was of course an
isolated and definitely an individual case that should not be
generalized to the entirety of the pious Muslim people of Turkey.
The lawyer, Erdal Güzel was shocked ¦ He just wanted to
warn the dolmuÅ? driver that he must stop changing lanes
dangerously and virtually violating all traffic rules as if he was the
lord of roads¦ But, after making a dangerous abrupt stop in front
of the lawyer's car -- so abrupt that the lawyer hardly managed not to
hit the back of the dolmuÅ? -- the dolmush driver got oit of his
taxi and seeing that the `other driver' who challenged his `reign on
the roads' was smoking a cigarette on a Ramadan day `in violation' of
the sunrise to sunset fasting practice of the practicing Muslims, he
shouted `This is no Armenia, you giaour!' and beat him up.
The lawyer could not understand what had happened. He was thinking
that he was living in a secular democracy where there were no
`religious police' beating up people disobeying rules of religion in
the streets with their sticks and where people could decide themselves
what to do and what not to do within the limits of civil laws. And, as
a lawyer, he of course believed that he was living in a country where
the use of the word `giaour', a degrading and insulting reference to
non-Muslims, was banned and classified as a serious offense back in
1856 with the Reform Degree.
Flurry of isolated cases:
What lawyer Güzel lived through was of course an individual
and isolated case¦ The municipal police beating up shop owner in
the Keçiören district of Ankara two weeks ago on grounds
that he did not close down his grocery shop -- where he was selling
alcoholic products as well -- as he was ordered to, at 23:00
hours. That grocery was one of the remaining few shops in that area
selling alcoholic products. The grocer, who because of the trauma he
was subjected to has since than has been suffering from a speech
disorder, must have, of course, taken into consideration that the
prime minister's house was several hundred meters away and the
municipal police would undertake everything possible to make the prime
minister happy¦ What happened to the grocer, was of course, not an
act of `peer pressure' but just an `isolated incident, which should
not be generalized¦'
In Istanbul, a group of boys in their 20s were sipping beer and
exchanging jokes on a summer night as they walk through one of the old
bridges of the city. Municipal police intervened `to save the honor
and pride of the neighborhood.'
The young boys did not give up ¦ They refused to stop as they
believed they had not committed any crime. Nearby shop owners and some
citizens who just happened to be around, tried to soothe the tension
between the boys and the municipal police. They were all beaten up,
while shops were devastated ¦ Of course, that was as well an
individual case, which should not be generalized.
A nice fish restaurant overlooking the Maiden Tower ¦ It is a
facility owned by municipality and which until recently was run by a
private company. Now, Istanbul municipality has taken it over, is
renovating it and soon will open it back into service as a `municipal
fish restaurant open to public.' But, are other restaurants not open
to public? Why there was need to say it would be a `municipal fish
restaurant open to public'? That was the catch phrase ¦ If it is
`open to public' that means at that facility alcohol will not be
served ¦ While the government is engaged in privatizing whatever
the state has, municipalities administered by the representatives of
political Islam are `nationalizing' restaurants and converting them
into places `open to public.' And, of course, there is nothing in
generalizing such practices ¦ Individual cases, that's all.
Anyhow, let's hope the trip of President Abdullah Gül to
`Giaour Armenia' today will serve something good; further than the two
presidents watching a soccer game together.