Just in the last week Turkish President Erdogan got upset by the Pope (correctly) describing the mass killings of Armenians by Turks as "genocide".
Then, in a talk in Istanbul on 12 April, he claimed (as have Obama, Cameron, Kerry and various other Islamopologists), that ISIS has nothing to do with Islam, that it is causing "devastation" to Islam, that it is the "greatest enemy of Islam".
No analysis by Erdogan of what it is, within the doctrines of Islam, that is driving the likes of ISIS, the sort of honest analysis, for example, of Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
No, none of that. Just some thoroughly duplicitous statements.
Take this, for example:
Moreover, the growth of Islam in the years after Muhammad was all "by the sword". That's official Islamic history. So Erdogan's claim is simply false.
And this:
Erdogan is certainly not ignorant of these issues.
He is, quite simply, a liar.
To be fair to the man, he has said: "There is no such thing as moderate or immoderate Islam. Islam's Islam and that's it.".
Which is pretty revealing and uncomfortable for those who insist on dividing Islam into the "tiny minority" of extremists, who have 'hijacked", or "misunderstood" Islam, and the rest of Muslims who hew to the "Religion of Peace".
And recall that Erdogan has quoted approvingly a poem, that says:
Then, in a talk in Istanbul on 12 April, he claimed (as have Obama, Cameron, Kerry and various other Islamopologists), that ISIS has nothing to do with Islam, that it is causing "devastation" to Islam, that it is the "greatest enemy of Islam".
No analysis by Erdogan of what it is, within the doctrines of Islam, that is driving the likes of ISIS, the sort of honest analysis, for example, of Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
No, none of that. Just some thoroughly duplicitous statements.
Take this, for example:
He [Erdogan] explained that neither the Prophet Muhammad nor Muslims had ever used force and this was evident by the fact that no society had been forcibly converted to Islam.In the official biography of Islam, the Sirah (link at left) written by Ibn Ishaq and accepted as canonical by all Muslims, Muhammad is recorded as having personally taken part in 27 battles, and having personally taken part in the beheading of hundreds of Jews.
Moreover, the growth of Islam in the years after Muhammad was all "by the sword". That's official Islamic history. So Erdogan's claim is simply false.
And this:
"We do not have a Sunni or Shia religion. We only have a single religion and that is Islam" the Turkish president noted, saying that not acknowledging this fact will result in more pain and suffering.Well, the mind boggles. That's just utter nonsense. If a non-Muslim were to make that statement they would be judged ignorant.
Erdogan is certainly not ignorant of these issues.
He is, quite simply, a liar.
To be fair to the man, he has said: "There is no such thing as moderate or immoderate Islam. Islam's Islam and that's it.".
Which is pretty revealing and uncomfortable for those who insist on dividing Islam into the "tiny minority" of extremists, who have 'hijacked", or "misunderstood" Islam, and the rest of Muslims who hew to the "Religion of Peace".
And recall that Erdogan has quoted approvingly a poem, that says:
The mosques are our barracks,
The domes our helmets,
the minarets our bayonets
and the faithful our soldiers..
Hardly a recipe to live peaceably in this world....The domes our helmets,
the minarets our bayonets
and the faithful our soldiers..
