If only it were pork and wine alone ...

Submitted by Ianus (Poland), Dec 26, 2012 at 14:54

Dr. Pipes wrote :

>Islamic practice, not Islamic law, is the goal, my interlocutors told me. Hand chopping, burqas, slavery, and jihad are not in the picture, and all the less so after the past decade's economic growth which empowered an Islamically-oriented middle class that rejects Saudi-style Islam.<

The Turks say marvelous things and if one believed them, one would have to wonder why any bad opinions pop up about Turkey at all?Everything is fine and if it isn't, it will be. Just trust the Turk!

But let's see at what the Turks are trying to persuade us to believe in. No Islamic law, no jihad, no hand chopping, no burqas, no slavery - just "Islamic practice". And what is it?

Most foreign jihadists caught and killed in Chechnia were Turks . Turkey was officially described in one report as "a record breaker for producing foreign mercenaries in Chechnia", many of them with excellent military training in the Kemalist Turkish army and much experience after fighting jihad in Bosnia and Kosovo. They had even an "Ottoman platoon" there. It is reported that 'Turkish jihadi websites have actually been posting the martyrdom epitaphs of Turkish fighters who died in the Chechen cihad. Much of the jihadist rhetoric found on these Islamist sites will be familiar to those who follow the martyrdom obituaries of foreign jihadis who have died fighting in Kashmir, Iraq, Afghanistan and other conflict zones.' The popularity of these websites is incontestable. The one I came across on YouTube without doing much search was viewed more than 107 000 times(!).

Further, do honor killings for which Turkey is so (in)famous belong to the innocent-sounding 'Islamic practice' ? Turkey by far leads the world in honor killings as every second murder in Turkey is an honor killing. One woman dies every day for the sake her Islamic family's "honor". One comes across harrowing cases of girls being buried alive or stoned in Turkey.

Turkey is also notorious for early and forced marriages as well as for domestic violence , including wife beating. And contrary to what Turks keep telling us this practice is not resticted to remote parts of Anatolia but thrives also among Turks living in Germany. Polygamy is widespread in Turkey too - contrary to the official tale. But it is again no Islamic law , is it ?

As to slavery and trafficking in human beings which a form of modern slavery an official US website said in 2008 :

"Turkey is a significant destination, and to a lesser extent, transit country for women and children trafficked primarily for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. This year, five men were reported trafficked from Turkmenistan for purposes of forced labor. Women and girls are trafficked from Moldova, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Bulgaria, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Romania for sexual exploitation. This year, three victims were reported trafficked to Turkey from outside of Eastern Europe and Eurasia—from Morocco, Tunisia, and Sri Lanka. Some victims are reportedly trafficked through Turkey to the area administered by Turkish Cypriots for the purpose of sexual exploitation."

Another report writes :

"On account of this unique geographical characteristic Turkey is both a transit and
destination country.Having illustrated relevant aspects to trafficking in human beings (THB) in Turkey it is necessary to assess the principal trends, which are sex trafficking (sexual exploitation), forced labour, body parts (organs) trafficking.

Turkey plays a very significant role for organ trafficking."Turkey is a major junction in the trafficking of illicit organs... The whole business would be unimaginable without the Turks"

If one looks at Islamic Ottoman history - sex slavery , forced labor, kidnapping children and other acts of barbarity and cruelty were very respectable Islamic practices in the good Ottoman days teh Turks are so eager to restore. Even the countries of origin of today's slaves and victims are the same as in the days of Mehmet II or Suleiman the Magnificent .

It seems therefore that there the interrelation between Islamic practice and Islamic law is as strange as it is close. The Kemalist state forbids you to live according to Islamic law , so you live according to Islamic practice. Then the state grows gradually "liberal" allowing you to do more and more of your favorite Islamic practice and you discover that it is identical with Islamic law. First, you wear no headscarf because heads are cut off for wearing it, then you discover you may wear a little headscarf, then a bigger one and finally there is just a little step to wearing a burqa. First you practise honor killings or force the infidel girl to commit suicide(it's safer and more Romantic), then you proceed to stone and bury alive her and one day hand chopping comes as a natural addition to your daily Islamic practice. First you have one wife then more. First you visit your local brothel which is not unlike the old Ottoman slave market, then you find out that giaours have not just women to abuse but also organs to make money on. First , you think Turkey is modern, moderate and liberal, then you discover that the difference between the Islamic Republic of Turkey and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan or Iran is not as fundamental as you officially assured your Western interlocutor.

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