Well, Erdogan does it again. I had the strongest feeling he would do this, and just prayed he wouldn't.
This entire shift towards Islam and Arabs, and disfavoring countries that don't follow fit those parameters is very disturbing to me. The lift on headscarf bans, religion courses in the military, more and more and MORE mosques being built EVERYWHERE, and who knows what else? Yes, we are an Islamic country, but before that we are a SECULAR country. There should not be an inkling of religion within the government or other public programs. Until our GDP per capita, literacy rates, and mean educational levels reach a certain level I absolutely believe people need to be told and made to stay away from letting religion rule their lives, not encouraged. Now don't go twisting my words: Its is perfectly fine to live your life by the religious code if you choose to do so, but not at the expense of logic, science, and facts of what it takes to be a developed, prosperous nation. When education and wealth is (relatively) low, people will be easier to fool/influence into following a path that leads to ignorance and intolerance (As we see in so many Islamic nations) as a means of salvation. Once again, please do not twist my words. I am not saying ALL the people in countries like Iran, Syria or Iraq are simpletons incapable of thought outside of religion - but the amount of violence, intolerance, and stubbornness speak for themselves. For example, we would rather fight and bicker over this Shia vs Sunni nonsense at the expense of ALL Muslims, and the nations, simply because thats the religion we believe in.
Of course, in Turkiyes case, trade and good relations with Arab nations is a good thing. I very much like and respect Arabs/Persians and their cultures and it makes me happy to see my country building those ties. But why is Erdogan so in favor of one side and so against the other? Is he not the one that constantly criticizes the US for "blindly favoring Israel and not looking at facts"? Yes, Israelis killed nine Turks, and I was upset about it too - **** happens. We set our conditions, and Israel met them (aside from the, in my opinion, unreasonable demand of lifting the blockade). I'm sure Obama had a role in pushing Israel to apologizing, but what gives our nation the right to now go and belittle theirs over this apology? Why does Erdogan not contribute positively to this event? If his sole goal is to bring about the best in Turkey, the answer is not to trade one ally for the other and that is exactly what he is doing.
Furthermore, we cannot ignore the fact that Israel has significant lobbying power over US politics. We cannot deny the fact that we need the US. I am proud of our nation, and despite our heroic victories in the past, I don't see us lasting too long in between Russia, the unstable ME, and ever hostile Greece without US and NATO support/deterrence. Why play with fire and bare teeth at the hand that feeds you? Yes, a firm stance against Israel is good - we shouldn't be pushovers. We should NOT keep trying to light and stoke a fire where there isn't one, or a need for one. This is politics, and we need to be open minded and play BOTH sides for the benefit of Turkey and its people - not for the sake of Islam or that idiot Erdogans tantrums.
Friendship with Israel with a firm/independent stance, as well as a warm friendship with ME nations (with an equally fair, firm stance on any wrongs they do to Israel - its a two way street, neither side is innocent) is what I would love to see Erdogan do. Not this childish, blatant Islamist approach he has been adopting as of late. I see him taking the honor and principles that our grandfathers died for, and pissing all over it with his personal preferences while repeating the same mistakes that other troubled ME nations are facing now.
I think while hes busy trying to track down previous coupe plotters, the military should carry a coupe out and get him out of office! Hes done the nation well, but I think he has outlived his usefulness. He is now taking Turkeys success and using it for nonsense and down a potentially harmful path.
Edited for grammar.
