Turkey Actively Confronts Islamophobia, Academic Says
28 May 2019Islamophobia Reports
A U.S.-based academic has praised Turkey for its role in combating
Islamophobia.
"Turkey has actually taken a very active role in confronting Islamophobia. I
also think the way it's being done is very impressive," said Anne Norton,
Professor of Political Science and Comparative Literature at the University of
Pennsylvania, speaking exclusively to Anadolu Agency.
"I also think that because Turkey has such a rich heritage between East and
West."
Norton was speaking on the sidelines of the 2nd International Conference on
Islamophobia at Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University which runs for three days.
Last month, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held an emergency
meeting in Istanbul at the request of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan,
the term president of the block, to combat anti-Muslim hatred in the wake of
the March 15 terrorist attacks on two mosques in New Zealand.
At least 50 Muslim worshippers were massacred and as many injured when a man
opened fire during Friday prayers at the Al Noor and Linwood mosques in
Christchurch.
Norton said people have become more "accepting" across the world, despite some
"horrible incidents."
"For example, in German groceries, it is very easy to find Turkish foods. In
the U.S., most of the meat now is halal. It's just for everyone, because why
not?
"Little things like this show that people are becoming more accepting, even
though we have to confront these horrible incidents like Christchurch, which
is really devastating," she said.
Norton said New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's response to the
attacks was "fabulous."
"For example, the fact that she covered her hair I thought indicated that
'this is one country, and I am your fellow citizen, and I am your prime
minister.'
"I think she was not just saying but also demonstrating that 'Islam is a part
of New Zealand, and we are a country together, and Islam has a place here'."
Just after the attacks, hundreds of people gathered in front of the mosques to
pay tribute to the victims as Ardern called for unity and solidarity with the
Muslim community.
Less than a month after the massacre, New Zealand's Parliament overwhelmingly
passed a bill restricting the use of semiautomatic weapons.
Mentioning a rise in authoritarianism in Europe and the U.S., Norton said, "In
general, democracy is much better for Islam. I think Islam is itself a more
open and democratic religion."
"I think democracy is very good at accepting people, but authoritarian leaders
are not. They are always dangerous, but they are particularly dangerous for
minorities."
Turkish mosque in US suffers serious damage after anti-Muslim arson attack in
Ramadan
The Muslim world was shaken by yet another anti-Muslim attack that took place
during the holy month of Ramadan and this time a Turkish mosque in the U.S.
state of Connecticut was the target.
In a statement, the Religious Services Attache of the Turkish Consulate
General in New York said an investigation is underway into the fire at Diyanet
Mosque in the city of New Haven and efforts are continuing to catch the
perpetrators.
The fire occurred around 4 p.m. Sunday, the seventh day of Ramadan, a holy
month during which Muslims fast and pray. Fasting is one of the five pillars
of the religion of Islam.
A reward of up to $2,500 has been offered for any information that leads to
the arrest or conviction of the perpetrators, according to officials.
The statement said the fire started at the mosque's entrance and reached the
third floor through the exterior side of the building.
"There was no loss of life or injury in the fire, but it is determined that
the mosque has suffered large-scale damage. Tons of water used to put out the
fire [also] caused damage to the building's unburnt part," it said.
The incident saddened the Turkish community in the United States, primarily in
New Haven, the statement added.
Ankara: Perpetrators of attack should be sentenced swiftly
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu called the arson "heinous" and said
the perpetrators should be identified and "sentenced swiftly."
"Arson in Diyanet Mosque in #NewHaven during Ramadan is another example of
increasing #Islamophobia in the world. No loss of life is our only
consolation," said Çavuşoğlu.
The minister also called for a united stance against Islamophobia and racism.
Presidential advisor Ibrahim Kalın also said Tuesday that the attack was the
latest manifestation of "growing Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred."
"The discriminatory and racist climate that feeds it is a major threat to
global peace and likely to lead to new attacks. Serious action is needed now,"
Kalın said on Twitter.
Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) spokesman Ömer Çelik
also reacted to the attack in a tweet Tuesday saying hate does not have
borders.
Çelik said the ideology of hatred is currently targeting mosques but will
gradually spread to all sanctuaries.
"Those who treat Islam as an enemy poison all values of humanity," he
stressed.
This anti-Muslim act in the country is not the first one as Muslims in the
U.S. were the target of nearly 19 percent of religiously motivated hate
crimes, according to FBI data released in 2018.
A criminal investigation is underway, and officials believe the fire was
intentionally set. Besides local police, the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) are also involved.
Growing anti-Muslim sentiment a serious threat in Western societies
The mosque attack in Connecticut has become the latest example of growing
numbers of anti-Muslim attacks in the Western countries.
Anti-Muslim hatred has been on the rise for years. Far-right extremism and
xenophobia have fueled anti-Muslim hatred in Western countries, where terror
attacks by Daesh and al-Qaida are used as an excuse to legitimize those views.
Although, the enmity toward Muslims is not a new phenomenon, it became more
intensified after 2001 when airplanes crashed into the twin towers in New York
City. Since then, for almost two decades, Islam has been unjustly tarnished
with labels that have negative connotations, and portrayed as a religion of
hate, violence, anti-Western sentiment and women's oppression. This trend of
intolerance has triggered deadly attacks against Muslims and immigrants since
then.
On March 15, 50 people were killed and about as many wounded when a terrorist
opened fire on worshipers during Friday prayers at the Al Noor and Linwood
mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand's third-largest city.
The massacre was livestreamed on social media and was accompanied by the
release of a racist, anti-Muslim manifesto that also attacked Turkey.
Anders Breivik, the Norwegian far-right political terrorist who killed eight
people with a van bomb in Oslo before shooting dead 69 participants of a
Labour Party Youth League summer camp on Utoya Island in 2011, became an
inspiration for many future attacks including the New Zealand terrorist
attacks since then. During the following terrorist attacks, hundreds of people
lost their lives in Western countries.
In Sweden, a masked swordsman killed two and wounded another at the Kronan
School in Trollhattan, on Oct. 22, 2015. The perpetrator chose the school as
his target due to its high immigrant population. It was the deadliest attack
on a school in Swedish history. A teacher who was stabbed during the incident
succumbed to his wounds on Dec. 3, 2015, raising the death toll to three.
On July 22, 2016, 10 people, including the perpetrator, were killed and 36
others injured during a mass shooting in the vicinity of the Olympia shopping
mall in the Moosach district of Munich, Germany. The perpetrator expressed his
admiration for Germany's right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, and
that he was "very nationalistic," repeatedly uttering anti-Turkish abuse.
In Switzerland, a man yelling "get out of our country," opened fire on people
at an Islamic center in Central Zürich on Dec. 19, 2016. The Islamic Central
Council of Switzerland issued a statement suggesting it should serve as an
"alarm" regarding the threat posed by increasing Islamophobia in Swiss
society.
On Jan. 29, 2017, a mass shooter killed six people and injured 19 at the
Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City, Canada. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
and Premier Philippe Couillard called the shooting a terrorist attack, but the
perpetrator was not charged with terrorism. The incident was classified as a
hate crime and an anti-Muslim attack.
A man fatally stabbed two people and injured a third on a MAX Light Rail train
in Portland in the United States on May 26, 2017. He was confronted for
reportedly "yelling a gamut of anti-Muslim and anti-everything slurs." The
Portland Police Bureau's report said the man was shouting "hate speech toward
a variety of ethnicities and religions," and directed his inflammatory remarks
at two young Muslim women, one of whom was wearing a hijab.
In the U.K., a man drove into a crowd of Muslim worshipers leaving a mosque in
London after prayer on June 19, 2017. The incident, in which a person was
killed and 11 others were injured, was deemed terrorism. Several civil rights
groups and politicians claimed the perpetrator was motivated by anti-Muslim
ideologies.
Donation campaign launched for restoration of mosque
It was also reported that a donation campaign was launched for the Diyanet
Mosque.
As the Diyanet Center of America (DCA) announced on its website, a charity
campaign for the restoration of the attacked mosque has been launched under
the name "Support the New Haven Mosque."
The DCA is the operating name of the Turkish American Community Center (TACC),
a nonprofit organization located in Lanham, Maryland. The community center was
established in 1993 by a group of Turkish-Americans to provide religious,
social and educational services to Turkish immigrants and Muslims living in
the United States. As an umbrella organization, the DCA has 22 local chapters
with affiliations across the U.S. and works in full coordination with the
Religious Affairs of the Republic of Turkey.
Fatih Kanca, chairman of the DCA, called on everyone who has a conscience to
support the restoration of the Diyanet Mosque.
While the damage to the mosque totaled more than $500,000, the priority is to
collect $100,000 during the first phase of the donation campaign until the
official investigation is completed.
Commenting on the attack, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont described the attack on
the religious institution as "disgusting" and "appalling."
"There is no place for it in our state or our nation. We will work w/ our
local counterparts in #NewHaven to assist in the investigation and ensure
those responsible are held accountable," he said on Twitter.
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