Anatolian Youth Stabs Santa
In recent years, Santa has made an appearance in Turkey along with a decorated tree as part of New Year’s Eve celebrations, especially in the chic urban areas (click here). Santa, as many know, is based on Saint Nicholas, a bishop who lived in 4th century Demre, what is now southern Turkey. So Santa is regularly claimed as Turkish in tourism ads. But the use of what many see as Western imagery disturbs many pious Turks. I know from my discussions with working-class Turks in Umraniye that they associate the decorated tree at New Year’s with “sosyete”, that is, wealthy Turkish people who they believe live dissolute lifestyles, drinking and carousing. So it’s safe to say that there’s a social class issue, a regional issue, as well as a religious context. And this being Turkey, surely a political context as well. Add the anti-missionary and anti-Christian (in fact, anti-anyone who is different — see the polls under my ‘State of the Nation’ category) sentiment that clouds Turkish society, and several killings of Christians, and it was only a matter of time before someone stabbed Santa.
Standing beside an inflatable life-size Santa, members of the Anatolian Youth Association held a press conference in front of Istanbul University. The association is nationalist, according to their website, with a conservative religious bent. The youths were demonstrating against the celebration of New Year’s using Western symbols like Santa, which they protested was against their beliefs. These Western beliefs are at base pagan beliefs, the spokesperson, a university student, claimed. He quoted the Prophet Muhammed as saying that Muslims shouldn’t try to be like others, especially Christians and Jews, and that those who do “aren’t one of us”. Muslims must resist this corrupting and seducing Western cultural imperialism that tries to distance Muslims from their true values and estrange us from ourselves. Then one of the demonstrators read a verse from the Quran in Turkish, sprayed Santa in the face with black shoe polish and stabbed him. (click here, in Turkish)
Photo from Radikal
The verse of the Quran the protestor recited was Al-Anam Sura, verse 162: “Say (O Muhammad): Verily, my Salat (prayer), my sacrifice, my living, and my dying are for Allah, the Lord of the ‘Alamin (mankind, jinns and all that exists).” The Lord, presumably, also of Santas.
What better way to “resist” the other than to smear his face in black and stab him in the heart? That’s the spirit!
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The Anatolian Youth Association…another NGO that ought to go back under the rock whence it emerged. Apparently the “Anadolu Gençlik Derneği” is a continuation of the “Milli Türk Talebe Birliği”, followed by the “Akıncılar”, then finally the “Milli Gençlik Vakfı” …
Add the anti-missionary and anti-Christian (in fact, anti-anyone who is different — see the polls under my ‘State of the Nation’ category) sentiment that clouds Turkish society, and several killings of Christians, and it was only a matter of time before someone stabbed Santa.
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For shame. It isn’t a fact at all that people here are “anti-anyone who is different.” There needs to be additional stuff like the difference being threatening in some sense at least and perhaps more. I don’t understand why it is so hard to minimally qualify one’s assertions to avoid making broad and false generalizations. As far as presenting facts go, what you are doing is not much different than what that Austrian guy did in his speech — except of course you mean well. There’s probably something to be said[1] how we (myself included, no doubt) seem to lack the tools, habits and whatever else necessary to develop — much less convey — a firm sense of truth and reality about social phenomena as of the end of the first decade of the third millennium. Maybe it isn’t surprising, then, that people needed to be told that he’s a neo-Nazi to discount what he says.
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[1] Of course, I won’t be the one to say it. I simply don’t know and I have much reason to be suspicious of people who claim they do.
Bulent, check out the following, many of which polls and publications I discussed on this blog under ‘State of the Nation’. The list of people most Turks wouldn’t like to have as a neighbor includes foreigners (of any kind), atheists, and gays. The list of foreigners and other countries disliked by Turks is off the international scale. Turkey is very unusual in intensely disliking almost anyone who isn’t Turkish.
Çarkoğlu, Ali, and Ersin Kalaycioğlu. 2010. Social Inequality in Turkey, 2009. International Social Survey Program.
Çarkoğlu, Ali, and B. Toprak. 2007. Religion, Society and Politics In A Changing Turkey. Istanbul: Türkiye Ekonomik ve Sosyal Etüdler Vakfı.
Eğitim Bir-Sen. 2010. Türkiye’de Ortak Kimlik Olarak Ötekilik. Ankara (August).
German Marshall Fund. 2010. Transatlantic Trends Survey. http://www.gmfus.org/trends/2010/about.html
Pew Research Center. 2008. “Global Attitudes Survey”.
Toprak, Binnaz. 2009. Türkiye’de Farklı Olmak. Istanbul: Metis Yayınları. (2008. “Being Different in Turkey — Alienation on the Axis of Religion and Conservatism.” Istanbul: Open Society Institute and Bosphorus University.)
Yılmaz, Hakan. 2010. “Biz”lik, “Öteki”lik ve Ayrımcılık: Kamuoyundaki Algılar ve Eğilimler. Istanbul: Open Society Institute and Boğazici University, May.
Jenny, I have read whatever is publicly accessible — and if i may say so probably sooner than you have since I recall giving you some of the links myself. I note that you have moved the goalposts and now claim “Turkey is very unusual in intensely disliking almost anyone who isn’t Turkish” which — even if it is true[1] — is different than “anyone who’s different.” Note how I am not denying there are problems here, but rather pointing out that overly broad generalizations do not help anything. As far as:
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The list of people most Turks wouldn’t like to have as a neighbor includes foreigners (of any kind), atheists, and gays.
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I recall asking people whether that survey checked that folks who said such things actually had contact with any of those they deemed undesirable. Do you know? I don’t, and after my experience with pundits and visible social scientists, I wouldn’t necessarily trust people who say they do. It is obviously very hard for people in your field to do the kind of work people in hard sciences are used to seeing. Don’t take this personally, it is probably just the character of the field.
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So I stand by what I have said, to which you have provided no response. It is/was amazing to me that the neo-Nazi guy’s ‘facts’ were taken at face value and his ‘voice’, demeanor, past etc. had to be brought in to peg him as dangerous. This is so because, it appears, somehow everybody knows how everything ranging from minority murders to garden variety intolerance works here. That is what I am objecting to. We can only try to dig deeper into things that we know we don’t know or don’t understand, creating this illusion of knowing and understanding stops any effort right at the start for many people.
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[1] I recall talking about that here and digging up data to disprove something you or others asserted. Perhaps this: http://kamilpasha.com/?p=2361#comment-5209
What a bunch of muppets- don’t they have anything more important to protest about? eg lack of human rights, police violence, right to freedom of speech, religious brainwashing kids starting in primary schools…
And I suppose the reading from the Koran thing before the stabbing really has nothing to do with religion. N’est-ce pas?
Maria, you’re missing the point that these repulsive muppets wouldn’t have complaints in those areas!
Long Live Capitalism!
Jenny and others please do not worry at all:) They are just anti-Capitalist minority in Turkey. we defeated them thanks to February 28th Postmodern Coup:) If you want to see how Westernized and Modernized we are, I invite you all (especially foreign girls) to Taksim Square on December 31 night. Our modernized youth, as always, will show the world how modernized, Westernized, and secular we, Turkish people, are. You will see tens of modern secular Turkish drunk people showing the tourist girls our hospitality and modernity. The real Turks will show themselves on that night.
Those radical stabbers will be sleeping at home then:)
I will see you all in Taksim on the new year’s eve:)
In a word: Oy!
I’ll bet the didn’t get any presents under the tree this year… a sure way to end up on the “naughty” list. Tsk tsk…
Mehmet, if you are going to post a sarcastic and off-topic reply, at least make it funny. No, liberally using exclamation marks and emoticons do not count.
If it’s any consellation, it disturbs me too.
And, you missed one even more important issue: Cultural.
In these lands, no one (which naturally includes the Christians) has Santa in their cultural heritage.
Santa Claus, AFAIC, is Uncle-Tom-ism.
You’re definitely confusing Israel with Turkey when you refer to ‘anti-anyone who is different’. This is why I kept asking for your impressions of Israel even though you kept evadin by referring to an irrelevant tag cloud..
I see.. so you think preferring not to be a neighbor to certain life styles is bad..
Well, wait till you hear about 300+ rabbis (on state payroll, no less) publish fatwas to prohibit selling or renting to ‘anyone who is different’..
Even the perfect yardstick does not agree with you: Our dear old Claire Berlinski does not seem to have been evicted.
In fact, a couple of months ago, there was an entry where she had a list of things she wanted her new place to have. The comments below that didn’t seem to contain any f-off’s; on the contrary, a lot of people suggested several helpful alternatives.
And, about that “several killings of Christians”… it would be decent of if you also put a figure an that.
5, 10, 50, 100?
How many?
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I also find it utterly pathetic when an USian talks about others killing innocent people..
How many Muslims does the US kill?
Less or more than 100,000 a year?
Have you written a single line of protest?
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Greek and Cretan Christmas customs
Tonight we will show the world how Civilized and Modernized we are in Taksim square:) Everybody is invited with their husbands/boyfriends or wives/girlfriends. Emre you too. If you guys can not make it, watch the Turkish news and see how drunk and anti-Sharia and for progressive and open to Western influence Turkish youth are.
PS: do not complain if you see them over-Westernized!:)
Given that most of that crowd will be comprised of under-cover (plain-clothes) security people, you can be sure that any ‘over-Westernization’ will also be performed by them to celebrate <g> having to spend the night away from their families.
Yuk, this is the first blogpost I read in 2011 and already angry.(
1) Santa Claus and St. Nicolas are different. The Dutch celebrate St. Nicolas on the eve of the 5th of December. Santa Claus is created in 1922 by Coca Cola (therefore the colors Red and White) but its origin from Finland. Period.
2) The problem with the fundamentalist Islam are the fundaments of Islam (end quote) Sam Harris:
http://internationmusing.blogspot.com/2010/12/atheist-sam-harris-about-religion-and.html
3) How many Christians are attacked in Iraq, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Gaza, West bank, Jordan, Sudan, Morroc, Europe (!!!) etc. and counting, the last days of 2010? How many Christians are killed by muslem idiots. For me a proof that islam is neo-facism. They simple miss the alpha and omega. period.
4) Islam beheaded: http://www.answering-islam.org/Authors/Wood/islam_beheaded.htm
5) Happy 2011
Hans I wish you read what people have written before you:) One person asks how many Muslims are killed in 2010? If we are counting the heads, you guys should answer that question, first.
You are not angry you are hateful. Also do not expect Muslim to agree with you after cursing Islam. Muslims and Turks (even self-haters) could not accept that. They are not as stupid as you guys think:)
One question: if you guys have the right to hate Islam, curse Islam and its prophet then why are you guys so offended seeing Muslims hating Western traditions (whether Christian or Capitalist)?
I used to think it was awful that throughout the history Jews were kept segregated against and condemned to ghettos.
It seems I was wrong. It seems Jews are not only thankful to those who did that, but are also more than eager to jail themselves into ghettos the moment they get the chance.
Let me bring in a few quotes: [here]
“Separatism is what sustained the Jewish people throughout time. It’s our distinction.”
So.. if separatism applied by Jews is OK, I suppose separatism applied to Jews should be OK too.
I really am looking for sensible responses to this..
“There are 18 and 19-year-old girls who are on National Service and get hit on by 40-year-old Arab men. These stories happen every day and no one talks about it. It’s just buried and dubbed racism. There is no racism. Arabs are our enemies and that is why one has to talk about it and act against it.”
Nope. It never is racism when it is done by Jews to others.
But, lets do a gedanken experiment –for the fun of it…
Suppose Islamic clergy issued an institutional ban against renting/selling to/from Jews as well as inter-marriages/datings.
How would the blog author react?
How would you all react?
Radically differently?
Why?
Why are the two so different?
We were all shocked seeing a few radical Turks stabbing plastic Santa. Here is the good news from Taksim. Not just a few but hundreds of Turkish youth celebrated the new year. They ignored the Islamic ban on alcohol (Jenny should find the verse related to that ban in Quran) and consumed alcohol and assaulted tourist girls, not plastic but real one. Unfortunately, backward Turkish policemen caught modern Turkish drunk men assaulting girls. Maria was right the Turkish police can not defend plastic Santa but prevent Turkish youth from becoming Westernized:) here is the video showing Taksim, modern face of Turkey:
http://www.beyazgazete.com/video/2011/01/01/4-genc-kiz-tacizcilerin-hedefi-oldu.html
as for the radical stabbers, last night they went to bed early, they missed the tourist girls:)
More Santa fun from his hometown: http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=618
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I think the 2005-2008 version might be a tribute to all the politicians and ad men of the region. Perhaps he was like the present day brands. Ho ho ka-ching ho. So when will we see whirling dervishes at shopping malls? We’ve got one solstice and two equinoxes that are under-exploited and a billion or so fools with money to spend.
Hah, hilarious Mhmt, brings a whole new meaning to ‘plain clothes officer’ doesn’t it? Bothering that Santa would be a different experience altogether than stabbing the inflatable one (see the first minute of the video Mhmt linked.)
Here’s better footage of what Mhmt is talking about:
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http://video.milliyet.com.tr/Turist-kadinlara-polis-korumasi_1_46767.htm?auto=1
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Perhaps these people are lucky that they ended up with some arm-twisting by cops. Sometimes such things get serious. I once tried to tell an American woman living here that crowds may overreact and turn on such people. Of course she knew that as she’d already handed someone to a mob for a beating. Isn’t city life wonderful? Anyway, the story/thread is here: http://istanbuls-stranger.blogspot.com/2010/05/ex-pat-questions-number-3.html?showComment=1275643354951#c3410014465118744037
One person asks how many Muslims are killed in 2010? If we are counting the heads, you guys should answer that question, first. You are not angry you are hateful. Also do not expect Muslim to agree with you after cursing Islam
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mhmt (do I talk to a robot?)
Let me explain you one thing first; that GW Bush attacked Iraq because he tought that there were some WMD doesn’t have anything to do Christians versus Muslims. And FYI Muslims in Iraq killed more Muslims than your so called ‘Christian USA Army (8% were Muslims) but that they the Islamists dont want to know
Muslims killed molims prior to the invasion was est 1.2 million! Moslims killed by USA (directly)was 68.000 extimated and Muslims killed by Muslims since 2003 is 345.000 ext….
I wrote the above comment before I know about the Alexandria killing. I wish you success in your global denial and continuing jihad. But you will blown up your self in the end.
Btw….what a cowards reading this and not condeming…all happy with your sickening supremacist points of view?
The one thing I’d hate to see is an otherwise –seemingly– liberal guy going hopping mad…
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Talk about supremacism, racism, and apartheid: A short anthology of racism in Israel
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Talk about liberalism, freedom loving etc.: When honesty leads to discharge: A gay Jew in the Navy
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Why the ‘directly’ qualifier?
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What makes you immune from the responsibility of all those deaths when it is you who razed the whole country (including all the infrastructure) into rubble?
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Deaths due to US Invasion of Iraq (since March 2003) is estimated to be 1,421,933. [here]
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Not counting Afghanistan, Yemen and elsewhere, that is 177,741 people per year.
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Jenny White writes “there is a class issue here”. No! There is an issue of bigotry and xenophobia. Simple and clear. But no, it is hopeless to expect that a liberal like Jenny White would utter such strong words for her Islamist friends.
[…] conference and smeared boot polish on an inflatable Santa before stabbing him with a pocketknife. Key quote: “Muslims must resist this corrupting and seducing Western cultural imperialism that tries to […]