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Turkey and Prejudice

Reader comment on item: "U.S. and Turkey to Create Fund to Stem Extremism"

Submitted by Maurice Solovitz (United Kingdom), Sep 28, 2013 at 07:58

My Turkish friends were all educated people. They would buy books from Turkish book-stores and would comment to me about the preponderance of antisemitic and conspiratorial works prominently displayed. One work colleague (a secular Kurdish woman) admitted to buying some of these books – her justification was that "if you don't read them you cannot understand them". I can only agree with this attitude to a degree. I once purchased a scholarly analysis on the life and works of Arthur Gobineau. I felt guilt at even this foray into the intellectual undergrowth of human thought.

When I asked my Kurdish/Turkish friend if she would have been offended if I had admitted to buying a book that was essentially the equivalent of what was on display in Turkish shops but focusing on Islam, or Turkey and Islam – she became offended.

This was similar to the middle manager who informed me that "the Jews" never had it so good as they did under conditions of dhimmitude. I responded that he probably agreed then that black people should all be returned to slavery (for the same non-reason). Funny though, I felt by his non-response that this Western born and Western educated, extremely well off and Anglicized Muslim man would not have seen this return to slavery as an issue to exercise his conscience.

It is the unrestrained and unashamed addiction to racist and religiously bigoted literature that is the greatest threat to human survival. The more we fail to exercise restraint in our thinking the greater is the possibility that we will fall into 'evil'. It is a shame that this concept of 'evil' is, for most people on the left of the political divide, an emotional rather than an intellectual response. It allows them to justify atrocity after atrocity without shame.

Submitting....

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Reader comments (16) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
It's The Sneaky Leading The Blind [105 words]DaveSep 26, 2014 17:16218248
The consequences of opening some doors, and closing others. [124 words]David W. LincolnSep 26, 2014 13:00218246
No comment i guess [22 words]AlexandrosOct 2, 2013 05:39210176
2Obama's administration an embarrassment to ALL Americans [30 words]NuritGSep 29, 2013 04:57210124
1Orwellian [43 words]VijaySep 29, 2013 01:22210120
More wasted money [53 words]David W. LincolnSep 28, 2013 12:13210109
1Fox in the chicken coop [138 words]SoloviewSep 28, 2013 11:05210106
3Erdogan is a hypocrite who supports terrorism [47 words]dhimmi no moreSep 28, 2013 09:42210103
Quite agree.. [44 words]Nazim CairoSep 30, 2013 14:13210103
3The crimes of Turkey against humanity [276 words]dhimmi no moreOct 2, 2013 06:44210103
2Turkey and Prejudice [300 words]Maurice SolovitzSep 28, 2013 07:58210099
american genius [35 words]car313Sep 28, 2013 06:25210095
insanity [2 words]jeromeSep 28, 2013 02:24210091
1Lies, Lies, and more lies. [18 words]OldmanSep 28, 2013 00:50210090
"U.S. and Turkey to Create Fund to Stem Extremism" [25 words]steven LSep 27, 2013 23:31210089
"It's the economy, stupid" -- says Bill [132 words]Mark WerfelSep 27, 2013 22:23210088

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