Oh man! Here we go again.

Submitted by There is NO Santa Claus, Mar 1, 2017 at 00:15

Dear Dr. Pipes:

There is no such thing as "Radical Islam", "Islamism" etc. There is only Islam.

There are two kinds of Muslims:

1. Nationalists
2. Imperialists

Traditional Islam is best represented by Imperialists.

Modern Turkey used to be different. Having learned the hard lesson of Islamic Imperialism, Turkey turned toward Nationalism after WWI. All you are witnessing today is nothing more than a giant backward step toward Imperialism. That is what you are talking about when you cite "Turkish Mosques" etc.

Muslim countries morph between nationalism and imperialism. A shift toward nationalism seems to be evident in Saudi Arabia; once an imperialist country and the "number one financial sponsor of terrorism". Now, the biggest terrorists on the block are Imperialists who threaten the rule of the Saudi Royal Family. Suddenly, in order to survive, Saudi Arabia is struggling to define itself as a country. They are expressing frustration with Islamic Imperialists and even showing some new-found affection for a certain neighbor they are careful not to mention by name to often. But occasionally, they recognize "Israel" these days and nobody seems to notice that this is a massive change in Saudi policy. MEMRI shows us Arabic telecasts and transcripts demonstrating that this strange phenomenon is showing up in Saudi domestic media. Who woulda thought!!!

Turkey leans toward imperialism. Saudi Arabia leans toward nationalism. Yet both straddle the fence leaning one way today; another way tomorrow. We're used to the Saudis being like this. Turkey was supposed to be above this insanity. Turkey had enough of an identity crisis of its own without Imperialism rising from the dead.

At the end of the day, the only nation in the Middle East that knows who the heck they are is ISRAEL. Muslim nations that have a strong national identity are generally friendly with Israel; the way Turkey used to be. Muslim nations that embrace Islamic Imperialism (in whatever form) are hostile toward Israel.

Lastly, Muslim nations that embrace Islamic Imperialism (or dabble in it) show a strange change of heart toward Israel when Islamic Imperialists threaten the ruling class.

Erdogan's Islamic Imperialism will ultimately backfire when Islamic leaders challenge his rule and authority. You'll know when that happens when Erdogan seems to suddenly become friendly toward Israel. This will ultimately happen because the region continues being consumed by Muslims murdering Muslims for not being Muslim ENOUGH.

Of course you're not safe in Turkey. You're not Muslim. Even if you were, you wouldn't be Muslim ENOUGH.

Sincerely,

There is NO Santa Claus (aka TINSC)

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