Re: Democracy and values
It’s the opinion of the majority within the bounds of the law. The vast majority of Americans did not want the Islamic center near ground zero but it would have been against the law to deny Muslims this right, hence, there was nothing they could do. AKP in Turkey is undermining this vital protection of religion, whereas the vast majority of Muslims may or may not care about the rights of other religions, in which case it is up to the state to ensure that all rights are protected. By undermining secular law that right may disappear. That is what people are protesting.
Two wrongs don’t make a right. Pakistani seculars were saying that those were wrong *but, *Islam is a religion that is new to Europe and given the way it is being represented, in its most fundamentalist form, opposition is normal. Not right, but expected. All of this has nothing to do with Turkey and its government. You may believe that secularism is not right, but it has worked for Turkey, and it is their political system, and undermining it is a serious matter.
It is similar to how Bush undermined privacy in America. Most Americans voted him in because these subtle infractions are hard to grasp, but those privacy violations paved the way for what is going on in America right now. Similarly, these subtle violations, like banning the sale of alcohol, is the beginning of a slippery slope in restricting religious freedom.
Once again, just because Europeans display xenophobia does not mean that Turkey should become Islamic in retaliation.