Turkey: New Law Requires Islamic Prayer Rooms In All Shopping Malls, Movie Theaters, And Other Public Spaces

That useful model for new Arab regimes is at it again. At this rate, they’ll begin demanding Islamic prayer rooms for the few Churches remaining in Turkey …

By Robert Spencer – “And the self-described ‘liberal Muslim’ Mustafa Akyol is just fine with these new developments, which once again manifest Turkey’s discarding of secularism and gallop toward Sharia. Akyol praises ‘the rightful focus of Erdoğan and other conservatives on matters of religious freedom.’ (Apparently Akyol, like the mainstream media, would term pro-Sharia forces to be ‘conservative,’ while simultaneously labeling those who oppose Sharia as also ‘conservative.’)

Akyol has revealed his true colors before, notably when he declared his support for the jihad flotilla that Turkey sent against Israel. The Turkish columnist Burak Bekdil has characterized the ‘liberal’ Akyol as a pro-Sharia, pro-Erdogan Islamic supremacist. But undoubtedly a sly one. Bekdil says that Akyol is working to further ‘Islamists’ global ambition to play the modern day, Muslim Trojan Horse at the gates of western civilization.’

Consistent with that, Akyol here says that an Islamic Turkey is coming and that Turkish secularism cannot be salvaged, but that Israelis shouldn’t be concerned: as long as they stop defending themselves against the Gaza jihadists and jihad flotillas, all will be well.

It would be refreshing if the many, many Americans who were taken in a few years back by Akyol’s ‘moderate’ act would reconsider now. But I am not holding my breath.” Source – Jihad Watch.

Flashback: Turkey: From Churches to Mosques, See What Happens When a Secular State is Taken Over by Islamists – “A story in today’s International Herald Tribune (read here on the New York Times website) provides an interesting insight into exactly what happens when a secular state is taken over by Islamists. The piece concerned the Hagia Sophia of Iznik, an ancient church that brought 40,000 tourists to the town south of Istanbul much to the delight of the locals. Iznik was once known as Nicaea, and it was there the first Ecumenical Council of the Christian Church met at the Hagia Sophia in the year 325. But the Islamist government of Turkey has put a damper on the prosperity of those who profited from the museum by formally converting the building into a mosque.” Read more.

Flashback: Turkey, Key US Ally, Added to List of Worst Religious Freedom Offenders – “Yes, you’ve read that right. The country that has become ‘a useful model for new Arab regimes’ has now been added to the list of worst religious freedom offenders in the world. Alongside Egypt who now vows to one day kill all Jews, this is a nation that the Obama Administration is now actively arming, a nation that now makes verbal attacks against Israel ‘a central feature’ of its political discourse. Welcome to the ‘new’ face of ‘moderate Islam’ …” Read more.